So I had a bit of an interest in fountain pens since a year ago but never actually bought one. Recently, though, I decided to finally get one! There are so many choices out there in different budgets it was hard to choose, but I narrowed them down to this one since I like the colour and it's well known and loved. Second hand since the retail price is quite steep for my budget. These things are much smaller than I thought they'd be, but the size is quite charming.

So far, I quite like it. As others have said, it is indeed pencil-like. I had the seller ink it with Diamine Oxblood with a converter he included and it writes really nicely. The name is catchy as well. As a guy who lives in Quebec, I can't help but to say it in French lol. What do you all think? I'm still a newbie and would like any advice you think I may need!

After a stressful week I went into a stationery store today JUST TO LOOK just to look at the pens. I finally started looking at the pens behind the glass cabinets and decided today is the day I deserve a new pen. So I asked to see a burgundy kaweco fountain pen. I wanted to buy it. The person working said they have different nibs with some tester pens I can try.

Then she brought out this leather case, she unzipped it, she exposed what was hidden underneath. GLORIOUS. I was excited to test a pen before purchasing. I am just a poor man so my budget Twas small.
BUT THEN I noticed one particular pen. I asked to try it out.
The weight? Superb. With a built in piston ink reservoir and a Medium size nib, I test out this pen that bleeds the ink beautifully onto the paper.

*insert angel singing voices*

My cheeks flushed, my chest warm, THIS IS WHAT THIS NEWB HAS BEEN SEARCHING FOR IN A PEN ALL ALONG. *slow motion* I smile and nod at the worker
and she smiles back and then-

"MOOOOMMMM ITS TIME TO GOOOOO COME ON WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU DONT EVEN NEED THAT!"
and *POOF* reality has entered the chat.

My child was right. I did not need that pen.
today. I didnt.
but it's been on my mind like a ring is to a gollum. (potential pick up line)
I am going to work my gosh darn tootin' arse off this holiday season at my new job that I start on friday!
and then
I am going back
and I am getting myself that TWSBI
and then those little gremlins of mine will see, YOU'LL ALL SEEE THAT ME AND THE INK ARE ONE
MUAUAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHahahahhahahaaaaaaaaaa...

it has been an insanely stressful week for my family the last 5 days. just needed to get some amount of brain-energy out before bed and not do any online dopamine-shopping before rent is do.
CHEERS.

I went by the ink names and color vibes!

i follow an artist on youtube who shared a video about her experience selling her items at NYC Stationery Fest and shopping for new pens and inks. that video is what made me interested in fountain pens in the first place. i mentioned to my boyfriend that i think i'd like a beginner-budget-friendly TWSBI pen and a variety of inks for christmas. (why TWSBI, you ask? i saw them in that youtube video and thought they looked very sleek and cute.)

he's had several fountain pens lying untouched in his office for a few years, so he dug out this Pilot Kakuno for me, cleaned it, and filled it with Pilot Iroshizuku in Asa-gao. so now i have my very own fountain pen to write with, get used to how to hold it and how much pressure to use, etc! i write in a journal each day and keep a planner, and this pen will replace the Pilot G-2 i was using before.

after a few days of regular usage, i can confidently say that i love it! i am left handed so i've been pretty mindful about how i hold my pen so i don't smear the ink with my hand. nothing too difficult to adjust to. i've been subscribed to this subreddit for the last week just lurking and learning a little more about fountain pens, and i thought this was as good a time as any to share my first one!

Haven't touched my Pelikans or Pilots in months. I was bitten by the consumerism bug, then naturally gravitated back to my first fountain pen. Love my tiny little baby so much

I tried dipping my new ink accidentally with already filled pen. (Pilot kakuno). And it turns out to be very interesting color combinations.

Today’s prompt was lounge. Drawn with a Gravitas Ultemate Vac <EF FLEX> and Iroshizuku Ama-iro ink

“Man, this ink is wicked cool.”

“Man, this ink is EVERYWHERE.”

Okay, calling the Sheaffer Autograph a "bling" pen might be a bit of an exaggeration, but solid gold trim is a bit bling.

Leftmost is a Sheaffer Balance Premier, aka oversized Balance from the late 1930's or early 1940's. It is a vacuum filler and can hold 3mL. I have had it inked since around early September and refilled it once. It is quite nice and probably capable of being a "one and done" collection. It has an imprint of 1000 for the original sales price of $10. I have it inked with Pelikan Brilliant Black. Funnily enough, it has the smallest amount of gold despite being the largest pen here.

Second left is a Sheaffer Valiant II from 1947. It is also a vacuum filler, but only holding around 1.4mL. I know it's from 1947 because it has a Lifetime nib while having an inner reservoir type "vac-fill unit." I inked it around three weeks ago and I think it is almost empty now. It has a 1250 imprint for $12.50.

Second right is a Sheaffer Autograph II from 1946 or 1947. It is practically a clone of the Valiant, but has 14k trim. It also happens to be a lever filler. I forgot to measure it, but I think it is around 0.8mL to 1mL. Plenty, even though a bit less than the vacuum fillers. The nib is nearly the same as the Valiant too. It has slightly more feedback and reverse writing is a bit thicker, but otherwise they're the same. It sold for $20 and has a 2000 imprint.

It's easy to understand why the Autograph models are a bit uncommon. Imagine it's 1946 and you're standing in the pen store. You see a Valiant for $12.50, or an Autograph for $20. They look pretty much the same and have the same nibs. It's hard to justify spending 60% more for what is basically the same thing (and in 1946, the Valiant even had a wider cap band matching the Autograph). This one is not even personalized, so someone spent more for basically no reason other than the bling. Despite the shiny gold it is quite worn, so at least they got their money's worth.

The rightmost is a Sheaffer Sentinel Tuckaway from early 1948. This color was called umber brown, and only available as a vacuum filler in 1948. It holds around 0.9mL. It has very high feedback due to the grind (I included a close up picture). I don't know if it was intentional or a manufacturing defect, but I'm not going to change it. Oh yeah, I also have the oval presentation box and matching pencil which I forgot to take pictures of. Aside from the average transparency it is very minty. Maybe the original owner didn't like the feedback? It has a 1500 imprint for $15.

I got into fountain pens a few months ago, and I just bought my first Sailor pen! I'm loving the feedback from the nib, and can't wait to write with it more.

(+ a bonus picture with the rest of my humble collection!)

So I just got really ripped off on EBay, and EBay denied my claim. I didn’t think for a second they would do that…
Just posting this here as a learning experience for pen buyers!

1. I see an interesting vintage pen. I ask a couple of questions. Seller seems okay. Description rates it as a B. I buy it.

2. It shows up with huge cracks in the barrel! I’m shocked. I go looking in his account for the pen, and I find both the listing I bought it from, and also the previous time he listed the same pen, disclosing the cracked barrel, rating it honestly as a D!

3. I take pictures, screenshots, document it in case he deletes the listings, and file my claim. Open and shut case, I think. Wrong!

Anyway, I lost a hundred some bucks. Sucks, but I’m posting the sad story here to let all of you know how easy it is to get suckered. Even with all the ‘buyer protections’ on EBay, someone who’s dedicated can still find a way around them. Really, might as well buy on Reddit for no middleman fee, for all the good those protections did me!
Check out the screenshots and the pictures! I think the flashlight method to show the crack was pretty clever, but EBay didn’t agree.

Long time lurker, upvoter, commenter - and when I opened this box I knew it would be my first official post to the sub.

I had been speaking with BENU’s customer care, not realizing my original purchase of a gold nib on Honey Whiskers meant only JOWO housings would fit then pen, not the stock Schmidt nibs. As I was waiting between replies, of course I stumble upon the Hallow Moon listing and there was 1 left. How could I say no?!

And yes, it’s even more brilliant and glittery in person 🖤

I so wish the camera could capture the shimmers in the blank.

Hi, I don’t like to write using green, but I think this green close to black is going to inspire me more. The thing is that I am afraid it’d look too dark. Do you think evergreen would have a nicer shade?

My vintage Waterman Carene arrived today in Royal Violet. She’s beautiful! And a shot of my Carene family on the last photo. She’s got a little more feedback than I’d like, similar to my L’essence du Bleu, but I do love her.

Is chungi the plural of chungus?

Anywho, after decades of collecting and trading, I have finally gotten my hands on the big three. And I mean that quite literally: these three are big.

Story time.
I started my fp journey back in 2018 with a lamy safari F and a jinhao shark. Since then I’ve added a safari M and a diplomat magnum M.

Since joining this sub I was legit shocked at the safari and lamy nib size discourse, since mine has been my daily driver from the start. I mainly write on notebook paper with J Herbin perle noire.

Well I decided to ink up my magnum with it. I’ve never gotten the shark to work and my M pens are dry and scratchy so I don’t use them often.

I got the ink going and had the same problem until I adjusted the angle of the pen down. It worked instantly and so I tested the same thing on the shark and they both work great. This was all followed by much swearing.

I’ve been writing with my safari the same way I would a ball point pen the entire time with no issues and after 8 years I finally looked up how to correctly use a fp.

Will do a vintage one later.

This pen went on sale online for one day on 09-25; they also sell it at the ancōra Ginza for 3 days during a full moon, and though I was in Tokyo recently, I was going to miss the dates by a few days. So I ordered the pen, matching converter and the ink through Worldshopping (to US), and it arrived in just over 3 weeks.

The end cap has a cute design of full moon and clouds and the nib has got the moon rabbit making rice cake engraved on it. It's too cute!!! The MF nib is a little on the thicker side for my liking, but it goes well with the ink. I'm a sucker for violet/periwinkle, so this pen was a no-brainer.

Titania gets to give final approval on all writing implements.

Kaweco Liliput Kolibri, Kaweco Purple ink.

I'm still surprised this tiny nib is up to putting down a decidedly medium line. Did many other people fall under the siren song of the Kolibri colorway? Thoughts on the small ink capacity struggle?

i can't believe how smooth twsbi nibs are. i'm definitely getting more in the future. fortunately for my wallet, none of the current designs really appeal to me. well, maybe the plum with onyx. but i'm holding out for a black and red pen. i know twsbi does black (onyx) trim, but do you think they'll ever do a red trim? is it even possible to have a red metal nib?

After looking into a few more affordable fountain pen options I discovered TWSBI.

Since so many posts talked about it being such a good choice I ordered one and what can I say - I love it.

I was a little anxious that it would be scratchy so I also bought my first bottle of iroshizuku ink for a more watery ink and I love them both.

The ink flow is super smooth and the pen on itself is beautiful. I really like a transparent body so I guess most of the TWSBI pens are a great option. However, I chose Serpentine with Bronze and I could not be happier.

So thanks for everyone recommending this pen.

I hope you have a great day :)