A Cheap Fountain Pen
I’ve always liked fountain pens and it’s probably not surprising – they have a certain old-school charm that I always appreciate, while actually being useful everyday items. Compared to the ones I owned when starting school, modern fountain pens are easy and convenient to use; there’s no leaking and cartridges have made ink pots redundant (I still like them, but practical they are not). Most importantly, fountain pens do to your handwriting what Spanx does to your figure – it still looks like yours, but much better.
Over the years, I’ve owned several really nice fountain pens. There was the Waterman one that my colleagues gave me that had ‘Magnum Opus’ engraved on it. And a beautiful lacquered Japanese pen that J gifted me. What those wonderful items of writing equipment have in common is that I lost them all sooner or later. Mostly sooner. This became so heartbreaking that I gave up on the idea entirely and started losing cheap ballpoint pens instead.
One day, when buying school stuff for my daughter, I noticed there were also fountain pens on sale. These were cheap (2 or 3 euros) and relatively ugly, but still fountain pens. So I bought one. And you know, while the quality isn’t quite comparable to the highbrow ink pens, it’s nevertheless a pleasure to use. I have even started taking notes by hand again – as opposed to typing on my iPad -, because I like the feeling so much.*
I’m sure there are more visually appealing cheap fountain pens around, in case you also want to look, not only feel glamorous when you write. But I sort of like the eighties My Little Pony vibe of this pen, so when I lose it (it’s just a question time) I might just buy one exactly like it.
* Inspired by some lovely Instagram friends, I also feel like sending letters and postcards again. Still need to practice a bit before going ahead, though.
PS How great is that little card my personal Beauty Fairy brought me from the US? Very great.
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That *is* a great card!
It’s funny you should mention fountain pens. I’d completely forgotten about them until my son and I were talking about something he found in the apartment he’s renting in Brooklyn. The artist friend who had been living there left some stuff behind, and we were talking about something he found which turned out to be an inkwell and quill pens. We then proceeded to discuss fountain pens, which are very retro and fascinating to him.
Weirdly, I use mechanical pencils for the slow control that they have which I enjoy when writing. Plus, well, I also enjoy the fact that the writing fades over time. So a transition back to fountain pens would probably also be enjoyable for me – do they still suddenly make those random Rorshach ink blobs? Not that I’d actually mind, most likely …
I still prefer using paper, and almost always go that route for my calendar, lists and writing the rare card. I find that I’m much more engaged that way somehow.
I love inkwells and quills, too, but they really don’t work that well in office situations… Once I get my ‘library room’ furnished, I’m not ruling them out, though. And I’m sure I’ll get a really nice high quality fountain pen at some point again, but this is not the point.
The new fountain pens don’t really make the ink blobs any more and I’m not too sad abut it. While it looks very romantic, the downside is that your hands will also be covered with ink.