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I'm a third generation fountain pen geek, my mum and her dad both did calligraphy with Osmiroid pens, so I can't really say when I first got into fountain pens because I can't ever remember NOT being into fountain pens. I wasn't allowed to have my own till I was 8 or 9 and could demonstrate to my mum that I could use it properly, though, and it was a BIG thing graduating from pencil to a Proper Pen. The first one that was actually mine was (I suspect like most brits) a Parker Vector. When I got to grammar school they insisted on us having fountain pens so I had a bit of a head start over my classmates. Mine had Beano comic characters on (Dennis & Gnasher) and I was GUTTED when someone at school trod on it and broke it. I still have a soft spot for the shape and feel of a parker vector and have several in my collection. This started off as a comment to a USian person and I don't know if you even get parker vectors that side of the Atlantic but they are (or seem to be) our equivalent of the Preppy. They're a lovely simple clean shape and a nice size for my tiny hands - most of the posh pens these days are too big for me.
Kids these days aren't made to use fountain pens at school the way I was (my daughter goes to the same school I went to and only knows about fountain pens because of me). As a liberal I kind of approve of kids using whatever writing implements they like... as a fountain pen geek I think it's a bit of a shame that most kids won't even try one. They make such a difference to both the legibility and the speed of my handwriting; because I'm not pushing into the paper (as with a ballpoint) but skating over the top of it, I can write for lots longer and lots more usefully with a fountain pen. This comes in extremely handy on candidate assessment days for the Lib Dems when I basically have to write down what someone is saying verbatim for a whole day.
I guess implied in the question was "why do you stay into fountain pens?" There is a lot less need for manual writing these days than there used to be, and certainly if I was writing an article it would be composed entirely electronically. But there's something very ephemeral about stuff written on the Internet, despite its longevity and ease of access and searchable qualities. Whereas paper and ink are so tactile and solid... I guess I feel that if you're GOING to write something manually these days you might as well make it as pretty as you can, and as nice an experience for yourself as you can. And choosing a pen, and a nib, and an ink that works for you in that moment? Creates more fun and more memories than grabbing a biro ever could.
Kids these days aren't made to use fountain pens at school the way I was (my daughter goes to the same school I went to and only knows about fountain pens because of me). As a liberal I kind of approve of kids using whatever writing implements they like... as a fountain pen geek I think it's a bit of a shame that most kids won't even try one. They make such a difference to both the legibility and the speed of my handwriting; because I'm not pushing into the paper (as with a ballpoint) but skating over the top of it, I can write for lots longer and lots more usefully with a fountain pen. This comes in extremely handy on candidate assessment days for the Lib Dems when I basically have to write down what someone is saying verbatim for a whole day.
I guess implied in the question was "why do you stay into fountain pens?" There is a lot less need for manual writing these days than there used to be, and certainly if I was writing an article it would be composed entirely electronically. But there's something very ephemeral about stuff written on the Internet, despite its longevity and ease of access and searchable qualities. Whereas paper and ink are so tactile and solid... I guess I feel that if you're GOING to write something manually these days you might as well make it as pretty as you can, and as nice an experience for yourself as you can. And choosing a pen, and a nib, and an ink that works for you in that moment? Creates more fun and more memories than grabbing a biro ever could.
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