Welcome Give Away #3

[dannzeman]

http://www.fpgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/MG_0364-600x101.jpg (http://www.fpgeeks.com/2010/03/welcome-give-away-3/_mg_0364/)

http://www.fpgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/MG_0365-600x76.jpg (http://www.fpgeeks.com/2010/03/welcome-give-away-3/_mg_0365/)

http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t43/dannzeman/b07a9454.jpg
To continue the festivities of welcoming everyone to the new site we are giving away a red Esterbrook SJ with 2668 nib, a bottle of Pelikan ink, and a Moleskine Reporter. Basically everything you need to get started. To enter the drawing tell us what your first fountain pen was (a little back-story would be nice, too). You’ll have until 11:59pm on Sunday April 4th, 2010 to leave a post and enter the contest. Good luck!

[Koyote]

Okay, I'll see if I can be "first in" on this thread.

My first FP is still my favorite: a Sheaffer Targa that my grandfather gave me as a college graduation gift in the mid '80s. Silver-plated in a barleycorn finish, with matching ballpoint pen. Fine nib in 14c gold. Beautiful pens, the finish texture kind of sparkles in almost any light.

Then pen never wrote well, so recently I got a new nib from Sheaffer (under warranty) which barely wrote; that nib went back, and it's replacement is super dry and quite skippy -- but I have given up on Sheaffer and just sent the nib to a nibmeister for tweaking. Here's hoping it comes back performing properly!

[Scuderia-F1]

Okey, there will be some problem for me. Because I´ve yet to get my first fp, all I´ve got for now is an Mont Blanc p161 ballpoint (which my lovely girlfriend bought to me as an b-day gift 4 years ago) . So I´m in a huge need for an fp because the urge are getting really bad, and I´m dreaming of an red fp!

[dannzeman]

.
Okey, there will be some problem for me. Because I´ve yet to get my first fp, all I´ve got for now is an Mont Blanc p161 ballpoint (which my lovely girlfriend bought to me as an b-day gift 4 years ago) . So I´m in a huge need for an fp because the urge are getting really bad!
Sounds like this would be the perfect contest for you to win. Good luck.

Sent from my HTC HERO using Tapatalk

[Ms_GoingtoMoon]

I bought my first fountain pen as a school girl at the age of 8. It was a Pelikan (Geman branch made in Hannover) and I think it was blue and red. It was the pen I learnt how to write. In the years after I wrote with different other pens...
But in 1993/94 I stayed in England for a year as a student of history and English literature. In the end of the stay I presented myself with a new fountain pen: a black PARKER fountain pen. I wrote the first letters to my husband with this pen, I wrote a diary when I was pregnant with my kids and I still use the pen today for important and very personal messages. Mainly I use royal blue ink. This pen will always remind my of my stay in England and the great time I had.

[Scuderia-F1]

.
Sounds like this would be the perfect contest for you to win. Good luck.

Sent from my HTC HERO using Tapatalk

Yes, I´m waiting for the e-mail!:D;)

[Kelly G]

My first fountain pen was a Sheaffer Cartridge pen in Jr. High School in the mid 1960's. They were all the rage. My next and the first fountain pen I used as a serious writing tool was a MB 144 that my wife bought me as a Christmas gift in the early 1990's. I wrote a ton of business meeting notes with that pen until I fell prey to the fp obsession in 2001 - now the MB is resting in the case, retired and only used occasionally. But, it is one of those pens I will keep forever.

[Tortoise]

My first fountain pen was a Sheaffer cartridge pen. We were required to write with a fountain pen in 5th grade in the early 70's, & everyone I recall had one of these pens. Mine was a slate blue color. What I remember most about it is trying to write a report on Ben Franklin with that pen and having to start over multiple times because of botching the job. Same with some poem about the sea. My cursive has never recovered, but I print rather nicely http://fpgeeks.com/forum/images/smilies/redface.gif

[bdpatton2]

My first fountain pen, which is still in the mail, is going to be the "Hero 717 Black Golden Medium Nib Fountain Pen 134." I'm a noob at this whole fountain pen thing, but I'm really looking forward to learn all I can about my new obsession. I have four other pens that are coming on their way too!! There are as follows: BAOER 388 Gloss Black & Gold M Nib Fountain Pen, LANBITOU 229 Blue fine nib Fountain Pen, Jinhao X-450 Black Lacquer Fountain Pen, and a Wearever Fountain Pen Mechanical Pencil Set 50-60s MIB. This forum rocks by the way!!

Edit:

Actually my Jenhao X-450 came first in the mail, and so far - though its inkless - the pen feels amazing in my hand and i've read amazing reviews on the pen, for the price some people said they would put up to a contest next to their lamy safari and pelikans, which excites me because it only cost me $8!!!

[JuicyJones]

My first fountain pen ever was a Sheaffer NoNonsense fountain pen, purchased by my Mother in a pair for my brother and myself. We didn't really understand these things except they were cool and messy so we loved them. Time went by and I used several Pilot disposable FPs in High School, and as a graduation present my Mother bought me a Parker Duofold, which coincidentally they had just relaunched the previous year (1988) as the Parker Duofold Centennial. It was red and beautiful. That was my first 'real' fountain pen. And the rest, as they say, is history!

[dandelion]

My very first was a Parker Vector. I think I was about 10-11 years and had wished for a fountain pen for long and finally I got one from my mother - as a Xmas or birthday present. The one I consider as my first "real" pen is the MB 144 I bought when I was in my late teens after lusting for it very long. I bought it for a part of the money I'd earned by working extra in a book store. It was like heaven to have it...finally. I bought a bottle of MB Bordeaux to go with it and carried it with me everywhere.

[carpedavid]

My first fountain pen was a black Lamy Safari. One of my colleagues at work uses fountain pens, and I respect her taste enough that I figured I try it. That was my mistake, because 10 pens later (including 6 Lamy, 1 Pelikan, 1 Cross, 1 Montegrappa, and 1 Waterman) and I feel like I'm only beginning my collection.

[Okami]

I just wanted to say how awesome these giveaways are!! My first FP purchase was a Namiki VP - about 15 years ago. I know have about 65 fountain pens and am always on the hunt. I really started accumulating about 3 years ago, it started because of the limitations of ink color for my RBs. That was all she wrote!!

[TrevorML]

Parker 45... black... fine nib... a xmas present from my presents when I first started high school in '69... used to regularly dismantle it without ever knowing what I was doing to clean it... even if it did not need a clean... but because it was mine... and I could

used to use Parker Quink Royal Blue in it... used to love the whole messing around with the ink and pen stuff right from the start... not much has changed in the past 41 years... still messing around with ink and pulling pens apart

oh... what a love it is :o

[James]

My first fountain pen was a brown laquered Waterman Gentleman, a hand me down from my father. He bought the pen back in the '80s along with another Gentleman in blue, that I would later be gifted, when he was in the corporate world. He gave me the pen during my first year of law school so that I would have something professional to use. Funny thing is, after 20 years of use, the tines had been so badly bent out of shape that only his hand posture could write with it! I still have the pen, but the tines are still eschew.

I have since moved into collecting vintage pens, Esties are my favorites, and I do not yet have one in red!

James

[Ernst Bitterman]

My first fountain pen was a Sheaffer cartridge pen, apparently an early example of the third pattern with the flat ends. I got it in 1974 or '75, because third or fourth grade (the first clear memory of using the thing was in fourth, but I'm unconvinced that defines the earliest use) we were allowed to use pens and I saw this little spectacle hanging in the little stationery section of the drug store that I routinely went to for comics and cap guns. I thought it was some kind of new technology, because the vanes on the feed put me in mind of The Jetsons and Rocket Robin Hood, and it took some time for parents and grandparents to convince me that it was something old. If it was old, why wasn't there more of it around?

I loved it, I'd write with nothing else, and I'd replace it frequently, as I had no notion of flushing pens at that time. The last one was bought in the early 1980's, when they were starting become hard to find.

[Waste_Of_Ink]

My first fountain pen was a Rotring Core which my sister gave to me for my birthday one year.
I eventually lost it, and forgot all about fountain pens.
A few years later I decided I wanted another fountain pen, so I went off and bought a Jinhao x750, which I managed to break. I forgot all about fountain pens for another year or so.
Then I decided it was time to get back on track, and now I own a Parker 51, Pelikan M200, some sort of Eversharp, a Pilot 78g and a nameless leverfiller.

[NABodie]

When I was in school I would every now and then pick up a cheep Sheaffer fp from the drug store and use it til the carts ran out, but really had no attraction to fp's as they were just pens. Then for about half of my LE carrier I used a pair of cross bps everyday at work, and switched over to the cheep disposable pens that were supplied by the office when I went to plain cloths. A couple of years ago I decided I wanted to use a real pen again and started looking for a MB. I had admired these when they were sold at Staples but thought they were to expensive at the time. Well I found that the price has not gone down over the years, so I started looking for a second hand one. Thats when I found FPN and started looking through the for sale adds. I eventually found a used MB 342 that was not marked as sold so I contacted the poster. He told me that he had in fact sold the advertised pen some time before but told me he had another from his personal collection than he would let me have at the same price. Well the seller was Oxonian, if you don't know who Oxonian is he is a nibmeister from the UK. Well the pen finally arrived and it was like butter on the page. I have been hooked ever since.

[evan1018]

My first experience with FPs was as a student. I'm an artist who loves to draw and thought FPs were very cool. I used cheap (what I could afford on a small allowance) cartridge pens like Wearevers and such. I grew up in the beginning of the ball point age when Parker T ball Jotters and BICs first appeared and were all the rage, so I had to go with the flow. After enrolling in Art School (college, late 70's/early 80's), my drawing instructor had the class use Pelikan 120s. When I learned they were being discontinued I headed to the nearest stationery store and bought all of whatever inventory of Pelikan 120s that remained. I was only lucky enough to get two, one black, and one black/green, and four XF nibs. My original P 120 only cost $15 (US), and the close out prices were even less (too ridiculous too mention). After many years of use, I broke the original student pen (which was another black one), while trying to clean it. I turned the piston filler cap too far in the wrong direction and it broke off at the threads. I still have it stored in its original box hoping to repair it someday. Heartbroken, I put one of my spares (the black one) into service and have been drawing with it ever since. I have one remaining spare (the black/green one) stored away in its original case, should anything happen to my faithful drawing pen. I've got a few vintage pens from the 30's and 40's that were given to me and I've recently taken an interest in restoring them. One is an Artus, a German made piston filler from the late 40's/early 50's that closely resembles the Pelikan but has flat ends. It came back to life with unexpected ease. I'm now working on restoring the lever fills; a 1930's Shaeffer Balance, a Morrison 'Black Beauty' (which resembles a cheap Mont Blanc), and an early Waterman 32V (a short one). As soon as I can figure out the correct sac sizes needed for these relics, I'll have a go at bringing them back to life as well. I also just discovered my cousin is a FP collector and has done many restorations. Too cool!

[sokuban]

My first fountain pen was a Hero 508 I got from my dad, just last year, I asked him for a fountain pen to try one day, and it was the only one that didn't have dried ink in it so I went for that; I think he got it when he went to China sometime.

Awesome writer, and a nice pen. I love the way it is so easy to clean by being easily able to disassemble; my other pens aren't that nice. I'm going to keep and treasure this pen forever, and for sure will use it when I have needs that don't include writing pages and pages of notes; it seems well-suited for occasional use, with its small ink chamber and easiness to clean if anything happens.

I stopped using it as my main pen because its ink capacity was just too small and it would run out in the middle of my lectures. Right now I am supplementing it with a Sheaffer 440 that we exchanged the old converter (with its broken sac) for a new converter to get working. Unfortunately, its nib is way too big for my liking; much bigger than a medium in my book, probably because of the foot it got from my dad's use. I could hold it at a different angle to not lay it on the foot, but then it gets really scratchy.

So yea, to hear that you are giving out a free pen really gets me excited, because I don't really have the money or ability to get another pen on my own. (Though I am planning on looking for a Platinum Preppy downtown one day before the summer session starts.) Great way to get people to come to another forum. (I remember sometime at FPN there were some people, I think they were banned, who were advertising another forum but everyone was criticizing the idea, saying why not just stay at FPN.)

[Roger3]

First pen was a Sheaffer transparent barrel school pen. That style, the only style I knew, wrote me through elementary school. During my high school years, I discovered parker and more sheaffer styles. I liked the Parkers but I'm afraid I can't recall name or style. My first real fountain pen was a Parker Duofold International in marbled green. I still have that pen (25years now) and its companion pencil and rollerball. The pen, more than the set, carries deep sentimental value for me and I have never considered trading it or selling it. This set of pens was followed with Waterman Edson Sapphire Blue, Waterman Coral Patrician and Emerald Patrician and then 1995 Mandarin Yellow Duofold. Pelikans, the whole flock, 200s to 1000 followed and though pen collecting dooms me to an impoverished financial condition, I find a tremendous joy in beholding new arrivals....like the MB149 and Montegrappa Extra Black/White celluloid that came this week with Tibaldi Modello 60 due tomorrow or next day!!! YIPPEE!

[safetyfast]

My first was a Sheaffer calligraphy set my mom got me in grade school. I used it quite a bit. However, what really got me hooked was a Waterman Laureate my wife got me for college graduation. I've used it often for over 15 years. More recently I've gotten hooked on Parkers, with my primary interest being the Parker "51." I rarely write with anything other than a FP.

[ldb2000]

My first fountain pen was a Parker 51 special that I got from my parents when I entered HS . I loved that pen and used it all through school and beyond . Sadly it was lost about 15 years ago during a move . I have since procured a couple of 51s and several other Parker FP's but the new FP love of my life is a wonderful , silky smooth Falcon Flighter . This is the best writing pen I have ever owned and it just looks Cool !!!

[pwyll]

I'd used a few disposables, but the first fountain pen I bought was a Pelikan M200. It was the first "real" fountain pen I'd seen for sale, and it happened to be at Service Merchandise for $50. I sold a set of encyclopedias that had taken me two years to accumulate in order to fund the purchase. Unfortunately the nib creep (with the Pelikan 4001 Black I bought at the same time) was so bad I went back to rollerballs for several years. Thankfully, I have since been able to find pens that are suitable for daily use...

[Bourgeoisie]

My first FP was a Lamy Safari. Unfortunately, my crazy lefty grip did not work with the Safari's tri-grip. It was not until a received a Sheaffer touchdown feathertouch from a very kind person that I started using FP's. That was almost 7 months ago now, and I have not touched a rollerball since then =D

[mrsphotobug]

My first fountain pen was this cheap pen that came with cartridges, A&W made from West Germany. It wrote very smooth. At that time I didn't know about bottled ink and just used it for writing in my journal. It's got the funkiest colors from the 80's and see for yourself

[gillyohan]

I was looking into cutting out disposable items in my life and got introduced to FPs. Safari's price point was not bad, so I tried it out and liked them. I don't dispose of cheap ballpoints anymore, but I do use up a bit of ink, paper, and money. ;)

[Denix]

Like many of you I started out with those cheap Sheaffer school pens. I can't exactly remember when, but it must have been around 1978-1980. I remember being blown away at how smoothly the pen wrote compared to any ballpoint I ever had. I wrote with those for a few years then completely forgot about fountain pens.

About 3 years ago I saw a Pilot birdie (fine nib) at a closeout sale. I grabbed it and used it for a while, but found it way too scratchy, and the ink would last a few days at most. I decided to try again this year, and after reading everything I could find on the web, I bought a medium Lamy Safari. Wow, talk about a difference! It writes extremely smoothly. I've been EDCing it ever since. I also restored an old Eclipse pen that my mother and law gave me recently. I think I'm hooked:)

Guy

[Robert46]

Hi guys, just joined today. My first was a Sheaffer snorkel. My brother and I each got one as a gift for Christmas about '56. I recently rekindled an interest and have just started collecting a few. I bought one for my brother as an appreciation gift, he lives near my folks and has been helping them out, they're both in their '90's now. And I've thrown out all the cheap old ball points, even gave my wife some disposable Varsitys' to use around the house. FP's at work is cool, takes away some of the tedium. My current favorite has to be the Parker Flighter 45, EF nib.
Sweet.

[Gerry]

Hi, My first FP was undoubtedly an Esterbrook. I had to use the straight pens required in grade school around 1954, but being a lefty, they didn't work for me. I remember hunting for many other Esterbrook nibs in a search for one that worked well in my hand.

Later on, I recall getting a Parker 45 Flighter from my grandmother for HS graduation. Thanks Amma.... ;-)

I kept that pen for all important occasions - including my University exams, and still include it in my rotation. It's history is pretty interesting, but too long to detail here.

Despite owning quite a number of other fountain pens, that Parker 45 retains it's special place in my heart.

Regards,

Gerry

[JohnCruzNg]

My first fountain is my Hero 616. My father bought me this fountain pen after he saw I had an interest in them. My father first noticed that I was curious to find out how fountain pens wrote ever since he saw me glued to the television set watching the Classic Fountain Pen Set commercials - I was about 18 years old when the interest hit me. My father then bought me a Hero 616 with Hero's Black Ink and the Hero 616 has never been empty. It is my go-to fountain pen because it is the most reliable fountain pen. The Hero 616 always puts down a wet and fine line even after a week without use.

I am now 21 years old and my Hero 616 rides in my front pocket at all times because I can depend on it and it is the fountain pen that started it all. I hope it last many more years.

[Sharkbait]

My first fountain pen was Pilot Vanishing Point given to me by my brother who has had an insane obsession with them ever since my father bought him his first fountain pen which was a Hero 616. He actually tricked me in to picking my own fountain pen by constantly asking which pen I liked better. When he ordered the VP he had actually ordered 2 of them one for himself of course :D and one for me as a birthday present. He sucked into the world of Fountain Pens!!!

[Ted H]

My first was a Lamy Al Star back in August of 08. I read the first chapter of "Getting things Done" and got diverted to a wiki about what pen and ink combinations worked best on Moleskines (the Moleskine was for information capture) and never went back to the book. I've been seriously addicted ever since!

[RR4U]

I got my first Fountain Pen back in 1972 when i was 10, a US made black "Parker 45" with an F point which i still keep, it was a present from an uncle for having finished 4th grade. From the pens i own my favorites are my "Pelikans", i also have a few "Rotrings" and "Lamys" which i like very much, my P45 does have a special place in my heart though. My next goal is to get a few Japanese models, i really want a "Nakaya", who doesn't?

Ricardo.

[tytoalba]

Late 1950's mom cast-off Sheaffer Snorkle, which I used to make bubbles in Peacock Blue ink...
while watching Sky King on Saturday afternoon kids TV..
Next, was the replacement cast off, a dove grey P-51, a scratchy finepoint, as mom moved on to :( ballpoints..
I moved on to Sheaffer school cartridge pens..until new suburban school insisted on :( ballpoints..
Rediscovered fountainpen sources asap, so ballpscrawl could return to readable script.

[laoriginaltec]

I purchased my first fountain pen last year. It's a Lamy Al-Star in Purple. I had been reading blogs and people kept raving about Lamy's being a great starter pen. Well when I saw it came in purple I caved. I searched the internet and store after store it was sold out. I continued my search and found out that a store nearby had it in stock. I wanted to call the store to verify that they had it but it was after business hours. So the next morning I rushed down to the store and was supper lucky because I got the last one. I was very happy with it due to the fact that I’m left handed and have read that quite a few left handed people seem to have problems writing with fountain pens.

[mattjs]

My first fountain pen was a Charcoal Lamy Safari with a medium nib. I had been toying with the idea of using a fountain pen for a while and I figured I would give a shot. However, I was tricky. I wanted to know if it would be hard or messy for a lefty to use, so I went out and bought a Safari for my mom (also a lefty). A few weeks later, after hearing no bad news, I bought my own Safari. Shortly after that, I bought myself a Lamy Studio to complement it.

The Buddy System: It's not just for field trips anymore!

[ccorrada]

My first FP was a relatively new Parker my mother gave me sometime around the 80s. Fast forward to Paris 2007 and I bought a cheap Bic FP, the one they use in school in France. My interest in FP rekindled, the next pen was a Lamy Safari, then a couple of Parker 51s, Esterbrooks, Sheaffers, Pilots, more Lamys... hopefully we are at the beginning of the journey...

[eriquito]

gillyohan! (Post Number 28):


I don't dispose of cheap ballpoints anymore, but I do use up a bit of ink, paper, and money.

Congratulations gillyohan! Keep an eye out for an email from yrs truly.

Thank you to everyone who participated in Give Away #3.

Give Away #4 (http://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/80-Welcome-Give-Away-4) has already been posted. Give it a go - there will be four winners for the price of one! =)

Eric
Son of Ragnar

[gillyohan]

gillyohan! (Post Number 28):



Congratulations gillyohan! Keep an eye out for an email from yrs truly.



Eric
Son of Ragnar

I'm super excited about the prize. Thanks!

[Okami]

Congrats, gillyohan! You'll love that pen


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[skipperhughes]

My fist Fountain Pen was a custom wood pen one of my highschool shop teachers turned for me for a graduation pen. Unforgivably I was younger and messed it up I will have to have it repaired one day