I posted in my Livejournal about the fountain pen I got at the auction, and my quest to use up some of the cartridges I have (my usual Sheaffer fountain pen (a cheap-o one to begin with) has, regrettably, died, and I have loads of cartridges left. (When I say loads, I mean about 75.) My only other usable fountain pen is a 15-year old (or so) Parker calligraphy pen--it came with different nibs and I've always used the thinnest one for regular writing. It works great, but the Sheaffer cartridges don't fit in the Parker pen.
I've always loved fountain pens, but I've never been able to use or buy any of the even remotely expensive ones--the ones I bought cost me less than $10 each over the years and maybe the Parker pen cost more; I don't remember. But of the ones I've used, they've all lasted me a good long time, so I can't really complain.
One of the other things I'd like to do with the 100 days project is to go through the hundreds of pens I have and get rid of the ones that don't work. (I'm not kidding about the 'hundreds', either.) I'd also like to buy refill catridges for the ones that can be refilled--if they are ones I use/d quite often.
Today, after searching through ebay for a reasonably priced fountain pen to buy (and I found one, too) I discovered that one of the pens I used to love has cartridges still available to buy. And ebay was a lot cheaper than, say, Office Max or any of the other retail stores. So I bought some refills for my once-favorite pen today, along with a fountain pen version of the same pen (who knew?) and another fountain pen as well. (I never tossed the once-favorite pen because every once in a while, it would work. It's a Parker, too, a Reflex, and it's just really nice to use. Or it was. Or will be again.)
One thing I discovered that I didn't know was that the Pilot Varsity disposable fountain pens are still in existence! They stopped carrying those at the local office stores years and years and years ago. I thought they weren't available anywhere, but it turns out that more people in the UK and Europe use fountain pens vs. ballpoints. Which shouldn't surprise me at all, considering how much of a throwaway society we are.
So why not use fountain pens? Maybe people would pay more attention to their penmanship if they used a pen that was special (in either price or how well it works) to them. Maybe more people would write--notes, letters, etc. Back when I used a fountain pen exclusively, even the act of writing a check was more interesting. :)
Once I get to my studio/craft room, I'll be going through my pens, and I will probably sell my extra fountain pens that need a bit of work. I'm not going to say I'll ever be a fountain pen collector, but a fountain pen user, yes. And after looking up fountain pens on ebay for the past few days, I now know what to look for at auctions, even, just in case I come across a good one for cheap like I did over the weekend.
I've always loved fountain pens, but I've never been able to use or buy any of the even remotely expensive ones--the ones I bought cost me less than $10 each over the years and maybe the Parker pen cost more; I don't remember. But of the ones I've used, they've all lasted me a good long time, so I can't really complain.
One of the other things I'd like to do with the 100 days project is to go through the hundreds of pens I have and get rid of the ones that don't work. (I'm not kidding about the 'hundreds', either.) I'd also like to buy refill catridges for the ones that can be refilled--if they are ones I use/d quite often.
Today, after searching through ebay for a reasonably priced fountain pen to buy (and I found one, too) I discovered that one of the pens I used to love has cartridges still available to buy. And ebay was a lot cheaper than, say, Office Max or any of the other retail stores. So I bought some refills for my once-favorite pen today, along with a fountain pen version of the same pen (who knew?) and another fountain pen as well. (I never tossed the once-favorite pen because every once in a while, it would work. It's a Parker, too, a Reflex, and it's just really nice to use. Or it was. Or will be again.)
One thing I discovered that I didn't know was that the Pilot Varsity disposable fountain pens are still in existence! They stopped carrying those at the local office stores years and years and years ago. I thought they weren't available anywhere, but it turns out that more people in the UK and Europe use fountain pens vs. ballpoints. Which shouldn't surprise me at all, considering how much of a throwaway society we are.
So why not use fountain pens? Maybe people would pay more attention to their penmanship if they used a pen that was special (in either price or how well it works) to them. Maybe more people would write--notes, letters, etc. Back when I used a fountain pen exclusively, even the act of writing a check was more interesting. :)
Once I get to my studio/craft room, I'll be going through my pens, and I will probably sell my extra fountain pens that need a bit of work. I'm not going to say I'll ever be a fountain pen collector, but a fountain pen user, yes. And after looking up fountain pens on ebay for the past few days, I now know what to look for at auctions, even, just in case I come across a good one for cheap like I did over the weekend.
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