Advice on the right pen

[Happywriter]

Greetings everyone,

I am wondering if someone here might help me to figure out what fountain pen I should buy for myself.

I learned to write using a fountain pen, so I'm reasonably familiar with using one. However, that was in gradeschool/highschool, and I haven't used one since. I've never bought a fountain pen and really don't know much about them beyond using one and caring for one. I also only used one kind of fountain pen. It took cartridges and the nib may have been a medium italic nib, although I don't know for sure.

I'm inspired to get back into calligraphy (I have dabbled in it before... again, a long time ago), I'm getting ready to create an art piece where some calligraphy will be involved. I don't have much money for a new pen, and since I would like to get started on my piece soon, I don't have the time to save up for the kind of quality that I'd ultimately like to have. So... I was hoping someone here could possibly guide me toward a good "budget" pen, and while we're on the topic perhaps educate me on something to keep an eye out for when I have more money to spend in the future.

Without knowing a whole lot about fountain pens, I'm pretty sure that I'm looking for a fountain pen with a medium italic nib.

I was looking at the Greenfield fountain pen in the link below and was wondering if that might be a good choice for me, although I'm not sure if it comes with the right nib... or if I can get the right nib for it...... anyway so far it's the best I've found on my own.

http://www.palumba.com/greenfield-fo...artridges.html

Thank you in advance for any insight provided.

[jar]

Look for an old Sheaffer NoNonsense Calligraphy set. It will come with one to four pens, several width nibs, several colors of ink (likely need to add water to the cartridges to reconstitute the ink), paper and a Calligraphy refresher manual.

[VertOlive]

This looks similar to a Sheaffer I own (which came in the set described above). It works well enough to make a larger, fancier line without much skill on my part. Be aware that a 1.9mm nib is really wide, certainly not a medium. That is the size that seems to come on the pen you linked.

Have you considered a Pilot Plumix? That is a 0.9 italic that costs under$10.

[Happywriter]

Thank you both so much! These are AWESOME suggestions...they look PERFECT for me right now. Also thank you for saving me from the pen I was considering... definitely too large for what I want.

Hooray!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Apart from the clip, that pen looks strangely like the Lamy ABC. But a 1.9 nib could probably be used for sign painting.

[Sandy Fry]

On the " Specials " page on Fountain Pen Hospital's website they have the Sheaffer Classic Maxi calligraphy set if you can't find a No-Nonsense set. Might do in a pinch.

David

[nusiax]

I started with a simple Lamy. Great nib choice. Readily available. What German children still use in school. Then I got a calligraphy set from Inline. Made by Pelikan. Now using daily Pelikan M1000 24ct B. Very springy. I also use several Sailor and Platnium models and use a MontBlanc Silver Doue as my daily writer.

[penwash]

Check out Pilot Parallel.
There are 4 of them ($9 each) ranging from 1.5mm to 6mm <--- very cool on BIG letters and ink that shades well.

[Happywriter]

Thank you all so much for this golden information! I apologize for taking so long to respond... I was having trouble logging in.

I do now have on my desk an old Sheaffer No Nonsense Calligraphy set. Very affordable - thank you! I do have a question... the ink cartridges are indeed dry, and it was mentioned that I could add water to them to "revive" them. I know that sounds pretty straightforward, but I wonder if there are any guidelines to doing this? Just thought I would ask so I don't needlessly botch the job and ruin a cartridge or something. Again, thank you SO much!

Also, along with the set I was given an old-looking fountain pen with 15 nibs along with it. The pen is long, thin and wooden. It looks old... kinda neat but I wonder if it's any good? I'll post some pictures of it when I get the chance.

[Anne]

Thank you all so much for this golden information! I apologize for taking so long to respond... I was having trouble logging in.

I do now have on my desk an old Sheaffer No Nonsense Calligraphy set. Very affordable - thank you! I do have a question... the ink cartridges are indeed dry, and it was mentioned that I could add water to them to "revive" them. I know that sounds pretty straightforward, but I wonder if there are any guidelines to doing this? Just thought I would ask so I don't needlessly botch the job and ruin a cartridge or something. Again, thank you SO much!

Also, along with the set I was given an old-looking fountain pen with 15 nibs along with it. The pen is long, thin and wooden. It looks old... kinda neat but I wonder if it's any good? I'll post some pictures of it when I get the chance.

Congratulations! I think you will really enjoy this set. Use it in Good Health.
Personally, I just place the cartridge under the tap and run it, shake it a bit to get the water to enter the opening. But a better way would be to use a syringe to add water slowly to the cartridge. Then shake it up a little to loosen or dissolve any dried ink.

[Dronak]

It seems like others already posted my ideas. A Pilot Plumix would work and costs roughly $10, I think. I use mine for regular writing, but it should work fine for calligraphy. Alternatively, you could check an arts and crafts store such as Michael's for calligraphy pens. At the one near me, they often have some available and they're pretty reasonably priced. You should be able to find a set with multiple nib sizes and/or pen bodies that would give you more variation than a single pen and nib would. I've used Sheaffer and Manuscript calligraphy pens and don't remember any massive difference between them, but I also don't use them very much. Either brand is probably good, at least for a start. I hope this is of some help.

[Anne]

I've used Sheaffer and Manuscript calligraphy pens and don't remember any massive difference between them, but I also don't use them very much. Either brand is probably good, at least for a start. I hope this is of some help.

Thank You Dronak. I was wondering how they would compare, especially the Fine.
The Manuscript Master ( with the metal ? section ) specifically just looks nice to me.

[Dronak]

I'm not sure if I have any notes on exact nib widths. I think Shaeffer and Manuscript are relatively close in size, but not exactly the same. Medium is somewhere around 1mm, IIRC, but don't hold me to that. As for the pens, the older Shaeffer pens I learned calligraphy with were, I think, a bit nicer than the newer ones I have. The old ones had solid bodies and screw-on caps, while the new ones I own have windows to let you see the ink level and snap-on caps. Being able to see the ink level is nice, but they cut holes in the pen bodies in order to add that feature. A transparent window would have been better IMO, because you'd still have a solid, smooth surface on the pen body. My Manuscript pens are more like the old Shaeffer ones I have in that they have solid bodies and screw-on caps. My pens from both brands have some sort of plastic body, I think, though the old Shaeffer pens seem a bit nicer somehow. I think Manuscript offers a larger variety of nib sizes. I'm pretty sure my Manuscript pen nibs have sizes like F, M, B, 2B, 3B, and 4B, while my Shaeffer ones are just F, M, and B. Maybe Shaeffer makes other sizes though and I just don't have them. Perhaps others who know the brands better can add more detail, but I still think that at least as a start, either brand would be OK.

Another possible option that I've seen in the Michaels store near me is Speedball. I think these are similarly priced and used for calligraphy, but are dip pens. I've never used Speedball myself, but it seems like another well-known brand. It's probably less convenient than the more fountain pen like Shaeffer and Manuscript calligraphy pens, but you could consider it as well.

[Anne]

I'm not sure if I have any notes on exact nib widths. I think Shaeffer and Manuscript are relatively close in size, but not exactly the same. Medium is somewhere around 1mm, IIRC, but don't hold me to that. As for the pens, the older Shaeffer pens I learned calligraphy with were, I think, a bit nicer than the newer ones I have. The old ones had solid bodies and screw-on caps, while the new ones I own have windows to let you see the ink level and snap-on caps. Being able to see the ink level is nice, but they cut holes in the pen bodies in order to add that feature. A transparent window would have been better IMO, because you'd still have a solid, smooth surface on the pen body. My Manuscript pens are more like the old Shaeffer ones I have in that they have solid bodies and screw-on caps. My pens from both brands have some sort of plastic body, I think, though the old Shaeffer pens seem a bit nicer somehow. I think Manuscript offers a larger variety of nib sizes. I'm pretty sure my Manuscript pen nibs have sizes like F, M, B, 2B, 3B, and 4B, while my Shaeffer ones are just F, M, and B. Maybe Shaeffer makes other sizes though and I just don't have them. Perhaps others who know the brands better can add more detail, but I still think that at least as a start, either brand would be OK.

Another possible option that I've seen in the Michaels store near me is Speedball. I think these are similarly priced and used for calligraphy, but are dip pens. I've never used Speedball myself, but it seems like another well-known brand. It's probably less convenient than the more fountain pen like Shaeffer and Manuscript calligraphy pens, but you could consider it as well.

I didn't know that Manuscript had larger sizes - nice I too have the older Sheaffer pens - no ink window either and I agree it would be a good feature. I am happy with them though, and they were given to me, so there is the sentimental attachment as well.