15 Nov 2021

cimorene: closeup of four silver fountain pen nibs on white with "cimorene" written above in black cancellaresca corsiva script (pen)
Since Hanukka starts so early this year, actually before Thanksgiving, it's already too late for my yearly winter box of Finnish chocolate to get to my parents before it starts, and we might have time to knit another hat for my dad to stick in there. I've made him a lot of hats over time, but he wears them constantly and apparently they are also unusually vulnerable to getting lost, getting holes worn in them, and getting ruined by attendants putting them in the washing machine. My sister was just saying she has only seen him wearing ones with holes in them in the last week, so presumably he has lost the nicer ones I made more recently. It's just a question of spending one's time knitting instead of reading, which is what I've been mostly doing lately.

I have a small collection of perfectly functional so-called "entry level" fountain pens that use cartridges or converters: two Lamy Safaris (I gave a third one to my BIL a few weeks ago), a Platinum Plaisir (F, green), a Pilot Metropolitan (M, pop turquoise), and a Pilot Kakuno (F).

The problem is, I got two piston-fill fountain pens a couple of months ago: a TWSBI 500AL (F) and a Pelikan M205 (M), which was my most expensive pen (around 120€). And since then I haven't wanted to use any of the others. They're both very nice to use, and the TWSBI could beat all the above pens for writing experience except the Metro because it's heavier and more comfortable to write with, and the piston-filling is so much more convenient that it beats the Metro too. The Pelikan 200 combines comfort and convenience with also having the springiest nib of any of my pens except a specialty flex nib Noodler's Konrad that I bought for calligraphy. I read about this, and apparently the Pelikan 200 steel nibs are known for being exceptionally nice, as good as or better than the typical experience of entry level gold nibs, and have their devoted fans and collectors.

In addition to that, leaving too many fountain pens inked at a time risks the ink drying out in them, which is bad for the pen and a huge pain to clean, so it requires using all of them regularly, which means switching pens frequently when writing or drawing, and doing so every few days. This is perfectly reasonable if you're going to spend a significant time drawing with fountain pens - which has sometimes been true, but not in the last few months. So I think I'm actually going to end up getting rid of most or all of those. Maybe I'll just keep the limited edition Safari.

Fountain pens are not popular in Finland - not as a hobby, anyway; there isn't a single shop in the country that carries any selection. The closest source is a (still rather limited fountain pen selection, as that's not its principal focus) pen shop in Göteborg (Sweden) which has a Finnish version of their site [penstore.fi] and ships about as promptly and cheaply as a domestic shop. Even my artist friend who primarily works in ink isn't interested in them! My brother-in-law is interested in fountain pens for drawing, but he already declared the Safari I gave him last time was his favorite of my pens he tried (including the expensive ones and the flex nib, lol).

Actually, my youngest niece also took to the Safari on her visit. It was adorable, and her dad suggested I could give her a pen if I want to, which is good to know (from a potential parental anger about the messiness of liquid ink perspective with seven-year-olds I mean), but I think she's too little for most of these! I can give her the Kakuno, I guess. And I don't think a fountain pen is a good gift for a kid who hasn't already shown interest, unless they're an avid stationery- and art-supply user, so that excludes her sister and her cousins (11, 14, 16). I guess I can always send extras to my sister. She has other potential users around if she doesn't like a fountain pen herself...

...but if I have any pals who want a turquoise Pilot Metropolitan (that looks like this), a green Lamy Safari (that looks like this), or a green Plaisir (that looks like this), I'd be happy to mail them to you to know they had a home with someone who wanted them!

Profile

cimorene: cartoony drawing of a woman's head in profile giving dubious side-eye (Default)
Cimorene

July 2025

S M T W T F S
   123 45
67891011 12
131415161718 19
2021 2223 24 25 26
2728293031  

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

  • Style: Practically Dracula for Practicalitesque - Practicality (with tweaks) by [personal profile] cimorene
  • Resources: Dracula Theme

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated 29 Jul 2025 03:22 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios