It has come to this: my obsession with pens requires its own page.
(pictured: Visconti Van Gogh Midi with PR Tanzanite)
I don’t quite know when it began. From a very early age, I was fascinated with “office supplies”, the generic category that encompassed paper products, pens, and the like. As a child, I learned calligraphy, so I must have owned my first fountain pen then. It didn’t turn into a full-blown obsession until 2003, and I’m still not sure why.
The fountain pens I currently own are, in order of usage:
- Lamy 2000 with a Binderized extra-fine nib
- Namiki Vanishing Point, purple 2008 limited edition
- Sheaffer Prelude, luminous purple with nickel-plate trim
- Pelikan M 400, white tortie
- Lamy Studio, limited edition violet
- Lamy AL-Star, purple
- Lamy Logo, stainless steel
- Waterman Carène, purple and silver
- Faber-Castell Ambition Birnbaum
- Visconti Van Gogh Midi
- Retro 51 Tornado
- Sensa Meridian
- Rotring Core
- Monteverde Olympia
- Waterman Philéas
- Recife Baby Press Constellation (needs repair)
If I could ever justify the expense, I would complete my collection with Jules, the most beautiful pen I have ever seen.
Despite all this, I am not a snob about writing instruments; I appreciate any pen that provides a compelling tactile experience. I love to talk pens with anyone, so ask me anything!
Useful Links
- The Fountain Pen Network: thorough, friendly forums
- Pen Collectors of America
- Pendemonium: storefront and reviews (the ink facts are particularly illuminating)
- Penspotters: Rick Conner’s “field guide to fountain pens”
Inexpensive Fountain Pen Favorites
- Lamy Safari: recommended for beginners, both right- and left-handed
- Pelikan Future: cartridge only, steel nib
- Pilot Petit1: mini-sized, refillable, and only $5
- Pilot Varsity: disposable, both fine and medium nibs, purple is my favorite
Awesome (and Alphabetized) Ink
- Diamine Imperial Purple: vibrant violet
- Diamine Monaco Red: blood-red with a brown tinge
- Diamine Woodland Green: slightly darker than medium
- Levenger Amethyst: the prototypical amethyst purple
- Noodler’s Air Corp Blue-Black: more of a teal-black, thick and wet
- Private Reserve American Blue: just like the blue in the flag
- Private Reserve Avocado: medium brownish green
- Private Reserve Burgundy Mist: syrah, really
- Private Reserve Ebony Purple: just as it sounds, lush and dark
- Private Reserve Tanzanite: deep bluish purple
- Rotring Ultramarine: bluish purple, brighter than PR Tanzanite
- Pelikan Blue-Black: blacker than blue
- Visconti Black: velvet and fast-drying
- Waterman Blue-Black: bluer than black
Non-Fountain Goodness
- Fisher Space Pen: the ballpoint that writes upside-down and through butter
- Uni-ball Signo 207: my favorite gel pen, now that the Papermate Gel-Writer is extinct
- Pilot G-2 0.7mm: another good gel alternative
- Rhodia notebooks: ugly as sin, but their paper holds ink beautifully
- Oberon Design journals: gorgeous hand-made leather journals
- Paperblanks journals: good paper for fountain pen ink, and the “old leather slim” versions are lovely
