What I've Learned So Far - A Noobs Tale

[Wuddus]

After 25 years of being a fountain pen free zone, I decided to dip my toe back in the water with a few cheap pens. I started off not really knowing much about them. My knowledge when I was using them earlier in life, consisted of little more than how to fill them up and write with them. On this new journey, each new pen that I got taught me something, either about different pen characteristics, or about my own preferences.

Over the course of this thread, I'll go into the sequence of purchases, not only sharing what I bought, but what I learned from each new acquisition. Hopefully, this thread might put some of the often frowned upon cheap pens in a new light, because irrespective of how well they write, and whatever their reliability and longevity, they have been a fantastic crash course for someone utterly clueless about the world of fountain pens. Maybe my ramblings might even be useful for others preparing to make their own exploration in the world of fountain pens.

Some of you may have been using fountain pens for so long, that you’ve forgotten what it's like to know nothing about this topic. Most of the things I "discover" may well have been known to you for decades, but there are many of us that haven't even fully realised just how much we don't yet know. This is intended to be a lighthearted account of one newbie’s discovery of the questions as well as some answers.

I hope this will make for an interesting read for both gurus and newcomers alike.

As a size comparison in all the pictures, I will include a Parker Jotter Ballpoint, as a "standard unit of measurement".