Do you still own a fountain pen?

rgp said:
I've known lefty's that write as you noted however, I have a lefty friend that writes as you suggest, with the paper the opposite of a right-hander, and he BTW has near perfect penmanship.
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Thanks. So why wasn't that taught in school. It makes so much sense to me.
Grampa Don said:
That's true. But then, how many Americans have actually read the constitution in cursive? Here is an article that discusses that point. The constitution was actually distributed as a printed document. I still feel that cursive should be taught. As long as there are pens/pencils and paper, it is a useful skill.
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i read the article. It tries to justify the inability to write and read cursive by claiming the Declaration is so faded you can't read it anyway. But how about reading your parents letters and grandparents.? How do you sign a document? The real advantage is in writing instead of printing. It's faster.
 

Aunt Bea said:
Left-handed people usually drag their hand over what they write and it smudges/smears.

When I was in grade school and had to use a pencil the side of my left hand would be covered in graphite.
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I have a brother (older) who is left-handed and he had to write with his hand curled. But of the three of us brothers, he had the best penmanship and was the most artistic. I guess I was a little bit jealous because I called him"wrong-handed".

Left-Handed Writing.jpg
 
Camper6 said:
i read the article. It tries to justify the inability to write and read cursive by claiming the Declaration is so faded you can't read it anyway. But how about reading your parents letters and grandparents.? How do you sign a document? The real advantage is in writing instead of printing. It's faster.
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I agree with you 100%. Asian people don't have cursive writing. I wonder how they handle signatures.

Don
 

Parker pens, nah was Esterbrook Pens
not for writing for flashing, as in conspicuous consumption
circa 1952, those babies cost more than $2.00, but less than $3.00

called snob pens, however, 10-11 y/o's had more appropriate name.
can't remember what they were called, rest assured was nasty
 
Camper6 said:
Then came contained pens with the same type of nib and a cartridge for ink. The big name was Parker.
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I remember my first cartridge pen and how proud I was to get one. I got it for Easter one year, think I was 4th or 5th grade. I always loved to write so I guess that pen really impressed me!
 
Aunt Bea said:
Nope, they don't work very well for us lefthanded folks.
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My brother was left-handed. Actually he was ambidextrous because he could use both hands to write. When he started school the teacher forced him to use his right hand so he would switch back and forth doing everything. Daddy used to build model airplanes (gas engines) and my brother would help him cut wings out of the balsa wood. He could do just as well with either hand.
 
Oh, not me, but Rick loved collecting them and using them. He loved them. I never got the hang of them. Before he got sick he bought some calligraphy pens and was trying to learn to use them.
He bought a lot from a small mail order company called Goulet Pens. He ordered ink from them too. Anyone interested in the pens should check them out.
 
Yeah, we had that Palmer chart, which we were supposed to duplicate. My teacher wanted an exact copy, something, which my heavy handed writing didn't do. All the other kids had finished, but I still couldn't make pretty letters. Granpa Don, you needn't worry, I survived and even got the tee shirt:). Thinking back, I still don't know why we couldn't use a ball point pen. But I couldn't be as neurotic as I am, if they allowed ball points.
 
I know a guy from another N/G, that makes custom fountain pens......very expensive. And beautiful. Last i talked with him directly, he was trying to get a set of his pens accepted by the White House for the signing of presidential documents. If I recall correctly, he was offering them free.......just for the pride of it .

He came down ill [serious] so I'm not sure he still makes them.
 
I have a Montblanc 18k gold trim with 18k gold nib fountain pen that I won in a sales contest many, many years ago. After retiring I always used it to write checks when I paid bills, now all bills I pay electronically on computer, old Montblanc is just shoved in the desk drawer with lots of other memorability that means nothing to anyone, but me. I need a shot of Jack, can't afford Crown Royal.
 
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Camper6 said:
I'm old enough to remember fountain pens.

They are called that because they used an inkwell. The inkwell was in every school desk.

You dipped the pen in the inkwell to write.

Then came contained pens with the same type of nib and a cartridge for ink. The big name was Parker.

Then they invented the ball point pen and the selling point in advertising was that it could write underwater.

I traded something to a friend that had one of the first ball point pens marketed.

It was made by Reynolds Aluminum. All aluminum barrel.

They ran out of ink and were disposable.

To use a fountain pen you had to use a light touch. Beautiful handwriting as in the Constitution.

Probably a quill pen. Same principle.
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In school for a history project we had to make a quill pen for a grade. My mum ran our turkey down and plucked a large feather from his tail feathers. Many of the kids brought crow feathers, chicken feathers and those who did not got a D- grade.
 
Fuzzbuddy discussing, 'why no use of ball point pens?'

I just too damn old- don't remember introduction of ball point pens.

Gogglel says there use became common in the 1950's

Norman, never question how the fountain pens name originated. Hmmm

Got an image of your mom chasing that turkey, bet'cha she didn't think
to much of your history project.
 
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I feel like I was born with the dinosaurs. I remember pens that you had to constantly dip into the inkwell mounted on your desk. But then we had pens with a rubber bladder in them. There was a lever, on the side of the pen, that you pulled down to suck up the ink. Then there were pens with a changeable cartidge full of ink. Then came ball point pens, which went dry when you wrote a lot.
 
In a box, in with my wife's art supplies, ae six fountain pens, and several pen staffs with a number cof differant points
or nebs. A bottle of ink still sets in the top drawer of this desk I am writing on. I got a Parker 51 shortly after they came
out way back when. It was like nothing before it nor since. Thought I was in high cotton.
 
Okay, take the thread south:
Fuzz:
'dinosaurs,' not sure, don't remember any, maybe I lived in wrong area.

Captured in a discussion with my in-laws, circa 1970:
Running my mouth without any knowledge: 'I think Zoot Suits really didn't exist, it was a 'Hollywood Thing, watch chains three feet long, no way.'
Wrong!
My father-in-law produced a picture of himself in a Zoot Suit.
I laughed-wrong!
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I feel like I was born with the dinosaurs. I remember pens that you had to constantly dip into the inkwell mounted on your desk. But then we had pens with a rubber bladder in them. There was a lever, on the side of the pen, that you pulled down to suck up the ink. Then there were pens with a changeable cartidge full of ink. Then came ball point pens, which went dry when you wrote a lot.
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I remember that my Mom's pen had that lever. My new pens have a piston and a knob on the back to twist and draw up ink.

pen-fill.jpg


Don
 

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