What NO ONE told me about FOUNTAIN PENS--a Beginner's Guide.

Wow. I had no idea.

DISCLOSURE: I may earn a commission when you use one of my coupons/links to make a purchase.

Timestamps:
0:00 - No one told me this!
1:43 - Point 1
2:26 - Point 2
2:50 - Point 3
3:22 - Point 4
3:41 - Point 5
4:00 - Point 6
4:25 - Point 7
4:50 - Point 8
5:29 - Point 9
5:54 - Point 10
6:14 - Terms
8:25 - Point 11
8:45 - Point 12
9:03 - Point 13
9:17 - Point 14
10:07 - Point 15
10:33 - Point 16
10:54 - Point 17

#BMR
#stuffmadewell
#fountainpens

[bcase]

One side-effect, an interest in fountain pen often encourages paying attention to your handwriting and then practicing to improve your handwriting.

[johnlopez]

Fountain pens serve to protect and preserve the analog soul. They are better for the environment because they last for years and empty ink bottles can be recycled. They are a wonderful way to express one's thoughts and observations, and they help one to take care with whatever one wants to write. Inky fingers are a badge of honor and not a nuisance. Finally, many people in the fountain pen community are kind and caring individuals.

[kiwig]

I love fountain pens; my friends just shake their heads when I get excited talking about them. Fountain pens also lead to other rabbit holes, especially the rabbit hole of "good" paper and journals!

[TheSubtleCow]

I was surprised how good they were for the arthritis in my hands. You don't need pressure to write, the weight of the pen is enough, so my hands hurt less when writing with a FP

[ProudPlatypus]

If you want to mix inks, you can do it in a separate container first and see how they react to each other. When an ink reacts badly you'll tend to see little solid pieces appearing in the ink, it can happen pretty quickly. The main danger in this is getting your pen clogged up. You can also pick and choose what pen you test out these ink mixed with first.

[antoniosaladin]

Another thought: bottled ink lasts a really long time (especially if you use multiple pens with other inks or rotate inks in one pen) so don’t be scared by the price of some larger bottles. You will get your money’s worth

[catdaddy]

So, I'm gunna be honest, the *only* reason why I got into fountain pens is because I go through a lot a pens at work. Government documents require a lot of writing. I originally bought one because I enjoyed a "wetter" form of writing, as I used an ink pen for my documents. Bought a Lamy Safari pen with cartridges to help offset how much I write.

I didn't know I'd fall in love with these as much as I have. I feel naked without my pen. I *hate* writing with any other kind of pen, *especially* ball point pens.

I didn't know I'd turn out like this, but I've fallen in love with fountain pens and writing again. It's a gift, and I write letters to continue my excuse to write xD

[frankguernier]

I am 72 years old and attended a small country school in Australia. I can remember sitting at my cast iron and timber school desk with an ink well. We used a dip in nib pen with a timber shaft.
In high school I started using fountain pens and loved the feel and way they moved over the paper. If course in the 1960's the ball point pent took over. I am currently sharing my life with a new partner who is French and we spend time in both Australia and France.
Martine was cleaning out one of her drawers and placed an unused Mont Blanc fountain pen in front of me. It felt so nice in the hand. I loaded it with Mont Blanc Royal Blue ink and away I went.
I have for some time wanted to write about my life and this beautiful writing instrument will be with me. Cheers.

[aaxiom]

I worked in tech before retiring. I used to do all of my design work using a fountain pen and sheets of plain paper. It was odd, but a fountain pen FORCES you to THINK before putting pen to page. I sincerely believe that this disciplined approach makes a tremendous difference in the quality of your output... whether it's the content of the writing, the appearance of the writing, or the beauty of a well thought-out design for a program, database, etc. Great job covering many of the highlights.

BTW, the Neil Gaiman interview you cited is probably responsible for a nice pop in fountain pen sales. I wouldn't be at all surprised. :-)

[EFNIR]

One of the best benefits of using a fountain pen is that you don't experience hand-fatigue (or it takes longer before you do). They're fantastic for anyone who cannot or should not grip a pen tightly (e.g. if you have carpal tunnel problems). The ink flows without pressure applied to the page (indeed, pressure is bad for a fountain pen), so you can relax your hand, let the pen rest farther back between the thumb and hand, and write for long periods without pain. Great video!

[EastMontana]

Let me see: They didn't tell you, don't drop them. Don't shake them. Don't leave it in the heat... and don't let anyone use your pen. It will never be the same.... You are the only one that can use it. Someone else will stretch it and will never be the same for you.... unless you buy a new tip.

[avgjoeshow]

You can always rinse out and and fill to reuse cartridges. Some pens won’t fit a converter but you can still use bottled ink if you just rinse and refill

[AC-bibz]

Thanks for the video!
Last year, I rediscovered fountain pens, because my home town (Hamburg, Germany) offered a limited edition fountain pen, where the body is made of bog oak that was excavated during an archeological dig … the oak is dated from 1021, so I now have a fountain pen made out of 1000 year old oak, with a gold nib from Bock. Definitely not on the low end of the price scale, but a fine piece of craftsmenship. More of an heirloom than a writing utensil.

[rjayt]

Thanks for the video. One thing I noticed after watching several fountain pen videos is that most people tend to use cursive handwriting. It seems that cursive handwriting looks nicer with fountain pens. After elementary school I forgot how to write most letters except for the ones in my signature. Now I am in the process of relearning cursive handwriting.

[bryanewbank]

Something I'd never thought of for eyedroppered or adapter-filled fountain pens is that you DON'T need to fill it all the way. This allows you to change ink more frequently and therefore have more "fun"..

[noman]

Pretty good overview. I'd add to your terms, "piston fill(er)" -- as a fill mechanism. It has the advantage of pretty good capacity and is fully "self-contained" (don't need cartridges or converters).
A second term is "burping", particularly with eye droppered pens. Due to simple physics (warming of the air inside the pen from your hand), an unexpected blob of ink may drop off the nib's end. This is more common with eye droppered pens in my expereince

[oscarmedina]

I’m putting this here for those who are not interested in digging through responses to comments. My favorite thing about using fountain pens is that the writing experience is completely different. They write so smoothly and with little effort as opposed to ballpoints and rollerballs that you have to press down to get the ink to flow. Modern fountain pens still allow you the convenience of portability and reliability with the pleasure of smooth, effortless writing.

[cindyvelez_gutierrez]

I'm a '70s kid, and in school, (6- 12 year olds) we learned to write and were required( obligated ) to write with a fountain pen. We learned to use felt paper to make the ink dry faster on our paper's and minimaze smudges. After elementary school came to secondary school ( 12-18 year olds) and there we learned to take notes quickly, it didn't do my handwriting any good, so the fountain pen was replaced bij Bic. Since 2021 I've rediscovered the fountain pen, and my handwriting has improved. It's a pity that children are no longer obliged to write with a fountain pen.

[heshamfyilj]

I LOVE fountain pens. They are classy, vintage, elegant, respectful, and a treasure to hold on and pass on.

[AwesometownUSA]

Great video; a very thorough introduction. One thing I’ve learned that wasn’t mentioned, is the concept of a “grail pen”…

The grail pen (holy grail pen) is the pen that’s different for every person, that’s the most beautiful pen you’ve ever seen, and that has the _perfect_ combination of features/ details (ie. nib size, weight, color, etc etc) for your personal preference, and that you WANT with every ounce of your being.

It may be attainable, cost-wise, or just out of your grasp, or well out of your league. It may be a substantial investment, but many pens are made to last a lifetime (and even be passed down to future generations as an heirloom), so it’s often sneakily easy to personally justify the purchase.

One thing I wish I knew at the beginning (and that I don’t think I’ve ever heard *anyone* say) is: when you do finally get that pen, it may be great, and wonderful, and beautiful to hold & look at & write with, and all you ever dreamed of (just like you imagined it would!)… But… there’s a good chance that, once you attain it, suddenly you’ll discover a NEW grail pen — and yes you love this one blah blah blah, but _THAT ONE…_ you know at once that if you can just get this other grail pen, writing with it will feel just like making love to an angel!

In short: your grail pen may indeed be great to obtain, but even so it still might not scratch that itch. [sigh]. Such is the nature of desire. Be forewarned!