As pen enthusiasts, many of us are on a journey to find pens, inks, and paper that fit our writing styles and personal tastes. One of the things that I search out are Extra, Extra Fine Nibs. There are a lot of things I have learned in my search to find and acquire pens with these nibs. This article captures some of the things that I have experienced. What I want is a pen that writes a very, very fine line. Manufacturers and NibMeisters use different terms to describe the options available. So what terms should we use to describe this capability? Is it Extra, Extra Fine, or Needlepoint, or some other term? Manufactuers use different terms: Ultra Extra Fine for one Japanese company and Extra, Extra Fine for another. Some NibMeisters use Japanese Extra Fine/Needlepoint, and others use terms like Extra Extra Fine/Turk. There seems to be no consensus as to what to call this category of Extra, Extra Fine nibs. Because of this, I will will use the term, More Fine Than Extra Fine (MFTEF) in this article. Moving to Japanese Extra Fine A few years ago, when I found myself becoming part of the fountain pen community, […]
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I love writing – the simple act of moving a pen over paper and seeing a line of ink appear. The process is magical and personal. I also love looking at other people’s handwriting. It’s a little piece of them, their energy and style. It doesn’t matter if it is the work of a calligraphy master or still looks like infant school print, it is that person’s own unique artistic expression. If you can put pen to paper and write, you are being creative! My own handwriting… I was super critical of my own handwriting until recently. Now I appreciate it and enjoy it. It makes me laugh that my daughter’s teachers at school commend it when my own teachers complained about it – my messy writing was always mentioned in my reports. In my mid-teens I suddenly got into pens and writing and upped my game. I haven’t stopped working on improving it since. Moving from ballpoint pens to fountain pens 15 years ago was, I suppose, a natural progression. It was around that time I started keeping a journal just as an excuse to write and use my fountain pens. So here are a few hints and tips […]
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I’ve made my fair share of mistakes when it comes to using fountain pens. Leaky ink, splayed nibs, scratchy writing – these things can all take the pleasure out of writing with pen and ink. So, having learned from my mistakes, we’ve put together a short list of the most common fountain pen faux pas and how to avoid them. A heavy hand Fountain pens aren’t like ball-points. They only need the lightest touch to produce a nice flow of ink. Unlike ball-point pens and pencils, fountain pens don’t rely on pressure to work. They use capillary action to get the ink flowing freely. Applying too much pressure when writing with a fountain pen not only makes your handwriting look scratchy, but if you’re particularly heavy-handed it can also lead to splayed nibs. Writing on shoddy paper A fountain pen is only as good as the paper you’re writing on. You’ll find certain notebooks work better with different inks. There’s lots of room for personal preference when it comes to paper for fountain pens; but even so, there are some notebooks that really don’t cope with fountain pens. Some papers absorb too much ink, creating bleed, making the writing difficult […]
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Just a short and brief update today: Cody from The Pen Haul has invited me to guest post on his website, ThePenHaul.com. I took a long time, honestly, but I managed to come up with a decent post to contribute! I wrote about my journey in my sub-collection of small fountain pens. Yep, I have this strange fascination for small fountain pens. They just look so cute. Here’s a picture: CLICK HERE TO READ MY GUEST POST: INTRIGUED BY SMALL FOUNTAIN PENS Thank you Cody, for letting me guest post on The Pen Haul! It’s an honour! MaybellineI 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. onfountainpens.com
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Thank you Maybelline for inviting me again this year to participate in the 12 Days of Christmas. This is about my quest for a custom pen. I had never had a bespoke pen before and never gave it much thought. It started at the 2015 DC Super Show when i saw a lot of people who had custom pens tucked away in their cases between the Visconti’s, Montblanc’s Sailor’s etc. Not only were the bespoke pens unique but every one had a story behind them. I found myself drawn to the beautiful Shinobi by Shawn Newton. Leigh Reyes and Thomas Hall both had stunning examples. It was then I knew I had to have one. The Shinobi is a hand made pen created by Shawn Newton, the owner of Newton Pens. Each pen is made to the customers specifications. From the material of the body and section to the nib material and nib grind. You can even supply Shawn with your own nib and he will fit it to the pen. So who is Shawn Newton? Shawn,a teacher, started making pens back in December of 2011. After selling off every pen he owned to buy machines, tools and parts he used […]
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Several years into my teaching career, a long time ago now, I found myself going to lots of meetings. I was not very good at meetings. (I’m still not.) My mind wanders, I get fidgety and I get bored. I needed to make notes but that seemed like piling tedium upon tedium. I wasn’t keen. Just in time, along came Merlin Mann’s 43 Folders and David Allen’s Getting Things Done. In amongst many great ideas that, to this day, help keep me relatively sane, was this great tip: use tools that give you joy and so turn chores into pleasures. I went out and bought a black Lamy Safari and a Moleskine. (As I said, this was a long time ago, when Moleskine notebooks were quite good.) It worked. Writing became fun. I wanted to take notes because I wanted to use my pen and notebook. I won’t everything down. I paid attention. I didn’t get sacked. Many people wonder why anyone would want to spend so much time and effort on something as everyday and unremarkable as pen and paper. Yet it is this ubiquity that makes it worthwhile. If you are going to be writing more than a […]
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With 2015 drawing to a close I thought I would cover what ended up being my top 3 pen purchases this year. It was a bit tough as this has been quite the year for new acquisitions with over 50 pens joining the collection ranging from the inexpensive Pilot Metropolitan to the exquisite Visconti Opera Metal. When I sat down to pick, it ended up coming down to flexibility, reliability, or uniqueness that helped these three stand out from the crowd. With that said and in no particular order this is who came out on top: Lamy AL-Star Copper Orange w/ 1.9mm Nib This was one of the first pens added to the collection this year and became an instant favorite. The design is very clean and the 2015 special edition Copper Orange color is excellent (as is the ink if you can find it). The pen is easy to fill and clean with a solid convertor while the nib and feed unit is pretty bulletproof. I swapped out the fine nib shortly after getting it to a 1.9mm Italic and it is perfect for doing calligraphy. The nib starts instantly every time and is not too wet or dry […]
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Fountain pens are the most customizable writing instruments on the market. Styles and shapes are endless, and mix in a range of nib sizes and thousands of inks on top of that and there is infinite choice. I love choice, but it can be overwhelming for those just starting in this hobby. So, I want to elaborate on one topic that all beginner, and some experienced, fountain pen users can think about when making their next buying decision: Steel nibs are awesome. The perception in the community is that gold nibs are the ultimate fountain pen writing experience. If by ultimate you mean most expensive, then yes they are amazing! And I’m not here to poo-poo gold nibs. I love them. I own four Nakayas and I wouldn’t think of having anything but a gold nib in any of them. But when choosing a fountain pen and nib combination that will give you a great writing experience, steel nibs are a fantastic option. The first thing you should be aware of with steel nibs is that, in general, they are stiffer than their gold counterparts. Makes sense, right? Gold is a softer material, so that translates to a softer nib. […]
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My colleague sat in front of me, jubilant, squatting toad-like in a chair in our newly refurbished, workflow efficient office space. The workspace was now complete. You could survey the vista of differentiated work pods, hot desks and computers of every description. The atmosphere bristled with wi-fi and everything was new; everything except what I was doing… “It’s the 21st century, why are you still using a fountain pen of all things?” His incredulous words hung in the air like a bad smell as I continued to carefully finish refilling my fountain pen, wipe it clean, then deposit the ink bottle and blotting paper back in my bag ready again to jot down notes from our database so that I had information to hand when I left the office and travelled to the homes of service users. I thought momentarily about ignoring his smug and annoying question. Why indeed… was it merely a matter of style, novelty or perhaps eccentricity? My initial answer was a mixture of a whole host of things as I remember. But as I’ve thought about that question over the years my answer has developed accordingly. These days when that question is asked of me, as […]
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Deciding which pen(s) and notebooks I carry with me day to day has also been a challenge for me. For work, I usually end up throwing every inked pen in my bag so I always have my favourite pens at my side. I know this is overkill, but they don’t take up a lot of room and I use pens most of the day there. Christmas time is a completely different story. I want to take all of my pens, but I know I will barely use them since most of my time will be spent with family. My fiancé has even told not to take any, hinting that I will be getting a new pen, ink, and notebook for Christmas. How exciting! With this little hint, I will still bring at least one pen, but choosing just one pen is more challenging that you think. Will I cave and just pack a full pen case? I did last year and barely used any of them. The only thing I use my pens for is keeping score during family card games, the odd doodle, and the occasional note to remember later. My favourite games are Kaiser and dice (not a […]
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