Are you ready to get started with next Pen Chalet How To video? Hope so, because it’s coming at you. Scroll down to check out the next video in our How To Series: You’ve Inked Your Fountain Pen, Now What? Coming your way from Pen Chalet and the lovely Vanessa Langton, this particular how to video takes you straight from our last how to video all about inking fountain pens using different types of ink filling systems to actually putting your inked pen to paper and officially leaving your mark on the analog world.
New To Fountain Pens? Not Sure Where to Start?
Newbies everywhere will be relieved to discover there actually are some basic step by step instructions on how to write with a fountain pen.
So you’ve got your pen inked, Now what? Get some basic step by step instructions on how to write with a fountain pen!
Feeling a bit more comfortable? Ready to give it a try on your own? Good luck and make sure to check back for more fountain pen basics and fountain pen how tos coming your way soon.
Still Not Sure? Need More Hints and Tips on Writing with Fountain Pens?
Don’t worry. We won’t leave you hanging. Here are a few tips and hints to get you started if you’re new to the fountain pen world and aren’t quite comfortable yet.
Choosing the Right Paper
Don’t use just any old paper – when working with fountain pens (and fountain pen ink) you want to use a good quality paper. There are a number of brands, but it’s hard to go wrong with Rhodia brand paper. Once you’re comfortable with fountain pens, you’ll get to know your own preferences. You’ll discover that you like the way certain fountain pen designs feel in your hand, you’ll discover which nib calls out to you, and which fountain pen inks are the biggest draw.
You’ll also figure out that you like writing on certain brands or types of paper. There are many different preferences and there is no single right answer, but the one thing everyone agrees on is this: if you don’t use a high quality paper when working with fountain pens and fountain pen inks, you’ll end up bleeding through the paper and getting ink on surfaces you never intended to ink.
How to Hold the Pen
Before you start writing with your new fountain pen, figure out how you like to hold your pen. Some people prefer to write with the cap posted (attached to the back of the pen) while others prefer not to have the cap posted (just set the cap aside while the pen is in use). Many feel that posting the cap creates a good balance so the pen feels comfortable in your hand while you’re writing. Others like to leave the cap off – this is a particularly common choice for writers with smaller hands.
Finding the Right Angle
When writing with a fountain pen, there is a certain angle that will result in good ink flow from the fountain pen through the pen’s nib to the paper. If held at the right angle to the paper, the fountain pen nib will glide smoothly across the paper and leave a trail of ink. That “just right” angle combined with slight pressure, separates the tines and the feed just enough for ink to flow out in an even flow. Finding the right angle will mean a continuous, smooth ink flow. If you’re writing with a fountain pen and the nib on the paper feels scratchy or it’s skipping then adjust your hold to find the right angle.
Hopefully that helped you get started. We hope you continue to wander into the world of fountain pens and find your own preferences – from fountain pens, to fountain pen filling systems, to fountain pen inks, to papers and notebooks and pen carrying cases and pen storage systems…if you don’t already, someday you’ll suddenly have an opinion on it all! And when you do, we hope you come back and tell us all about it.
