The pleasure of fine things

[PARA45]

When I was single, I bought two Breitling watches; a Super Ocean that has been my everyday wear since I bought it and an Aerospace with Titanium and bit of gold, and this is my "Sunday" watch. This is as far as my "fine or expensive" taste goes. My wife also knowing how much I like watches, bought me two Movado watches.

Oh wait, and does owning a Blaser R8 counts as fine things?

 

[mdwest]

How, the ink doesn't dry immediately and then not only smears but gets all over my hand. Are you talking about a completely different hold, where the hand is higher with the pen reaching all the way downward?

Try some of the fast drying inks… for whatever reason, blue ink seems to dry faster then black .. and there are companies that make inks that purposefully dry faster for lefties and/or other smear risks…

Noodles brevity blue completely dries in something like 8 seconds and is pretty smear proof in about 3-4…

https://www.jetpens.com/Noodler-s-Brevity-Blue-Ink-3-oz-Bottle/pd/16578

I’m a lefty over writer… even a basic roller ball is a smear risk for me… I’ve just learned to adjust my hand a bit when using a fountain pen, and combine that with quality fast drying inks (usually sticking with blue, etc etc)…

 

[Tanks]

I write left handed and abhor fountain pens since I would drag my hand thru the ink.

Funny how one learns things. This didn't make sense to me. I wrote a few sentences and realized that I am an "underwriter" as mentioned in a post above. Had to Google the term.

In elementary school we had a cursive writing class. A pen with a nib, and an ink well where we dipped the nib into the ink periodically to write the letters. I must have learned to be an underwriter then in order not to make a mess of my hands and the school uniform.

 

[Inkgardener]

Funny how one learns things. This didn't make sense to me. I wrote a few sentences and realized that I am an "underwriter" as mentioned in a post above. Had to Google the term.

I just had to do the same thing after reading the last few posts. Apparently, when I taught myself to write left handed 20+ years ago, I did it as an underwriter.

Now I need to polish up, and with my fountain pen at that.

 

[Whit]

Own a pair of Saddleback's officer boots. Handcrafted in Italy, and not cheap. But the comfort is extraordinary, with the Munson design and steel shank. I do not imagine requiring a new pair of dress boots for at least another decade.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

Funny how one learns things. This didn't make sense to me. I wrote a few sentences and realized that I am an "underwriter" as mentioned in a post above. Had to Google the term.

In elementary school we had a cursive writing class. A pen with a nib, and an ink well where we dipped the nib into the ink periodically to write the letters. I must have learned to be an underwriter then in order not to make a mess of my hands and the school uniform.

lol - Being the product of rural Appalachian public schools, I was lucky to be taught cursive at all. And lefties were treated like anomalies. We were tolerated but no effort went into training. Later in life, somebody tried to correct me but my habits were too set by then. In engineering school, I learned to take notes with a pencil since at least that would wash off later. It became a part of my learning process. I will take notes even today and never look at them again but will recall all of it on demand when needed. When laptop PC's came along, I tried note taking on the pc but it does not spark my intellect the same way, so I went back to field notes if it is something I may need to learn.

 

[Tanks]

In engineering school, I learned to take notes with a pencil since at least that would wash off later.

Speaking of engineering school and lefties. One of the required courses was engineering drafting. It had a drafting arm and ruler designed for right handers as seen below. All homework and exams took that into account, I had to use a t-square etc.. Needless to say, I was slower than everyone else, dropped that course every year until it was no longer a requirement in my last year.

 

[mdwest]

Speaking of engineering school and lefties. One of the required courses was engineering drafting. It had a drafting arm and ruler designed for right handers as seen below. All homework and exams took that into account, I had to use a t-square etc.. Needless to say, I was slower than everyone else, dropped that course every year until it was no longer a requirement in my last year.

View attachment 727625

I remember a very similar desk very well.. but from High School...

My school had a lot of sort of off the wall majors and minors available to students (it was an experimental school.. we housed the city's high school radio station that was 100% run by students, had a planetarium on campus, houses the city's high school television station, etc..etc....

One of the somewhat odd options for students to get was a minor in "drafting".. you had to take 4 semesters of various drafting classes to get the minor.. I had no real intention of getting into architecture or engineering, but I really enjoyed the course(s).. the teacher was one of the very few HS instructors I had that actually cared about her work and the students (inner city Memphis schools werent exactly known for high quality teaching staff in the 70's and 80's)... and it was the sort of work where you didnt really have to "study" much or do hardly any homework as long as you were skilled enough to complete the tasks assigned during class and pass the tests and the practical exercises..

Also a lefty.. it was a HUGE PIA to have to use equipment that was 100% designed for right hand use.. and since we were talking HS classes there was no way in hell the school or my parents were going to spend the sort of money it would have taken to buy all RH equipment necessary to complete the classes..

 

[cwpayton]

My drafting class [high school] required us to design a house. I designed a round rotating house that would take in sunsets and sunrises from the same room. the instructor was not amused and gave me a barely pass. later my friend told me some famous basket ball player built one similar. I was offered a walk on scholarship to to southern Mo. university [partial till I made the varsity] in wrestling , but walked away from it because I had a fairly good job. probably because of my grades. a mistake, in hind site. I worked on the apollo moon batteries for eagle pitcher IND. and then hired on to Teledyne and worked on the J 59 jet engines till Vietnam ended, was layed off. back to sguare 1 , thats when the military looked real good, the JIMMIE Carter malaise economy. Never did need those drafting skills. so having grown up dirt poor I didnt have to rise to the very top echelon to feel very fortunate and blessed . most of my fine things are " experienced " I like wood and steel and leather keep 2 saddles in the house just to enjoy looking at. also my rem 7mm mag and my 03A3 1943 both serve me well.

 

[Saul]

I am glad to see so many fountain pen users. While quite the rarity now, whenever I see someone take out a fountain pen at a meeting, I know we will be fast friends.

I do not have problems with ink smearing, but my mother was also rather unforgiving when it came to penmanship.

 

[Nyati]

Part of my Fountain Pens collection, Yes, I do enjoy the finer things in life, but my tastes are much above my finantial possibilities.

I love Aston Martin´s but drive a Toyota.

Watches are also my weakness, but I have to be satisfied with mid level IWC, Rolex, Breitling and Omega Sport watches, instead of Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe, Bancpain, Jaeger le Coultre, and such.

Anyway, as I get older, I find I value experiences more than owning "things".

 

[Whit]

Speaking of fountain pens, I am interested in purchasing one. The goal would be a quality pen, something I could use for at least twenty years, if not a lifetime, but at a reasonable price point. No idea where to begin...

Concur with the value of experiences over possessions. Unless an item will receive daily use or may suffice for a lifetime (i.e. a high-quality wallet, belt, shoes, jacket), I'd rather have the photos.

 

[rookhawk]

Speaking of fountain pens, I am interested in purchasing one. The goal would be a quality pen, something I could use for at least twenty years, if not a lifetime, but at a reasonable price point. No idea where to begin...

Concur with the value of experiences over possessions. Unless an item will receive daily use or may suffice for a lifetime (i.e. a high-quality wallet, belt, shoes, jacket), I'd rather have the photos.

I'm not sure if you want a literal fountain pen or a practical, very nice pen? My favorite pen ever is the Monte Blanc Meisterzuck Le Grande Rollerball. That's the smoothest pen I've found and is very practical. I enjoy using the royal blue ink in it.

I have not used the fountain nib version of that pen so I defer to better pen experts. I will say the Le Grande (oversized) line is much more comfortable to write with than their normal size.

 

[mdwest]

Whats your budget?

Mont Blanc is sort of the gold standard.. its the writing instrument everyone will recognize, know what it is, etc.. They are a fine pen IMO, but are a little bit overpriced I think.. but they can pull that price because they are far and away the best known and most recognizable brand in quality fountain pens..

That said, there are several options that are equally if not even nicer IMO (a lot of this is driven by taste) that can be had at a similar price point.. I particularly like Visconti.. They are made in Florence, Italy and have a more "Italian:" flair to them..

Pelikan, Aspinal, Waterman and a few other brands offer quality instruments that are typically at least 1 to 2 steps down in price from Mont Blanc or Visconti..

There are some great options in terms of writing quality that are very reasonably affordable from parker, lamy, and others..

I stacked up quite a collection of really nice old, vintage parkers and other pens for peanuts just watching auction sites like hibid and ebay at different times....

Its easy to spend north of $1K on a pen if thats what you want to do.. Ive got a couple of pens that new would retail pretty close to that number.. but, truthfully, you can find yourself a pen that will write really well, be comfortable in the hand, look nice, etc.. for well under $100 if you are willing to go vintage and take some time searching... and a brand new Lamy Safari is just $37 from the Lamy website, and is IMO the best "starter" fountain pen on the market at a price point that makes it affordable to everyone... I have several Lamy's that I use all the time.. I bet Ive accumulated a dozen or more of them over the years between my wife and I (I got her into using fountain pens probably 10 years ago and bought her several as well)..

 

[rookhawk]

Whats your budget?

Mont Blanc is sort of the gold standard.. its the writing instrument everyone will recognize, know what it is, etc.. They are a fine pen IMO, but are a little bit overpriced I think.. but they can pull that price because they are far and away the best known and most recognizable brand in quality fountain pens..

That said, there are several options that are equally if not even nicer IMO (a lot of this is driven by taste) that can be had at a similar price point.. I particularly like Visconti.. They are made in Florence, Italy and have a more "Italian:" flair to them..

Pelikan, Aspinal, Waterman and a few other brands offer quality instruments that are typically at least 1 to 2 steps down in price from Mont Blanc or Visconti..

There are some great options in terms of writing quality that are very reasonably affordable from parker, lamy, and others..

I stacked up quite a collection of really nice old, vintage parkers and other pens for peanuts just watching auction sites like hibid and ebay at different times....

Its easy to spend north of $1K on a pen if thats what you want to do.. Ive got a couple of pens that new would retail pretty close to that number.. but, truthfully, you can find yourself a pen that will write really well, be comfortable in the hand, look nice, etc.. for well under $100 if you are willing to go vintage and take some time searching... and a brand new Lamy Safari is just $37 from the Lamy website, and is IMO the best "starter" fountain pen on the market at a price point that makes it affordable to everyone... I have several Lamy's that I use all the time.. I bet Ive accumulated a dozen or more of them over the years between my wife and I (I got her into using fountain pens probably 10 years ago and bought her several as well)..

I realize this is a bit scandalous so take it with a grain of salt. The knock-off Monteblancs found all over Asia are nearly identical to the real ones. They are <$10. They will accept real Mont Blanc ink. I had contemplated on a future trip buying a dozen of them, filling them with real rollerball cartridges, and throwing them all around the house for a very reasonable "junk pen".

 

[Tanks]

Speaking of fountain pens, I am interested in purchasing one. The goal would be a quality pen, something I could use for at least twenty years, if not a lifetime, but at a reasonable price point. No idea where to begin...

Concur with the value of experiences over possessions. Unless an item will receive daily use or may suffice for a lifetime (i.e. a high-quality wallet, belt, shoes, jacket), I'd rather have the photos.

I read an article about Chinese fountain pens. About how they were so good that instead of making fake ones they decided to market a variety of them under they own label.

Just for grins I bought one to test. While not heavy like a Mont Blancs I have, they actually work pretty well. At $14 I'd call it a good buy for the functionality and might be a good way to see if you like them.

Amazon.com

 

[mdwest]

I realize this is a bit scandalous so take it with a grain of salt. The knock-off Monteblancs found all over Asia are nearly identical to the real ones. They are <$10. They will accept real Mont Blanc ink. I had contemplated on a future trip buying a dozen of them, filling them with real rollerball cartridges, and throwing them all around the house for a very reasonable "junk pen".

If you do that, let me know.. I'll join you in the endeavor and buy a dozen myself..

While Ive got dozens upon dozens of really nice pens laying around.. I like to keep a couple of pens in the glove box of my side by side, a couple of pens in the glove box of my truck, a couple of spare pens in my laptop bag and my brief case, etc..etc.. and dont want to just pitch a $450-$600 mont blanc in any of those places..

 

[SaintPanzer]

Funny story about counterfeit Mont Blancs... They were all over the bazaars in Kabul like a rash, for small money. I bought a couple, mostly just to have at my desk. I'd use several color inks, for different needs. When I returned to my office in "The World", I had an office mate who was surprised I would keep a coffee cup full of such "expensive" pens on my desk. One day, I broke a nib, and just tossed it in the trash. There was no real way to replace the nib, as no MB retailer would put a new nib on a counterfeit pen. I thought he was going to burst an artery! It was only when I told them how inexpensive they were, and where I bought them that he realized I wasn't just showing off my pens, and they were simply a good looking appliance.

I used to use a fountain pen every day. Then I retired, and I don't need to write things down near as much as I once did. Now I just keep a small Space Pen in my pocket, to be used on the rare occasions when necessary. I still have my fountain pens, but I don't keep ink in them, as the ink dries in the nib before I get a chance to use them again!

 

[Flbt]

If you do that, let me know.. I'll join you in the endeavor and buy a dozen myself..

While Ive got dozens upon dozens of really nice pens laying around.. I like to keep a couple of pens in the glove box of my side by side, a couple of pens in the glove box of my truck, a couple of spare pens in my laptop bag and my brief case, etc..etc.. and dont want to just pitch a $450-$600 mont blanc in any of those places..

Humm here I thought I was using nice pens when I was working using polit #5 fine tip
Compared to the bic or feee bank pens most ever one else was using
LoL

 

[Nyati]

I´ve had a fountain pen since I was I school, which is a very long time ago, and have been into FP´s all my life.

My collection is centered on large size US made pens from the 1920´s, but I have used more modern pens too.

Mont Blanc is a good quality pen but overpriced, you pay for the white star.

In my opinion Pelikan is much better technically, and priced realistically, you also have a wide range of sizes and colors to choose from.