Purely Whimsical

Link: http://isellpens.com

You guys know I like pens, right? And nice paper. My favorite paper right now is Rhodia, a french company that makes smooth, smooth vellum. Lovely.

I went down the road of nice pens, expensive pens, and while they are really nice, it just sucks when they get lost. So now I’m into cheap chinese knockoff fountain pens.

So I know some of you are wondering why fountain pens? Didn’t we make serious advances in 1950 and get rid of those things? The truth is that fountain pens have been improving too, and there’s people out there who think that the bic is why so many people have atrocious handwriting these days.

I think that’s just a little… overblown. My reasons for liking a fountain pen is that I have arthritis in my hands, and because you don’t need to press onto the paper to write with them, it’s easier on your hands to write with them. Another bonus is that you can pick your own ink, and there’s some nice ink out there. My favorite ink is Noodlers.

The thing about the chinese knockoffs is that the chinese still use fountain pens, they’re more popular there than here. So they actually make quality pens; they write nicely (Melissa, I’m still looking for a good one for you), and are affordable. As in you can get a servicable pen for $5, or a nice one in a wooden presentation box for $30.

If you’re interested in trying out fountain pens, my suggestion is to buy this product. It’s Noodler’s ink with a free cheapo (Japanese) fountain pen that actually writes fairly nicely. The ink is typical Noodler’s quality, called Heart of Darkness because it’s very, very black, and it’s what they call bulletproof. That means that the only way to remove the ink is to destroy the cellulose it’s bonded to (bleach and detergents will NOT remove the ink), which is great until you realize your t-shirts and jeans are cellulose, so be careful when you’re filling your pen! Noodler’s also dries nicely on paper, it’s safe for lefties because it dries so fast, and doesn’t easily feather (unless you’re using paper towels).

And it’s made in America. Great ink.

Back to the point of the post - the site linked above is to someone who sells fountain pens of all kinds. I saw pens ranging from $5 on up to “call me and we’ll work out a deal". He’s got a few different chinese brands including Hero pens which have famously remade the extremely popular Parker 51 pens. I placed an order today; I’ll let you know what I think of the pens.