Welcome Give Away #3

[Roger3]

First pen was a Sheaffer transparent barrel school pen. That style, the only style I knew, wrote me through elementary school. During my high school years, I discovered parker and more sheaffer styles. I liked the Parkers but I'm afraid I can't recall name or style. My first real fountain pen was a Parker Duofold International in marbled green. I still have that pen (25years now) and its companion pencil and rollerball. The pen, more than the set, carries deep sentimental value for me and I have never considered trading it or selling it. This set of pens was followed with Waterman Edson Sapphire Blue, Waterman Coral Patrician and Emerald Patrician and then 1995 Mandarin Yellow Duofold. Pelikans, the whole flock, 200s to 1000 followed and though pen collecting dooms me to an impoverished financial condition, I find a tremendous joy in beholding new arrivals....like the MB149 and Montegrappa Extra Black/White celluloid that came this week with Tibaldi Modello 60 due tomorrow or next day!!! YIPPEE!

[safetyfast]

My first was a Sheaffer calligraphy set my mom got me in grade school. I used it quite a bit. However, what really got me hooked was a Waterman Laureate my wife got me for college graduation. I've used it often for over 15 years. More recently I've gotten hooked on Parkers, with my primary interest being the Parker "51." I rarely write with anything other than a FP.

[ldb2000]

My first fountain pen was a Parker 51 special that I got from my parents when I entered HS . I loved that pen and used it all through school and beyond . Sadly it was lost about 15 years ago during a move . I have since procured a couple of 51s and several other Parker FP's but the new FP love of my life is a wonderful , silky smooth Falcon Flighter . This is the best writing pen I have ever owned and it just looks Cool !!!

[pwyll]

I'd used a few disposables, but the first fountain pen I bought was a Pelikan M200. It was the first "real" fountain pen I'd seen for sale, and it happened to be at Service Merchandise for $50. I sold a set of encyclopedias that had taken me two years to accumulate in order to fund the purchase. Unfortunately the nib creep (with the Pelikan 4001 Black I bought at the same time) was so bad I went back to rollerballs for several years. Thankfully, I have since been able to find pens that are suitable for daily use...

[Bourgeoisie]

My first FP was a Lamy Safari. Unfortunately, my crazy lefty grip did not work with the Safari's tri-grip. It was not until a received a Sheaffer touchdown feathertouch from a very kind person that I started using FP's. That was almost 7 months ago now, and I have not touched a rollerball since then =D

[mrsphotobug]

My first fountain pen was this cheap pen that came with cartridges, A&W made from West Germany. It wrote very smooth. At that time I didn't know about bottled ink and just used it for writing in my journal. It's got the funkiest colors from the 80's and see for yourself

[gillyohan]

I was looking into cutting out disposable items in my life and got introduced to FPs. Safari's price point was not bad, so I tried it out and liked them. I don't dispose of cheap ballpoints anymore, but I do use up a bit of ink, paper, and money.

[Denix]

Like many of you I started out with those cheap Sheaffer school pens. I can't exactly remember when, but it must have been around 1978-1980. I remember being blown away at how smoothly the pen wrote compared to any ballpoint I ever had. I wrote with those for a few years then completely forgot about fountain pens.

About 3 years ago I saw a Pilot birdie (fine nib) at a closeout sale. I grabbed it and used it for a while, but found it way too scratchy, and the ink would last a few days at most. I decided to try again this year, and after reading everything I could find on the web, I bought a medium Lamy Safari. Wow, talk about a difference! It writes extremely smoothly. I've been EDCing it ever since. I also restored an old Eclipse pen that my mother and law gave me recently. I think I'm hooked

Guy

[Robert46]

Hi guys, just joined today. My first was a Sheaffer snorkel. My brother and I each got one as a gift for Christmas about '56. I recently rekindled an interest and have just started collecting a few. I bought one for my brother as an appreciation gift, he lives near my folks and has been helping them out, they're both in their '90's now. And I've thrown out all the cheap old ball points, even gave my wife some disposable Varsitys' to use around the house. FP's at work is cool, takes away some of the tedium. My current favorite has to be the Parker Flighter 45, EF nib.
Sweet.

[Gerry]

Hi, My first FP was undoubtedly an Esterbrook. I had to use the straight pens required in grade school around 1954, but being a lefty, they didn't work for me. I remember hunting for many other Esterbrook nibs in a search for one that worked well in my hand.

Later on, I recall getting a Parker 45 Flighter from my grandmother for HS graduation. Thanks Amma.... ;-)

I kept that pen for all important occasions - including my University exams, and still include it in my rotation. It's history is pretty interesting, but too long to detail here.

Despite owning quite a number of other fountain pens, that Parker 45 retains it's special place in my heart.

Regards,

Gerry

[JohnCruzNg]

My first fountain is my Hero 616. My father bought me this fountain pen after he saw I had an interest in them. My father first noticed that I was curious to find out how fountain pens wrote ever since he saw me glued to the television set watching the Classic Fountain Pen Set commercials - I was about 18 years old when the interest hit me. My father then bought me a Hero 616 with Hero's Black Ink and the Hero 616 has never been empty. It is my go-to fountain pen because it is the most reliable fountain pen. The Hero 616 always puts down a wet and fine line even after a week without use.

I am now 21 years old and my Hero 616 rides in my front pocket at all times because I can depend on it and it is the fountain pen that started it all. I hope it last many more years.

[Sharkbait]

My first fountain pen was Pilot Vanishing Point given to me by my brother who has had an insane obsession with them ever since my father bought him his first fountain pen which was a Hero 616. He actually tricked me in to picking my own fountain pen by constantly asking which pen I liked better. When he ordered the VP he had actually ordered 2 of them one for himself of course and one for me as a birthday present. He sucked into the world of Fountain Pens!!!

[Ted H]

My first was a Lamy Al Star back in August of 08. I read the first chapter of "Getting things Done" and got diverted to a wiki about what pen and ink combinations worked best on Moleskines (the Moleskine was for information capture) and never went back to the book. I've been seriously addicted ever since!

[RR4U]

I got my first Fountain Pen back in 1972 when i was 10, a US made black "Parker 45" with an F point which i still keep, it was a present from an uncle for having finished 4th grade. From the pens i own my favorites are my "Pelikans", i also have a few "Rotrings" and "Lamys" which i like very much, my P45 does have a special place in my heart though. My next goal is to get a few Japanese models, i really want a "Nakaya", who doesn't?

Ricardo.

[tytoalba]

Late 1950's mom cast-off Sheaffer Snorkle, which I used to make bubbles in Peacock Blue ink...
while watching Sky King on Saturday afternoon kids TV..
Next, was the replacement cast off, a dove grey P-51, a scratchy finepoint, as mom moved on to ballpoints..
I moved on to Sheaffer school cartridge pens..until new suburban school insisted on ballpoints..
Rediscovered fountainpen sources asap, so ballpscrawl could return to readable script.

[laoriginaltec]

I purchased my first fountain pen last year. It's a Lamy Al-Star in Purple. I had been reading blogs and people kept raving about Lamy's being a great starter pen. Well when I saw it came in purple I caved. I searched the internet and store after store it was sold out. I continued my search and found out that a store nearby had it in stock. I wanted to call the store to verify that they had it but it was after business hours. So the next morning I rushed down to the store and was supper lucky because I got the last one. I was very happy with it due to the fact that I’m left handed and have read that quite a few left handed people seem to have problems writing with fountain pens.

[mattjs]

My first fountain pen was a Charcoal Lamy Safari with a medium nib. I had been toying with the idea of using a fountain pen for a while and I figured I would give a shot. However, I was tricky. I wanted to know if it would be hard or messy for a lefty to use, so I went out and bought a Safari for my mom (also a lefty). A few weeks later, after hearing no bad news, I bought my own Safari. Shortly after that, I bought myself a Lamy Studio to complement it.

The Buddy System: It's not just for field trips anymore!

[ccorrada]

My first FP was a relatively new Parker my mother gave me sometime around the 80s. Fast forward to Paris 2007 and I bought a cheap Bic FP, the one they use in school in France. My interest in FP rekindled, the next pen was a Lamy Safari, then a couple of Parker 51s, Esterbrooks, Sheaffers, Pilots, more Lamys... hopefully we are at the beginning of the journey...

[eriquito]

gillyohan! (Post Number 28):

I don't dispose of cheap ballpoints anymore, but I do use up a bit of ink, paper, and money.

Congratulations gillyohan! Keep an eye out for an email from yrs truly.

Thank you to everyone who participated in Give Away #3.

Give Away #4 has already been posted. Give it a go - there will be four winners for the price of one! =)

Eric
Son of Ragnar

[gillyohan]

gillyohan! (Post Number 28):



Congratulations gillyohan! Keep an eye out for an email from yrs truly.



Eric
Son of Ragnar

I'm super excited about the prize. Thanks!