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October 8, 2007

Living with a Fountain Pen

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photo by Sean Gosse

I got hooked on writing with fountain pens a long time ago. I went to elementary school in Montreal in the early 1970’s when penmanship was still part of the curriculum and remember being told we were told we were going to learn to write with a pen. My first thought?: “Cool, I can write with a ballpoint like dad.”

My teacher quickly put an end to that thought, giving explicit instructions that the only pens allowed into class were Sheaffer cartridge fountain pens with a fine or medium point. Black ink was a no-no and only Skrip Royal Blue and maybe Blue-black in emergencies were considered acceptable ink colors. It was a messy way to learn how to write and when my family moved to Toronto, I switched to a ballpoint.

Jumping ahead to the late 1990’s, my girlfriend at the time collected fountain pens and let me try one out. I was hooked. Now, ten years later, I have about 30 fountain pens in my collection.

So why write with an obsolete piece of technology, you ask? Especially when we live in a world addicted to instant messaging?

There are a couple of reasons:

First, I remember the feeling of comfort I got after filling up a couple thousand 8x11 notebook pages with notes at university. My hand hurt from all the writing, and boy was that satisfying.

Second, after I tried my girlfriend’s Waterman I experienced a surge of nostalgia that took me back back to grade three, the nib gliding across the page with almost no effort. I picked up a Waterman Expert pen two weeks after that and taking notes in meetings has become that much more of a joy.

Third, fountain pens are life long personal accessories, tools to express yourself on paper. You refill the ink as opposed to going to the office supply cabinet stocked with disposable pens for a cheap ballpoint made of non re-newable resources. I have couple of pens in my collection dating to the very late 1930’s that I still use on a regular basis. They are comfortable to write with and guaranteed conversation starters.

Fourth, but not lastly, fountain pens force you to slow down and think about what you want to really express. Think of it as rebellion against the 24/7/365, instant message.

These days, I am usually seen with a Pelikan or a Parker pen in my hand be it working on a project, writing in my journal, or taking notes in meetings or night class.


Comments (3) | Stationery! Pens! Supplies! | Link






COMMENTS


I, too, love fountain pens. I have about 15 of them but none are too fancy to lose. I always end up rewriting letters with them if I rush a thought or my cat decides she needs to be a part of the letter writing process. I'm glad I'm not alone in the world of loving pens.

Posted by William

I picked up my first fountain pen my sophomore year of college. It was a birthday gift and I began using it immediately for all of my writing. After using the pen for several years of college, I've become a strong advocate for Sensa pens and encourage all of my friends and colleagues to try them out.

One other thing that I like about fountain pens: they slowly conform to the angle they are used in, so they slowly become more personalized extensions of the hand with use. I'm not a collector, only having one fountain pen worth mentioning, but I love mine nonetheless.

Posted by William

One of my professors is writing a book on the history of ink. At first, I internally mocked it a bit --it seems like it would be a pretty dull book! --but after he told me a little more about his project, I realized that ink (and its related components, such as fountain and berol-styled pens) is actually a fascinating, surprisingly political topic!

I'll send in the title of the book (when it comes out), just in case you other MLP participants find the topic as fascinating as I do!

Posted by William