Hello from New Hampshire, USA

[sgage]

Hello All,

I've been lurking here for a while and thought I might as well sign up. I'm both a newbie and a veteran with fountain pens - I was given a Parker 45 as a graduation present back in 1969, and used it quite a bit, mostly for letter writing and keeping a journal. Then it seems to have gotten packed away for a move, and I never really used it since - probably late 70's. I have moved several times since then...

A few months ago, I read something that made me think it might be fun to try a fountain pen again, so I bought a Charcoal Black Lamy Safari. I love it! But a couple of weeks ago I suddenly remembered my old Parker 45. After a week of diligent searching, I found it! Along with 2 unused cartridges of SuperQuink Blue Black, and the converter! The pen had a dried up old cart in it, and was clearly going to need some work.

After several rounds of soaking and flushing, I said 'what the heck' and popped one of the cartridges in. After a fair amount of watery writing, suddenly it started working again as of old!

So now I have 2 fountain pens inked (Lamy Blue in the Safari) and ready to go. Both of them have fine nibs, but they handle quite differently. I have been keeping a journal since November with the Safari, but since I got the Parker rebooted I go back and forth. I really like them both, and I try to find excuses to write often :-)

I'm not in a hurry to collect pens - these two keep me occupied. I want to get very comfortable with them, and experiment with different inks and papers. I'm keeping my journal on Tomoe River cream paper - amazing stuff! But I hear things about Midori, and Rhodia, and a zillion others.

Anyway, I'm expecting delivery today of a converter for my Safari, a proper pen cleaning kit, and 2 bottles of ink. Away we go!

Cheers,

- sgage (Steve Gage)

[RuiFromUK]

Hi Steve,

Welcome to the forum.

Enjoy your stay.

"I'm not in a hurry to collect pens " neither did I 12 months ago to this day.

Kind regards,

Rui

[sgage]

Hi Steve,

Welcome to the forum.

Enjoy your stay.

"I'm not in a hurry to collect pens " neither did I 12 months ago to this day.

Kind regards,

Rui

Thanks, Rui.

Even as I wrote ""I'm not in a hurry to collect pens", I could hear the chuckling, tittering, and outright guffaws throughout the forum

[Jeph]

Yes, we proably all snickered at the no hurry comment. With those two pens you really don't need another fountain pen. (I am a big fan of the Parker 45.) Need is only a temporary (and shifting) barrier. The sooner that you admit to the obsession, the sooner that you can let go and enjoy it.

[sgage]

Thanks Jeph!

If I had more money, I'd probably let myself get carried away pretty quickly...

[writingrav]

Welcome to the madness. Indulge!

[sgage]

Thanks, writingrav.

I like your sig - both parts...

[cwent2]

to the Forum and the Obsessio.... er Hobby.

Stealing writingfrav's sentence Welcome to the madness. Indulge!

[sgage]

Thanks, owent2!

Seems like a great crew here, but I'm beginning to worry about my finances if I fall under the spell of the crooning voices... 'indulge, indulge'.

Let's just say that I'm not a person of huge self-discipline...

[TerraNoir]

Its really not hard to fall under the spell of the crooning voices saying 'indulge indulge'. Suddenly having PB&J sandwiches for lunch wasn't so bad after all.

What two bottles of ink do you have coming in?

[sgage]

Its really not hard to fall under the spell of the crooning voices saying 'indulge indulge'. Suddenly having PB&J sandwiches for lunch wasn't so bad after all.

What two bottles of ink do you have coming in?

I'm getting a bottle of Diamine Twilight Blue, and a bottle of J. Herbin Perle Noire. In fact, I'm going to check the mail right now...

[TerraNoir]

Its really not hard to fall under the spell of the crooning voices saying 'indulge indulge'. Suddenly having PB&J sandwiches for lunch wasn't so bad after all.

What two bottles of ink do you have coming in?

I'm getting a bottle of Diamine Twilight Blue, and a bottle of J. Herbin Perle Noire. In fact, I'm going to check the mail right now...

Oooooh. Diamine Twilight Blue is one of my favorite colors. Awesome choice. I wonder how the Perle Noire is.

[VertOlive]

So. You have to be rational about this, that's all.

Set up your monthly budget.
Add a Pen/Paper/Ink Category.
Place 37.6% of your earnings into this envelope each month, and you'll never have to go into debt for a pen.....

Welcome!

[sgage]

Its really not hard to fall under the spell of the crooning voices saying 'indulge indulge'. Suddenly having PB&J sandwiches for lunch wasn't so bad after all.

What two bottles of ink do you have coming in?

I'm getting a bottle of Diamine Twilight Blue, and a bottle of J. Herbin Perle Noire. In fact, I'm going to check the mail right now...

Oooooh. Diamine Twilight Blue is one of my favorite colors. Awesome choice. I wonder how the Perle Noire is.

My inks arrived! I inked up the Parker with the Twilight... I really like it! Not as harsh as the Parker Blue-Black, and it really looks nice against the TR Cream paper.

I'll try the Perle Noire in my Safari as soon as its cart runs out...

[sgage]

Thanks VertOlive,

Being semi-retired self-unemployed, I can see PB&J sandwiches becoming a mainstay of my diet :-)

So. You have to be rational about this, that's all.

Set up your monthly budget.
Add a Pen/Paper/Ink Category.
Place 37.6% of your earnings into this envelope each month, and you'll never have to go into debt for a pen.....

Welcome!

[johniem]

Sgage, I'm not in a hurry to collect pens either. Never have been. I'm not a collector. Only have 25 working fountain pens at this time. Not sure how much ink. Probably more than enough for 25 pens. But I'm not a collector. Welcome to this world. Enjoy your PB&J!

[sgage]

Sgage, I'm not in a hurry to collect pens either. Never have been. I'm not a collector. Only have 25 working fountain pens at this time. Not sure how much ink. Probably more than enough for 25 pens. But I'm not a collector. Welcome to this world. Enjoy your PB&J!

Thanks johniem,

What a relief to know that I'm not the only non-collector on this forum ;-)

How long did it take you to acquire 25 pens?

[TerraNoir]

Its really not hard to fall under the spell of the crooning voices saying 'indulge indulge'. Suddenly having PB&J sandwiches for lunch wasn't so bad after all.

What two bottles of ink do you have coming in?

I'm getting a bottle of Diamine Twilight Blue, and a bottle of J. Herbin Perle Noire. In fact, I'm going to check the mail right now...

Oooooh. Diamine Twilight Blue is one of my favorite colors. Awesome choice. I wonder how the Perle Noire is.

My inks arrived! I inked up the Parker with the Twilight... I really like it! Not as harsh as the Parker Blue-Black, and it really looks nice against the TR Cream paper.

I'll try the Perle Noire in my Safari as soon as its cart runs out...

Oooo... and I just got some TR Cream Paper on Wednesday. I am going to have to try that combination out now! Thanks for the tip!

[sgage]

Hi TerraNoir,

I keep my journal on TR Cream, and the Twilight on that paper is really a sweet combo to my eyes. And I am loving the way the Twilight flows and handles. The old Parker 45 feels young again ;-)

Don't forget to caress your Tomoe River paper (just a bit) before you write on it It's incredible stuff...

[TerraNoir]

Ahh. I have two journals I need to use now. I will definitely get one with TR Cream now. I love TR. So much. I do find myself caressing it just a little bit more and longer than some of m other papers.