My wallet hates me but what a community!

[misterl2]

Hi all!

I joined FPGeeks in order to learn more about fountain pens and hopefully find some good resources to improve my knowledge. I've recently started to look into tuning my nibs and would love to know a great deal more.

I am from Montreal, Canada and I am fairly new to the world of fountain pens. My first fountain pens were from 6 years ago - I bought a bundle of Lamy Joys off Massdrop, but I wasn't really into them. Then, my sister went to Japan 2 years ago and brought me back a Muji fountain pen. Once again, it wasn't really my thing. I'd like to preface this by saying that I have always drawn to good stationeries. Even though I work on the computer most of the time, I can only seem to think well on paper. That said, my collecting journey started with mechanical pencils. As for pens, I was heavily loyal to a handful of ballpoints.

Recently though, I was getting frustrated by my SO's choices of writing instruments. She would pick pens for their cute appearance and not for their feel. So one day, I confronted her about it and she replied "would you have preferred if I used fountain pens?". Obviously, it was a resounding yes. It reminded me that I own some Lamy Joys, so I took them out and gave them a try. I am not sure what changed from then to now, but writing with the Joys gave me a great deal of pleasure. And thus began the rabbit hole.

Over the course of the next 4 weeks, I consumed hours upon hours of fountain pen videos on youtube; I was hooked. I went to a shop, first chance I got, to pick up a Pilot Metropolitan as my "first" fountain pen. Then, I got a Lamy Safari and some Pilot ink. The same day, I got a TWSBI Eco for my SO (so that she wouldn't be too jealous). The next day, I bought a TWSBI 580ALR for myself and picked up a proper converter for the Metropolitan. In my obsession for fountain pens, I also came across Traveler's Notebook. Oh boy, that also sent me on a spending spree. I got a Passport size TN and a bunch of inserts. I then bought a TWSBI Vac Mini to add to my new EDC. I fell in love with the Standard size Olive limited edition TN and ordered one all the way from the Netherlands. I bought one too for my SO (again, so that she wouldn't be too jealous). The joy I derived from having a "perfect" EDC setup has then slowed down my spending considerably. Well, that is not entirely true; I am just biding my time before I jump into gold nibs...

I had been a big believer in journaling before, but I had stopped for a while. I had recently started to journal once again and I had been doing so for a week before my fountain pen obsession began. Having the Passport TN and a Vac Mini as my EDC as well as a journal at home has really improved my mindfulness in my daily life. I feel more grateful than ever for even the littlest of things, I feel clearheaded and I have been more open to interacting with strangers just to know a bit more about their stories.

Along the way, I met wonderful people that were more knowledgeable about fountain pens than I. I spent an hour gushing and obsessing about fountain pens with a clerk at my favourite stationery store (he has over a thousand of them...). I learned the names of the people at two stores and they always seem to be glad to see me. Yesterday, as I was picking up an ink well for my TWSBI 580ALR, there was a tourist in the store. He saw my TWSBI Vac Mini and enthused about how beautiful it is. He mentioned that he has a Mont Blanc as well as some Lamys and Pelikan, but he had never seen a TWSBI. I was more than glad to let him try mine and the ALR too. He was so grateful and excited - it really made my day. He decided to buy one on the spot. He then noticed my Traveler's Notebook. After I showed him how it worked and why I love it, he also picked one up.

Truly, the feedback loop among fountain pen enthusiasts, the one that pushes us to buy more and more, is strong... So, what will you have me buy, next?

(As a side note: yesterday, my Vac Mini somehow uncapped itself and fell down nib first on the floor. I am devastated. I bent it back to the best I can and it is not too bad, honestly, but the pen is now dryer than it used to be. I ordered some replacement parts via JetPens, but I just wanted to share my pain)