Thursday, May 19, 2016

Pen to Paper: Fountain Pens



Hello everyone! Can you believe I have been posting Pen to Paper for a year now?! It has really opened up a whole world for me and I have learned a lot of new things in the past year.  I hope these posts have done the same for you too!  I will have some new posts next month sharing with you some things I have learned and some new helpful hints.  But today I wanted to share with you a new love that is in connection with letter writing.
 
 
Fountain Pens!
I have always known about fountain pens but like many people out there I thought they were just the vintage pens, a pain to use and often dip style so possibly very messy. Then I watch this video from Paper Tams on Youtube and it opened me up to the idea of fountain pens.


 
So after watching that video I was really curious as to what one needs to really know to get into fountain pens and if it would be worth it to me.  I have found pens I like using (more on that next month) but my handwriting is still not so great and I also get hand cramps when writing a longer letter.  So I found this great set of Fountain Pen 101 videos by Goulet Pens. That were super informative and helpful.
 
So I went ahead and made the plunge into the fountain pen world starting with my first order, at Goulet Pens. Which consisted of the Pilot Metropolitan, various notepads, Noodler's Polar Green ink with the free Charlie pen, Noodlers George Peach ink and Sheaffer's Blue Black ink.  
 
I also then a short time later placed a second order for the Special Edition Lamy Dark Safari pen, Lamy Dark Lilac ink, deAtraments Lilac (a scented lilac ink) and some more note pads of various styles and sizes, because well I love purple and as soon as I saw this pen I knew I had to have it! I guess I got lucky on the ink too, I found out later that it sold out within a couple of hours of being available (more is coming though).
 
 
So I do need to still work on my handwriting but when using the better quality paper with the pens makes it so much smoother and easier on my hand. I am finding that you really need the better quality paper for the pens to work the best, and so far I haven't found the selection of stationery that I like in that quality. I love the color options for the pens and ink.  The maintenance so far hasn't been too bad, I try to clean and change ink colors on all the pens at the same time. 
 
I am definitely in love with fountain pens now, though I don't see myself taking it to the high priced levels or collecting but just enjoying writing a little more.
 
 
I do want to point out that this post isn't promoting any specific business or product, this wasn't sponsored in anyway. I just wanted to share a new love and what I have discovered so far.

2 comments:

  1. I've always wanted to get good with a fountain pen and learn calligraphy. *sigh*

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    1. I am really enjoying the fountain pens, the ones I have so far write just like normal pens (except that they have to be held in the right way). Calligraphy is a whole other ball game, I did buy a super cheap no name brand calligraphy pen to try out but I don't have high hopes for a great outcome due to my own rushed handwriting.

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