I’m trying out this new series where I share a couple of fountain pen stories from readers, friends, and fellow fountain pen enthusiasts, in the middle of each month. Let’s see how it goes.
Here are the stories for September 2015. Stories have been edited slightly for coherence and language:
My Grandfather Led Me Into The World Of Vintage Pens – Roy, Singapore
I had always wanted to try or see this mysterious pen which wrote with a nib. Remembering that people used fountain pens in the past, I decided to ask my grandfather if he had any fountain pens. He went to dig around, and came back with a grey/green pen with a gold cap. It had a hooded nib, so I was surprised when I first saw it. I was wondering how on earth the pen worked. He passed me a huge bottle of Parker Quink ink, and I pressed the sac to see if ink would go in, and it did! After I brought it home I thought that was it, and I left it in a corner because I was busy with work.
A week later I decided to Google and find out more about the pen, which stated “Parker 51” clearly on the sac guard. I was quite surprised to find that it was a popular pen. So I did a bit more research, sent the pen for restoration, and the rest is history. Currently I have 8 pens, of which 5 are vintages.
The Thicker The Nib, The Better – Yi Xuan, Singapore
I am looking forward to the pen I’m targeting to get next: the Pelikan M1000. I really love soft nibs, but I dislike the feeling of thin nibs such as those on Japanese pens. Therefore, while I still enjoy my Pilot Custom Heritage 92 and 912, there is still something slightly off about them due to the thin nibs. The M1000 combines softness with a solid-feeling thick nib which I really like. Sadly, there are not many colour options for it. If only the M800 series had the nibs from the M1000s! I am targeting to get the Pelikan M1000 Classic Green Black, as the all-black is kind of boring, while the M1005 demonstrator is more expensive. If they would have the Stresseman or the tortoise shell designs, I would love that!
I Got Progressively Poisoned, Deeper And Deeper I Go – “John”, Singapore
The first memory I had with a fountain pen was in primary school, when my mother gave me an old Sheaffer Targa. She said it was her father (my grandfather) who bought it for her. I didn’t think too much of it at that time, but just felt it was something cool to write with (I still have that pen with me today).
Fast forward many years later, I was walking around Bras Basah, and came across this A/V Bookstore at the ground floor called Music Bookroom. I saw a DVD set called 如何写好汉字 (How to Write Chinese Characters Well). I was really curious so I bought it and watched it. The guy who demonstrated the writing was using a (I think) Hero fountain pen with a hooded nib. And his writing was so beautiful!! So I decided to get a fountain pen for myself and start learning how to write properly.
Initially I hadn’t understood much about fountain pens, so I got a bunch of cheap pens (Pilot Petit 1, Platinum Preppy, Pentel Tradio Stylus). I think the first “formal” pen i got later on was the Lamy Al-star demonstrator, followed by a Pilot Vanishing Point in matte black! Then… I stumbled upon OFP, where I found out about the Singapore Fountain Pen Lovers Facebook group… and it all spiralled out of control from there! I thought I might have to sue you for massive financial damages, and massive time lost! 😉 But then I realised, I might have inadvertently poisoned some other people myself. 😛
That’s all for now! If you have a story to share, write to me at maybelline@onfountainpens.com and tell me about it! A nice picture to accompany your story would be very much welcome! Some ideas of stories you could share about:
- Your most memorable fountain pen
- What you’re targeting to get next, and why
- How you started on fountain pens
- Accidents that happened with fountain pens
- How you “poisoned” others to use fountain pens too
I am the founder of this website.
Chemist by day, slacker by night, fanatic of stationery all the time.
I write with my left hand, but can also do the same with my right hand – it just won’t look very pretty.
Thanks for sharing. It is great.
It is sad thing that most students this era do not know besides the roller ball point there is this writing instrument called fountain pen. Wouldn’t it be nice if the business, industry or someone can start reviving it through cca or other education or arts program of the Education Ministry?
Regards
Wong Lawrence
Thanks for leaving a comment. Glad you like the post. I’m with you on this! Surprisingly though, our Singapore Fountain Pen Lovers Facebook group has quite a big group of students as members! But spreading the word of the fountain pen can be really great too, telling youngsters about this excellent writing instrument.
There’s actually quite a lot of students getting into FPs nowadays! Guess you could call it a resurgence 🙂