As my first big tips/guide post, I thought I’d talk about something I’m super interested in, fountain pens! Let’s jump right in…
I’ll be totally honest, I never had a practical reasoning behind why I started using fountain pens, but as I used them more and more, I found plenty of benefits!
It trains you to use a lighter hand. Often, I found myself pressing really hard on ballpoint pens to the point where my hand would cramp :( When I started using FPs, I learned to hold the pen slightly differently so it would be lighter and there was less pressure on my hands! It hard to adjust the first time you use it, but the more you write, the more comfortable you will become!
It’s super customizable. FP’s allow you to switch out sizes of nibs, pen body colors, and even inks! This makes it so that if you can’t find your perfect pen on the market, there is nothing stopping you from making your own.
They are reusable. Unlike regular ballpoint pens, which we tend to throw out once they dry up, FP’s rely on re-inking or buying new cartridges. In the long run, you throw less stuff out and help save the environment
They look rad af. Have you seen one? You’d be lying if you said you’ve never wanted one…
When I first started researching FPs, I was pretty overwhelmed. Lucky for you, I’ve compiled a list of useful words that you’ll see thrown all over the place.
The nib is the metal part that touches the paper. They will come in a variety of sizes including Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, and Broad. There are also stub nibs, which are chunky and used for italic calligraphy. Additionally, the nib can have “flex”. This is when the two prong-things at the very tip spread apart and let in more ink, giving you nice line variation.
These are typically what you see in ballpoint pens, and they come with almost every FP you buy. You sort of just want to jam it into the pen body, until you hear a pop or a click, and then it does its own magic. This is the easiest way to (re)fill ink. However, many people prefer to buy ink wells and use a converter to fill their pen with the desired color.
Converters are essentially little reservoirs that sit inside your pen that fill with ink. If your a beginner, I would suggest just sticking to cartridges, but these are a great way to fill your pen with cool colors that aren’t available in cartridges!
I’m just including this because I love the way it looks! Shading is when an a pen releases more ink/becomes more opaque when you apply pressure or change the angle. It’s honestly the best thing ever, and you really can’t get this awesome effect with your regular ballpoint pens!
My Favorite Beginner FP’s
FP’s can get pretty expensive, and thats usually a major turn off for some people. Luckily, there are some great pens which are under $30 - perfect for the student on a tight budget. (Btw these all come with included inks, so you don’t need to worry about that <3)
My all time favorite fountain pen! It comfy and easy to use, plus the blue ink it comes with has AMAZING shading capabilities. If you are willing to splurge a little on your first FP, this would be my ultimate recommendation!
Let’s say you’re not to sure about this whole fountain pen deal, and don’t want to spend too much, but also want a quality pen to try out. For most products, this is an impossible standard. But for FPs, the platinum preppy hits all the marks. It’s less than 5 bucks (!!!!) but is one of the smoothest pens I’ve ever tried out. You can’t call yourself a FP geek without this in your collection
3. Pilot Metropolitan - $15
A happy medium of the two price points would be the Metro. Personally, I’m not a huge fan. I think that the nib is too long and the body is too slippery, but it probably has the biggest fan base out of any FP. Go for it if you want, but its not for me.
Shut up and tell me where I can get these sweet pens!
JetPens is my go to. Because I live really close by, it only takes 2 or three days to deliver. It has a crap ton of other stuff besides fountain pens, and is over all a really neat stationary store in general!
Goulet Pens is another great one. I don’t use it as much because they are located across the country, but they have the coolest packaging! When you order, they’ll write out a thank you note in pretty colors and add some goodies. Also I highly recommend checking out their youtube channel! It’s a goldmine of useful information!
I would suggest against using regular old binder paper, but if you have to, find ones that are smooth and non absorbent. This will prevent feathering and bleeding.
If you don’t know what size your going to get, get a fine point. Japanese pens will have a thinner fine nib, while western pens will have a thicker fine nib. Regardless, it’s better than a super thin, scratchy nib, or a really thick, wet, bleedy nib.
NOT ALL NIBS AND INKS WORK IN THE SAME WAY. Just because one ink doesn’t bleed through your paper, doesn’t mean another one by the same manufacturer won’t. It’s a bit of a risky business, but worth it in the end.
I didn’t talk at all about bottled inks, but if you guys want another post dedicated towards that, I’ll be happy to write one. Also, FP lovers, let me know if I missed anything important. Anyway, I hope this was an informative read and prompted you to buy an fountain pen!
I’m going to put the masterpost part of this under a readmore (because this post is already long af), so click there if you want to see blogs, youtube channels, and more pen recs
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