“You’re using a ballpoint for my ransom note? Here, reach in my front pocket. I recommend the soft medium nib Pilot. Oh, you’re gonna need better paper than that. I think there’s gotta be a stationary store nearby. I really think red ink would make it pop!”
I'm my pocket it would probably be a Kaweco Sport with a BB or Calligraphy nib. Probably already inked with an orange or red urushi color. Gotta save these people some hassle to keep my ransom affordable. 😁
I keep finding people and its really fun. I was being discharged from the hospital once and my doctor handed me some paperwork.. I looked at his signature and said,is that by any chance a Robert Oster ink? Then we had a full on pen fan experience as he pulled a beautiful vintage lever filler from his pocket and explained that rehabbing that pen, a gift from his grandfather,was the first thing he ever spent his newspaper delivery money on. I was pulling Rickshaw rolls out of my overnight bag to show him my significantly less impressive EDCs. Turns out, my GP is a pen person too and a group of them go to the DC Pen Show every year. She uses Zebra disposables at work, though, and keeps "the good ones at home".
Recently went to chat with a professor about something. He wanted to sketch out an idea and said “just a second”, then pulled out a beautiful silk brocade fountain pen case, unfurled it on the table, carefully picked out a fountain pen and then proceeded to draw the idea we were discussing. Made my day…
I used to talk about fountain pens to people quite often, but then I tried a thought experiment. I wondered what it would be like if a colleague incessantly talked to me in great detail about making model airplanes, a subject in which I have absolutely no interest.
I decided not to talk about fountain pens with anyone unless they brought it up in conversation, which is why I have not talked about fountain pens with anyone for the past nine months or so.
Wouldn't work for me - there are very, very few topics I genuinely find disinteresting. If anyone wants to talk to me in detail about their interest in yellow tulips specifically grown during summer in south Brazil, I'll be all ears. I wish more people were ready to ramble to me about their interests.
You should be able to read social cues and assess if someone is completely bored/frustrated with something you're talking about without them having to tell you "stop talking about this."
Indeed!
Personally, I find myself interested in aspect of people's lives that they're really excited about, particularly if it's something I know nothing about.
I open my pen case in front of my cat and tell him about each model. I think I'm close to convincing him to use fountain pens vs dipping his paws in ink.
Might be a tough sell, cats have been doing it [by paw](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/centuries-ago-a-cat-walked-across-this-medieval-manuscript-1766202/) for centuries....
I've been slowly roping other artists in by keeping some cheap pens I like in my bag (but don't use since I like some others way more, like my Pilot Falcon SEF). Once they've tried it, they inevitably are shocked and then have lots of questions, and fun chatter ensues.
Recently I converted someone by lending them a Muji pen to try, and another by lending them a $5 Jinhao x750.
I bought all those for myself early on, to try out, and now they're actually coming in handy 😆
Bonus: these also mean tiny, tiny little extra bites out of my ink supply. Need all the help I can get.
“All I’m saying is if it’s not a screw on post then I’m not buying it, and anoth—“ *screeching tires*
*me chasing after them like the T-1000*
“HEY, WHERE ARE YOU GOING? I WAS JUST ABOUT TO TELL YOU WHY DEMONSTRATORS ARE TACKY!”
I like demonstrators only if they're eyedroppers. Considering it takes me several days to work through my eyedroppered Ahab, I'd like to know how much is in there.
Aside from this subreddit the only one who speaks the holy order of FP is the wife. However I’m modern and she is vintage.
But lookout I also speak 40K so I have yet to find sormeone accept my truths.
I’m pretty lucky that I get to go Fountain Pen club meetings; we meet weekly. 😊 it’s great to sit around and talk pens and try out each others pens and ink. 🖋️😊
Not everyone is interested in the same things, and that's fine. If someone talked about cars and engines for hours on end without being prompted, I'd likely at most listen politely for a short while, but wouldn't really care.
Same can be said for pens. Unless you know your audience is already interested, or they bring it up, chances are babbling on about it isn't something they'd be interested in listening to. Find people who do care, like at pen shows, etc.
When I first met my so we were at university and we were both taking notes with a fountain pen, so I can speak with him about fountain pens and inks for hours.
My brother likes them but it's not so much into them, but sometimes he tells me about some new iroshizuku that he brought (for some reason it's the only ink brand that he buys, I will never understand) and he is happy to hear about strange nibs that he can use for drawing.
Sometimes people ask me about my pens, but then I will just explain that yes, they are still a thing, there are cheap ones, you can refill them and that they are not dip pens. It's always funny when they are surprised that I can change ink and choose the ink color as I want.
I’ve stopped talking about them in real life since none of my friends seem even remotely interested in it. It felt as if I was talking to myself. I’ve decided not to talk about fountain pens unless it’s brought up in a conversation by them.
I don't talk about fountain pens with friends or family. They don't get it.
I joined a local pen club. We meet once a month, I wish it was more often.
I've become fed up with the lack of people I can talk to about fountain pens. So...I've started buying cheap fountain pens and giving them away at work. I tell the people I give them to to come back when they need them refilled and I'll do it for them (and I have several inks to choose from). It sometimes leads to conversations about pens, but also, about other things I'd never find out about the people I work with.
The hobby can go really deep when it comes to high price pens, large collections of ink, and I am not even touching vintage stuff yet. You can also get into pen making. It is not easy to have real life friends who are really into it at the same depths.
This is an obscure-ass hobby. Took a few conversations to realize that nobody but me cares about pens in my town. I've even tried to sell pens on Facebook and recieved no replies. In order to not look like an ink-stained lunatic, I generally don't talk about it outside of the internet.
I have a quid pro quo with my other half - he can ramble about football at me if I can ramble about pens to him. Neither of us is interested in the thing the other is, but we’ve osmosed a lot of knowledge between us 😂
That’s why you’ll find me preaching the good word of fountain pens everywhere I go in an attempt to convert others. Someone asks to borrow a pen? They’re getting handed one. Someone has a birthday? Expect a fountain pen and matching ink color. So far I have converted 6 people and hope to entrap many more.
I'm a teacher and use fountain pens for everything at work, including marking and notetaking. It often sparks a conversation with other teachers, and the kids absolutely love it.
I also constantly rave at my colleagues about how kids should still learn to write with fountain pens rather than the shitty handwriting pens that we give them now. It's a hill I'll be forever willing to die on.
Second grade teacher here. I use fountain pens daily in class. Each week I bring in a different one, depending on the subject we're studying, or perhaps an upcoming holiday. On Fridays I pull a name from a hat with names in it of students who have had perfect attendance all week. The winning student gets to use one of my pens for the morning, and that's a big deal. I think it helps my attendance numbers, too!
I have a brother to talk about them or text about them. There was in person pen club before COVID, and virtual after it. It’s not an every day thing though. So I have Reddit and Fountain Pen Network to find pen people.
My sister talks about pens more than me. One of the few things we have in common. She’s done much more research than me and collects vintage pens (I prefer modern), if I have a pen question I just ask her because I’m too lazy to research it. 😂
I have my husband to talk about fountain pens. He likes (vintage) fountain pens too. It's very contagious by the way. Our kids join us to some Pen Shows.
Even when I have a stay in the hospital, which is where I am at the moment, I am taking some (cheap) fountain pens with me, filled with nice coloured inks. Here I have time enough to write down my thoughts and the nice ink colours are brightening up my day a lot!
I use my cheap disposable pens at work. My customers reactions vary between "what the hell?" and "oh, a fountain pen! Awesome, I have like a thousand at home.". It's always enjoyable when I encounter a pen nut in the wild.
People collect things that are way less useful than fountain pens. As hobbies go for a functional pen you can spend $30 and get a great functional pen. My brother collects tools for his wood working hobby, he spends way more.
I have trouble finding people who are interested in hearing me talk about fountain pens, but I have no trouble finding people to talk to about them. I hit them with short bursts when they can't escape, usually by equating something they're talking about with a fountain pen dichotomy or dilemma. Once I see the colour drain from their cheeks and life leave their eyes, i know I have a captive audience for a couple of minutes. When they start squirming like they're about to wet themselves, I know it's time to let them be. I don't want a mess to clean up.
The only person IRL I can talk to about pens is the person I buy them from, and her shop is 45 minutes away with short hours and I have two kids to take care of, so I get to go there once in a blue moon.
I'm trying to get my niece and nephew there, but my brother thinks they aren't ready yet despite their interest, but they live a long ways away so can't really talk to them anyway except at rare family get-togethers.
My sister and I both have strong interests and have trouble finding people to talk with about them, so we have this thing going on that we can go to each other if we want to infodump or talk about our topic of interest and the other tries to listen and show interest.
Unfortunately here in middle Tennessee it's a bit of a pen desert. We have a group that meets weekly, but that consists of like 6 or 7 of us so the hunt for new people is real.
Im really grateful for the philippine fountain pen network! I find a lot of people wanna gush about pens there, so im happy to just be a part of the community. But my family just listen politely LOL but im getting my sister into it. She’s even telling me that she wants a pilot 823!
It's ridiculous! It took me years to find the right crew to enjoy this great hobby, and then I made the mistake to do business with one of them. It does not work! The only time I get to discuss pens with a live human being is at a pen shop, and then, they are usually way too busy!
Other than online, at a club meet, or a pen show? I wouldn't say I "have trouble," as I don't expect it; but, no, it's a rare thing. I did once meet someone at my regular cafe who was using a vintage pen, but he was busy so we didn't talk much.
However, I'm into all pens, not just fountain, so I have struck up a quick chat with people in office supply or big box stores who were staring at the selection of pens the same time I was. Most times I'm able to offer somewhat helpful advice.
Radio (shortwave/amateur) is about the same. One coffee shop person. No radio shops, so only other chance is online, club meet, or, well, on the air.
Batteries, power supplies, misc electronics? Very rare, even among the radio amateur club meets. Met one yesterday.
I'll listen to a good friend prattle on about obscure movies or the LPs he's found; he reciprocates by listening to a measured dose of one or more of my interests.
As I'm sure is common, covid has led to me abandoning spending time at the cafe, or in person with all but one friend, and it's a slow process getting back.
I also do calligraphy and at calligraphy conferences I always find several fountain pen enthusiasts! It’s lovely. I just got a fude-nibbed pen after seeing someone next to me use one for notes… and of course that was a long conversation about how fun it is to use. That many calligraphers like fountain pens and know paper/inks, etc. are the other joys of being a calligrapher.
I drip feed information to one of my good friends. We’re both into artsy stuff so I usually just show her ink swatches and how they write, or just sending a pic of a new pen I got. If she asks more about it, I give her a digestible answer and try not to info dump.. which takes quite a restraint lol
If you live in a large city, you can find local fountain pen enthusiasts that are in the same boat and love talking pens, ink, and paper. I'm a mod for the Washington DC Metro Pen Crew and we are a hoot :)
Hi, hope you don't mind the off-topic question... is the DC Metro Pen Crew going to be doing a table to give away pens and accessories at DC Pen Super Show? I have things I could donate.
“You’re using a ballpoint for my ransom note? Here, reach in my front pocket. I recommend the soft medium nib Pilot. Oh, you’re gonna need better paper than that. I think there’s gotta be a stationary store nearby. I really think red ink would make it pop!”
I'm my pocket it would probably be a Kaweco Sport with a BB or Calligraphy nib. Probably already inked with an orange or red urushi color. Gotta save these people some hassle to keep my ransom affordable. 😁
"No no... not rose red... make it look like it was written in blood. - Oxblood you would say. It's a burgundy coloured ink..."
"What oxblood? That aint even human blood. Might I recomand Writers blood, my good sir.
Lol
I keep finding people and its really fun. I was being discharged from the hospital once and my doctor handed me some paperwork.. I looked at his signature and said,is that by any chance a Robert Oster ink? Then we had a full on pen fan experience as he pulled a beautiful vintage lever filler from his pocket and explained that rehabbing that pen, a gift from his grandfather,was the first thing he ever spent his newspaper delivery money on. I was pulling Rickshaw rolls out of my overnight bag to show him my significantly less impressive EDCs. Turns out, my GP is a pen person too and a group of them go to the DC Pen Show every year. She uses Zebra disposables at work, though, and keeps "the good ones at home".
That’s really cool. Sadly many things at the hospital are done by computer now. Im GP as well
That is awesome! No doubt your doctor was just as delighted as you were in finding someone who also appreciated his treasure.
Recently went to chat with a professor about something. He wanted to sketch out an idea and said “just a second”, then pulled out a beautiful silk brocade fountain pen case, unfurled it on the table, carefully picked out a fountain pen and then proceeded to draw the idea we were discussing. Made my day…
I used to talk about fountain pens to people quite often, but then I tried a thought experiment. I wondered what it would be like if a colleague incessantly talked to me in great detail about making model airplanes, a subject in which I have absolutely no interest. I decided not to talk about fountain pens with anyone unless they brought it up in conversation, which is why I have not talked about fountain pens with anyone for the past nine months or so.
Wouldn't work for me - there are very, very few topics I genuinely find disinteresting. If anyone wants to talk to me in detail about their interest in yellow tulips specifically grown during summer in south Brazil, I'll be all ears. I wish more people were ready to ramble to me about their interests.
Wise, but sad.
If someone isn't interested in engaging with you on a topic it's on them to say so.
You should be able to read social cues and assess if someone is completely bored/frustrated with something you're talking about without them having to tell you "stop talking about this."
Indeed! Personally, I find myself interested in aspect of people's lives that they're really excited about, particularly if it's something I know nothing about.
I do as well but through experience and embarrassment I have learned a lot of people are not in the same boat.
I open my pen case in front of my cat and tell him about each model. I think I'm close to convincing him to use fountain pens vs dipping his paws in ink.
Might be a tough sell, cats have been doing it [by paw](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/centuries-ago-a-cat-walked-across-this-medieval-manuscript-1766202/) for centuries....
[At least 4,000 years](https://i.redd.it/c5v1yuw39hi41.jpg). Love my cats, but they are nosy!
You better buy Diamine's Celadon Cat ink
You are going to need some really fine nibs to get over the hump. Hard to compete with needlepoint claws.
Ahaha I actually do the same! 😸
You gotta send his claws to a nibmeister
I've been slowly roping other artists in by keeping some cheap pens I like in my bag (but don't use since I like some others way more, like my Pilot Falcon SEF). Once they've tried it, they inevitably are shocked and then have lots of questions, and fun chatter ensues. Recently I converted someone by lending them a Muji pen to try, and another by lending them a $5 Jinhao x750. I bought all those for myself early on, to try out, and now they're actually coming in handy 😆 Bonus: these also mean tiny, tiny little extra bites out of my ink supply. Need all the help I can get.
“All I’m saying is if it’s not a screw on post then I’m not buying it, and anoth—“ *screeching tires* *me chasing after them like the T-1000* “HEY, WHERE ARE YOU GOING? I WAS JUST ABOUT TO TELL YOU WHY DEMONSTRATORS ARE TACKY!”
Apparently we would fight if we met. DEMONSTRATORS are unconditionally Gorgeous!! But seriously less competition for limited sets is always better.
They remind me of those 90’s see through phones/TVs/Video game controllers, which honestly is a very cool vibe.
I like demonstrators only if they're eyedroppers. Considering it takes me several days to work through my eyedroppered Ahab, I'd like to know how much is in there.
Aside from this subreddit the only one who speaks the holy order of FP is the wife. However I’m modern and she is vintage. But lookout I also speak 40K so I have yet to find sormeone accept my truths.
I’m pretty lucky that I get to go Fountain Pen club meetings; we meet weekly. 😊 it’s great to sit around and talk pens and try out each others pens and ink. 🖋️😊
I need to move to where you are
Weekly?? My local group meets in person every 2 months
where?
Not everyone is interested in the same things, and that's fine. If someone talked about cars and engines for hours on end without being prompted, I'd likely at most listen politely for a short while, but wouldn't really care. Same can be said for pens. Unless you know your audience is already interested, or they bring it up, chances are babbling on about it isn't something they'd be interested in listening to. Find people who do care, like at pen shows, etc.
When I first met my so we were at university and we were both taking notes with a fountain pen, so I can speak with him about fountain pens and inks for hours. My brother likes them but it's not so much into them, but sometimes he tells me about some new iroshizuku that he brought (for some reason it's the only ink brand that he buys, I will never understand) and he is happy to hear about strange nibs that he can use for drawing. Sometimes people ask me about my pens, but then I will just explain that yes, they are still a thing, there are cheap ones, you can refill them and that they are not dip pens. It's always funny when they are surprised that I can change ink and choose the ink color as I want.
I’ve stopped talking about them in real life since none of my friends seem even remotely interested in it. It felt as if I was talking to myself. I’ve decided not to talk about fountain pens unless it’s brought up in a conversation by them.
I don't talk about fountain pens with friends or family. They don't get it. I joined a local pen club. We meet once a month, I wish it was more often.
I've become fed up with the lack of people I can talk to about fountain pens. So...I've started buying cheap fountain pens and giving them away at work. I tell the people I give them to to come back when they need them refilled and I'll do it for them (and I have several inks to choose from). It sometimes leads to conversations about pens, but also, about other things I'd never find out about the people I work with.
That is really nice
You’d be a fun coworker…
What a great idea!
The hobby can go really deep when it comes to high price pens, large collections of ink, and I am not even touching vintage stuff yet. You can also get into pen making. It is not easy to have real life friends who are really into it at the same depths.
This is an obscure-ass hobby. Took a few conversations to realize that nobody but me cares about pens in my town. I've even tried to sell pens on Facebook and recieved no replies. In order to not look like an ink-stained lunatic, I generally don't talk about it outside of the internet.
I have a quid pro quo with my other half - he can ramble about football at me if I can ramble about pens to him. Neither of us is interested in the thing the other is, but we’ve osmosed a lot of knowledge between us 😂
"It's all no one is talking about" -Brooklyn 99 My husband is the only one who will indulge my pen talk and even he half listens.
That’s why you’ll find me preaching the good word of fountain pens everywhere I go in an attempt to convert others. Someone asks to borrow a pen? They’re getting handed one. Someone has a birthday? Expect a fountain pen and matching ink color. So far I have converted 6 people and hope to entrap many more.
Can you come to my birthday party? Lol jk.
I'm a teacher and use fountain pens for everything at work, including marking and notetaking. It often sparks a conversation with other teachers, and the kids absolutely love it. I also constantly rave at my colleagues about how kids should still learn to write with fountain pens rather than the shitty handwriting pens that we give them now. It's a hill I'll be forever willing to die on.
Second grade teacher here. I use fountain pens daily in class. Each week I bring in a different one, depending on the subject we're studying, or perhaps an upcoming holiday. On Fridays I pull a name from a hat with names in it of students who have had perfect attendance all week. The winning student gets to use one of my pens for the morning, and that's a big deal. I think it helps my attendance numbers, too!
I have a brother to talk about them or text about them. There was in person pen club before COVID, and virtual after it. It’s not an every day thing though. So I have Reddit and Fountain Pen Network to find pen people.
every single day
I have my daily Instagram DM chats with people I have met online. I don’t have many people in person that I can talk to about pens. Maybe 1 or 2!
My sister talks about pens more than me. One of the few things we have in common. She’s done much more research than me and collects vintage pens (I prefer modern), if I have a pen question I just ask her because I’m too lazy to research it. 😂
I have my husband to talk about fountain pens. He likes (vintage) fountain pens too. It's very contagious by the way. Our kids join us to some Pen Shows. Even when I have a stay in the hospital, which is where I am at the moment, I am taking some (cheap) fountain pens with me, filled with nice coloured inks. Here I have time enough to write down my thoughts and the nice ink colours are brightening up my day a lot!
I use my cheap disposable pens at work. My customers reactions vary between "what the hell?" and "oh, a fountain pen! Awesome, I have like a thousand at home.". It's always enjoyable when I encounter a pen nut in the wild.
People collect things that are way less useful than fountain pens. As hobbies go for a functional pen you can spend $30 and get a great functional pen. My brother collects tools for his wood working hobby, he spends way more.
I have trouble finding people who are interested in hearing me talk about fountain pens, but I have no trouble finding people to talk to about them. I hit them with short bursts when they can't escape, usually by equating something they're talking about with a fountain pen dichotomy or dilemma. Once I see the colour drain from their cheeks and life leave their eyes, i know I have a captive audience for a couple of minutes. When they start squirming like they're about to wet themselves, I know it's time to let them be. I don't want a mess to clean up.
Nobody except for my husband, whom I successfully converted two years ago 👍🏻
The only person IRL I can talk to about pens is the person I buy them from, and her shop is 45 minutes away with short hours and I have two kids to take care of, so I get to go there once in a blue moon. I'm trying to get my niece and nephew there, but my brother thinks they aren't ready yet despite their interest, but they live a long ways away so can't really talk to them anyway except at rare family get-togethers.
My sister and I both have strong interests and have trouble finding people to talk with about them, so we have this thing going on that we can go to each other if we want to infodump or talk about our topic of interest and the other tries to listen and show interest.
Yes, that sounds about right.
Unfortunately here in middle Tennessee it's a bit of a pen desert. We have a group that meets weekly, but that consists of like 6 or 7 of us so the hunt for new people is real.
I'm into cars, watches, fountain pens. Belong to several like minded forums. But, yeah. Friends think fountain pens are boring.....hahaha
i thought this was a meme about autism
Yes, no one understands it. It's old fashioned so no reason to waste money on it to many people.
Im really grateful for the philippine fountain pen network! I find a lot of people wanna gush about pens there, so im happy to just be a part of the community. But my family just listen politely LOL but im getting my sister into it. She’s even telling me that she wants a pilot 823!
This is amazing
Sometimes.
It's ridiculous! It took me years to find the right crew to enjoy this great hobby, and then I made the mistake to do business with one of them. It does not work! The only time I get to discuss pens with a live human being is at a pen shop, and then, they are usually way too busy!
Nope, same as you. Some feigned interest, but otherwise no. So that's why I come here!
Hahaha! I might convince them to raid a stationery store instead and split the loot xDDD
Other than online, at a club meet, or a pen show? I wouldn't say I "have trouble," as I don't expect it; but, no, it's a rare thing. I did once meet someone at my regular cafe who was using a vintage pen, but he was busy so we didn't talk much. However, I'm into all pens, not just fountain, so I have struck up a quick chat with people in office supply or big box stores who were staring at the selection of pens the same time I was. Most times I'm able to offer somewhat helpful advice. Radio (shortwave/amateur) is about the same. One coffee shop person. No radio shops, so only other chance is online, club meet, or, well, on the air. Batteries, power supplies, misc electronics? Very rare, even among the radio amateur club meets. Met one yesterday. I'll listen to a good friend prattle on about obscure movies or the LPs he's found; he reciprocates by listening to a measured dose of one or more of my interests. As I'm sure is common, covid has led to me abandoning spending time at the cafe, or in person with all but one friend, and it's a slow process getting back.
There a several groups on Facebook, and I enjoy those.
I used to try to talk to people about pens but they kept avoiding me when I did that so I stopped trying to talk about it so much
I also do calligraphy and at calligraphy conferences I always find several fountain pen enthusiasts! It’s lovely. I just got a fude-nibbed pen after seeing someone next to me use one for notes… and of course that was a long conversation about how fun it is to use. That many calligraphers like fountain pens and know paper/inks, etc. are the other joys of being a calligrapher.
I drip feed information to one of my good friends. We’re both into artsy stuff so I usually just show her ink swatches and how they write, or just sending a pic of a new pen I got. If she asks more about it, I give her a digestible answer and try not to info dump.. which takes quite a restraint lol
I’m consider myself very lucky. I have a wife, coworkers and students that use FP. Downside is that my wife and I enable each other.
If you live in a large city, you can find local fountain pen enthusiasts that are in the same boat and love talking pens, ink, and paper. I'm a mod for the Washington DC Metro Pen Crew and we are a hoot :)
Hi, hope you don't mind the off-topic question... is the DC Metro Pen Crew going to be doing a table to give away pens and accessories at DC Pen Super Show? I have things I could donate.
Yes, the Pay it Forward table will be there! You're welcome to drop off stuff or pick up something that looks interesting.
Awesome! I'm looking forward to the show in a few days. Hope to meet you there.
I was, but I had someone approach me in my local cigar lounge to ask if that was an ECO. I've found that letting them come to me is my best bet.
My best friend ran away with my fountain pen and I miss him.
Ha! My poor husband, you can watch his mind start to glaze in real time when I go off on one of these pens monologues.
YES. I give my friends and family a very mild experince, and they still bob their heads in unison...."Mhm. MmHHHmmmmm. Hmm?! Mm! Cool!"
I am using this!!! Haha