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littletim
February 2nd, 2014, 09:39 AM
Greetings to all,
I have been around the forum for about a year.
I travel extensively for my work, but mostly it is a few days out and back home. About a year ago, I agreed to a six weeks trip to Brazil, particularly the Navegantes region (southern portion of Brazil). I agreed to write to my wife and kids. I went looking for a nice pen online and stumble upon fountain pens.
I used a fountain pens in high school before, but always felt they write really too broad (I think it was a Cross brand that was available at Staples). After reading on this board, I purchased the TWSBI vac 700 in fine and the Diamond 540 in extra-fine.
I wrote with the Diamond 540 for the six weeks and it held up admirably. The Diamond 540 was still too broad for actually using it for work. I used the Diamond 540 to write home, but a Zebra 301 for on the job. The finer lines allowed me to write notes in the technical drawing.
Back to the forum I went. I purchased the Pilot Prera in fine from the admirable company Goulet Pens. That became my everyday pen for the next year. It was a really fine line and allowed to write in the space. The size was good for my small hands and made it “pocket-able”. The Diamond 540 sat at home. The Vac 700 I found too large for now, and have also sat in the box.
One year later and the company ask me to go back to Brazil, this time to the Salvador region. I was all set, but disaster struck. My Pilot Prera was accidently snapped in two. The nib and feed was intact, but the housing was not salvageable. I tried gluing it back together, but alas my skill was not up to par. Upon closer inspection, my Diamond developed a crack on the housing near the piston.
Back to the forum I went. From the Goulet Pens Company came a Lamy Studio in Blue with an extra-fine, and I even convince my wife to get a Lamy al-Star extra-fine in purple. TWSBI even managed to send my replacement barrel before I left the country.
So I am in Brazil writing on my Diamond 540 again, and some quick notes with the Lamy Studio. A really nice pen, but I am missing that Pilot fine.
So thanks forum. You guys have been a great help.
I been thinking of getting a Vanishing point and if my wife likes her fountain pen, a lavender Decimo. She really likes the concept of the Vanishing point and convenience. She writes lots of short notes.

85AKbN
February 2nd, 2014, 10:41 AM
:welcome:

cwent2
February 2nd, 2014, 10:46 AM
:welcome:to the forum and to the obsessio...... er hobby

kia
February 2nd, 2014, 10:51 AM
Welcome, littletim!

You've already had some good adventures!

Personally, I favor the Pilot Vanishing Point pens. They are wonderful workhorses and a good looking pen, as well. I'm sure you both will like them. Although the squeeze converters from Pilot may be ok, I actually prefer to refill their proprietary cartridges, as they hold a lot of ink in comparison to others, and the wide mouth of the cartridge makes it very easy. Just be sure not to squeeze the cartridges to make ink flow, a few seconds of gravity will do the job nicely. Although the Decimo isn't distributed in the US, you can get them through other companies, including Amazon. The Goulets or John Mottishaw of www.nibs.com might be able to special order the Decimo, you would have to inquire. You will just have to wait a little longer to receive one. Another nice feature is that the modern Decimo and the Vanishing Point have nib units which are interchangeable, and since the nib units are easily swapped out you don't have to buy a whole new pen, just the nib unit, if you either don't like or want to try a different nib size.

Nice to have you with us!

Jon Szanto
February 2nd, 2014, 11:26 AM
Hello Littletim,

Welcome (officially, in arrears) to the Fountain Pen Geeks forums: smaller than the largest pen fora, larger than some, you'll find a comfortable community of pen-centric people here, with a growing body of posts, reviews, and group knowledge. Mostly, you'll find people who are enthusiastic about fountain pens, and fountain pen people.

Join in!


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Regards,
Jon

Jeph
February 2nd, 2014, 12:55 PM
:welcome:

VertOlive
February 2nd, 2014, 02:01 PM
Welcome, you're off to a great start!

littletim
February 2nd, 2014, 02:12 PM
Thanks all for the warm welcome. It was just time to stop lurking and come forth.

Hello! My name is Tim, and I enjoy using a fountain pen.