I'm addicted to fountain pens.
 

And no, that wasn't a typo. I don't mean I'm addicted to cocks that jizz that race horses. Allow me to explain my current... situation...

A little while ago, about two months actually, I became addicted to ebay. Specifically, hunting down and buying really cheap DVDs. I did that for a while, and eventually evolved to...

MASKS! I now own two shitty Jason hockey masks, one Russian gas mask, and I have three more quality Jason masks coming, a fetish mask, a more fetishistic black gas mask, and a 2008 Don Post Michael Myers mask. Then, I discovered a new passion that would rival my love for stiletto switchblades...

FOUNTAIN PENS. Holy Christ, I just ordered four of 'em and I have my eye on at least fifty. It's so hard, too, because I only have about $200 left until I find a new job, but they're sooooooo pretty! I want practically every one that I see.

It's a good thing I write a lot, so this new obsession has some grounding, but jeez! I never knew how expensive they could get. I've found pens worth thousands of dollars! AND I WANT THEM!

These are a few cheap ones I bought:

http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/newformen/SFP4.jpg

http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imag...4H2111SL06.jpg

http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/newformen/019b.jpg

I guess it's better than crack.

Its Ebay. I was seriously addicted to Ebay a while back, but have since been cured. I imagine as soon as I settle down and own my own house my addiction will start right back up again... and I will love it.

I love the designs and dual tones on the tips of those pens!

Yeah. I remember a time when I adored fountain pens. My fingertips would sometimes be blue or if I was lucky, green. I also had a love affair with inks. I particularly loved Penguin ink in their squat bottles. Sometimes I would use a fountain pen with them without an ink cartridge, just dipping. I loved the way the nibs glided on the paper and the ink went on so smooth, almost like a ribbon, or could be scratchy and spotty. I can still feel that pleasure and sense of pointy grace-depending on what you were looking for.

These days though, I write with whatever is handy. Although over the weekend my friend Naomi gave me a pocket notebook and a new pen and I used them today to write something down. I made a point of using that specific pen with that notebook. I dont know, something about keeping them together.

I might recommend a new obsession for you that goes hand-in-hand with your inky obsession and will cost you nothing - a study of typefaces.

Do you use them?

I own one, but it fell out of use. I think I just might have to pick it up again. There is something engaging about using a fountain pen. You have to work at using them; they seem to conform to your writing style; they are an entity of their very own. Writing can be a beautiful thing.

I have a Vuarnet. My favourite inks are grey and greyish blue. (So many colours!)

I was required to use them grades 1-6. Never liked the mess. I was a messy writer. Nothing fun about a glob of ink that drips from the pen onto your test answers...nothing fun at all...

Screw you too buddy!

I'm going to. They haven't arrived yet, as I literally JUST ordered them.

being left handed I can't use fountain pens. I always loved the idea of writing with them but could not because the ink never dried fast enough for me as my palm ran over the ink as I scribed.

I couldn't even use those eraser-mates. what a blotchey mess!

One benefit: It's a really cool way to impress your friends.

That, and wearing a pocket watch.

(Yes, ideally, I do both.)

... My pocket watch broke a while back, actually. It was very nice, had a train on it... Off to Ebay I go for the twentieth time today..

Go to!

(Don't forget the pics!)

*Baraka_Guru suddenly wonders if "and pocket watches" should be added to the thread title*

I LOVE fountain pens, but I cannot write with them. I press very firmly and even fine tipped ball points tend to tear pages. I've tried to lighten my writing press, but I just can't seem to do it. :(

At any rate, awesome pens!

I'm debating between this cheap watch and this cheap watch...

... of course, I could also mess with people by owning this cheap watch...

I have a tendency to lose pens. So, I keep a Waterman fountain pen at home. At work and on me I carry a Varsity disposable fountain pen.

I have a habit of pressing down very hard when I write. This leads to a lot of strain on my right hand. Writing with a fountain pen, I apply far less pressure to the page. If I didn't, the pen would break.

I like these kind of pens too, but the price couldn't justify me buying them for personal use. I thought about buying it as a gift for a friend once, then he told me he has like half a dozen of them and they're much more pricy than the one I was gonna buy for him. But now I have a friend who's graduating from HS in a few days, I think I'll get that for her. Thanks for the idea/reminder.