One of the things I enjoy most, is the search for knowledge. When I buy a pen, I want to know the history of the company, which nibs they've used over their production span. With small makers, I want to know what their inspiration is, how they started turning pens, who inspired them. There are interesting people behind these pen brands and pen companies. The best part; for me; of the recent D.C. pen show, was meeting the people behind the table. I met Bob Dupras. I'd long admired his resin blanks, and I finally got to meet him. These connections make the pens mean so much more than the physical elements that go into their construction.
I quite agree. This is why I regard fountain pens as impractical: they are - for me, at least - a purely personal item that is used only for short, personal writing.
I recently felt the satisfaction you speak of when writing with the Pilot Custom 845 in a Medium nib out of the box. No tuning required. Such a beautiful and wonderful experience.
Great video about the fountain pen hobby, Mick, particularly those new to this. Focus on the use, and take it from there to refine your tastes in pens, inks, and paper. Just don't break the bank, and sell the family farm. I find joy in my writing, learning what my words tell about me, as well as my body of work. Write on!
Good video. You hit many nails on the head. I've been in the fountain pen hobby for about six months, and I guess I'm involved in "the search" because I have already acquired 6 or 7 not to mention a number of inks and nibs. The funny thing is I still don't really know what I'm going to do with them. But I just enjoy putting ink on paper. (I worked in the printing and publishing industry before I retired.) Sometimes I just grab one of my favorites and write out the alphabet and numbers. Weird, eh? But my daily "To Do" lists sure look great! 😁
I use my fountain pens for Urban Sketching. They are wonderful drawing tools! The variety of nibs, ink, style, etc, all make them excellent for drawing and sketching!
The FOMO is absolutely one of the main challenges for me. There are pens that I would do just about anything to be able to own, but I will probably never find one and even if I did I doubt that I could afford it. I still enjoy the pens I have, but I do sometimes worry that the pen I am looking at will be the next one I missed out on. What helps is my experience in how different the writing experience can be from whay you expected. Maybe it would be uncomfortable to hold, or a bad writer? The best thing is oftento remind myself that there will always be another pen. Because there will :) Thank you for this thoughtful video!
Yes I will only watch your channel LOL seriously I really appreciate what you post, always interesting and instructive. I fully agree with what you said, I suppose that everyone has a personal journey as well in the hobby, for me it started slowly, I went into an accelerated accumulation phase, and now I've reduced acquisition but I'm more selective (but also I go for bigger fishes which is sometimes a financial burden, but I'm working at getting better at it). Though I don't rotate as often as say Penultimate Dave and others who do it weekly, but I keep 12 inked pens for journaling and I try to also rotate inks but I find it difficult to do systematically, I have the project to write a program to do it with some more automation but it also takes time that I don't have... I have other sets of inked pens here and there: one for my studies, one for work, one for may EDC notebook, one for my calligraphy practice, so overall I keep quite a few pens inked but I use them at least once per week. Still I own too many inks, too many pens for a life that is too short, and YT is not helping keeping the FOMO at bay... Anyway I'm getting stronger everyday :) Thanks Mick for the great videos!
As with any hobby, it is the joy of finding something that attracts you or something that you have been looking for. My wuest for finding the pen that fits well in the hand and can be used for long writing sessions is key. The challenge to me is maintaining the hoard of pens to a manageable level, lol. I do not look for the latest and greatest pen. I do look for interesting pens in design, styling and function. I try to limit my fountain pen collection to 20 pens. Not easy, for sure. I just received a Platinum President. It is luscious in the hand and writing. The model has been discontinued so I directed my search for it. Does it stand out visually? No, but finding it is about the size of a Montblanc 146, it became very desirable to me.
Talent is not really the main thing about drawing. If you want to you can learn, it is a skill, like playing the piano, a SKILL? IF you WANT to.. you can learn to draw the way YOU draw.. I teach hundreds of people to enjoy drawing and express themselves..
As much as I love fountain pens, I don't regard them as really practical. I prefer either a ballpoint or pencil for long pieces of writing. I use fountain pens for short pieces only.
One of the things I enjoy most, is the search for knowledge. When I buy a pen, I want to know the history of the company, which nibs they've used over their production span. With small makers, I want to know what their inspiration is, how they started turning pens, who inspired them. There are interesting people behind these pen brands and pen companies. The best part; for me; of the recent D.C. pen show, was meeting the people behind the table. I met Bob Dupras. I'd long admired his resin blanks, and I finally got to meet him. These connections make the pens mean so much more than the physical elements that go into their construction.
I quite agree. This is why I regard fountain pens as impractical: they are - for me, at least - a purely personal item that is used only for short, personal writing.
great discussion. I totally agree, the search !!
I recently felt the satisfaction you speak of when writing with the Pilot Custom 845 in a Medium nib out of the box. No tuning required. Such a beautiful and wonderful experience.
Thank you so much for bringing nuance in this world
Great video about the fountain pen hobby, Mick, particularly those new to this. Focus on the use, and take it from there to refine your tastes in pens, inks, and paper. Just don't break the bank, and sell the family farm. I find joy in my writing, learning what my words tell about me, as well as my body of work. Write on!
Good video. You hit many nails on the head. I've been in the fountain pen hobby for about six months, and I guess I'm involved in "the search" because I have already acquired 6 or 7 not to mention a number of inks and nibs. The funny thing is I still don't really know what I'm going to do with them. But I just enjoy putting ink on paper. (I worked in the printing and publishing industry before I retired.) Sometimes I just grab one of my favorites and write out the alphabet and numbers. Weird, eh? But my daily "To Do" lists sure look great! 😁
I use my fountain pens for Urban Sketching. They are wonderful drawing tools! The variety of nibs, ink, style, etc, all make them excellent for drawing and sketching!
The FOMO is absolutely one of the main challenges for me. There are pens that I would do just about anything to be able to own, but I will probably never find one and even if I did I doubt that I could afford it. I still enjoy the pens I have, but I do sometimes worry that the pen I am looking at will be the next one I missed out on. What helps is my experience in how different the writing experience can be from whay you expected. Maybe it would be uncomfortable to hold, or a bad writer? The best thing is oftento remind myself that there will always be another pen. Because there will :) Thank you for this thoughtful video!
Yes I will only watch your channel LOL seriously I really appreciate what you post, always interesting and instructive. I fully agree with what you said, I suppose that everyone has a personal journey as well in the hobby, for me it started slowly, I went into an accelerated accumulation phase, and now I've reduced acquisition but I'm more selective (but also I go for bigger fishes which is sometimes a financial burden, but I'm working at getting better at it). Though I don't rotate as often as say Penultimate Dave and others who do it weekly, but I keep 12 inked pens for journaling and I try to also rotate inks but I find it difficult to do systematically, I have the project to write a program to do it with some more automation but it also takes time that I don't have... I have other sets of inked pens here and there: one for my studies, one for work, one for may EDC notebook, one for my calligraphy practice, so overall I keep quite a few pens inked but I use them at least once per week. Still I own too many inks, too many pens for a life that is too short, and YT is not helping keeping the FOMO at bay... Anyway I'm getting stronger everyday :) Thanks Mick for the great videos!
A very thought-provoking analysis, thank you.
As with any hobby, it is the joy of finding something that attracts you or something that you have been looking for. My wuest for finding the pen that fits well in the hand and can be used for long writing sessions is key. The challenge to me is maintaining the hoard of pens to a manageable level, lol.
I do not look for the latest and greatest pen. I do look for interesting pens in design, styling and function. I try to limit my fountain pen collection to 20 pens. Not easy, for sure. I just received a Platinum President. It is luscious in the hand and writing. The model has been discontinued so I directed my search for it. Does it stand out visually? No, but finding it is about the size of a Montblanc 146, it became very desirable to me.
I have no talent for drawing, at all. When I use my fountain pens, I feel as though I am drawing, and it gives me a lot of pleasure.
🤦♂️
Talent is not really the main thing about drawing. If you want to you can learn, it is a skill, like playing the piano, a SKILL? IF you WANT to.. you can learn to draw the way YOU draw.. I teach hundreds of people to enjoy drawing and express themselves..
I feel there is an elegance or style when writing with a fountain pen which is totally lacking when using a ballpoint pen. That's why I prefer them.
As much as I love fountain pens, I don't regard them as really practical. I prefer either a ballpoint or pencil for long pieces of writing. I use fountain pens for short pieces only.
Try a LAMY
There's no advantage over good rollerballs or gel pens. I use fountain pens because I like expensive, beautiful things.
They don't have to be expensive, not even beautiful, and yet people use them, so surely there is some advantage.
I love my Mont Blanc platinum 146