Yes, indeed; see you at thetruthaboutguns.com .
Yes, indeed; see you at thetruthaboutguns.com .
I also kind of wish I'd known just how passionate people can be about pens, almost as much as me! I thought I was the only one interested in such things as pen, paper, and ink. I've always amassed quirky pens and such since I was a kid, but now I'm collecting the good stuff, and it's fabulous.
I am very passionate about pens and the part their development as a basic tool has played in history. We wouldn't have history without the means to record it.
I am also passionate about other stuff, including my rights under the Constitution. Freedom of speech (written, as well as oral), and freedom of religion (my choice, to worship - or not - as I wish), and my right to bear arms (which I do). America is a great place, and instead of arguing or judging and condemning, I think pushing forward the power of the pen and writing is more important. Seriously. Time to bring back cursive and schools and enable our children and their children to be able read the original Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States (or at least facsimiles thereof in the written hand of our forefathers), and to push forward with careful thought and logic, as well as pride. The rest is to be debated. But not here.
I try to choose my battles wisely, and here I am choosing to arm myself with pen and paper and the history - past and future - it represents. I write, therefore I am. Scribere est agere. To write is to act. But this is my pen forum. And, so, my pen fanaticism is here. My other passions are elsewhere.
Ok, said my peace. I'll disappear for another 3 years, now.
Pendragon (April 8th, 2018), RNHC (February 16th, 2018), Rossler (February 16th, 2018), Sailor Kenshin (February 16th, 2018)
My other pen is a Montblanc.
And my other blog is a tumblr!
And my latest ebook, for spooky wintery reading:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CM2NGSSD
Forget cursive (which I had to teach my kids myself), I was shocked that no one at school taught them the proper way to hold pen/pencil. When my daughter was a wee lass, I saw her hold the pencil between her middle and ring finger. When I brought up the matter to her teacher, she just shrugged and said it was already too late! My daughter was in first grade at the time, mind you.
This was not at a public school where everyone assumes nobody cares but at a private school. I was especially annoyed at the teacher's attitude since I expected more for what I paid in tuition. I thought perhaps I should have sent my daughter to a parochial school instead where proper things were taught properly. (The tuition would have been cheaper too!) It's appalling how essential basics of education have been discarded. Fundamentals are fundamental!
That gold nibs would go away for cheaper steal nibs.
Last edited by wingwiper; February 16th, 2018 at 01:38 PM.
Perhaps he swallowed a steel nib and isn't happy about it at all.
AzJon (February 16th, 2018)
That I REALLY should try ink samples before blindly trusting others reviews and buying bottles of ink...
Ahriman4891 (February 19th, 2018), amk (February 21st, 2018), Sailor Kenshin (February 17th, 2018)
Gold nibs are significantly cheaper than steel nibs, if you steal them
Online arguments are a lot like the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
As soon as the audience begins to participate, any actual content is lost in the resulting chaos and cacophony.
At that point, all you can do is laugh and enjoy the descent into debasement.
Collecting pens has been an interesting exercise. The things I didn't know at first I found out through some interesting exercises that were sometimes fun, sometimes a frustration. I have had fun doing this. You could always say you would have liked to have more facts. There's fun in the journey.
amk (February 21st, 2018), Sailor Kenshin (February 18th, 2018)
Wow... this hit home for me on two counts. First, this is EXACTLY how I learned to hold a pen/pencil (between my middle and ring finger). I started drawing and writing at a very young age and I think my parents were so thrilled by this that they paid no attention to how I was holding my crayons, and by the time I reached kindergarten, it really was too late! I tried to learn the correct way, but it never took.
Secondly, I never learned to write cursive because I was just learning D'Nealian (anyone remember D'Nealian???) as a grade school student in Georgia when I moved to Missouri midway through the school year and was shocked to discover that my classmates had ALREADY BEEN TAUGHT CURSIVE! So I never learned to write script-- I've printed my way through everything my whole life.
And to answer the OP, had I known just how deep of a rabbit hole I was getting into with this hobby, I might have been content to stick with my Sheaffer school pen I had as a kid. It was red and I loved it. *sigh* "Rosebud..."
I wish I had known from an earlier age how wonderful good handwriting can be. (I'm a bit of an old dog now...)
I wish I had known that the simplest way to justify nicer pens is to buy ones my wife thinks are stylish.
I wish I had known to start experimenting with different nibs early on - buying different pens that all have the same basic nib doesn't begin to expose you to the possibilities available.
I wish I had known how much other people enjoy this - if you don't use a pen any more and can't sell it for a appreciable price, give it away to a new user.
amk (February 23rd, 2018), ferociousnpretty (March 1st, 2018)
I wish that I had known at the start that many collectors were so high strung.
azkid (April 2nd, 2018)
Last edited by Fermata; March 2nd, 2018 at 06:45 AM.
I wish I'd known that just because a pen is rare does not mean it is valuable. Sometimes it is rare because the pen was not very good or of poor quality and few examples exist because they did not stand the test of time.
Fountain Pen Sith Lord | Daakusaido | Everything in one spot
amk (April 12th, 2018), Dreck (April 9th, 2018), ferociousnpretty (March 1st, 2018)
I like it very much. When I first started checking pen forums and blogs, the result of a random google search, most recommended the Pelikan pens as the very best around. The M200 was particularly recommended as a great first pen. The M215 was a little fancier and not all that much more expensive, so I got one. All the praise heaped on the pen has been true in my experience. A cursory look around indicates that much has changed and been added to the fountain pen world, and quite a bit has stayed the same.
That has happened on a widespread basis? Please pardon my ignorance. Until recently, I have not checked the forums or kept up to date on fountain pen news in years.
The steel nib on my M215 has never disappointed, so it is not always a bad thing.
After about 50 years around pens, I wish I knew all that I still donīt know !
Audio is not so good, but it's a pretty funny story that illustrates the point, or reminds me of it anyway.
Spoiler:
Summary: Man working at Jamestown re-enacting woodworking looks for authentic period axes obtains some from experts who dug them up from the bottom of an old well. He replicates them and finds they don't work very well and thinks the problem is just that he is doing it wrong.
Punch line: The axes are indeed authentic. They were also thrown into a well, presumably for good reason.
Last edited by gbryal; April 11th, 2018 at 03:02 PM.
Ahriman4891 (April 15th, 2018), amk (April 12th, 2018), KrazyIvan (April 11th, 2018), Paddler (April 12th, 2018)
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