Where do I begin.

[jrward2]

Hello everybody,

So let me start off by introducing to everybody my plan. Me and my girlfriend have been dating for about three years now. Next year she will be starting medical school in a different town from me while I will be finishing getting my masters of accountancy. So with this being said, I plan on writing her when she goes to medical school. I saw an article about writing your significant other letters for a year and I wanted to take up the task, and also I have the thought of a proposal with the very last letter. However I need some advice as to where to begin.

Now I've written her letters before with standard printer paper, standard white envelope, and probably a BIC pen. However, I want to make these letters special. I was looking into getting a good pen, good paper, envelopes, and I would also like to use wax to seal the back.

To give a background on my writing. I have pretty terrible penmanship, so I need to hone my cursive before I start. With this being said, I think I would be looking for something with extra fine ink, so I can make it look not as messy. Also, in the past when I write, I tend to smear the ink as I continue writing (the outside of my hand drags the letters down the page) so i'm wanting an ink that would dry fast so this wouldn't happen.

I hope this all makes sense.

Thank you

 

[Jimmy James]

The pen is what actually dictates the width of your line, and I would not support your position that XF necessarily makes things look less messy. The nib width you choose needs to be suited to your hand. If you write small, XF will suit you well. If you write large letters, you'll want something at least medium.

It would be a shame if you spent all this time on this project only for your letters to not be delivered or to be ruined if they got a little wet down the road. I'd recommend a bulletproof Noodler's ink that does not shed ink like Noodler's The Violet Vote or an iron gall ink for your ink. There are lots of options, and you may want several inks for a year's worth of writing.

As to stationery, it really depends on what you're shooting for what to get. AmericanStationery.com is a good source for fountain pen friendly paper imprinted with your own information, or you could get some high end stationery from Crowne Mill, G. Lalo, or Clairefontaine at Goulet Pens.

Finally, you mention wax seals. I would recommend you buy color hot glue sticks and a hot glue gun as opposed to using conventional wax. Conventional wax is very crumbly and doesn't hold up to mailing. The polymer base of the colored hot glue holds up well. Some of the sealing waxes available today, such as some of the J. Herbin line, are also resilient. You can use whatever seal you'd use with wax with colored hot glue. I have the hot glue equipment, and it is cheap and effective.

ETA: It sounds like you're a left handed overwriter. A fast drying ink will be essential, but since you're working on your hand anyway, you may want to consider trying to become a left handed underwriter.

 

[jrward2]

Jimmy James. Thanks for your reply. I have medium-large sized hand writing so I guess I should get a medium pen. I guess I should probably start by purchasing a cheaper pen from office depot to see if I like fountain or another type. Would you suggest this, and if so what would you suggest so that I can get a feel for different types besides a typical ball point pen.

And I think that J. Herbin wax for a wax gun sounds like the ticket for me. I will get that and a brass stamp.

Unfortunately, I am right handed and it seems that my knuckle on my pinky finger is always the culprit for smearing ink. Any way I can correct this? Is this considered overwriting?

Thanks for your help

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

jrward:
One question that needs to be asked...what type of pen (FP, RB or BP), are you looking for?

That said, Fountain (FP), pen's are not for me because of the likehood of me being a victum of a FP ink accident (which is why I'll stick with my Montblanc "Starwalker" rollerball (RB), pen or my Montblanc 75th Anniversary Limited Edition "Mozart" ball point (BP), pen.

When I was uniform and deployed, and/or on assignment, I wrote the Mrs. quite offen although my penmanship is still a little better than 'chicken scratch'. But I do I firmly beleive that by holding a fine writting instrument intuitively (or think of past writters and style), causes one to creativily pause for thought and thus 'slow' down one's writting speed akin to equating a fine writting instrument with finer writting.

"Soulmakers for 100 Years".

"The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought, this in turn makes us think more deeply about life, which helps us regain our equilibrium". Norbet Platt

 

[Jimmy James]

How do you hold a pen? Any chance you could take a cell phone photo or describe it? I use the tripod grip I was taught in grade school and have no pinky problems. However you do it (and my way is not the only "proper" way to hold a pen but is the most common), it may be as simple as finding a pen you grip farther away from the paper. You may also be used to ballpoints where you're wrapping your whole hand around the thing scrawling down the paper because ballpoints require that you press down. A fountain pen requires no force -- the force of gravity is plenty enough.

If you want to reform your grip in changing your hand, a Lamy Safari will be very helpful in implementing the tripod grip. This set of images might be helpful in describing that:
http://www.stokespeaksout.org/grownups/Developing Pencil Grasp

The Safari has a section (the gripping area) that is basically hexagonal with the flat part for your middle finger and the angled parts for thumb and index finger. Unfortunately, as with most anything the only way to be certain of how you might like it would be to try it. They're not pricey as pens go, but we're talking approximately $30. Nothing says you have to use a fountain pen, but it really may be helpful to your hand. That's the experience of a lot of people, though it is not my personal experience.

 

[cvac]

The great thing about the safari or al star is that the nibs are interchangeable. You could start with a medium nib the swap out finer or italic style nibs whenever you want. I'd also recommend some type of waterproof ink...don't bother with the office store fontain pens...they're pretty scratchy and won't give you a good idea of what it's like to use a decent fp.

 

[jrward2]

Ok so it looks like I have a Dynamic tripod grip. I did some other research on the internet and found an article that talks about where the pen rests on your hand. I used to let the pen rest where the thumb meets my hand, now I moved the pen up a little bit and let it rest on around the first knuckle of my index finger. This has already improved the look of my penmanship alot and it also has stopped the smearing of words down the page. Strange on how a little googling could help find a fix for the problem. I will still have to get used to it though. It doesn't feel to natural. Regardless, I think I am still going to look into the safari or al star.

What are ya'lls thought on pens that you dip into the ink?

Thanks,

John

 

[Dave258]

The Safari and Al-star make great starter pens, and like someone else said, the nibs are interchangeable, and cheap at around $12, so you can have one pen, and change the appearance of the writing easily with the change of a nib. I have also done it fairly un-messy while ink was still in the pen.

I have never used a dip pen, but another member here told me that sometimes they are tough to use for writing letters. If he picked up the pen to dip it, and came back to the page at a different angle, the writing was different. I wanted to get one for testing inks, but never did.

Good luck!

 

[cvac]

I wouldn't recommend a dip pen first off, simply because it's not practical for carrying around for everyday use. As soon as you get your FP you'll be looking for excuses to use it for everyday stuff...it's like having a new toy. So get a regular pen that you can use for whatever you want.

 

[duokun]

I have a dip pen that I got primarily for testing inks but sadly I haven't used it much because it's not super convenient to use without having an inkwell. Dipping it into ink sample bottles or even larger ink bottles just isn't as easy to do when trying to actually write something.

That being said, I did get a rather nice hand turned dip pen holder with a few vintage nibs from Steve and Pippa Engen at dippens.net along with some good info and advice. Also, Pendemonium has some nice vintage dip pen holders and nibs for sale, if that is something you are interested in.

I would recommend the Lamy Safari as a great choice (with a converter and bottled ink) as a first fountain pen. It's not to expensive and is a well made pen.

 

[Doc4]

You seem to be well on your way to sorting things out with the advice from JJ and the others.

I'd agree that an italic nib can really make handwriting look snazzier, so long as your writing isn't too small (& it sounds like it isn't).

Since these letters may hopefully be long-term keepsakes and family heirlooms one day, you don't want the ink fading, so my thought is getting an Eternal ink by Noodler's ... perhaps get samples of several and then decide which you like for the full bottle.

... and also I have the thought of a proposal with the very last letter. ...

PS: don't tell her you are a member of B&B.

 

[oc_in_fw]

PS: don't tell her you are a member of B&B.

I know that was added in jest, but being up front ahead of time saves pain later

 

[Doc4]

I know that was added in jest, but being up front ahead of time saves pain later

... he doesn't want her finding out about his intentions by seeing it written on the internet.

 

[oc_in_fw]

... he doesn't want her finding out about his intentions by seeing it written on the internet.

Oh, I was looking at the AD angle

 

[jenkinl1302]

I'd just like to say that I have absolutely nothing to add to this conversation, as I know next to nothing about pens, paper or ink.

However, I did want to say that your idea is a fantastic one, and I'm sure she will love it. Best of luck as you finish your Masters, and to her in med school. Keep us all updated on the progress.

 

[jrward2]

I'd just like to say that I have absolutely nothing to add to this conversation, as I know next to nothing about pens, paper or ink.

However, I did want to say that your idea is a fantastic one, and I'm sure she will love it. Best of luck as you finish your Masters, and to her in med school. Keep us all updated on the progress.

I will keep everybody updated on the progress. It will be a challenge to figure out what to write once a week for an entire year. But I think the thought process of making the letters special and unique each week will help think deeper into the relationship than one normally would--as dorky as that sounds. But I'm looking forward to it none the less.

Im still in between getting the Safari or the Al star. I'm looking at the noodlers inks and I found the table that shows the ink properties (bulletproof, eternal, waterproof, etc...), but I have a one more question about inks and FP.

I know this is a very noobish question but... How do I fill the pen with the ink? will I need something else like a syringe-esk type injector to inject the ink into the pen? or does this uses cartridges? If I buy two inks will it be hard to change between one color to the next?

In deciding between the AL star and the Safari: Is one more convertible than the other? There is a slight price difference between the two and I'm leaning towards the Safari just because its a little cheaper. However, does the AL star offer more than the Safari. I would be willing to pay a little bit more so that I could get a pen that has more features, conversions, etc.. Or just a better quality.

Thanks

 

[jrward2]

Just answered my own question about filling the ink... I guess I will need a converter ( I didn't know what that was before I watched a video ha).

 

[Doc4]

Well, as for ink filling, you ...

Just answered my own question about filling the ink... I guess I will need a converter ( I didn't know what that was before I watched a video ha).

... oh.




As I understand it, the Safari and Al-star are basically the same, except for pen body material ... plastic vs. aluminium.

 

[oc_in_fw]

Well, as for ink filling, you ...



... oh.




As I understand it, the Safari and Al-star are basically the same, except for pen body material ... plastic vs. aluminium.

one other minor, cosmetic difference- the feed area on Al-Star is translucent as opposed to the being the same color as the body. Like I said, minor- the big difference is it is made out of aluminum, as you noted.

 

[jrward2]

Alright,

I think I'm going to get the Safari in charcoal with a Medium steel nib and the converter. Im going to get it off of gouletpens. I had no idea goulet had all of those videos attached to the product description. Huge help. I think as far as inks go I'm going to get noodlers bad black kingfisher, bad black moccasin, maybe another... I wish they had Whaleman's sepia in stock. That looks like a pretty cool ink even though I don't know much about them yet ha.

Which inks do ya'll like? I'm going to stick to the eternal property as mentioned earlier.