Today is Fountain Pen Day

[monophoto]

The first Friday of November.

Happy Fountain Pen Day!

 

[MikeG]

I filled mine!

 

[Alan Morrison]

In my neck of the woods very few people use a fountain pen and I generally only make them if specifically requested.
Would that be the same with others?

 

[monophoto]

I accept that I'm in a small minority. and I think that's true in most places. The one possible exception is that I think fountain pens are more popular in China that in other places on the planet, and even there, fountain pen users may be viewed as quaint.

But Alan's comment raises an interesting question - why do those of us who use fountain pens prefer them? In my case, I think its mainly a matter of preference. I recall that my father did have fountain pens, but he used ball points and pencils for everyday writing, reserving his fountain pens for things like check writing. I have owned fountain pens for as long as I can remember, but I didn't start using them exclusively until I was in my early 40's, and that was really a matter of choice* - I preferred the way they write. My older son uses fountain pens, but again that is something that he undertook well after he got out on his own, and while he was living at the opposite end of the country, so I don't know what drove him to that choice. My wife doesn't like fountain pens and really can't use them effectively, and the younger son is a allpoint/sharpie man.

*And as I think back to that time, I switched to fountain pens at about the same time that I started using a personal computer at work, so there may have been an element of rebellion against the almighty keyboard.

 

[rixstix]

FWIW, the new fibre tip pens that accept fountain cartridges/converters are a user friendly alternative in feel & ink lay.

 

[jttheclockman]

In my neck of the woods very few people use a fountain pen and I generally only make them if specifically requested.
Would that be the same with others?

I do not make at all. Probably never will. Not my likes. Hate to do something I do not like. What I am tired of seeing is all these so call kitless fountain pens. Show me something and make some rollerball or ink pens like Skiprat used to do. When is rollerball day???

 

[its_virgil]

I do not make at all. Probably never will. Not my likes. Hate to do something I do not like. What I am tired of seeing is all these so call kitless fountain pens. Show me something and make some rollerball or ink pens like Skiprat used to do. When is rollerball day???

 

[jttheclockman]

View attachment 343293

Good for Don. Very nice. Like to see more of this style. Nice blank material. Makes the pen jump out you.

 

[Bryguy]

In my neck of the woods very few people use a fountain pen and I generally only make them if specifically requested.
Would that be the same with others?

I've been using a fountain pen (FP) since high school. There is a huge difference between a good fountain pen and a ballpoint or rollerball. I use a 1.1 stub nib which provides an interesting variation in line thickness. A good fountain pen glides across the paper with very little pressure. I have been collecting pens for years and got into pen turning as an extension of my refurbishing of antique FPs. FPs can become an addiction. I enjoy making them more that other writing, but recognize that it is a small market. I now only make FPs on commission. When it comes down to it the market for pens in general is diminishing as people are using their phones to communicate. I think it is tragic that we are losing the skill of cursive writing, they call it progress. I may give up making pens and try buggy whips instead, it might be a bigger market!

 

[jalbert]

I do not make at all. Probably never will. Not my likes. Hate to do something I do not like. What I am tired of seeing is all these so call kitless fountain pens. Show me something and make some rollerball or ink pens like Skiprat used to do. When is rollerball day???

Make a day up if the lack of one bothers you so. Kitless rollerballs don't nearly sell as well at the same price point as their fountain pen counterparts, so I don't spend the time making them; however it sounds like a great project for you to undertake if you would like to see more rollerball pens on here.

 

[darrin1200]

@Bryguy , I also use a 1.5 stub as my daily carry.
On the contrary, I believe there is somewhat a resurgence in Fountain Pen use. Actually, fountain pens are still quite popular throughout the world. There are even some countries where it is still required that students use fountain pens.
Tokyo Japan has one of the biggest pen shows in the world. Even though covid is still having its affect, the attendance this year was over 130K. There are at least 2 dozen pen shows, annually, in the US. And those are the notable ones. The DC Pen show, San Francisco, Atlanta, St Louis, Orlando, and many more.
The Scriptus Toronto Show was just the other week. There were over 40 venders using over 100 tables. It was completely full of attendees for the full 6 hours. There was even talk of making it a two day event next year.
I actually enjoy making "Kitless" pens more than kit, and I am working on a rollerball and ballpoint design.
It comes down to "each their own". As long as you enjoy what your doing, go for it.

 

[jttheclockman]

Make a day up if the lack of one bothers you so. Kitless rollerballs don't nearly sell as well at the same price point as their fountain pen counterparts, so I don't spend the time making them; however it sounds like a great project for you to undertake if you would like to see more rollerball pens on here.

I did not mean to touch any nerves and realize this is a fountain pen forum. Your work is outstanding at all times and I enjoy seeing them. Fountain Pen Day?? Come on, that is what got me. I am not into making kitless pens but I make a ton of rollerball pens. Heck for giggles, I looked it up. We have a National Ball Point Pen Day too. June 10th. Mark that day on the calendar.

 

[jttheclockman]

Here is a dumb question but will ask anyway. Do you think there are more right handed fountain pen users than lefties? I ask because when I think fountain pen use I think the ink takes longer to dry than an ink pen or rollerball and with the pushing action of one's hand across the paper would you tend to smear ink more??

 

[monophoto]

John -

There are more righties than lefties in general - one estimate is that only 10% of the population is dominantly left handed. So yes, I suspect that there are more right-handed fountain pen users than left-handed fountain pen users on a purely statistical basis.

But there is another issue here - that has to to with who taught folks to write, and whether they understood that righties and lefties need to write differently. I suspect that those of us 'of a certain age' were taught by teachers who were predisposed to believe that one method should work for everyone, and if it didn't then the problem was more than likely with the person rather than the method. Remember that left-handedness was at one time thought to be an indicator of mental deficiency.

The standard method taught to us right handed folks was to hold the pen with our hand below and to the right of the pen, and to rotate the paper slightly in the counterclockwise directly. The lefties who were taught to write by teachers who ignorantly believe that one method works for everyone ended up curling their left hand around the pen so that it is more below and to the right of the pen. And as a result, they have a problem with ink smearing. But today, teachers understand that righties and lefties need to be taught differently and teach the lefties to hold the writing hand below and to the left of the pen while rotating the paper in a clockwise direction, and they have less problems with fountain pens.

My older son is right handed, and the weekend before his school was scheduled to start teaching cursive, he and his yournger brother were doing something that they should not have been, and Dave fell and broke his right wrist. That presented a problem for his teacher since he couldn't use his right hand, and she didn't know how to teach lefties. Dave coped, and as a consequence, he's pretty much ambidextrous today. At the time, however, the more serious consequence of having a broken right wrist is that he couldn't zip his pants. And when you are seven years old, that's a serious problem!

 

[jttheclockman]

John -

There are more righties than lefties in general - one estimate is that only 10% of the population is dominantly left handed. So yes, I suspect that there are more right-handed fountain pen users than left-handed fountain pen users on a purely statistical basis.

But there is another issue here - that has to to with who taught folks to write, and whether they understood that righties and lefties need to write differently. I suspect that those of us 'of a certain age' were taught by teachers who were predisposed to believe that one method should work for everyone, and if it didn't then the problem was more than likely with the person rather than the method. Remember that left-handedness was at one time thought to be an indicator of mental deficiency.

The standard method taught to us right handed folks was to hold the pen with our hand below and to the right of the pen, and to rotate the paper slightly in the counterclockwise directly. The lefties who were taught to write that way by teachers who ignorantly believe that one method works for everyone ended up curling their left hand around the pen so that it is more below and to the right of the pen. And as a result, they have a problem with ink smearing. But today, teachers understand that righties and lefties need to be taught differently and teach the lefties to hold the writing hand below and to the left of the pen while rotating the paper in a clockwise direction, and they have less problems with fountain pens.

Interesting. I see many left handers actually have their hand curled on top of the line they are writing on. Would you say it takes longer for fountain pen ink to dry more so than ink or rollerball ink? Are all fountain pens ink the same or is there a quality issue? In the ink pen world seems we are more limited than what I see in the fountain pen world. I know paper is also a key element when using fountain pens and the smoothness. Just so much finesses in fountain pens to really appreciate them and suppose that is why their use is a small group.

 

[monophoto]

Interesting. I see many left handers actually have their hand curled on top of the line they are writing on. Would you say it takes longer for fountain pen ink to dry more so than ink or rollerball ink? Are all fountain pens ink the same or is there a quality issue? In the ink pen world seems we are more limited than what I see in the fountain pen world. I know paper is also a key element when using fountain pens and the smoothness. Just so much finesses in fountain pens to really appreciate them and suppose that is why their use is a small group.

In general, fountain pen inks take longer to dry, and some take far longer than others. And its not just ink - the natural absorbancy of the paper is also a big factor. But there are inks that are formulated specifically for lefties and that dry faster.

Fountain pen ink is a very broad and complicated subject, and the variations in fountain pen inks tend to be far greater than for, say, ball point pens. Among the various factors are color, 'wetness', lubrication, drying time, flourescence, sheen and shimmer, pigment based vs. dye based, scented, water resistance and/or permanence (when dried), freeze resistance (when wet), feathering characteristics, bottle size, etc. But perhaps the most significant is that when you buy a ball point refill, it comes with the ink selected by the manufacturer, and about the only choice you may get is color (and frankly, with most manufacturers today, the choice is between blue and black). And ball point refills are designed to fit specific pens, and are not broadly interchangeable. But fountain pen inks come in bottles so that you can fill any pen with whatever ink you want, and with whatever characteristics float your boat. Fountain pen inks are also available prepackaged in cartridges, either generic or proprietary, but even then the range of choice is far greater than with ball points. One pen retailer (Goulet Pens) brags that they stock more than 750 different inks.

So yeah, fountain pens are for people who don't have enough things to worry about.!

 

[jttheclockman]

Thanks Louie. You are the best. Way too much knowledge for this tiny brain to hold. Fountain pen network sure is a tricky corner of the pen turning world. Hats off to those that delve into it. Thanks again.