Fountain Pens (and other writing instruments)

[BirdofSydney]

Dear Loungers,

Something which has not, I think, been discussed here, are preferences for writing instruments (as most pen makers seem insistant on describing them). In this age of computerisation, I notice disturbingly little attention paid to the niceties of handwriting.

It feels horribly incongruous to me to pay careful attention to suit, shoes, watches, and all the rest of it, before wielding a Bic disposable to hastily scribble one's John Thomas on some document or other (although the Comte du Bick was a French nobleman!). I can't pinpoint the stage at which this started to bother me, but in any event I found an old Schaffer fountain pen in my cupboard which sufficed as a stopgap solution.

Looking at the selection of quality instruments available, I dismissed Schaffer, Pelikan, Waterman et al as too safe, certainly well made but not firing my heart. Montblanc was too obvious, too ostentatious, too ubiquitous for my tastes. I understand furthermore that, as their popularity and status symbol value ascended, a lot of concessions and shortcuts are being taken in terms of quality and manufacture. Sort of a Louis Vuitton of the pen world (and, their Brisbane stores are even adjacent!).

Two makes held my attention - Caran d'Ache and Visconti. I've resolved in favour of the latter, for subtle luxury, and a bit of obscurantist enjoyment. A black Van Gogh model fountain pen, with a tiny bespoke touch: I'm having the nib ground by hand to turn it from an oval shape to a flatter profile, such that I get a broad crosstroke and a narrow upstroke when writing. I understand that many aspects of their manufacture are keeping with traditional penmaking, as well as some innovative technical flourishes.

The owner of my Pen Dealer was as knowledgable as any tailor I've encountered, and her shop as luxurious as any club (well, nearly). To any Loungers who've not had the pleasure, I highly recommend seeking out such a store, if not just to spend a quiet hour admiring the craftsmanship and soaking up the atmosphere. Notwithstanding most of the staff being female, I found the atmosphere to be quite gentlemanly.

Are there any pen enthusiasts amongst our number? And, what do other Loungers choose to use? Are we in agreement that touches like this are vital for a well-presented gentleman?

Kind regards,

Eden

[mpolanthan]

I'm hardly an enthusiast, but I really like the Visconti van Gogh. I have one in white which I use at home--no custom features though. I prefer rollerballs for daily use and carrying around with me.

[le.gentleman]

I personally do not like modern fountain pen's very much as the nibs nowadays are not as flexible as they were produced 50 years ago.
In my opinion the decisive question is: the flexibility of the nib.
Do you prefer a hard nib, a soft one or a flexible? Pelikan has soft nibs but they are not flexible. Pens from OMAS - another fantastic Italian fountain pen manufacture - has great nibs. And the celluloid pens are produced with the machines from 1925. They also have varoius beautiful Limited Editions. Their nibs are the most flexible ones of the modern nibs.

I personally prefer pen from the 1920's to the 1950's. Montblanc produced some fantastic pens and marvelous flexible nibs. Today I am writing with Montblanc Masterpiece 142, a very small pen, with a 14 ct EF nib from 1952 - 1955. You do not get anything like this today...

My favourite from Montblanc is a Masterpiece 149, the biggest and most famous one of the Masterpiece series, with a 14 ct OM nib from 1952.

The old sheaffer pen's from the 1920's do have a very hard nib as Americans genereally prefered hard nibs in the past.

Wahl-Eversharp, Mabie & Todd... there are a lot of great vintage fountain pens - just visit old estates - Sometimes you get really rare items for $ 20 at the estate.

If you do not have the time - I still do have some connection to the famous collectors here in Germany who also sell on ebay. So if anyone is interested in great vintage fountain pens, just let me know.

[dopey]

I have several Omas pens and agree that they are a joy to use. I have noticed however, that, at least on their classic line, the gold plating on the clip is apt to flake off. For sheer beauty, I like Aurora but Omas does a better job of combining heft with light weight and, as you say, the nib is more flexible.

[TVD]

You are right about the inflexibility of some modern nibs. Looking for a present at Montblanc, I noted how hard their nibs were. I tried to illustrate this point with the Montegrappa I use, and the salespeople were extremely taken with it.

Montegrappa has beautifully flexible nibs. Some of their limited editions are a bit flash, but they produce beautiful pens. I recently saw a limited edition in chestnut celluloid which was quite restrained yet extremely gorgeous.

[whittaker]

Thank you, Eden, for encouraging a discussion around this topic.

I, like others, leaned toward Montblanc and I have found them of average quality and, as you say, too ubiquitous.

Details like this are essential to the elegant, understated gentleman and I have yet to identify a writing instrument that balances reserve and refinement. For utility I rely on a large collection of Pilot G2 pens, trustworthy but unromantic.

le.gentleman: please do provide details to those vendors of great vintage fountain pens.

Thanks to this discriminating exchange of ideas I have discovered Montegrappa, highly worthy of further investigation.

Anthony

[le.gentleman]

Here a demonstration of a flexible nib!

[BirdofSydney]

That is very interesting indeed. I discover, upon taking delivery yesterday, that Visconti's nibs are relatively stiff. This is exacerbated by the fact that it seems to have come with a fine nib, with the broad to arrive later. I like the really fine needle-like nibs on some pens, but this one is neither here nor there.

So, I grit my teeth and wait, wait for the part to ship, possibly from as far as Italy.

In the meantime, I love the look of the steel and gold Cross Townsend model. Not my favourite to write with, though...all the same, it may be my next. I'm most glad to see that I'm not alone in my new obsession.

Incidentally, here's what my new arrival looks like, for those who aren't familiar:



Kind regards,

Eden

[RWS]

A handsome pen, Eden, though I must say that I prefer older ones myself. I have bought new pens but find that I generally write with Parker 51s, needle-nibbed or broadly oblique.

[Guest]

I dropped my Dupont on asphalt, leaving a gauge in the clip. Colibri will charge about 100 dollars to replace the clip. I find this annoying, because the clip should be more resistant to such things. In any event, does nayone know of alternatives, cheaper sources for Dupont parts?

[jekarwoski]

Dr. Bresch, I have no personal experience with repairs in this shop, but you might want to try The Fountain Pen Hospital in New York http://www.fountainpenhospital.com/ They are
downtown, not far from City Hall.

They also carry many models of new pens, displayed in their catalog, and in the store itself, a large number of vintage pen (a quick look shows some on their site). I'm hardly an expert in these matters - what do our NY members think of this shop?

[uppercase]

I too like the Omas , with F nib, for its flexibility.
Unfortunately, it may have been too flexible, or I may be pressing too hard; somehow or another, the nib seems to have shifted off of its proper location; it needs a doctor at this point. But the heft and fine nib do indeed also make this my favorite fountain pen.
I've tried a number of fountain pens over the years - pelikan, dupont, monteblanc, montegrappa and aurora. But the Omas remains the best in my view, followed by the pelikan which is a steady, reliable, well built pen though not as racy as the Omas.
Unfortunately, with the omas out of commission, I am using a montegrappa roller ball, sin of sins to the pen fraternity, but it does its job and the ink doesn't dry up with regularity much as it always did with all of my fountain pens. I don't know if the drying up was caused by the dry climate, or the particular ink (though I used the makers ink in royal blue) but all the fountain pens did not flow properly after a while.

[RWS]

True, uppercase, ink may dry out of a pen more rapidly in drier climates. After using fountain pens for decades -- for most of my life -- in many different places, I must say that I'm most pleased with Parker's "Quink", which has the additional advantage of being widely available. Regrettably, though, the range of colors is now much reduced from even a few years ago.

[uppercase]

Yes, I have used quink and it does seem to flow better than other inks.
Still, in a dry climate, it seems the nib dries out with regularity , even though the piston is full, and the ink does not flowing again without alot of shaking of the pen, or dipping the nib back into the ink bottle. This issue has kept me away from using fountain pens for a while now, although, undoubtedly writing is much more satisfying with a fountain pen.

I don't know if anyone has found a solution to dry nibs; just when you need to write something, the ink won't flow and you've got to hunt for another pen or ask to borrow someone elses....so I reluctantly stopped carrying a fountain pen.

[BirdofSydney]

Yes, I have used quink and it does seem to flow better than other inks.
Still, in a dry climate, it seems the nib dries out with regularity , even though the piston is full, and the ink does not flowing again without alot of shaking of the pen, or dipping the nib back into the ink bottle. This issue has kept me away from using fountain pens for a while now, although, undoubtedly writing is much more satisfying with a fountain pen.

I don't know if anyone has found a solution to dry nibs; just when you need to write something, the ink won't flow and you've got to hunt for another pen or ask to borrow someone elses....so I reluctantly stopped carrying a fountain pen.

When confronted with this, I tend to unscrew the nib and twist the top of the converter just enough to up the pressure in the ink chamber and force the ink into the nib. I tend to do this two or three times per fill anyway, to keep a nice dark line.

My old pen had a quite broad and flat lid, so I simply sat it on its head on the table for long enough that gravity got it flowing, my present instrument does not, however.

Omas has probably the nicest nib I've ever used, flexible and generally brilliant. The barrel itself is generally far too light, and a tad colourful for my liking (an understatement, really!).

In terms of weight balance, I found the larger Caran D'Ache pens to be the best, they flare out a little and seem to have their weight concentrated just where your hand sits, so you can flick them easily around this fulcrum.

Alas, the difference between their cost and that of my Visconti was about as much as a decent pair of shoes...

Regards,

Eden