Out of curiosity, which Caran D'Ache do you have? I have the Varius Ivanhoe rollerball, and although it doesn't have a nib to break, it still writes very nicely.
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Fountain Pens [Merged]
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Out of curiosity, which Caran D'Ache do you have? I have the Varius Ivanhoe rollerball, and although it doesn't have a nib to break, it still writes very nicely.
Actually, I have two pens made by Caran d'Ache. The first one which I bought - and which I did like a lot, and which, in fairness, didn't give me any sort of trouble as a pen, but - when compared to the Mont Blanc was both heavier and less comfortable to hold when angled to a sheet of paper - was the standard stainless steel 'Palladium coated Ecridor Chevron'. This is the pen I referred to when writing my previous posts. Its only drawback is weight in the hand, and the fact that it is not quite as comfortable, - those sharp edges in the design make writing for any considerable length a bit of a nuisance - nor does the ink flow quite as smoothly as my Mont Blanc. However, it is a lovely, sturdy pen.
Indeed, I am kicking myself for my own inverted snobbery which meant that I refused to even look at Mont Blanc pens for an age; a little over two years ago, I actually inherited a battered Mont Blanc rollerball antique, one missing its little logo, and it wrote like a dream. Unbelievable. That sold me on the brand, almost two years ago.
My second Caran d'Ache is an exquisite pen I have somewhat mixed feelings about. It is lighter for one thing, and easier in the hand (because of weight, and also because it also lacks the sharp edges of the Ecridor model). This is the 'Madison Ciselé, silver-plated, rhodium coated' model.
Yes, it is beautiful, and yes, it is light, and yes, it is comfortable in the hand, and nicely balanced. (And yes, it was quite expensive, so I assumed that it would be a considerable improvement on the Ecridor.) But the bloody thing wouldn't write - daily - without throwing a tantrum; the nib needed repairing on several occasions, and the pen needed a degree of babying that really irked me. At the end of the day, a fountain pen should write - that is what it is designed to do - and this one didn't. I suspect that the nib - while exquisite - was not as solidly designed as it should have been, or might have been.
I love a nice pen, but unfortunately, working outdoors means ball-points or pencils. I do wood pen turning, but have mostly done Cross-style or Parker-style pens. I have a couple fountain pens to make, I just haven't gotten to them. I would love to know how they compare to the big name and antique pens.
You are welcome. I really like the Noodler's line of inks, and there are so many to try. But, I sort of got overwhelmed with ink samples a while back, so I now have just declared that I will purchase and use only Irishizuko inks. Not because there are not many other inks I really like, but just to simplify things. I made the same decision with Pelikan pens. Helps with controlling the pen lust-driven purchases as well.
Good luck finding a red you like.
Do people still use fountain pens?
Just curious (as always
)
Do people (students in particular) still use fountain pens ?
I remember using them long back, like 18 or 20 yrs back when I was in school. It was fun and it was on the 'go green' concept. And we used to borrow ink from friends. Like they will put 4-5 drops from their pen to the desk, and we will take it into our pens lol. First lessons of sharing may be !
I know the practical difficulties, but still checking if there are any using those fountain pens nowadays. Other than the costly ones (Parker etc). Hero was one good option. It is still available ?
Just curious (as always
)Do people (students in particular) still use fountain pens ?
I remember using them long back, like 18 or 20 yrs back when I was in school. It was fun and it was on the 'go green' concept. And we used to borrow ink from friends. Like they will put 4-5 drops from their pen to the desk, and we will take it into our pens lol. First lessons of sharing may be !
I know the practical difficulties, but still checking if there are any using those fountain pens nowadays. Other than the costly ones (Parker etc). Hero was one good option. It is still available ?
I'm not a student, but I have a couple nice Montblanc pens, one an old Meisterstuck fountain pen, the other a StarWalker ballpoint (in which I've installed gel refills). The SW gets used almost on a daily basis, for the few times I actually put pen to paper. The fountain pen barely gets touched, unfortunately.
I'm no longer a student, but have always used fountain pens.. I have a collection which now extends to several hundred and always have at least three inked and in use. Some are antique models, some 'school' pens and I also have some very nice Mont Blanc, Parker, and Sailor models.
Like a wrist watch, I will never go anywhere without the pens I happen to be using at a particular time.
Also always choose good quality ink which makes so much difference to the way a pen writes.
I live and work in a high tech world, but my pens are very personal and I'd never be without them.
Like a wrist watch, I will never go anywhere without the pens I happen to be using at a particular time.
Also always choose good quality ink which makes so much difference to the way a pen writes.
I live and work in a high tech world, but my pens are very personal and I'd never be without them.
Actually, I always write with a fountain pen, and have done so ever since I was at school a good many years ago. I love the way they write, the flow of ink (I use the recommended cartridges not an ink bottle when I am abroad)
At the moment, my work tools are a MBA - which is used daily - and a small, Meisterstuck Mont Blanc fountain pen, which is also used extensively each day; it is a beautifully balanced pen in my hand, and an exquisitely crafted pen.
At the moment, my work tools are a MBA - which is used daily - and a small, Meisterstuck Mont Blanc fountain pen, which is also used extensively each day; it is a beautifully balanced pen in my hand, and an exquisitely crafted pen.
Pencil preferred
Handwriting for me is often drafting my own documents prior to typing, or proofreading the work of others. A pencil does it for me, or did until fairly recently, even after I got a computer. These days, however, going straight to the keyboard has become the norm.
Fountain pen .? not since school daze.
Handwriting for me is often drafting my own documents prior to typing, or proofreading the work of others. A pencil does it for me, or did until fairly recently, even after I got a computer. These days, however, going straight to the keyboard has become the norm.
Fountain pen .? not since school daze.
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Changed from fountain pens to ballpoint pens when my handwriting changed from cursive to block (D'Nealian), this was around my 15th year (I'm 38 now).
Mostly because highschool-cheap fountain pens started to leak after a few months of fast block writing. Later I got some really expensive fountain pens that could take it, but by that time I was used to block writing and ballpoint pens.
Mostly because highschool-cheap fountain pens started to leak after a few months of fast block writing. Later I got some really expensive fountain pens that could take it, but by that time I was used to block writing and ballpoint pens.
I use fountain pens, but I am honestly the only non-elderly person I know that does.. I don't own anything super-duper fancy; I usually use a Lamy Joy or my grandpa's old circa-1970s Parker 45 Flighter (which is actually older than I am).
If the OP is interested in a decent cheap fountain pen, take a look at the Lamy Safari. It's $22 on Amazon, averaging 4 1/2 stars with nearly 800 reviews. I have one, and it has been totally reliable and has never leaked despite usually being stored in the top pocket of a backpack that tends to get tossed around quite a bit.
If the OP is interested in a decent cheap fountain pen, take a look at the Lamy Safari. It's $22 on Amazon, averaging 4 1/2 stars with nearly 800 reviews. I have one, and it has been totally reliable and has never leaked despite usually being stored in the top pocket of a backpack that tends to get tossed around quite a bit.
I, too, use my Mont Blanc Meisterstuck fountain pen...but not daily. When I'm writing a note card, or the VERY occasional letter, I use the pen.
I use a Mont Blanc Meisterstuck Le Grand rollerball pen for daily use. I need to pay more attention to my writing when using the fountain pen, so the rollerball is easier for me when working.
I use a Mont Blanc Meisterstuck Le Grand rollerball pen for daily use. I need to pay more attention to my writing when using the fountain pen, so the rollerball is easier for me when working.
Strangely, I'm the opposite; I much prefer the 'feel' of writing with a fountain pen, and have never been anything like as comfortable when writing with the roller ball. Although I have the same small Meisterstuck Mont Blanc model I find I use it a lot less frequently.
There is another variable when writing with a fountain pen, which goes beyond the actual model or the quality of the ink, and it is the quality of the paper that one uses when writing with a fountain pen.
The sort of paper that is usually used in a tray when printing from a computer is, very often, made from inferior quality paper, the dismal quality of which becomes obvious when you try to write with pen and ink on it. This is because the ink bleeds into the paper, whereas with a high quality paper (and you can buy this even for a printer; it just happens to be a bit more expensive) the ink will remain hold its shape.
Unfortunately, the poor quality of much modern paper is yet another factor which serves to detract from the delightful pleasure of writing with a well balanced and beautifully crafted fountain en.
Have used them for most of my life. I have a complete collection of Cross fountain pens. My favorite one is my Medalist, which is a fine nib, that I use on a daily basis and carry with me. I receive a lot of surprised looks when I pull out my fountain pen.
The one I use at home is 18K gold with a medium nib, which was a gift from my parents many years ago. Love the way they write. Ink flows smoothly and looks very elegant. As long as you do not have a heavy hand a fountain pen will always be a charm to use.
The one I use at home is 18K gold with a medium nib, which was a gift from my parents many years ago. Love the way they write. Ink flows smoothly and looks very elegant. As long as you do not have a heavy hand a fountain pen will always be a charm to use.
I'll go weeks now without using any kind of a pen; my iPhone and iPad have replaced the need for pen and paper.
I used to collect nice pens and still have about 20-25. I once spent $650 on a Visconti fountain pen. Sadly, they sit in my top drawer gathering dust.
I used to collect nice pens and still have about 20-25. I once spent $650 on a Visconti fountain pen. Sadly, they sit in my top drawer gathering dust.
I used a Parker 61 for most of my life, but I find that I write less and less with any sort of pen.
I could use a virtual fountain pen on my Note 2 LOL. My stylus LOL.
Actually I hardly write anymore. The Note 2 already replaced any pen in real time.
Actually I hardly write anymore. The Note 2 already replaced any pen in real time.
I like the idea effortlessly straddling the means and methods of writing of several centuries by writing with a fountain pen (my Meisterstuck Mont Blanc), and using a MBA, every day.
Strange to relate, I use my fountain pen daily - as I use my MBA; they complement one another rather than serving to replace one another. And, whenever I am at any sort of a meeting, an old fashioned notebook with high quality paper, and my fountain pen, are both to hand, while my MBA sits in my briefcase, ready to be summoned if the need arises.
Strange to relate, I use my fountain pen daily - as I use my MBA; they complement one another rather than serving to replace one another. And, whenever I am at any sort of a meeting, an old fashioned notebook with high quality paper, and my fountain pen, are both to hand, while my MBA sits in my briefcase, ready to be summoned if the need arises.
I've dabbled in fountain pens, but haven't actually bought one in a couple of years.
My "every day writer" for the past 5 years or so has been a Peiikan 105. It's bright red and has a fine steel nib. I keep it loaded with Montblanc Midnight Blue-one of the few iron gall inks left on the market. I tried several blue-black(both iron gall and non iron gall). I liked the old Lamy blue black, which had iron gall in the bottles(I still have 3/4 of a used bottle and an unopened bottle of the iron gall stuff put back), although they've since eliminated it. I love the Montblanc, though, for a good general purpose ink-it's a lot more lubricating than most iron galls. It's a conservative enough ink that it passes for general, boring business purposes on close examination makes some really interesting tones and other characteristics that make it interesting to write with.
Even though my 105 is far from a high-end Peilkan, I've written with it so much(and with the same ink) that it feels like an extension of my hand. I how where, when, and how to put pressure on the nib to make exactly the type of mark I want. I'd be devastated to lose that particular pen.
I have a few better Lamys-a 2000 and a Platinum Studio. The Studio is a superb writing pen, but is a bit top heavy for me and the nib doesn't have as much character as I'd like. It's the same basic nib as the Safari/Allstar, although the Platinum and some of the other studios have 14K nibs. They do have a bit more character than a typical Safari steel nail, although not as much as the 14K nib on the 2000. I also have a few other obligatory Safaris, and a few other low end pens not worth mentioning.
The 2000 is my grading pen. For the past two years or so, I've been using Pelikan Red in it. I tried a bunch of red inks. The Pelikan ink isn't my favorite, but it is a good match for that pen and performs well in it. The only red ink I truly like is Sheaffer red-I need to break down and buy a bottle. I've stuck with the Pelikan Red for another important reason, though. It has a very distinctive color, and I'm the only one in the department who uses it. This makes my markings instantly recognizable, and also makes it very unlikely that a student will attempt to alter my marks(good luck matching the color unless you replicate my pen and ink exactly).
Finally, on the pen front, my other one of note(again, bypassing the cheapies) is a family heirloom Sheaffer Oversize Balance. It's a 1930s lever filler with a big gold "Lifetime" nib and with beautiful marbled celluloid. I had Ron Zorn(the go-to guy for old pens) restore it. I keep it filled with Waterman blue and use it somewhat frequently although carefully. It's usually the pen that I carry on Sundays.
I went through a phase of buying a LOT of ink, and have a bunch of nearly full bottles. The Montblanc Midnight Blue and Pelikan Red sit on my desk for obvious reasons, although I also have a bottle of Pelikan Edelstein Sapphire sitting out because it's just a great looking bottle.
I have a lot of blue inks, although I've never really fallen in love with one the way I did the Montblanc blue-black. Waterman Blue is good, but IMO looks washed out unless in a fairly wet writer. Probably the best I've found is Private Reserve American Blue-if I had to use only one blue ink, this would be it. I also have a bottle of Noodler's Baystate Blue for when I want the "wow" factor, although I tend to only use it in cheap pens due to its reputation for staining.
I've experimented with green for grading, but haven't found a great one there either. Neither Private Reserve nor Noodler's make a green I like, and I've tried most of the options from them. Pelikan is probably my favorite current production green ink. Second is current production Sheaffer. My real favorite, though, is the old Sheaffer washable green in the "inkwell" bottles. I have a decent stash of this, and if I switched to green for grading would probably use it.
My "every day writer" for the past 5 years or so has been a Peiikan 105. It's bright red and has a fine steel nib. I keep it loaded with Montblanc Midnight Blue-one of the few iron gall inks left on the market. I tried several blue-black(both iron gall and non iron gall). I liked the old Lamy blue black, which had iron gall in the bottles(I still have 3/4 of a used bottle and an unopened bottle of the iron gall stuff put back), although they've since eliminated it. I love the Montblanc, though, for a good general purpose ink-it's a lot more lubricating than most iron galls. It's a conservative enough ink that it passes for general, boring business purposes on close examination makes some really interesting tones and other characteristics that make it interesting to write with.
Even though my 105 is far from a high-end Peilkan, I've written with it so much(and with the same ink) that it feels like an extension of my hand. I how where, when, and how to put pressure on the nib to make exactly the type of mark I want. I'd be devastated to lose that particular pen.
I have a few better Lamys-a 2000 and a Platinum Studio. The Studio is a superb writing pen, but is a bit top heavy for me and the nib doesn't have as much character as I'd like. It's the same basic nib as the Safari/Allstar, although the Platinum and some of the other studios have 14K nibs. They do have a bit more character than a typical Safari steel nail, although not as much as the 14K nib on the 2000. I also have a few other obligatory Safaris, and a few other low end pens not worth mentioning.
The 2000 is my grading pen. For the past two years or so, I've been using Pelikan Red in it. I tried a bunch of red inks. The Pelikan ink isn't my favorite, but it is a good match for that pen and performs well in it. The only red ink I truly like is Sheaffer red-I need to break down and buy a bottle. I've stuck with the Pelikan Red for another important reason, though. It has a very distinctive color, and I'm the only one in the department who uses it. This makes my markings instantly recognizable, and also makes it very unlikely that a student will attempt to alter my marks(good luck matching the color unless you replicate my pen and ink exactly).
Finally, on the pen front, my other one of note(again, bypassing the cheapies) is a family heirloom Sheaffer Oversize Balance. It's a 1930s lever filler with a big gold "Lifetime" nib and with beautiful marbled celluloid. I had Ron Zorn(the go-to guy for old pens) restore it. I keep it filled with Waterman blue and use it somewhat frequently although carefully. It's usually the pen that I carry on Sundays.
I went through a phase of buying a LOT of ink, and have a bunch of nearly full bottles. The Montblanc Midnight Blue and Pelikan Red sit on my desk for obvious reasons, although I also have a bottle of Pelikan Edelstein Sapphire sitting out because it's just a great looking bottle.
I have a lot of blue inks, although I've never really fallen in love with one the way I did the Montblanc blue-black. Waterman Blue is good, but IMO looks washed out unless in a fairly wet writer. Probably the best I've found is Private Reserve American Blue-if I had to use only one blue ink, this would be it. I also have a bottle of Noodler's Baystate Blue for when I want the "wow" factor, although I tend to only use it in cheap pens due to its reputation for staining.
I've experimented with green for grading, but haven't found a great one there either. Neither Private Reserve nor Noodler's make a green I like, and I've tried most of the options from them. Pelikan is probably my favorite current production green ink. Second is current production Sheaffer. My real favorite, though, is the old Sheaffer washable green in the "inkwell" bottles. I have a decent stash of this, and if I switched to green for grading would probably use it.
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What an extraordinarily interesting and detailed post. You certainly seem to have made a study of inks.
I use Mont Blanc ink cartridges myself; royal blue, midnight blue (which I like a lot) and black. The shop where I bought two of my Mont Blanc pens gave me a bottle of charcoal ink, a special edition ink, which I have yet to use.
However, I am intrigued that you grade papers in red ink, or green.
Precisely because I hated the sight of red ink on my essays when I was at school, as a teacher I invariably graded student papers in blue, navy blue, or black ink. And, indeed, for that matter, I don't recall anyone trying to alter a grade, but experiences differ.
I know some professors who use green for exactly that reason-it's much less "jarring" but still distinct from the student's work(when you're working through 200+ exams that need to be finished in a few hours, being able to recognize marks at a glance is important). A smaller number still use purple.
As for changing grades-unfortunately I've seen-and been able to prove-too much to not always have the possibility of cheating in my mind.
One of the most blatant cases happened when I was a teaching assistant. A student scored a very low grade on an exam-I think 30 or 40%. She took a friends's exam(who had a grade in the 80s), erased the name on it, wrote her name on it, and then claimed that the grade had been incorrectly recorded. The senior instructor thought something looked "fishy" and showed the exam to me. We both could see the erased name well enough to read it. We then went back to the records, found the name that we thought had originally been on the exam, and it had a grade that matched the exam paper in front of us.
As a consequence of that stunt, both students failed the class and had letters sent to the deans of arts and sciences(our college) and the college of nursing(both were pre-nursing). Also, that particular instruction now keeps copies of all exams-if a student reports a scoring problem or a mis-graded problem, she won't even take the student's exam paper back-she just regrades from her file copy.
I've see students attempt to change numbers on exam, and enough other under-handed tricks to make your head spin. I use fountain pens for a variety of reasons, but one of the things I like is the freedom in ink choices. As I said, something written in Pelikan Red is as good as my having signed my name to it in the department.
As most of the students I deal with are pre-health(pre-med, pre-dental, pre-nursing) I consider it something of a civic duty to catch as many cheaters in the act as I can. Someone with no reservations about cheating on a class at the undergrad level is someone who I don't want treating me.
Very interesting and thought provoking post. I'm not sure I'd emulate you (I detest purple, red and green ink on student papers or scripts) but I definitely do see where you are coming from.
Perhaps it is simply that I didn't experience cheating to quite the same extent as either a student or teacher. Perhaps, too, the format - our exams tend to be essay type dissertations, rather than multiple choice - found in the humanities makes it a bit harder to cheat. And it is also possible that I only ever spotted the truly spectacular examples, the ones that were so flagrant they took your breath away. I will admit that I never went hunting for it.
I do recall as an undergrad - I studied law for a number of years before switching to history - sitting a term law paper and the students were 'put on our honour' while the professor left the class for the duration of the exam. A surprising (and depressing) number of my classmates proceeded to produce vast sheaves of paper - this was in the 80s - to assist them in their endeavours.
While nobody informed on the miscreants, that sense of 'honour' worked oddly, I will admit that I formed opinions of the character of some of my classmates which still come to mind 30 years later.
More recently, in my last year or so teaching, I came across a (pretty rare) case of mutually utterly identical essays in the annual summer exam scripts, which had involved some essay work prepared, researched and written in advance. An investigation ensued and both students were summoned to a meeting and questioned. They admitted what they had done. Anyway, they both failed the class; one was invited to repeat in the autumn, while the other - whose culpability was adjudged greater - was obliged to repeat that subject entirely, i.e. repeat that course the following year.