Fountain Pens: Friend or Foe? 📙 

Hey Planner Pals! Hope you enjoyed the episode 💪 If you made it to...the part, leave us a balloon emoji 😂🎈 #IYKYK

The spread eagle balloon meltdown might be the best thing ever. :-D

You didn’t even talk about sheening or shimmering inks! I bet we you could get Jess hooked with Organics Studio Nitrogen or Robert Oster Crystal Marine!

So fitting! Just bought my first two fountain pens this week. Three cheers for a sick new obsession.

You showed my exact pen! 26:28 I have the TWSBI Diamond 580 with an extra fine nib. It’s the most expensive pen I own ($80) but I literally use it every day all day long. Literally! I’m still extremely precious with it and it only ever has Platinum Carbon Black ink in it but I LOVE IT!

Oh I rest my pens on my ring finger as well! Guess I have been using my fountain pens wrong this whole time! 😅😂

Start of show thoughts: When I first started watching bujo videos seriously, there were nice people who would mention what they were using but there were so many supplies...I was very confused. What were tombows? Did I need to have them? What about microns? But this other person uses fineliners. Another person uses fine tipped markers. What were these supplies and which ones did I need to have a little decor but not break the bank? I finally made a list of supplies that were used and categorized them into categories: felt tipped, highlighters, fineliners, etc. Then I picked one pack (4-12) from each category to try, and ONE of each other essential, like notebook, ruler, eraser, pencil, pencil case, lap desk. It was a great way to start. I then took my new but established information and applied it to fountain pens, ordering the brands, nib sizes, and pen body sizes I was interested in while staying in a specific price range. I learned quickly what I liked and went from there. My best tip is to do your research/use your resources! These hobbies can be as basic and practical or all consuming and exorbitant as we allow them to be. If I were recommending a pen to Jess, I would recommend a snap cap with cartridges. End of show notes: Yes! Those kind of recommendations! I think the faces are specific to nib size :) If you want to binge other videos about fountain pen users and their experiences, check out #8penquestions here on RU-vid I always recommend the Lamy Safari for beginners. They're always on sale somewhere (you can even order them off Amazon). Lots of fun colors. Easy to use. Easy to maintain. Reliable nibs that are easy to change if you want to try a different size.

The Pilot Kakuno is by far my favorite entry level pen. It's so good!

"Scandal! I need another notebook!" 😆 You two are my favorites. 💛

Thanks for the chill but hilarious podcast. It was a lot of fun. My first fountain pen was a platinum preppy which I loved. I kept really cheap pens for a really long time before I branched out into something a little better so I think that's a great starting point.

Not about pens but I was on holiday recently and almost on auto-pilot, I'd set up my trackers already, then didn't keep up and couldn't resist writing "obviously I died" over them 😂 ✌🎈🎈🎈

I grew up in Germany and we had to use fountain pens up to a certain grade at least. I really liked them and started collecting them. I'd say the most popular brands were Pelikan and Lamy. The latter was less popular and they use a different cartridge system so it was difficult to share materials. I only recently got back to using fountain pens and started again with a kaweco sport. For a beginner I would recommend looking at the fountain pen lines designed for students in school or college. Those are typically very comfortable, durable and come in a nice range of colours. I'd also suggest going with disposable cartridges first, it makes the point of entry so much easier and less messy. By the way, I love italics nibs. I had a pen with one in high school and just loved the effect it had on my writing! I should really get one again 😅

If ever there was an episode to WATCH … it is THIS one! I was laughing so hard, my husband came over to see what was so funny. Thanks for the laugh, cannot wait to see what’s next. 💜💜

A few other recs for starter pens: 1. Twsbi eco hands down. 2. Kaweco sport (affordable, can be both a converter or cartridge pen, wide range of colors and nibs) 3. Lamy Safari

Love the balloons. Great episode. Totally enjoyed!🎈🎈

Another thing I have to say about fountain pen inks … most FP inks are *water* based. One day I was talking with someone and gesticulating wildly with an uncapped fountain pen to find I’d been spraying droplets of ink all over … including dar green ink on my cranberry colored pants. I soaked the inked up pant leg in cold water overnight and *voila* no more ink stains. 🤷🏻‍♀️ YMMV

Great episode Pals! I just dipped my toe into the fountain pen world and took Mark’s advice and tried a Pilot Kakuno! I now have 2 and a glass dip pen. Love the Kakunos!!

I’ve just done a major declutter of my fountain pens! Hoping now I’ve pared it down to my very favourite ones that I will use them more 😃

What a timely video for me! I just bought my first fountain pen.

My favorite heavy pen is a Jinhao pen that is glittery with a black base. The glitter is silver, and it looks like a night sky. I love using it for the holiday cards with a teal ink to sign cards and that makes me smile.

Love that Jess compared the cost of the pen to plates of sushi! Priorities.. lol

I would recommend a Lamy or to find a friend and try their collection!

the look on Jess' face during Mark's answer to "what is a fountain pen?" is adorable. i'm on the fence about buying a fountain pen. i'd be buying it mainly for the ink variety, which i find intriguing.

For even smaller writing, you can use a PO nib... it is a posting nib for writing even smaller on postcards. Often it is much smaller than an EF nib.

In 1827 the inventor Petrache Poenaru patented the fountain pen, developed from a large swan pen. However, it took a few years of innovation before it became popular. In 1850 the first pen with a hard rubber reservoir and free-flowing ink with a gold nib was produced.

I'm from the Netherlands and in school I had a fountain pen when we learned how to write (in cursive) Many school still teach this way, but each school can decide so a lot use ballpoints and have ditched fountain pens. Oh, and we call it a 'nummerbord', number board. The Dutch have left quite a few Dutch words around the world so number plate might be influenced by the Dutch too?

I just went down the fountain pen rabbit hole recently and I’m in deep! I don’t know why I waited so long. I know I had a fountain pen many moons ago when I was a teenager.

Another super fun episode! I was listening with headphones on and my partner was like: "why do you keep laughing so much, what's so funny?" 🎈🎈😂 Little Ru learned to write with a fountain pen (Lamy Abc was the go-to then), and as a kid I hated it - threw it away as soon as we were allowed to write with ballpoint in school. But now I absolutely love writing with fountain pen! As for the question you posed: I think the Pilot Kaküno is a great suggestion for a beginner pen. In my opinion one of the best nibs you can get at that price point, and middle-of-the-road in terms of size, grip etc. Another suggestion would be a Lamy Safari. Although maybe not for Jess, as the molded grip section is not for everyone. I find it helpful and comfortable, but that may just be because that's how I learned to write (the Lamy Abc has the same type of grip). I hope you both have a great time at Go Wild!

I adore my ink pend. If you haven't used a shaded glitter ink with a glass pen - you haven't seen life. I just love the clear barrel so you can see the inks

Love your *BEGINNERs F.P. Suggestions* (📙 Mark's pen suggestions for newbies) in the Video Description section. 😍👍💓💗💖 and timestamp @1:00:00 This is a good episode...learned alot , especially about the F.P. Jargon/ Lingo / Fountain Pen Speech. Similar to your Guest, Jess....I am a newbie to the Fountain Pen-verse. Started Jan 2024...and am so deep in the rabbit hole, I don't plan on coming out any time soon...I've invested over $2,ooo cad on Budget Fountain Pens, and over $1500 cad on all brands of Inks and F.P. Accessories. (Syringes / Pen Cases / Pen cabinets / Pen holders / Lube grease / variety of Nibs / Pen cleaning kits / Swatch cards / Notebooks for cataloging inks, purchasing record keeping notebooks / dip pens / Sample bottles / etc etc).

Great episode, interesting topic, thanks! I'm so glad I watch the podcast here on YT, because I wouldn't have wanted to miss the balloons, you both laughing out loud and the expressions while talking about nibs and such... 🤣 In Dutch a fountain pen is called 'vulpen' which translates to 'fill-pen'; makes sense! 👍 Children in the Netherlands also used to learn writing with a fountain pen. There are schools where it is still done this way. The reasons were apparently: a fountain pen forces you to adopt a good writing posture and you don't have to exert much pressure on the pen (a simple touch between pen and paper is enough). In schools, writing was often done for hours and the aforementioned advantages combined made the pupils less likely to get writing cramps. I've always loved writing with a fountain pen. My handwriting is small, so I like extra small nips. I didn't use fountain pens for a long period of time though; journaling got me back into it. I have an old Parker fountain pen from my dad, but in my journal I'm writing with a Preppy with standard black ink cartridges. Yes, the cheap one, but it works good for me. I would definitely recommend it to a fountain pen newbie. I can't imagine spending hundreds of dollars on a pen (or rather, I don't want to imagine it, because once I get into that rabbit hole I'm lost). I use cartridges to avoid the mess with knocking over ink bottles and inky hands. The only thing I don't like is, that I can't go over my text with a brush pen or highlighter. Learned that the hard way... what a smeary mess in my journal. 😖 I've been considering getting a converter for my preppy. Or after this video it might get a Twsbi Eco... Can you use any ink in any fountain pen of any system? Are there inks you can go over with a highlighter?

I just finished binging the podcast on Spotify. I need an episode on notebooks ! Everything from no ghosting, to smudge-proof for lefties, to no ghosting. I need recommendations for no ghosting, in case that wasn't clear enough 😅

Great podcast! I suspect Jashii's brain would explode at the fancier pens that go for thousands of dollars. You'd make yourself sick with that much sushi! I do know people who use fountain pens for carpal tunnel issues because it's easier to hold. I would probably recommend the Preppy just getting used to using one. I jumped in headfirst with those bladder filler ones. I was so relieved when I came back to fountain pens and the piston/plumber system was an option. My current favorite is a Pilot Decimo that is a lighter version of the Vanishing Point. I really do recommend going to shows or meetups and trying pens. You can see what's too heavy in your hands or too tiny. Usually, they'll have ones inked you can try out.

🎈Great episode! I've recently gotten myself a "starter" fountain pen cause yeah, just wanted to have something that looked great and felt smooth in my hand. It's a Kaeco Sport fountain one, and so far liking it. I think the most of one's budget will be with regards to inks, since so many pretty and shiny ones out there that you can fill with just one pen. Hope y'all have a fun time at the con!

I'm French, and I also learned to write with a fountain pen and erasable ink in the 90's when we learned cursive the second year (first year of school, we learned script with Bic pens). I'm a lefty, so it wasn't easy to avoid smudging, but with erasable ink, I could correct the smudges in the end. I kept the practice throughout my studies, most people stopped around the end of elementary school. I stopped when my pen fell during an exam in University (I was color-coding molecules in a chemistry equation) and my gold nib went "spread eagle". It was such a stressful situation! I had ink all over my hands and smudged my paper quite a lot. I also had to finish the exam with my colored pens. I went back to fountain pen in my late twenties, with a Lamy pen with a converter and an ink color I love for long form journalling. But I use it now for Bullet Journalling also. I don't plan on buying more pens or inks in the near future, I don't want to start a collection, but I will say that the TWSBI are really appealing.

I loved this quarter's subscription box. It also came with my first fountain pen, which I promptly looked up how to fill and use.

Love this episode. I'm on Team FP and my reccommendation for a starter pen is a Lamy Safari. I'd also say not to overlook Jinhaos; you can get a variety of great ones under $10; my top reccommendations for those are the Jinhao X159 and the Jinhao 82. Very different in size (X159 is very large, 82 is very small) but both still great value.

Hello everyone 🎈. Thanks for your video 💐. I learned to write with a fountain pen in elementary school. We have stationery stores where you can first try out fountain pens and then buy them. Pelikan, Lamy and Geha are companies that produce solid fountain pens. If you want something more luxurious then buy fountain pens from Montblanc, Diplomat for example. I didn't realize until now that I still have four fountain pens 😂. Kind regards from Germany from Melly ✨

🤣 I shouldn’t have watched this while on the treadmill. Talk about almost literally ROFL 🤣. Love you guys ❤

I love this video. Oxblood is my favorite ink. I’ve owned it for many years and will probably never use it all. I would recommend anything TWSBI but specifically the ECO as a lower range price point for a new pen user.

🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈I only started my fountain pen journey 4 weeks ago (looking at you, Julia Royal 😉) and I now own 8 pens with *koff* 8 more on the way. I love my Twsbi Eco and my Pilot Kaküno. I have a Platinum Preppy Wa that I experimented with for barrel-filling, which has given me mixed results. Enough so that I’m awaiting my converter. My recommendation for someone who’s not sure about the whole thing, I’d recommend a Pilot Varsity. It’s meant to be disposable (however, Brian Goulet at Goulet Pens has a video showcasing a hack to refill it). As you said, Mark, the Preppy / Preppy Wa with cartridges or a Kaküno with cartridges would be another good start. (Cartridges can always be acquired later if you want to switch it up.) For someone who likes gadgets and fiddly things, the Twsbi Eco is the best. It’s a full demonstrator pen, so you can see the filling mechanism in action as well as the gorgeous inks. A shimmer ink in a Twsbi Eco would be so much fun. Now, Mark, I want a link to your pen case. 😂 I’m getting to the point I’m going to need that and *soon* 😳 🤣

The pens I would recommend to people would depend on how invested they seem. For example someone that is still hesitating because of maintenance I would suggest a pilot varsity. A disposable pen that is ready to go and there is no maintenance required. Someone that seems more interested and wants to dip in a little deeper would be a cartridge pen; preppy, kakuno, diplomat magnum or kaweco

Oh my goodness you all gave me the best laugh today!! 😅 🎈🎈

In Croatia we used fountain pens in elementary school when we were learning to write cursive :D I've not used them for a long because we had to write homeworks with blue ink and it was a bit traumatic. I'm using them lately again, but with black ink and it's amazing!

31:57 oh gosh yes! I was really curious on this topic as I hate fountain pens as it was torture in grade school. We had to use them. They were these bulky pens and it was always such a mess of ink everywhere. Even though we used cartridges. But then they were leaky and oh gosh! 😂 (I'm from the Netherlands btw)

Ahh! Thanks for mentioning me, pals 🥹💕 - I would absolutely recommend the Pilot Kakuno and/or the TWSBI Eco for folks starting out with fountain pens! Even with all the pens I have, I still come back to both of those; the Pilot nib is just A+. Enjoyed this one so much (and of course, can't introduce Jess to the community without some *pen after dark* jokes 🤣- there are so many places where the terminology for fountain pens and inks go wrong!); much love 🎈

Italian here, I also learned how to write with a fountain pen (and erasable ink) when I was in primary school in the 90ies, but nowadays schools don't do that anymore. Now I use a 5€ fountain pen for long form journaling (and I love it), but I don't think I would spend a lot of money on one, given the fact that my cheap one works perfectly fine. Love this podcast, keep up making us bujo nerds laugh and relate to you two! ❤

I need a pen licence as well 😍😍

Took me a while to try a fountain pen because my favorite pen is the uni-ball signo with a .38....tried a preppy fountain pen and now I have 2 preppy and a twsbi and a fourth on the way... love them. Very addictive but keeping to the more budget friendly

Hi, I'm Polish and in schools here children write with pencils in the first year. And then with fountain pens in the second and third year.

My cats are wondering why I am cackling.

European here and back in primary school (in the 80s ) I had to use a fountain pen indeed.

I love the professional-level chemistry between you two. What a joyful ride!

Spread eagle nib...balloons YAY! I am 💀

Fellow lefty, and fountain pens are gorgeous, but for me, they're best admired from afar, rather than through use. I can do brush pens left-handed, but fountain pens for some reason I can't get the hang of. My dad LOVES fountain pens, though. He has a collection of Parker 51s that he uses when writing. He looks for them when he and my mom go antiquing, and sometimes he'll buy one online. They are his favorite. Y'all are hilarious, and I'm enjoying the podcast so much! I'm hoping you'll do a deep dive like this on types of paper as well.

I am in the UK, and TWSBI pens are among the most expensive.

My beginner pen was a hero 616, not the best one considering the pump filling system 😂 but we got along 🎉 my recommendation would be a preppy or safari though ❤

I’m still a relative newbie but I like the Lamy Safari as a good entry into fountain pens since it’s not too expensive and they have some really pretty colours. I have 3 of these and getting the converter means you can test so many great inks. You can also get a lot of colours in the standard cartridges that work with these pens.

Mannnn that’s a hard question. I honestly echo your sentiments about the TWSBI Eco (extra fine for me) as a perfect beginner fountain pen. On the higher end, the platinum 3776 is my favorite, as it has a 14K nib that glides across the page like butter. And even shimmery inks don’t get clogged in the Platinum’s extra fine nibs, which run small because I believe it’s a Japanese brand

I laughed and laughed and laughed (with you, not at you). 🎈🎈🖋 This is a great episode though. I have one... single... Lamy fountain pen and it terrifies me, so it was awesome to hear Mark discuss them in a more casual atmosphere.

If you have any rubbing alcohol, it might help to remove the ink from the fabric of the hoodie, for Jess. Rubbing alcohol is also called Isopropyl alcohol in NZ and elsewhere. It helps if the fabric has not been washed and dried by machine yet.

I didn't even realize it was a fountain pen until the cartridge was a perfect match for the A&O sub box pen, but all those unfortunate people complaining about their fancy inks and pens not working on the A&O journals, and there I was with my $1.25 pen with its 4 refill cartridges from Temu working perfectly.... O . o

This is a great debate and I've been sat here laughing along with you, and now my sides hurt!🎈I'm not sure I'll see fountain pens in the same way again! 🤣 I used to use a fountain pen when at school with the ink cartridges (I'm in the UK and I did have to use them in the last few years at primary school) but I had no idea anything other than cartridges existed until 12 months ago, when I came across convertors. I LOVE my inks, so to find that I can use my own inks without the mess of dip pens - MIND BLOWN!!!! I now have 3 different fountain pens (I recommend the TWISBY Eco too!) and a dozen gorgeous fountain pen inks, including some with sheen/shimmer, so I'm in crafty heaven. For anyone in the UK, Cult Pens has nearly all the pens Mark recommends and they have loads of gorgeous inks too! I TOTALLY get what Mark says about it becoming an addiction though, so if you'll excuse me I'm off to check out Mark's videos on his inks... which will probably result in more purchases!! 😂 P.S. I've always heard "licence plates" called "Number Plates" here in the UK, even though we also have letters on ours, so I'm with you Jess!

Hilarious at time and yet fascinating. We had to use fountain pens at school and we used to get the very cheap ones (this is in Kenya) and we had the rubber that we had to press to get the ink into. What ink would you recommend! The pen I use now is just a parker. I did not know what was out there. I will definitely try one of your recommendations. Always miss the live but thanks again for a super informative video.

Dutchie here, Netherlands. In the 5th year of elementary school working on writing was a thing. If you're writing was neat enough the reward was that you were allowed to use a lamy (the around the €12.50 ones). In our case, we were then the owner, we got them. They had those red or blue grips that form to your hand setting a bit. I thought they were really cool, so worked towards that as motivation 😂😄 I have 3 lamy safaris. They are all in my pencilcase, each have a different color that I like writing with, switching out depending on what I feel like...or ink left haha. They cost around 20-25 euro's each. I like them being metal/hard plastic troughout the whole pen. The plastic of the school ones desolved/got sticky after a while, not long term user friendly. I still have the elementary school one 15 years later.

Another banger! Brings me right back to junior school where we were forced to write with fountain pens! Makes me want to get one again 😂

Love you two together so far each episode has been informative and entertaining.

This video got me interested in fountain pens so I decided to treat myself and ordered a TWSBI ECO. It’s green and glows in the dark, lol. It sounds like a very convenient pen and I already have some ink at home. I bought a crappy fountain pen from a bookstore once and didn’t like it so I’m excited to try a better one. 😄

You two are hilarious!! Lov d this episode despite being scarred for life as one of those forced to use a fountain pen on starting secondary school (in UK). It was such a massive jump from writing with pencil, and my writing was terrible anyway, fountain pens were just a such a mess for me even the teacher gave up and let me use ball point!

Great episode 🎈 . I only started using a fountain pen about 18 months ago . My dad passed away and i came across his old ( 40 yrs at least) Parker fountain pen . I cleaned it out and bought new cartridges for it and it writes beautifully. That sparked my addiction i now have 4 , one of which is a Curidas retractable pen i love it because there's no lid to keep taking off .

And somewhere in the middle of Europe, another Pelikan twist has been sold... Thanks a lot for the recommendation, it Is indeed a great beginner pen! I have used fountain pens on and off for years without really committing to them, but this episode really sparked up my motivation to try again :)

Fountain pens have a higher upfront cost, but long term, they tend to be more affordable (with exceptions for the multi-hundred dollar pens, lol).

28:17 I found the disposable ones a great way to test out fountain pens before committing to buying ink, figuring out how to clean and the fill the ones I inherited. Still have a couple of the inherited ones to figure out how to keep from drying out or get a converter for. Have bought a few new ones and a little bit of ink. Eventually I’ll finish using up the disposable ones

In Ireland too we were forced to write in fountain pen. It was after we learned how to write in joint writing. Wasn't really fun.

I loved looking at the shoot of all the ink and picking out the bottles that i also own and recognize!

In elementary school (which you called gradeschool I believe) I was forced to use a fountain pen to write cursive, me being a lefty... well, let's just say I would smudge quite bad that it gave me minus points to my overall grade. They were more focussed on touching how to properly hold a pen and write for right-handed people.. meanwhile me and a few others being lefties struggles on how to hold the pen. I hold my pen between my thumb, pointy and middle finger and would lean the pen on my ring finger.

32:22 PEN LICENCES!! seeing Mark’s reaction to this was hilarious - the best part was being in a class where some of the class had pen licences and some didn’t. i was part of the pen licensed ofc 💅

Love pens. Haven’t used many fountain pens, but want to try more in the future!

I like fountain pens however I am left handed and have trouble with ink on my little finger!

This is so many plates of sushi 😂 You’re my best friend sushi queen 🍣

What a great episode! 🎈🎈 As a fellow person with an iron grip, I find writing with a fountain pen much more comfortable compared to a gel pen or a fine liner. I find Pelikan has loads of beginner friendly pens, since Pelikan is a German brand and there (and Switzerland where I'm from), writing with a fountain pen is on the curriculum in elementary school :D (at least it used to be this way).

Loved this episode!! Jess, well done for even contemplating this given your thoughts on fountain pens. I hold my pens the exact same way Jess, and have the same callous, and the twisty pen doesn't work too well for people like you and me because of the angle of the pen to our fingers. I really hope you give fountain pens a try and tell us your thoughts. and Mark, can I come and live in your ink and fountain pen collection please!?! my favourite colour is writers blood. I actually was born into fountain pens. up until I was 9, I'd never written with anything else, because that's what we had at home since it was cheaper back then. then my primary school (UK resident) decided to ban them in the early 90s and I had to use a Berol "handwriting" pen, and had to learn to write all over again. nowadays, I prefer to use converters and fill them with the ink I want, and it also significantly reduces my environmental impact because I'm not just throwing away disposable pens, or cartridges. my recommendation for newbies, will be that I actually don't know. I'd have to watch how they write with a ballpoint/gel pen, how they hold it, and any issues they have when writing. so I can't just give one broard statement recommendation. 🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈

I've been using a Platinum Preppy with the Goulet pen modification to fill the barrel with ink, usually Noodler's. I'm not a collector but I did turn to fountain pens because I didn't like throwing away pens all the time. I'm considering Tom's Studio dual tip fountain pen because it has a brush and a fine tip. 🎈🎈🎈😂😂😂BTW best laugh I've had all week!

Just got the Archer & Olive pen and I love it. I might have to tread lightly though because I can see myself going in deep. I just need to remind myself I’m saving money for my tattoo. :) Can’t wait to see you two at Go Wild!

Twsbi go is what I would give a newbie fountain pen user

The "life blood" of the fountain pen- great way to describe the ink. 😅😂

Yes, I was forced to use fountain pens in school too 🇩🇪

Keep on laughing (too?) much! 🎉 🎉 🎉

I'm from the Netherlands and we had to write with fountain pens. That's where I know them from. I have a few around from my childhood actually. And I still use them, at times. Just got them out again and added a Lamy Safari to the line-up. I do use cartridges, but want to get into ink them with convertors. At least for the Lamy and Parker (see below). And for the TWSBI Diamond, Kaweco Sports and Platinum Preppy I want to get. I'm sticking to the 'cheaper' pens, like Mark. But I do have a Parker Sonnet I got a few years ago to review. And I might want an Esterbrook Estie. What about you, Mark?

I do original bullet journal method .. so writing only and minimal, EXCEPT, fountain pens are what got me into journaling. Also, Lamy Safari is a good entry pen, Pilot Metropolitan as well. Tomoe River paper is my go to (ghosting doesn't bother me) and I'm sitting at over 200 inks.

How did you come out of the Boho Berry phase without trying a fountain pen, Jess?? lol I had done calligraphy as a child so wasn't a complete stranger, but had only used the cartridge kind. I did get into it just a bit back in 2015-2017ish. I tried the Pilot something or other that Kara had. And guess what, Mark, I was today years old when I found out I was filling it wrong. 🤣 I would just squeeze that rubber pipette thing right into the ink, not through the nib. Wow. I'll have to try it the right way now. Great episode again, guys. Thanks!

Pilot Metropolitan (metal barrel) or the Diplomat Magnum (plastic barrel). I personally would stay clear of TWSBI until you fell in love with FPs, as there is a steep learning curve with loading. Biggest mess I ever made with ink was trying to fill mine for the first time. Turquoise ink everywhere!

✌️🎈😂 Mark, do you have recommendations for quick drying inks? (Lefty here too) I have some Levenger True Writer pens that I’ve had for about a decade and haven’t used in awhile but feel inspired now to use again! I recently bought a glass dip pen just for fun and have been buying inks for that. I may actually just get a pen with the built in converter to make it easier to get started again! Thanks for the video. I look forward to hearing about Jess’ fountain pen adventures! 🤞

Are you guys thinking about going to Stationery Fest// Yoseka?

Myke Hurley's podcast "The Pen Addict" I think would be a good adjacent podcast for the crazy pen lovers here. Lol

I learned to use a fountain pen with the Staedtler calligraphy kit. My sophmore year of high school, it became my default pen. I liked putting in the cartridges. I did have a failure of the ink once though. But my handwriting and cursive definitely changed forever after that experience. Since then, I have bought a pack of disposable calligraphy pens and have enjoyed those too as well as have been able to teach a few people how to use that pen. Dip pens are fun, but I have never used them for regular use. Going for a cheaper entry level option I think can help a lot remove some of the anxiety of entering a new hobby.

I have a nice handful of fountain pens, but papermate ink joy is my everyday work horse. :) the fact I can't find refills for the ink joy saddens me. I save the barrels and use refills from other brands that fit, but they are not equivalent to ink joy.

I rest pens on my ring finger and I remember being scolded by my Kindergarten teacher for it too. And I was stubborn in my ways because I liked how it felt. Of course, I have a calous there now, but no biggie.

Jess I was just as oblivious as you and I think I even had the same kit, many moons ago. But, this was very good information Mark. I now have a better appreciation for the pens.

Hiii, thank you for this video and a lot of knowledge. I am from the middle of Europe and it's true, that we are using these pens at schools when we are learning writing. I think it is because we can learn to hold the pen lightly and don't push hard into paper because it will make a mess. Now I wanna repeat and remember these moments. I will probably buy a new fountain pen only for late and almost lost memories 😂