Down The Rabbit Hole

[Jessi.Scribbles]

So back in 2017 I was on the Bullet Journal craze when I noticed this YouTuber with a fountain pen and asked my Hubby for a Lamy AlStar in Pacific Blue. Decided to get the pen in a fine and in the end I ended up hating it. It wrote terrible, I never made it past the cartridges to try out the converter. It wrote scratchy, it skipped, I was completely unamused and shoved it in a drawer, packed in a box to move, and eventually I would end up seizing the feed in the grip section in a mad attempt to clean my pen after neglecting it. Two years later the guilt of not using it and feeling dissapointed in my first experience I decided to pursue a TWSBI 580 in Emerald Green in a broad nib. I figured that the fine nib was the reason it was so scratchy and decided after reading reviews for hours that maybe it was just that pen and nib. I was so right! My TWSBI wrote like a dream and I was hooked. Perfect timing for me to fall in love with fountain pens cause it was my 30th Birthday, I just finished college (yay Graduation!), and our three year anniversary, and Mother's day all fall so closely together. I'm lucky to now own five and a half pens. I say half cause I bought another Lamy to steal the feed section and grip until I buy replacement pieces from Lamy, if I ever do. So in order I have acquired...
2017 Lamy AlStar Pacific Blue - Fine (in pieces)
2019 TWSBI 580 Diamond AL Emerald Green - Medium
2019 Lamy AlStar BlueGreen - Medium
Sailor Pro Gear Slim Purple Cosmos - Broad
TWSBI Eco White - 1.1 mm Stub
Edison Nouveau Premiere Trunk Bay - 1.1 mm Stub
My next pen is a toss up still but I know that for Mother's Day I'd like to get one more before I put myself on an ink only purchase restriction. I've been really drawn to the Pelikan M600 in Violet-White, it's so stunning and that two tone nib is absolutely beautiful! I love my Sailor but I'd like to try a zoom nib next which limits which colors I can get by quite a bit so I've been considering the M600 and even a Platinum 3776. I recently sold some items around the house to help off-set the cost of the Pelikan but I'm having a hard time justifying it when I can buy two Sailor Pro Gear Slims for the price of the Pelikan almost.

[azkid]

Great journey. Sorry to hear about the lamy. My truly first FP was a disappointment, too, so I don't count it. I got hooked with a Metropolitan.

I had a chance to try an M600 and it was amazingly awesome but there's no way I will be able to justify one anytime in the foreseeable future. But I hope you treat yourself and I hope it is everything you hope for and much more.

[Anne]

Welcome Jessi and a belated Congratulations on graduating college

[Wahl]

Hi Jessi

[FreeLance]

[jar]

[calamus]

I'd been eyeing am M600 for a while but couldn't justify spending the money and got an M205 for just over $100 instead. Steel nib, but writes like a dream, and big enough to be comfortable when posted. My Sailor 1911 is still my favorite, though, although I do have a Waterman Carène on the way that might challenge it...

I got a Lamy Safari for my son, a medium, and it wrote beautifully. I bought a TWSBI Eco broad that was so scratchy I sent it back, and have been gun shy of TWSBIs ever since, even though I'm sure it was an anomaly.

I have a couple of Pilots in fine (a Metropolitan w/ steel nib and a Custom 74 w/ 14K) that are surprisingly smooth, and I gave my wife a Waterman with an 18K fine nib that is very smooth as well.

Anyway, welcome!

[Chemyst]

Easter Greetings from Massachusetts! 🐣 🌱 🇺🇸

[VertOlive]

Welcome from the High Plains. My Mother's Day pens will be 2 new pastel Safaris.

[calamus]

Welcome from the High Plains. My Mother's Day pens will be 2 new pastel Safaris.

You select your own Mother's Day presents?

[amk]

Hello Jessi. I'm not surprised you are tempted by that violet Pelikan, it's a beauty. I have a few M600s - not many, because you're right, it's at the kind of price point that makes you think twice. I have the pink and white, and vibrant green, and they are among the top tier of pens I really enjoy using.

You might consider buying from Europe - it works for many US buyers, though I don't know whether it's the same in Canada. https://thepelikansperch.com/2016/02...as-purchasing/ gives a rundown of good sites to try.

[calamus]

Just remember, when you're down that rabbit hole, one side of the mushroom makes you larger, and the other makes you smaller, but you won't know which is which until you try them. So be verrrry careful.