Hello from Sweden
Hi there!
I'm Mattias from Sweden, I live near the town of Örebro.
I worked for a while in the 90's as an artist, and my education is also in that field. However, while I was tired of commissions around the millenium, the IT-world drew me in. Now I have worked for 15-20 years as a webdeveloper/designer, I'm also married with children. Still, while trying to get back drawing as a regular part of my life I discovered fountain pens. Drawing was the main purpose, but I also love writing with them. It's so much easier to find information nowadays too, so now I have much more knowledge then I did back in the day.
First I discovered I actually had a Rotring Art pen from the 90's, but back when it was new I had filled it up with India ink - it was totally clogged up. And I had no cartridge/converter or such left. So I cleaned it and converted it to an eyedropper.
I also ordered an TWSBI 580 Diamond with Fine nib and some ink. I really like drawing with that pen and nib size, but found I sometimes wanted a broader line. So...
Then I ordered a Lamy Safari with M nib. Nice, I have not been drawing with it as much as writing. I carry it to work every day.
Then I discovered that the inks were not fade resistent. Not even the Diamine Registreras iron gall ink I have is fade proof according to tests I have seen. Even though some vendors claim it to be fade resistant, Diamine only says "water proof". And I don't want my drawings to fade on a wall. Also it's not black enough for me. So... now I've been on the hunt for (really) black ink, resistant to fading.
For now I have found one of the few black, fade resistant inks that seems available here in Sweden: Pelikan Fount India, which I'm about the start using. I've tried doodling with it, and it feels fantastic. Other options seems to be Noodlers different black versions (have to get it from abroad), Platinum Carbon black (have to get it from abroad), Sailor Nano (quite expensive, I found it in one online retailer in Sweden).
Generally, fountain pens is not that common in Sweden as it seems to be in some other european countries. In my town there is only one store who has fountain pens, and then the only option they have is Pilot MR with cartridges (they also added 50% to the price compared to online shops). There are some stores in the larger towns, and online retailers, but they don't have everything of course. There are no pen show, meetups and such that I know of (if you know any please leave a suggestion).
I've also started testing dip pens more, which I've dabbled with during the years but never really done any real work with. I also use Wacom tablets to draw digitally.
Sorry about the long story, lol.
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