Hello from England

[MarkInLondon]

Hello everyone,

My name is Mark, and while I have used fountain pens for 20 years (easily,) I have never joined a forum and treated it like a hobby. This is not to say that I have been uninformed, and have spent time playing with ink and nibs and filling systems, but only that I've never involved others. Though I am new to England, and certainly left a few pens in the States, I have a small disturbed collection and a few bottles of ink that seem to draw the eye of my coworkers and students. I must say that I enjoy the glancing side-looks and occasional comment.

At the moment, I'm using a Visconti HS Bronze Fine with Kon-Peki and a TWSBI 700R 1.1 Stub filled with Noodler's Bloody Mary Red that seemed to be sold only at the London Pen show last year. The TWSBI is new, and I must say that it is a finely made pen, weighty and smooth, and worth far more than the £58 it cost. There's already a medium nib on the way for when I feel like a change, and I'm considering having a stub made from a medium just for fun. That said, the Visconti is what I use daily. Also inked and in my briefcase is one of a few older Parker 51s, a Blue Marbled Duofold from the 80s, and/or a Pilot Heritage 92 with Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue.

I'm a furious journal writer and notetaker, and am never far from a Leuchturm A4+ Master Slim plain and a generic traveler's notebook with a couple of Leuchturm JotBooks roped inside. I've played with Clairefontaine journals, and while the paper is certainly smooth and white, I prefer the 1917 and never feel as though I'm missing anything.

It's nice to say hello to everyone and have spent a great deal of time reading the ink reviews and various rants and raves.

m