As my first big tips/guide post, I thought Iâd talk about something Iâm super interested in, fountain pens! Letâs jump right inâŠ
Iâll 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!
Itâs super customizable. FPâs allow you to switch out sizes of nibs, pen body colors, and even inks! This makes it so that if you canât 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, FPâs 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? Youâd be lying if you said youâve never wanted oneâŠ
When I first started researching FPs, I was pretty overwhelmed. Lucky for you, Iâve compiled a list of useful words that youâll 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 âflexâ. 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 arenât available in cartridges!
Iâm 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. Itâs honestly the best thing ever, and you really canât get this awesome effect with your regular ballpoint pens!
My Favorite Beginner FPâs
FPâs 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 donât 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!
Letâs say youâre not to sure about this whole fountain pen deal, and donât 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. Itâs less than 5 bucks (!!!!) but is one of the smoothest pens Iâve ever tried out. You canât 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, Iâm 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 donât use it as much because they are located across the country, but they have the coolest packaging! When you order, theyâll write out a thank you note in pretty colors and add some goodies. Also I highly recommend checking out their youtube channel! Itâs 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 donât 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, itâs 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 doesnât bleed through your paper, doesnât mean another one by the same manufacturer wonât. Itâs a bit of a risky business, but worth it in the end.
I didnât talk at all about bottled inks, but if you guys want another post dedicated towards that, Iâll 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!
Iâm 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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