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I have always had an interest in pens. It started when I was young, my dad always carried a pen (and still does). On the evenings and weekends he carried a Parker Jotter. Many a doodle or game of tic-tac-toe was played with that pen while waiting for dinner at a restaurant. He also had nicer pens that he carried to work that I wasn’t allowed to touch. I now understand why having dropped a fountain pen myself.
When I was in middle school my dad bought me a Sheaffer fountain pen – a Sheaffer Sentinel made in Japan according to the internet. I tried it out, but I had problems with the ink smearing (the downside of being a lefty). I shelved it and stuck with cheap ballpoints until college. In college I decided I wanted to get “organized” and bought myself a Parker Jotter Flighter set to go with my new planner. The Jotter was my mainstay for several years.
A few years back, while browsing through a local antique store I noticed an older looking pen. Thanks to the label on the what I later learned was called the sac guard, I knew it was a Parker 21. The section was stained, but for $10.00 I figured it wasn’t a big deal. That pen started my fascination with fountain pens. I spent time researching the pen trying to figure out what year it was made (it is a Mark II circa 1951). My dad gave my a bottle of Parker Blue-Black Quink to try. I still had issues with smearing, but I had been bit by the proverbial fountain pen bug.
I was determined to find a fountain pen that would “work” for me. After more research I learned about the various nib sizes and that fine and extra fine nibs might work better for lefties. I also learned there were “fast” drying inks and that the type of paper often made a difference.
With this new found knowledge I bought a few inexpensive pens, a Pilot Kakuno (F) and a Pilot Metropolitan (M), and some different fast drying inks to try. Fast forward to today, my pen and ink collection has grown, I’ve been to several pen shows, and have recently started to dabble in restoring vintage pens. The purpose of this blog to document my journey through this hobby.
Rough draft written with a Lamy Aion filled with Scribes’ Inks Jellyfish in a Clairefontaine 1951 notebook.