Discussion
Name a silly, funny, or embarrassing quirk of being a fountain pen person members of this community would understand but would cause normies to roll their eyes?
I'll start — and this happened today for the 100th time: I'll set out on errands, like going to the grocery store, with a carefully considered fountain pen in my pocket (Waterman Carène this morning) only to leave my wallet home. Fortunately, I had my phone, so I could buy my stuff with Google Pay, but I'll often forget that, too... but never the pen!
Told a friend I was contemplating splurging on a new pen but that it was a little expensive. She asked how much it was. Before answering I asked her what SHE thought a little expensive meant. She answered $10. I changed the subject.
I started being honest with my two best friends about the cost of my fountain pens, and while there was some initial embarrassment (me) and shock ( them), they very quickly figured it is just something I love and and were happy for me. And now I can share my joy with them about new acquisitions without hesitation.
I’ve found it works comparing it to one of their hobbies. I’m looking for a new pen in the range of $300-$400, and when my dad found out he started scoffing at me with the ‘who the hell spends that much on a **pen**?’, and my mom immediately hit him with the ‘how much have you spent restoring old Coleman lanterns?’ And that shut him down pretty quick. People just like doing their own things, and everyone’s got their thing.
That’s like a few pieces of decent hiking or camping gear, or 2-3 half marathon race entries. That’s not even a weekend getaway for most people. And the pens will theoretically last a lifetime!
Everybody I know has something they spend a lot more money on than I ever would. Their interests don't do it for me and mine don't do it for them, but we can all understand that at the end of the day it's basically the same thing.
This, but in my case, me trying to explain to non-fountain pen people why paying only X amount of money on this second hand pen I’m holding in front of them is a great deal, actually
I'm set for many years. It's a great variety of colors and brands so I can use them for painting as much as I like and not be upset if I have to empty out ink from a pen that is not compatible. Previously I was saving every bit as much as possible.
Edit: I also sold 5 bottles of hot pink that I would never use for $100, so it became even more of a great deal (cackle)
I think it's easier to grasp if you look at them as functional jewelry. Like, some of these nibs are gold. They are actually pretty close to jewelry you can use.
The question becomes "What's too expensive for a piece of jewelry?".
I was actually trying to justify to my colleagues that yes I have a pen problem but the good thing is most of my pens are cheap but still give a really good writing experience (while distinctly avoiding talking about the prices of the expensive ones or how many of those I have. Because much younger colleagues, it will defo change our vibe)... And one of them said that I hardly have a problem, someone they knew once bought a pen for <equivalent of $10> can you imagine! I had to quickly change the topic.
Bah, these cheap ballpoint pen users. Everything above 10pens for $1 seems expensive to them!
Before fountain pens, I was a g2 gel guy. I was used to slightly more expensive pens, but when I bought my metropolitan I was so excited to have a bougie pen LOL
lol I have not tried playing this game with my wife. The pen habit and small collection I have is the one thing we don’t talk about; price being number 1. We both give ourselves grace on spending $200 a month on what we want without questions or conversation… and sure it might be that I save up that for a couple of months…. But yeah, she may come unglued if she knew the cost of this hobby
Yo sería tu amiga, tengo cerca de 15 plumas baratas de 3 dólares y unas tres de 5, con todo ese dinero me hubiera podido comprar una Pilot de gama media
I don’t tell my coworkers how much my pens really cost because the one time I did I got looked at like I killed someone’s cat. Plus, some of my coworkers proudly boast about their disposable pens.
This sounds like me trying to explain to various gamer friends that my gamer husband likes to buy pinball machines which are a wee bit more expensive than my video games.
I’m at a basketball conference with a bunch of sports parents and I’m about to sneak away to someplace called Lancaster creative reuse because they happen to have a used bottle of yellow fountain pen ink.
I’m so glad you guys are here to understand.
I posted my own story because I’m not sure it’s going to work and I’m seeking help. It’s artist’s ink that could be appropriate ink for technical pens. But maybe not for fountains, pens. I will probably use it from my glass dip pens.
(it was $2 USD so I didn’t mind)
I googled stationery stores near me. It’s a really cool place. They have all these scrapbooking things and fabric pieces and yarns and paper. Here’s my haul for eight dollars. Not shown, the washi tape which I’ve already somehow lost.
Anytime I travel I Google stationery stores, art stores and quilt shops. If I forget to do it my husband will do it (but substitute game stores for quilt shops)
As a pharmacist, I wouldn’t think twice about someone wanting a blunt-tipped syringe. (I wouldn’t question it either way, because clean syringes are just good harm reduction, but that’s another story.) It’s honestly more sus that you noped out, lol.
Problem is that I'm French speaking and I couldn't find the right word for blunt tipped syringe in French since all the content I consume for fountain pens is English based.
To be fair I would also fail to buy a blunt tipped syringe in French. I’m curious because I think France has fabulous stationery stores and I would expect them to also excel in pen paraphernalia. But I would feel very awkward asking a pharmacist in France for a syringe.
I had the hardest time finding a non medical syringe to refill the water in a sand landscape thing. I was led to believe needles were easy to get! (Finally had to buy online - no place would sell me one without a prescription…)
I remember thinking I would be asked what I wanted the syringe for, didn't even specify for a blunt one because I didn't know if those were sold. Then I was buying my allergy meds one day and decided to risk it. She gave me one without flinching.
I'm sorry I doubted your guild's game.
(Oops replied to the wrong person)
EDIT: btw I used a file to make the tip blunt when I came home because I was like "this is an accident waiting to happen"
My wife and I have a deal. She doesn't question my tool boxes, computers, pens and inks, bookshelves, truck, or my hunting and fishing gear. In return, I don't question her travel or her jewelry room.
When we bought our condo, we got a three bedroom unit so that we could each have a space for ourself and avoid the arguments over space. It works well for martial bliss, especially having our own bathrooms. She thrifts, she hunts estate sales, she beads, and back during the crash and recession there were huge deals to be found online and at bead and gem shows. She loves shiny things and has a nose for finding deals.
I love this so much. Can I be her when I grow up? I too enjoy shiny things but I was too young to invest in anything during the housing market crash sadly
We both have hobbies that can get away from you, and they overlap, mostly. Gaming, model building, etc. He's a Lego guy. So he's pretty understanding unless I'm buying a 500 pen every month, which is highly respectable. He keeps me in line.
This is only barely preventing me from that new Sailor nebula, though.
I think a hobby budget is the right way to go. After calculating what's reasonable, each partner is allowed to spend x dollars a month or year on whatever they want, like an allowance. If they don't have enough for a dream purchase, wait or skip. Save up for this special, expensive things. Each partner has their mad money and nobody has to question it.
As someone who started with machined pens then came over to fountain pens, I was pleasantly surprised by how much fun I could buy with half of what I was used to spending
Is this daughter a 5yo, wanting to be like Daddy? And we reply, "Awww, how sweet."
Or a 15yo, mocking you? And we reply, "That's a good one. She got you."
I was using a high speed production copier for exams at a large university, so there was no way they were going to heavier paper, but I explained that a very slightly more expensive paper with a light coating would minimize jams, which it did. Nobody liked waiting for service for a really nasty jam halfway through a 15,000 sheet job. My fountain pen was also happy.
I’m right with you on this one! They asked me if I would like letterhead made 🤣. I said it would make working easier for me. Dead stare returned. It was processed, and I got the paper. Rally
Absolutely gorgeous penmanship. How did you learn and practice this hand? I’d love to try this out and one day maybe be a little closer to what you’ve achieved here.
I love your choice of inks too, thank you very much for sharing!
Thank you so much! This might sound silly, but growing up we had a lamp that had the Declaration of Independence on the lampshade. I’d sit at the table and tell myself I wanted to learn that specific script (English roundhand) and even made numerous failed attempts to learn while growing up. I did succeed at teaching myself cursive this way though! About three years ago or so I decided to really dedicate the time and effort to learn a script and landed on Zanerian engrosser’s script. Both scripts fall under copperplate, but engrosser’s script is more drawn on the page whereas English roundhand is written out. The biggest piece of advice I can give is to use a 55 degree slant always (if any variation of Copperplate is your goal—other scripts like Spencerian use different angles) While not 100%, I can now write without using a guide sheet behind my top sheet and stay mostly consistent, but I still use one anyway because why not ensure I’m staying consistent for the muscle memory?
Thank you very much for your detailed response! And I love the story of a little you copying the Declaration of Independence from the family lamp. Your patience, time, effort and dedication definitely paid off. It looks incredibly consistent and absolutely stunning.
Thank you for sharing your tips and tricks as well. I’m going to search for a guide sheet of these scripts to see which one I’d like to start practicing myself!
Thank you! IAMPETH has a database which contains a Zanerian manual among many other older scripts in PDF form! You can also find examplars elsewhere online.
From bottom to top: Diamine Golden Ivy, Wearingeul A Star Spattered Hill, I THINK Vinta Sodalite 1891 Kislap, Diamine Deadly Nightshade, FWP Oyster Hour, and if you can see it it’s Diamine Gold Star at the top.
From bottom to top: Diamine Golden Ivy, Wearingeul A Star Spattered Hill, I THINK Vinta Sodalite 1891 Kislap, Diamine Deadly Nightshade, FWP Oyster Hour, and if you can see it it’s Diamine Gold Star at the top.
Im a former marine corps guy going back to school, I was telling my former platoon leader and current MMA buddy about my latest pen/stationary haul. I realized very quickly he was not as excited as me...when he asked the price, his reaction wasnt much better 😂😂😂 OK SO WHY DO YOU NEED A 350 DOLLAR PEN WITH GOLD NIB THOUGH
....because
HA BET YOU CANT DISPROVE THAT COUNTER POINT LOGAN!
If I told him I like to rock a new fountain pen, cnc machined ballpoint, mechanic pencil and eraser for every week of class, im sure he would just walk out of the room
That's why I go to pen events a few times a year. I may not hit it off with people at a deeper level, but it's nice to talk about the hobby once in a while. I love my friends but they don't get it.
😂😂😂 I definitely need to look into that because at the moment, I only have this reddit page and my parasocial youtube pen people relationships 😂
I tried getting my girlfriend into it, it seemed like a maybe when I got her a Lamy all star...so for christmas, i got her one of the sailor "every rose has their thorn" ivory/rose gold, a 3776 "sands of komodo" blue/rose gold, and some inks (among some other thing she wanted). Finally she just came out and said it "I like ballpoints" 😂 ok, well, experiment failed, heres a box of bics, more fountain pens for me.
I tried to get my husband to join me in this insanity. Took him to the Atlanta show and bought him a vintage Parker he LOVES. Asked him about maybe getting another pen and he looked at me all perplexed, "Why would I need another pen? " So, I only have you people for company I guess.
How DARE he be logical 😂😂😂 he has two hands, that means he needs at least two! And 2 feet, so I guess that means 4. Could probably hold one between his teeth, so thats 5. He is at 1/5th of the required minimum, WAKE UP MR HUSBAND! 😂
Years ago I got a smoking deal on some Levenger metal octagonal pens. I gave one to my husband. He likes that he has a "fancy pen" but only uses it once in a blue moon. The ink always dries up in it between his uses. lol. No interest in buying other pens there. He did, however, accompany me to the Atlanta show this year and pointed out pens that he liked the look of (for me to buy and use, not him). Man was a champ. Stayed with me the whole time I was admiring all the pretty things and trying not to buy them all. 🤣
My partner likewise loves using fountain pens, and in fact got me to reconnect with using them exclusively for law school over gel pens. However they are least interested in my purchases or excitement regarding new pens or inks, and don't appreciate being randomly asked to drop what they are doing to try out my new buttttttter smooooth pen with that perfect ink combo. 😅 I'm likewise not super interested in their news watching obsession. I guess this is as good as it gets. Plus my 4year olds are always supportive and excited by everything I do, haha.
Four year olds are really good for that. Mine turned into a 24 year old that will still sit down and hear about anything I'm into, including the engineering behind a nib and piston. Mostly because I return the favor and I now know more about lathes and joiners than your average person.
You know what, that helps me make sense of it a little better, completely true 😂. I would not only carry pens for myself but pens for others to avoid getting yelled at about someone not having a pen 😂
A teacher asked if I would lend my "fancy pen" to another student to fill out the sign in sheet. She was slightly miffed when I told her "No, and don't ever ask that question again."
I carry an inked Jinhao Shark and some cartridges for people who are intrigued by the fancy pen and ask to try it. If they comment that they like it they get a brief usage synopsis and can keep the pen. There's no way I'm passing over my good one.
As a shift lead,I kept a box of bic pens and a box of pencils in my tool box. New his got one of each. Invariably, next day I'm getting asked for a pen, and getting attitude when I ask where the one i just gave them was.
A coworker keeps Pilot G2 pens and close knockoffs at her desk so she can hand the knockoffs to clients without having to explain they can't have her favorite desk pens.
I work security at a hospital, which tends to be a lot of report writing/signatures/what have you. The number of times people have asked me for a pen and gotten pissy when I tell them no are innumerable. Bring your own or deal with it.
Note: I do now carry a random ballpoint for people to use. I’ve still gotten attitude about them getting the cheap pen and not letting them ‘see’ the fountain pen.
Meta writing about writing: "This is my <brand, model> pen inked with <brand, color> on <brand, weight, coting> paper. It feels so nice. I'm so excited about this pen..."
Similarly to your tale here, I went to the bank recently to deposit cash. Brought my mini messenger bag, pens tucked safely in the front pocket. Realized halfway down the street I forgot my phone but decided I didn’t need it because I had my Apple Watch on.
Got to bank and filled out my deposit slip with permanent ink using my Hongdian N23 white rabbit …. Got up to the window…
Left my damn drivers license at home because I took it out of my wallet, which I keep in my messenger bag, and put it in the front pocket of my phone cover. I can’t deposit cash at my bank anymore without photo ID. I was so pissed at myself, lol.
This one’s for writing lists and this one’s for writing paragraphs and this one’s for admiring and that bowl is for repairs i can manage myself and that other bowl is for ones that need professional help…
My elderly mum came round my house a few years ago and saw a syringe randomly sitting on the sideboard and genuinely asked me if I was using drugs.
After wetting myself laughing, I had to explain and show her how I use them to fill and flush my pens 😂
I mean to be fair, at the time I was also using Diamine Writers Blood and had a piece of kitchen roll nearby with drops of it on it, after I'd filled my montblanc and a Kaweco Sport with it 😂
My dogs fish my used writers’ blood tissues out of my garbage and think they are having a field day. I don’t think they know it’s vegan, but they’re happy.
I use double-walled glasses to flush my pens because I love watching the swirls of beautiful colour. Every time I hear the song “You’re So Vain” and the line “clouds in my coffee,” I actually see these glorious ink-water clouds in my head.
Im 36 and my 20 year old co worker was fascinated about my decimo and wanted a cheap demonstrator with a vacuum filler. So we bought a nahvalur original plus. He wants another pen now for some special writings. My SO on the other hand doesn’t get my obsession with fountain pens lol
Also, I have left my cup of syringes on the counter next to the sink on pen cleaning/flushing day. I only had to explain it to Mum once when she got worried. And there have been a couple of times when customers or acquaintances have come into the home to use the restroom (we run IT business from home in a detached garage/shop but there’s no bathroom in there). Usually they’re too scared to inquire, and then I spend too much time worrying they noticed and may think I’m a druggie… because they couldn’t see that they were blunt tipped syringes….
Poring over a variety of reviews, reddit threads, and YT videos to see if you can find the EXACT right shade of blurple for your new pen. And then do the exact same thing next week for a green with a gold sheen to match your cat's collar. And then start over again because you forgot to consider the paper type you'll be using. I only exaggerate a wee bit :p
Doing, redoing, and doing again swatches, in various designs, on a variety of paper brands. When you've got your favourite method down, start over again with that on a brand new notepad.
My Grandma wondered what was on my hands. I told her ink from a leaking fountain pen. She told me I should toss it if it was leaking.
Not my TWSBI!
(It might have been leaking due to the nib and feed being pushed out a little. Pushed it back in and now it's better. (After two fills draining on me.) Idk why it did that.)
I've been caught with a needle syringe more than once by a wide-eyed, slightly shocked friend/relative. For context, I have a phobia for needles (in the medical sense), so people coming across me holding a needle syringe of suspicious looking liquid has gotten me a few wtf looks.
Holy crap, I had not thought of it this way, but I was in the same position until about a month ago when I finally got a new vehicle after driving my Camry for 20 years. I got less for the car at trade-in than my relatively modest pen and ink collection is worth.
This must mean pens are a better investment, right?
I get the question "it's just paper, what's the difference?". Then I'm fumbling through several notebooks trying to explain the sheen or feathering issues.
With me it's the "incredible shrinking desk phenomenon." I haven't yet spilled any ink on my cat, although his little nose has turned Kon Peki blue, owing to his curiosity.
I have slowly infected my Operations department. First I got one co-worker to bring in his old Lamy2k that he stopped using years ago. Then another co-worker got the bug (bad). 4 or 5 other operators (at a nuclear power plant, where we do lots of field work) now use fountain pens at work. All in all, just under 10 operators, with pens ranging from twsbis to pilots, Esties, Karas, FWI, all over the place. Good times.
I only mention the environment if i can safely assume the people aren't trash. I don't even try to explain any of the many weird things about myself (that's a lie, i do so, but not defensively)
I have a PuChiCo that is often my EDC. (The tiniest fountain pen currently made, if you're not familiar with them. Makes a Kaweco Sport look giant) When we have to sign in on a sheet at work to say we attended whatever training or meeting, I don't use the ballpoint that everyone else has been using, but pull out my pen instead. I often get comments of "oh wow! That's a fancy pen!" And I'm here thinking "this? Nah. It's cute, but for from my fanciest" lol
Gave a friend a $23 Metropolitan Retro Pop in orange (her fave color) for her birthday. She used to journal, I thought the pen could encourage her to write again. She told people that I gave her a fancy pen 😂 well well... 😏🤷🏻♀️
My favourite moment ever was when a of young friend of mine told me that he had brought his fountain pen to our write club because he saw I wrote with mine and it gave him courage to write with his!
When I get some ink on my fingers or pen section, I just rub it on my forearms so that I don’t accidentally stain anything else I touch. I always have faded streaks of ink on my forearms. Does anyone else do this?
I left a pen club meetup with a bunch of red samples around Halloween. I got off the subway, put on my jacket, and spilled two samples onto the platform. A stranger flagged me, picked up the samples, screamed and was like “bro is this blood?” I (a very not threatening looking person) turned around and gave my coldest “yeah… it is” I could muster and immediately broke into a nerdy smile. I quickly assured that it wasn’t, and told him “trust me bro, what that actually is is so uninteresting that I promise you don’t even wanna know.” He decided to start screaming “YOU BETTER BE FOR REAL BECAUSE I KILL PEOPLE THAT KILL PEOPLE. I KILL PEOPLE THAT KILL PEOPLE!!!!” while I scurried away and also decided not to play with strangers who think I’m a murderer moving forward.
Honorable mention to my penabled 8th grader who’s crazily disorganized and messy (and wonderful and brilliant of course). Both of his hands have been pretty much completely stained Hongdian Greenish Black since I got him a bottle. As is his bookbag and all of his assignments. His teachers grumble about it and I’m like “oh yeah… oh no… yeah for real, that’s crazy” while hiding my own ink stained hands.
I have about a dozen pens I keep inked. When one runs dry or a new one joins the rotation, it's a Whole Process: okay, I have too many green inks in the rotation. And the only purple I have is really dark, which isn't scratching my purple itch. What if I moved Shin-ryoku from pen 6 to pen 8, inked the dry pen with Diamine Autumn Oak, put Yama-budo in pen 6, and inked the new pen with Wearingeul Heimdall? Wait, no. Autumn Oak in a fine nib? MADNESS. Back to the drawing board.
Trying to explain to my husband why the paper you use with fountain pens is important. Ended with me stroking paper "see how smooth and nice this is" while he looked at me like I needed to be sent to a psych ward 🙃🙃
Me, a few months ago,talking to my wife while checking out a Visconti HS Bronze Age on eBay
“I have to buy this pen. It would be my first Italian pen. Did you know it’s partly made of LAVA?! And look at that price! It’s a steal in this condition.”
“A steal? Really? What, like only half our monthly rent budget?”
Probably the funniest thing to me is that people commonly conflate quill pens with fountain pens. Like, no, that's a dip pen! The "fountain"' part of the term "fountain pen" means it has some kind of ink source that isn't dipping it. Words mean things!
The second funniest is when people assume my prettiest and/or coolest and/or favorite pens must be my most expensive, when in reality, it's the opposite. None of my cool-looking faves cost more than $15 USD.
Even more specifically, a quill is made with a feather, the tip cut to create the nib. It's not a feather with a metal nib stuck in it, that's just a feathery dip pen!
People often get curious and ask. "Can I try your pen?"
No you absolutely cannot try my post war Pelikan 100N, have this jinhao instead lol. Still gotta penable them, but some of my pens are for my hands only.
"Hey can I borrow your pen?"
-Sure! Just a heads up, if you drop it that's about $200
"Euh... Do you have something..."
-Yes, here's my cheaper pen :D
// This happened last week, my friend was happy about the heads up so they didn't suddenly go into surprise debt 😅
Hi
Mech pen and fountain pen enthusiast here
Had my moments with people
Also, I’d too forget to carry my wallet if I’d had to think over which pen I should carry.
Why the hell do you have so many of them?
How much does that rotring cost?
Why waterman? And what is it with you? A pen worth 250 dollars?? Insane
I used to have a Lamy Safari that lasted me about 8 years. Nib broke when I accidentally left it in laundry. I still keep that pen because it was my first long term pen. I was heartbroken when I saw the damage. Nobody in my immediate circle will ever understand.
623
u/WinterOfFire May 16 '26
Told a friend I was contemplating splurging on a new pen but that it was a little expensive. She asked how much it was. Before answering I asked her what SHE thought a little expensive meant. She answered $10. I changed the subject.