FOR FOUNTAIN PENS, PENCILS AND PENS, TAKE NOTE!
As an analog writer you want to get a hold of the best pen for your hand.
Are you a trained writer, or a novice at writing with pen and paper? Which choices do you make, picking up your favourite pen?
Let me tell you about the pens I actually use and which pens are on my wishlist.
LAMY is probably my all time favourite pen brand.
Lamy is (still) a family run business from Heidelberg Germany, founded in 1930.
It is known for its Bauhaus design. The Lamy 2000 was designed in 1966 with the visual aesthetic of a Braun electric razor in mind. In a classic combination of stainless steel and the then-new black material makrolon.
The LAMY 2000 fountain pen I love in particular.
This fountain pen is on my wishlist for a while now, but I can’t choose between the two varieties it comes in.
There is the stainless steel version, it is quite heavy, and the black version, black resin with stainless steel. It is warm to the touch and much lighter.
I guess I made my choice by writing this 😉
The Lamy CP1 series are a favourite since I have worked at bulthaup. There I got my ‘education’ in Bauhaus. We wrote orders with the CP1 ball point pen. I love it.
I own the black series, the ball point pen, the mechanical pencil and of course the fountain pen with a lefty nib, which is quit broad and writes a kind of thick.
The thing with lefties and fountain pens is, we have to push the pen across the paper, while right handed people drag the pen with them when writing.
So with a fine nib as a lefty, you often puncture the paper instead of carrying it over the paper.
KAWECO is a pen brand I admire because of their brass pens.
Call me crazy but in head Hercule Poirot writes with a brass fountain pen.
The Kaweco Liliput Supra Brass is a tad thicker than the standard Liliput, therefore in my opinion better to hold. The Supra consists of four parts, the different parts can be screwed together for different occasions. When traveling you maybe want to tuck it away in your pocket, then a shorter version is more handy. Also a nice extra, the supra can hold a converter.
If you like to write with ink and want to keep your plastic usage at a minimum, I advice you to use converters. Ink comes in numerous colours, in beautiful glass bottles, so you don’t have to throw away the single use ink cartridges. Just ink up the converter with the colour of your liking and write away!
The Kaweco Special is slim, minimalistic and has a 8 sided barrel. It comes in black and brass and at the moment there is a dark blue limited edition. You know what I also like about this fountain pen, it has a screw on cap.
The German saying goes, “in der Tinte sitzen”, stuck in an awkward situation.
You can own the most elegant fountain pen, without ink, you won’t get far…
The WATERMAN HEMISPHERE fountain pen is my daily go to writing instrument.
This is an old fountain pen owned by my grandfather. It was neglected in a cupboard for years, until I found it again some time ago. I had it restored by a penmaker, it got a new nib and now it is good to go for another decade or so.
The weight and the sleek cigar shape are what makes it comfortably for my hand.
It is inked up with a beautiful dark green ink from Robert Oster, Green At Night, and this the pen I write my thank you cards with.
There are two kinds of fountain pen people, the ones who write capped (with the cap on the backside of the barrel) and the ones that don’t cap.
I’m a non cap writer, I think it puts to much weight on the end of the pen, it tips over easily…
the Caran D’Ache 849 is a classical ball point pen, writing grocery lists becomes a feast 😉
Palomino Blackwing 602, half the pressure, twice the speed. That is their tag line, and its true!
Since this year I have my own pencil! These are made by a unique little company here in the Netherlands.
Keeping your fountain pen in mint condition you need te clean it once in a while. Make sure you clean your pen not with hot water, cold running water is just fine. Ask your pen dealer the specific way best to clean your pen.
Furthermore to keep your pen neat and safe from scratches, carry it in a sleeve or pouch, on this page you can find all the pen thingies in the by gitte collection ✒︎ ✒︎ The Perfect Gift For Pen Lovers
Here you find the links to the various brands I named in this article.
But, if you want to get your hands on a (fountain) pen, I urge you to go to a brick & mortar shop, I think you need to feel the pen in order to know you were meant to be together!
