Happy Fountain Pen Day 2013

Fountain Pen Day is observed on the first Friday of November; in 2013, that also happens to be the first day of the month. As is stated on www.fountainpenday.org , it is a “Day to celebrate, promote, and share fountain pens and the handwritten arts.” I like that it’s inclusive like that since I also use dip pens, the ancestors of fountain pens, with equal enjoyment.

I have a variety of fountain pens, from vintage pens previously held by my father to free-with-ink Platinum Preppies. My current favorite daily pen is a Pilot Metropolitan that currently sports a fine nib gotten from a Pilot 78G that I tuned to write wetter (in the U.S., the Metropolitan only sells with medium nibs). I’ve always tended to write on the small side and I like a fine, elegant line, so I tend to favor the Japanese fine nibs as they are usually as fine or finer than European extra-fine nibs.

My grail is to acquire what is known as a “wet noodle”. This is a kind of pen not commercially made anymore that has a nib so flexible and responsive that it is able to allow the writing to be not just line-formed letters but calligraphy (beautiful writing). Since I’ve trained myself to write with some monstrously flexible dip pen nibs, such a wondrous fountain pen would not be lost on me — I want it for what it can do, not for whatever brand-name aura is attached to it.

I use two inks for normal daily writing: Noodler’s Black and Noodler’s Liberty’s Elysium. The black is sort of a no-brainer; it’s essentially a permanent ink (once it bonds with cellulose, either wood pulp or cotton, in the paper) that is a relatively neutral and fully saturated black. Liberty’s Elysium isn’t quite as impervious to water as the black is, but it won’t just wash away, either. That plus the fact that it’s simply a gorgeous blue is what drew me to it. Unfortunately, it’s an ink exclusive to one seller, but that lack of ubiquity doesn’t diminish how nifty this ink is.

I should note that I like permanence in my inks — from what I’ve read that is more likely of Americans than Europeans. That said, Noodler’s is a U.S.-based company, one that makes most of the permanent inks available, and thus typically presents a better value to U.S. customers as international shipping and fees aren’t influencing the price.

I use other inks as well. I have a stable of reds I use for proof editing. I have some browns because sometimes I like a more antique look. A few other colors for whimsy. I also have inks that are meant only for my dip pens because of particular qualities: speed of drying, or eraser resistance, or waterproofness, or whatever. But among all those, there is still an ink that I gravitate to that I use whenever I can: Noodler’s Apache Sunset. This ink combined with a square cut  or a flexible nib and not-too-absorbent paper is almost beyond gorgeous.

While I’ll write on pretty much any paper, I prefer Clairefontaine and Rhodia. Not exactly budget papers but so nice to write on. I’ve yet to find my perfect go-to notebook. I want white paper with sufficient quality that it won’t fail in regards to feathering and show-through (more of a problem with fountain pens and liquid roller balls than with ball-points and gel pens), hard covers, and will open flat even while having a generous amount of pages — all for a price that isn’t overblown. I can find most of those qualities in various combinations in several products but not all. So, I keep sampling.

I tip my ink well to my fountain pens old, new, and future. I used my first FP in the early 70s and they’ve had my heart since. If you want to step away from the keyboard and try it “old school”, pick yourself up a Pilot Metro (in my opinion, the best first pen) and a good fountain pen ink and take some time to reconnect with tradition.