So I took the plunge on a fountain pen.

Not much of a plunge but I have been reading about fountain pens and curiosity got the best of me. I picked up a Pilot Varsity and a Platinum Preppy. Both Medium nibs. I was excited that I heard they were available locally at Staples but I couldn't find them there so I just ordered on Amazon.

Anyway, as someone who has never wrote with a fountain pen before is there anything I should know? I had to google which orientation the nib is in when writing! I generally write with a very heavy hand so I am guessing I will need to ease up. Thanks.

A light hand is going to be important. I think the Varsity writes a little smoother and is less creaky feeling in the hand, but both of them lay down a nice, consistent line of ink. You'll have to insert the cartridge into the Preppy to get it writing. If I remember correctly, the cartridge comes in the body upside down or with some kind of cap that needs to be removed. The Varsity should write without any kind of setup. The Preppy is refillable or can be used with a converter (that happens to cost more than the pen), while the Varsity is intended to be disposable, though you can do some relatively easy hacks to make it refillable. Write, write some more, write even more, and then write more than that. It's the only way to figure out if it's something that you'll want to eventually use on a regular basis and sink more money into. Both Platinum and Pilot have nice bit of tiered offerings to slowly take you up the price ladder (Pilot Metropolitan and Platinum Plasir would be a nice next step), or you can start branching out into other brands at around the $20 point

Welcome to the Nib and the world of fountain pens!

I started with a Pilot Varsity myself. It is a fun little pen to whet your appetite.

Like with a razor, angle and pressure play a key role in fountain pens. Take your time to find the sweet spot, and you'll be rewarded.

If you like the experience, you'll want to research inks, paper, etc. There are lots of different rabbit holes/AD's with fountain pens.

I second the part about the Varsity being refillable. I love wring with a Varsity as an everyday pen. When one runs try, you can carefully remove the nib and feed, clean it out well, and put in any kind of ink you like. Don't just toss them. The Varsity writes as well as many more expensive pens. No, it's not fancy to carry in your pocket, but for mundane writing, it's my standard.

Yep, light hand is a must. Too much pressure and you can spring the nib which will then require either replacing or repairing. There are nibs (sometimes derisively called "nails") that are tough enough to handle some downforce, but even those generally write better with little to no pressure. So, consciously focus on writing with as little pressure as possible until it becomes second nature. I find it unpleasant to go back to ballpoints now because I have to push down so hard -- it's uncomfortable and I can feel my whole arm tensing up.

To echo kansaskyle, experiment with pen angle and nib orientation on the page. Some pens have a very forgiving sweet spot, others not. My favorite daily driver, for example, requires a very precise orientation -- nib rotated counter-clockwise from "normal" -- to write without skips on initial downstrokes, but it doesn't care at all about pen angle. So, before getting frustrated if one doesn't write well the way you normally hold your writing instruments, play around and get to know your pens as individuals.

Also, be aware that not all FP inks play well with all papers. Depending on the combination you use, you may see bleeding (back side of page), ghosting (also on back side of page), feathering (the lines spread and look fuzzy) or (less likely) very slow dry times. Cheap office copy paper is notorious for not playing nice with FP inks. So, if the results are ugly, don't give up. Find better paper or try different inks. (Many FP addicts end out with lots of both in our search for writing nirvana.)

And, most important, enjoy your pens!

One thing I've found useful is to hold the pen farther back on the barrel than you normally would, relax your hand, and keep the angle to the paper fairly shallow. With ball points, we tend to use a death grip down close to the point, hold the pen close to vertical, and try to push the point through the paper!. A properly flowing fountain pen should write smoothly with almost no pressure other than the weight of the pen itself. Once you get the feel for the proper angle and pressure, you can switch to a more conventional grip, just remembering to avoid too much pressure.

Welcome aboard!!

Thanks for all the replies. I found some threads about refilling the varsity which looks pretty simple as well as making the platinum preppy hold ink in the tube with an oring.

I know they are both cheap but is one favored more than the other?

Welcome!

Welcome! I made the plunge a few months back and haven't looked back. My Clairefontaine cloth-bound notebook and Sheaffer Snorkel travel with me around the world now for work. Right now it's inked up with Noodler's Apache Sunset.

I like the new fine preppies better for cheaper paper.
I was even able to find some fine v-pens (new name for varsity or Japanese version. Not sure)
Paper at work sucks and the fine is better suited for it.
I also give them both away to people interested in FP to get a feel for it. But I smooth the nibs and tweak them a bit.

As in shaving writing with a fountain requires less pressure. I was a heavy handed writer when I was using ballpoints, since I switched to fountain pens I use less pressure.

I find writing with a fountain pen more comfortable and causes less hand fatigue. Enjoy your journey into fountain pens.