Journals and fine writing instruments

New year, new journal. I've never been one to keep a diary per se, but I like to log the things I do so it's more of a journal than a diary. Anyhow, it got me thinking about fountain pens and why it is I've never done a post on them. I love fountain pens, I think they're great in so many ways. Unlike a disposable pen, a fountain pen is a life-long companion. There are so many kinds and brands and price points and all the ink you can choose from. So much personality in writing with one of these.

I have several, but lately I've been favouring LAMY. It's a German pen, and the grip is nice, especially if you've never used a fountain pen, because with one of  these, the nib (metal bit that touches the paper) is not multi-directional the way a ball-point is. This grip takes the guess-work out.

I love the look of fountain-pen writing. You can have an extremely fine-point nib, fine, medium or broad, like me, but no matter which it always looks so distinctive because of the water-based ink. These inks aren't oil-based like ball-points. You can get fountain pen inks that are incredibly durable, waterproof and fade-proof too if it's a concern. What I like is that you can mix colours if you like, or like me, water them down a little.

Fountain pens can be affordable as can be, or they can range into the thousands of dollars. Honestly, the difference between a $40 pen and a $200 pen can be quite vast. In the more expensive pens, the body can be very striking, but I wonder if they assume you'll never write with it, only look at it, because they don't take great care in calibrating the nibs the way they should. With the 5-50 dollar pens, the nibs are meant to work. With the more expensive ones, you might luck out and get one that flows well, but even within the same company or even the same model of pen, it's a craps shoot, truly.

I think I'll start adding some ink reviews from time to time, I have so many and it's been a hobby of mine for ten years now.  This one by the way is Waterman's of Paris, Florida Blue, slightly watered down to my liking. Beautiful isn't it?

Have a great day and thanks for reading!

A.