Typewriter Talk / The Official Fountain Pen Thread

**Posted by Spazmelda** 15-5-2015 15:56:16

JoeV wrote:
After replacing the nib, and a lesson in FP usage, she's been a happy FP user ever since. Though I do the ink refill for her, since ladies shouldn't be seen with FP ink on their delicate fingers (or so she says).

~Joe

Ha! Nice story. My son came home from school yesterday and grabbed the one lonely pilot fountain pen and wanted to write with it. Luckily I was there to swiftly grab it as it descended with great velocity towards the piece of paper on the kitchen counter. I gave him a quick instruction as to how much pressure to apply and barely saved it from a similar fate. I've already had one koh-I-nor fine nib ruined by an enthusiastic child, and those nibs ain't cheap at all!

It's a good thing I don't have delicate lady fingers, cause mine are always stained with something or other.

**Posted by retro** 15-5-2015 18:17:24

I suppose I am a fountain pen enthusiast, not sure really, just always used them and old habits die hard. At school we were taught how we had to hold our pens and had handwriting lessons. I don't so much collect them, more like I never threw any away. I have a few Parker pens including two 1960's Slimfolds, a Queensway, Stewart Conway, Waterman, Esterbrook with shorthand nib, Osmiroid with lefthanded nib, Watermans. In my younger youth I could not make up my mind which hand I wanted to write with so I used both. I still write the more personal letters with a fountain pen, the rest is what a typewriter is for.

**Posted by retro** 16-5-2015 18:53:19

Oh dear! This was supposed to be a picture of a fountain pen but my flickr refuses to play and I do not know how to remove this post, sorry about that.

Last edited by retro (16-5-2015 19:22:10)

**Posted by Spazmelda** 19-5-2015 06:39:29

My Lamy Safari arrived yesterday. Hm... Not super pleased with it at this point. It's comfortable to hold, but the nib sort of drags on the page. I've tried polishing it up a bit and used two different inks. It's not scratchy, but it doesn't 'glide' as the pilot nib does. Any fixes for this, or is that just what it's supposed to feel like?

**Posted by colrehogan** 19-5-2015 12:56:12

How did you try smoothing it? I've read about people using a brown paper bag, but haven't tried that myself.

**Posted by Spazmelda** 19-5-2015 13:19:18

That's what I tried, the paper bag.

**Posted by JoeV** 19-5-2015 16:45:53

My Safari isn't the smoothest writer in my small collection, but it has the positive attribute of being a fine point pen that writes very well on many types of paper, better even than my more costly Pelikan. I'm finding these pen properties are similar to typewriters, where they frequently come in two categories, good looking machines and good performing machines. The rarity is one that's both pretty and performs well.

With FPs, it's the rare pen that offers a fine tip, that doesn't skip easily, and is also smooth writing, all for a reasonable cost. For me, the Safari falls in that sweet spot, provided you can easily ignore a bit of scratchiness to its feel. Oh, and the body isn't that heavy in weight; I do like a heavier pen, though. Which is why they're so easy to collect, few check all the boxes in one's preference list.

~Joe

**Posted by Spazmelda** 19-5-2015 21:01:27

I did some more bag scribbling and its a little better now. It's a fine nib, and I just ordered an extra fine nib to try out.

**Posted by colrehogan** 20-5-2015 08:02:06

Most of my pens are broad. The fine or extra fine nibbed pens are fine for use at work on the paper there, but I prefer broader nibs for my personal writing.

**Posted by Spazmelda** 20-5-2015 10:00:44

I think I will eventually end up getting some different sizes. I'm interested in getting a flex nib. I've read mixed things about the Ahab, some say it's okay, some say it needs to be modified. Are there other options for a flex nib besides that one (other than dip)?