First Fountain

Hello all-

I have been coaxing and watching a small seed of interest in writing with a fountain pen to grow and expand in the last few months, to the point where I am now beginning to peruse the vast array of writing implements for that all-important first piece. I have read the wiki articles regarding the price points, pros and cons of each major brand, and ins-and outs of nib and tip size, but I wonder if any of you can provide a little more detail to that, specifically to writing style. You see, I haven't written in cursive since the nuns in my grade school made it a graded assessment. I still have bad memories of stressful nights and cramped hands trying to get a capital D properly rounded. Since then I've developed a more comfortable and neater penmanship using print (specifically in all caps). Not sure where that came from, but it's just been the progression over the years. That said, I would like a fountain pen that will allow me to continue using my dominant writing style. The last thing I need is my pen disagreeing with the way I write. That's a sure-fire exile into the back of the bottom drawer.

Any thoughts?

Are you saying you want to be able to write with a fountain pen in a manner similar to how you write with a ball point or pencil? If so, I would look for a pen with a medium nib nail (no flex). If so, what comes to mind for me is any modern Lamy pen with a steel nib, or a vintage Parker 51 or vintage Sheaffer pen with a triumph point nib (note, there are vintage Sheaffer triumph point pens that have nibs with flex, but they are quite rare).

A fountain pen doesn't care whether you write in cursive, block print, or a hybrid of the two. I'm primarily a printer (still not happy with my cursive style), and I use a wide variety of pens and nibs, from modern and vintage nails to a vintage lever-filler with a flexible music (3-tine) nib. The pens have never complained or scolded me.

Thanks both for your thoughts. It looks like I may be thinking about this too much. I had figured on a medium nib anyway because it was, well...medium! Middle of the road, not too much one way or the other. But it's good to know that I won't have to change my writing style in order to enjoy fountains. By the way, I love the M*A*S*H quote, Jut! One of my favorite movies!

I agree with the medium nib choice. I also printed with caps before landing here. Now I write with cursive - it's difficult to predict the future. Enjoy your pen(s)!

A medium nib is a good choice. Fountain pens can be used successfully by either left handed or right handed writers, what ever style of writing they chose.

Grab a Pilot 78g off e-bay for $10 or a Pilot Metropolitan from the Goulets for $15 plus shipping (and toss in some ink samples) and have at 'er!

A bonus of getting a Lamy Safari (although there are others with this same benefit) is that you can easily switch out nibs without buying a whole new pen. This would allow you start at say a medium and try a fine for about $10 more on the second nib.

Alternatively, you could just buy two less inexpensive pens with different nibs.

Wingnut722 said:

...I still have bad memories of stressful nights and cramped hands trying to get a capital D properly rounded. Since then I've developed a more comfortable and neater penmanship using print (specifically in all caps). Not sure where that came from, but it's just been the progression over the years. That said, I would like a fountain pen that will allow me to continue using my dominant writing style. The last thing I need is my pen disagreeing with the way I write. That's a sure-fire exile into the back of the bottom drawer.

Any thoughts?

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About those cramped hands, a good fountain pen will allow you to write with virtually no pressure at all, which in turn allows you to hold the pen fairly loosely. Get that right, and your hands shouldn't cramp. The angle of the pen to the paper may very well be shallower than you are used to with a ballpoint or pencil, though.

Spend some time learning how to hold and control the pen, and your all caps style should be no problem. I enjoy writing in cursive, myself, but whatever works for you. A fine or medium nibbed pen would be good to start with, but keep in mind that what these actually mean can vary with the manufacturer and the country of origin. A medium nib on a Lamy pen, made in Germany, would be wider than one on a Pilot, made in Japan. I find the Japanese medium to be good for most writing. A Pilot FP 78G is a good inexpensive starter pen, others prefer the Pilot Metro, Lamy Safari, or any of a number of others.

At some point, you could experiment with an italic nib, which would let you get some interesting line width variation on even printed letters. That's probably not best for a very first fountain pen, though.

Wingnut722 said:

One of my favorite movies!

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Mine too (obviously), now if I could just get my wife to like it!

Doc4 said:

Grab a Pilot 78g off e-bay for $10 or a Pilot Metropolitan from the Goulets for $15 plus shipping (and toss in some ink samples) and have at 'er!

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The Metropolitan is my one and only fountain pen and I agree the transition was seamless and fun.

Outstanding input from everybody! Very valuable! I think this will certainly allow me to shop for a pen with confidence! Thank you all very much!

August West said:

The Metropolitan is my one and only fountain pen and I agree the transition was seamless and fun.

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+1 on Metropolitan!

+1 on the Pilot Metropolitan. Also look at the Nemosine Singularity. It will take #6 nibs from many different sources. Nemosine nibs are available from EF, F, M, B and 0.6mm, 0.8mm and 1.1mm italics.

I picked up the Nemosine in 0.6 and 0.8 to try out some different stubs. Perhaps I got a bad set, but they are incredibly scratchy. The 0.8 is irritating to write with on all but the best of paper. On anything but Rhodia or Clairefontaine, it's almost like nails on chalk board. I might eventually use this pen to practice tinkering with and modifying, but until then, I avoid it. The 0.6 is a little smoother but still quite scratchy on most papers. In addition to the scratchiness, it just feels cheap. The plastic feels just a hair thicker than a Platinum Preppy. It has a very low budget feel to it. The Metro feels substantially higher in quality and is a much, much smoother writing experience, though the setdown doesn't agree with my nib. I find the Pilot Kakuno much easier to write with for my hands with a near identical nib. I like the Kaweco Sport/Ice Sport as well. I have a medium and broad nib and both write well.

The thing about a Lamy Safari or Al Star and this is something that many people don't like about the pens, is the way the section is shaped. It helps teach you to hold the pen correctly and remember NO PRESSURE (or almost none). (tripod grip) Many people - especially those who use ballpoints and pencils primarily use a "death grip". Even if they figure out fountain pens aren't for them they can benefit from using a light touched tripod grip.