Does anyone use one?

I write a lot each day but since email etc my handwriting, which was never brilliant anyway, has got worse. I tend to write in block capitals in my clinical notes. It’s not unreadable but I’ve always been kinda jealous of people who have “nice” writing. Wondering if going back to a fountain pen might help and if so, is there a good budget brand I should look at? Parker? Lamy? Mont Blanc (ok just checking you were still reading). Assume ink dries quickly these days as being a lefty, I remember long smudges as my hand wiped over the letters!

Lefty and fountain pen lover here.

Can’t go wrong with Lamy for an everyday fountain pen, although if you don’t mind a fine nib (I find them too scratchy) then some of the Japanese stuff is brilliant.

My handwriting is still atrocious though…

Yes, for all notes and scrawlings. Daily pen is a Cross Townsend, but I have several vintage ones as well, Conway Stewart, Parker and Pelikan among others.

It certainly helps with handwriting, but it’s important to get a pen/nib that works with your writing style. Ink and paper combination can change the way it dries, as well as how smooth it is in use.

FWIW, I use Cross blue/black ink on whatever ring bound notebook is to hand without issue, as well as in my sadly dwindling stock of Moleskine notebooks (Ex employer changed logo, leaving boxes of them going spare! Most useful)

Despite my shocking handwriting (even in block capitals) I recently started using a fountain pen again. I find it very therapeutic and much nicer to write with than a ballpoint or gel pen.

I got one of the TWSBI Ecos which seemed nice and don’t use cartridges (less plastic waster, hurray) and can use it as an excuse to buy some outrageous coloured ink, which dries pretty fast (non-glittery ink is even faster). Can’t speak for lefties, but it’s a million miles away from the pens I used at school which were generally messy even for me as a right hander.

The Lamy Safaris are highly rated and you can get a converter to use bottled ink rather than cartridges too.

Yep lefty and fountain pen user here too.
I have lamy too, can’t use them for official docs but when I am making notes or writing drafts they are lovely

I teach and have used a Lamy pen for years, the students love it; teaching art we write lots of notes and feedback. Some staff use computers and cut and paste generic crap.

I use different coloured ink, red at the moment and its great when the new colour mixes with what’s in the nib.

Moleskines, thats another thread, always one on the go and I had an exhibition where I photocopied each page and hung them up; link below

http://schambers.co.uk/sketchbooks

http://schambers.co.uk/shows-and-exhibitions

FWIW, I use Cross blue/black ink on whatever ring bound notebook is to hand without issue, as well as in my sadly dwindling stock of Moleskine notebooks

Do you not have trouble with fountain pen ink bleeding through with moleskins? I gave up on fountain pens in my diary for that reason (although my handwriting is such a catastrophe I now use propelling pencils for everything anyway)

Got a Lamy for Christmas.
Its great for writing cards (I was making my own Christmas and now birthday cards).

Its environmentally good and one can change the ink colours.

Welcome home Flashy x

I have a Schneider iD fountain pen for everyday use. I like that is quite chunky. although my writing is still crap, it’s nice to use.

I got a Namisu Ixion via their Kickstarter campaign. They’re awful to deal with but make a very nice pen. I use Kaweco Purple ink in that one. It’s lovely. Bock nibs are a fine thing indeed!

Do you not have trouble with fountain pen ink bleeding through with moleskins?

I use the sketchbook version,which has really good paper and takes a good kicking; I know what you mean though.

Looky here:

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/posh-stationery-thread/

This thread has cost me £17.99!
Ive just ordered a Wordsworth & Black gift set.

I love using fountain pens. I have a Cross Townsend and a Mont Blanc cantrememberthemodel, both of which are over 25 years old and still going strong.
My handwriting is pretty bad but using a fountain pen makes me slow down and that makes it a bit more readable.

I use a fountain pen every day – a Graf von Faber Castell with Diamine ink (made just near Aintree in Liverpool). Kaweco sport pens are inexpensive and write nicely and pack down small. I used to use Lamy but found they only lasted a year or so before the clips broke and the cap would split.
For notebooks I alternate between Leuchtturm1917 and Rhodia always on gridded or dotted pages. Neither of these bleed as I use both sides of every page 😉

I have a couple of Lamy Accents in extra fine and a Lamy Dialog, which work for me as a leftie ( a quick drying ink and a fine nib are a good idea ). For Christmas I got a Pilot Capless fine, in matt black, which is lovely. That has lead me down the rabbit hole of buying both a Pilot Myu and Pilot Murex from Japan, which are even more lovely:

https://www.stutler.cc/pens/murex/index.html

There is a wealth of information on Youtube from an American retailer – Goulet Pens, and I am luckly, for ink supplies to be close ot Akkerman in The Hague, who do the most fantastic ink bottles:

https://www.vulpennen.nl/en/akkerman/p-1a/

In the UK Cultpens are very good indeed for breadth of stock and customer service:

https://www.cultpens.com/

I use fountain pens daily

I’ve got a Montblanc which was given to me by my work but as a daily affordable pen I use an amber Conklin Duragraph which was £40 when I got it and has a nice finish for the price

This is a Good shop to order from The Writing Desk

As mentioned above Diamine is great ink and made in blighty

I always use a fine nib which cuts down on ink bleed

Pfft, look at you using new fangled modern gadgetry. Quills are where it’s at.

A lamy whealding Lamy here too. A really a fancy Kaweco Steel Sport Fountain Pen at some point.

I’m an extra broad nib man.

I got a Cross Townsend from my dad for Christmas (I’m a teacher) and use it every day.

Handwriting was good but has improved! Really want some shimmery ink as linked up there now though…

With fountain pens I found that you have to be careful what paper you use.
the 90gsm stuff is ok but on a medium nib you get really wide lines.
I bought some lovely 120gsm stuff though and it feels amazing to write on. With fine or med nibs

Lamy user here too, used them for years.  Still fancy a Rotring 600 fountain pen, if I can find one for less than the price of a functioning kidney

I started using one on a whim about 9 years ago. Nowadays I wouldn’t be without one, but I have to make a point of setting time aside to write.

I have only ever used Lamys. My first one was a lovely metal one but the catch on the lid gradually wore away until it no longer stayed in place. Built in obsolescence? Anyway it was a sad day when I had to replace it. I stick to the studio now.

I love my lamy accent, the ring of wood for a grip makes it feel really nice.
this thread has cost me though as I have just ordered some refillable cartridges and ink to get me through the lock down

Rapidly coming to the conclusion that alongside Audi/VW/Skoda and having a gas BBQ that fountain pens are the other STW thing!
I don’t have the car, but do have a collection of Lamy pens. The studio is my go to at the moment, but the Lamy 2000 EF fountain pen coupled with a Moleskine hard notebook is the best combo ever.
This thread has also made me look at pens I have not done in a while and I am now looking at the current lamy range with expensive birthday urges.

Imported Diplomat here

Oh, forgot about the rotring 600. I bought one about 25 years ago. Never worked properly. Wonder where I put it.
I quite like the Tombow zoom 101 as well. Although the cap on my previous pen debonded which was disappointing.

I have a fountain pen I use for writing cards and the very occasional letter that I got through a Kickstarter campaign, trouble is I can’t remember who makes it! It’s a lovely pen, though, very smooth and sleek and fairly heavy. It doesn’t have a clip on the lid, though, so it’s really a desk pen.
The rest of the time I use cheap retractable ball pens, or Sharpies, or I have several Tombow pens that use a pump action to enable a Space Pen-like function.

ahhh…wish I hadn’t starting reading this. Back in the day I had a Parker tortoise shell (yes I know but it was 1984) – purchased on staff discount from WH Smith as a Saturday lad – and had always wanted a Parker Falcon when I was in school. Damn, I’m going to have to start deciding what to get as I now deffo need one.

Jinhao pens are pretty good for less than a tenner, they usually come with a converter for bottled ink.

Cross Apogee was a real disappointment. Scratchy and frequent blockages despite trying different inks and nibs.

Pilot Capless pens have such a nice nib and are very practical. Good warranty support too.

TWSBI diamond 580 is my current favourite. The barrel is the ink reservoir do it writes for days without refilling, and has a nice nib. Also good warranty support.

Lamy pens always feel a bit stiff to me.

Cheap modern parker pens always fail for me, the lid does not stay on.

I have a kaweco sport. I like the idea of a compact pen. It writes well. The design depends on you posting the lid on to the body. I found the lid is always inky and it transfers to the body and then my hand. I don’t use it much any more.

Diamine ink comes in so many colours. However it seems a bit inconsistent and doesn’t always flow well. Most bottles are good, the odd one blocks my pens more than usual.

If you want to try a fountain pen without spending much get a Platinum Preppy. They write extremely well, way better than they have any right to at the price. If you like it get something fancier if you want. I’ve got a few and use them all the time. Use refillable adaptors. Often use them in preference to a fancier option. Really like a TWSBI ECO too.

@CountZero – Namisu Orion?

@ElShalamo – could be, I honestly can’t remember. I do love its heft, and the fact it’s so clean and unfussy. It fills with a screw arrangement which I really like, but it can be a bit fussy about the sort of surface it writes on, it can skip a bit on some paper.
I’ll have a bit of a dig around and see if I can go back far enough in my Kickstarter history and find out what it is.
Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll look them up, and see if there’s a connection.
😁

Found it! It’s a Trilogy Zerø, very similar to the Orion, the main difference is the Orion has three circumferential grooves at the nib end. They both use Bock nibs and the Schmidt K5 converter.
https://www.trilogypens.com/zero#new-page

Just a final point, the other difference between the Zerø and the Orion is the latter has slightly conical ends, the Zerø’s are flat, the Zerø can stand on its end if you want!

@CountZero – that’s a lovely pen

Thank you, I really don’t use it as much as I’d like, but I have little need to do much writing, I’ve never been one to keep journals or anything like that, which it would be ideal for.
Really glad I’ve got it, if it had been more expensive I’d have passed, but it was only about £50 on the Kickstarter promotion, so irresistible.

Pilot capless, if you can find one get a fermo, they are very nice

Drive a Mazda

£17.99 from Amazon.
Lovely feel and weight and writes lovely.
Came with 3 black / 3 blue cart’s and a convertor for ink.
I’d call that good value.

Think I’ll get me a Lamy. I did have a nice SS pen but as usual, you leave it on a desk and thru go walkies. Bloody nurses/doctors/allied health.

(dud check out a couple of ti pens…. Hnmm)

@derek_starship – is that an Italix pen? I’ve seen reviews of them on the web

Parker 51