From India with ink stains

[vikramwa]

Hi,

Have been an admirer of fountain pens right from schooldays, even the leaky Camlins and the valiant Heros evoke nostalgia. The Reynolds use-and-throw revolution shook India just as I was leaving school and the ubiquitous Bic-like Reynolds was the ball pen of choice for the years after. On joining work, I ran into this flamboyant journalist-editor with a penchant for Quink-filled Lamys, arrayed in his coat pocket in 40-degrees-plus-hot India. And the spell was cast.

Got a gray Lamy M (1) within a few weeks (only to give it away in a spirit of excessive camaraderie with a former colleague a few years later.) Since then I have got myself a sturdy Sheaffer Gift 300 Medium nib (2) which has never failed me, (3) Lamy B (Matte Black, with a nib worn lifeless by scratching on glass to “smoothen” it) and another (4) Lamy B (Yellow) which does commendable service. Then a (5) Noodler’s Ahab since a designer/calligrapher friend oohed and aahed on the sinuosity of the flex pen. Got the feeder fold on itself the first time I cleaned it but after seeing several articles here on nib fin and feed adjustment and wielding a blade for the apprehensively made adjustments, the Ahab writes like a dream.

The latest acquisition is a (6) TWSBI Eco, which is like ultra-smooth, making me question my entire pen purchase history. Bought after badgering a friend, this pen heaves the ball out of the park compared to the Lamys and the Ahab. Only the cheap Sheaffer Gift 300, with less ink capacity, can match the TWSBI in writing ease. But the heart beats for the Ahab. Pens 2, 4 and 5 were all bought on Amazon or its Indian competitor Flipkart.

The thought, which has been at the back of my mind ever since I registered here and has been lurking about for a longer time, is this: My work is on the laptop and the pens travel with me to work and back snug in the pen compartment. Is this an unnecessary hobby/fetish in a world of keyboards/social media/Netflix?

Looking forward to your replies.

Vikram