Fountain Pens- the idiots guide?

SmallBeard

SmallBeard

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Location
Essex
Hello men,

I've decided I want to start writing like a real man, I've been shaving like a real man for coming up to a year now, and want to make the next leap.

I've not owned a fountain pen for a long time, and when I did it was just a cheapy one with the little cartridges which you push onto the barrel (?). I had this in about year 7 of school, so thusly spent most of the time pissing about and just smashing the cartridges with the heel of my hand, so they exploded a Pollock-esque mess all over my paper. Mature, eh?

Well now I've decided I want to start documenting things in my boring life, and just writing whatever comes into my head, and anything I can do.

Now we come onto the pen. I've been browsing Cult Pens, and as I'm a newbie in this field, have been looking at the reasonably priced Lamy Safari. I've seen talk on here about how good it is. I'm a lefty, so is it wise to go with the LH nib choice?

Now, where I'm really confused, is the inks. It comes with a cartridge, but there's talk of a converter, and bottled inks etc., and being a complete idiot, I don't understand. What's the best ink to use for this pen? Is it better to buy a converter, and bottled ink (that's even if that's what I'd need, I really have no clue!) or cartridges?

Any words of advice would be greatly appreciated.

I'm looking to spend around £25 pound for my first pen and ink(s), so is the Lamy a good choice, and how should I go about inks?

Apologies in advance for my idiocy, but I figure you all put up with my inane shaving questions when I first started, so I'm sure you'll help me out once again!

Thank you!

Alex
 
Great, thanks!

Is that their ink cartridges?

What about bottled inks? I've seen the name Diamine thrown about a lot, is it worth buying the converter and some Diamine ink, or is it a personal choice?
 
SmallBeard said:
What about bottled inks? I've seen the name Diamine thrown about a lot, is it worth buying the converter and some Diamine ink, or is it a personal choice?
Click to expand...

There are something like 600 readily available inks in bottles. Less than 100 in cartridges (and probably fewer than 10 in Lamy compatible cartridges).

Only you know if you want to experiment with some more avant garde inks, but per millilitre of ink, bottles are cheaper than cartridges (however to recoup the £4 the converter costs, you need to use a lot of ink :))
 
hunnymonster said:
SmallBeard said:
What about bottled inks? I've seen the name Diamine thrown about a lot, is it worth buying the converter and some Diamine ink, or is it a personal choice?
Click to expand...

There are something like 600 readily available inks in bottles. Less than 100 in cartridges (and probably fewer than 10 in Lamy compatible cartridges).

Only you know if you want to experiment with some more avant garde inks, but per millilitre of ink, bottles are cheaper than cartridges (however to recoup the £4 the converter costs, you need to use a lot of ink :))
Click to expand...
For now, I think I will stick with the cartridges, after all, I might not get on with it.

However...

I like the massive range of Diamine inks, I like the look and sound of the Oxblood ink.

A very stupid question; does the converter work as like a syringe in the bottle?

Also, any lefties here that can comment if the LH nib is an absolute necessity?

Scratch that, found a video on YouTube.

I think it's going to be bottled inks actually. The range is incredible, and it will 'feel' more traditional.
 
Speak to Steve of Sunburyboy fame. A nice, vintage Parker 'Made in England' isn't too expensive and is a beautiful item to behold. Steve helped me choose then sold me a beauty at a great price. A Flighter 45, IIRC. Not used it much but it's coming to that Christmas card time of year.....

Just to say thanks again to Steve. :D
 
Regarding whether you should go for a left hand knib, that really depends on how you write i.e. when you used a fountain pen at school did you manage to convert to using a right hand nib?

If you tend to push the pen in front of you (as opposed to pulling it with your hand in front of the nib) I would go for the left hand nib.
 
I've pulled the trigger, I've gone for the safari in Charcoal, with blue, violet and turquoise cartridges.

I figure I'll be buying from Cult Pens again in the future, so I will buy ink and a converter once I know if I get on with it!

I went with the lefty nib, as I couldn't really get on with the RH nib in school, I push the pen and it would skip or dig in, so maybe the LH nib was a good choice.

I'm sure I'll keep an eye on Steve's FS pens from now on though, I can imagine like shaving gear, it's addictive!
 
SmallBeard said:
I figure I'll be buying from Cult Pens again in the future, so I will buy ink and a converter once I know if I get on with it!
Click to expand...

Probably... they are the Connaught Supplies of the writing instrument world...

SmallBeard said:
I can imagine like shaving gear, it's addictive!
Click to expand...

Not at all - I haven't spent the thick end of £100 there in the last two weeks, not me, not at all.

Thankfully all packages from CP arrive from "The SQL Workshop" and when SWMBO sees those she just assumes it's for work :)
 
hunnymonster said:
SmallBeard said:
I figure I'll be buying from Cult Pens again in the future, so I will buy ink and a converter once I know if I get on with it!
Click to expand...

Probably... they are the Connaught Supplies of the writing instrument world...

SmallBeard said:
I can imagine like shaving gear, it's addictive!
Click to expand...

Not at all - I haven't spent the thick end of £100 there in the last two weeks, not me, not at all.

Thankfully all packages from CP arrive from "The SQL Workshop" and when SWMBO sees those she just assumes it's for work :)
Click to expand...

That's a big claim that is, Connaught are excellent. I do take your word for it, and based on that I'll be spending a lot of money there!

Haha, it's coming up to Christmas, so I go with "it's presents for you" and that washes normally.

Another question now...

Can anyone recommend a Fountain Pen friendly pad? Preferably a5.

Thanks :D

Wow, an hour and 23 minutes after placing an order, it's been dispatched! Fantastic!
 
SmallBeard said:
Another question now...

Can anyone recommend a Fountain Pen friendly pad? Preferably a5.

Thanks :D
Click to expand...

Rhodia is my preference - Cult Pens stock them but so do quality High Street stationers. I use their head-stapled A4 lined pads for my distance-learning course with bottled ink and they're very good. If you're after letter paper, I'd recommend Clairfontaine Triomphe, as it's ultra-smooth. Alternatively, for a textured paper with subtle off-white tones, then G Lalo Vergé de France is popular, though, as it's a laid paper, it is slightly "corrugated" and can, apparently, cause some pens to skip (I've not used it myself so can't comment).
 
hunnymonster said:
SmallBeard said:
Wow, an hour and 23 minutes after placing an order, it's been dispatched! Fantastic!
Click to expand...

You must have hit a slow patch over lunch :)
Click to expand...

Heh, any faster and it would be sheer wizardry!

Chris- I saw it after my order had been placed, and had the buggers not dispatched so quickly I'd have got in contact RE: adding it to my order. Still, service like that is incredible. I think I'll be placing an order tomorrow for some bottled ink, a converter, and a pad or two, too.

I have an Oxford Notebook here which claims "No ink show through" but we will see! The paper feels really shiny, which is odd but I'll try the Lamy out on it when I receive it. I'll definitely order some Rhodia pads. Thanks for the recommendations :)
 
SmallBeard said:
hunnymonster said:
SmallBeard said:
Wow, an hour and 23 minutes after placing an order, it's been dispatched! Fantastic!
Click to expand...

You must have hit a slow patch over lunch :)
Click to expand...

Heh, any faster and it would be sheer wizardry!

Chris- I saw it after my order had been placed, and had the buggers not dispatched so quickly I'd have got in contact RE: adding it to my order. Still, service like that is incredible. I think I'll be placing an order tomorrow for some bottled ink, a converter, and a pad or two, too.

I have an Oxford Notebook here which claims "No ink show through" but we will see! The paper feels really shiny, which is odd but I'll try the Lamy out on it when I receive it. I'll definitely order some Rhodia pads. Thanks for the recommendations :)
Click to expand...

Shiny is usually good as it often means resistance to feathering and bleedthrough/showthrough.

If you haven't already, spend some time with sbrebrown on Youtube - he's the mantic of FPs and is worth subscribing to. As someone who has used cheap FPs since I was knee-high to the proverbial, but has only learned how to tame my awful handwriting in the last couple of years, I'd advise considering the difference between ballpoints and FPs as being similar to cartridge vs. DE razors. Just as with the cartridge systems, a ballpoint relies on pressure being applied - FPs are like DEs - minimal pressure and a relaxed hold (I recommend the "tripod" grip as discussed here: http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/201146-the-classic-tripod-grip/) are the important factors.
 
Thank you for the information, I will definitely swot up on YouTube. I've set CPs a challenge, I've just ordered a couple of pads, a converter, and a 30ml bottle of Oxblood Diamine ink. Oh, and a 49p retractable pink marker, to round it up to free delivery.

I will have to spend some time over on FPN now then...

Thanks to this forum I've bought shite loads of shaving gear, 11 knives, and now I'm onto pens :D

Another quick question, I'll make it my last, what's an alternative to blotting paper? Googling hasn't exactly cleared up the issue, so I thought I'd ask the gentlemen of this parish, which will make much more sense.

Thanks again :)
 
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