# Educate me



## BassBlaster (Nov 19, 2012)

on fountain pens. I have most of my Christmas orders filled and I'm gearing up to start turning some higher end stuff to build an Etsy page with. This brings me to fountain pens and I know absolutely nothing about fountain pens. Ive never even held a fountain pen in my hand much less written with one, so, I need some guidance. I only plan to offer higher end kits with higher end plating on my page. Basically, I dont wanna offer anything cheaper than a titanium Jr Gent II. Since I want to sell higher end stuff, I want to upgrade the nibs. I know all the guys who sell high end pens, pitch the stock nibs but why? What nibs are preferred? Exotics offers a Heritance nib upgrade with the purchase of thier kits for only a couple bucks. Is there really that much difference? What size is more commonly used? I also know that there are a couple different types of fountain. Some that use a cartridge and some that use a pump. What is the difference and which is preferred and why? I know this is a lot of questions but in an effort to offer better quality stuff, I have to ask. Thanks.


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## boxerman (Nov 19, 2012)

Check out the library.


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## OKLAHOMAN (Nov 19, 2012)

A few links in our library, these will help. 

http://content.penturners.org/library/techniques/BTN1-2008.pdf

http://content.penturners.org/library/techniques/BTN2-2008.pdf

http://content.penturners.org/library/techniques/BTN3-2008.pdf

http://content.penturners.org/library/techniques/BTN4-2008.pdf

http://content.penturners.org/library/techniques/BTN5-2008.pdf

http://content.penturners.org/library/general_reference/fillingfountainpens.pdf


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## wiz9777 (Nov 19, 2012)

This guy is a Fountain Pen God!
Volumes of info, from basic terms to the science of the nib.

RichardsPens.com &bull; Pens That Write Right!


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## azamiryou (Nov 19, 2012)

BassBlaster said:


> Ive never even held a fountain pen in my hand much less written with one, so, I need some guidance.



Step one: make yourself a fountain pen and start using it. Everything about them and everything you read about them and everything anyone says about them will make more sense.



> I know all the guys who sell high end pens, pitch the stock nibs but why?



Because the stock nibs are hard to sell to fountain pen aficionados.

Most stock nibs write well or can be tuned to write well, but some can't. On average, upgrade nibs will write better "out of the box" - but you'll want to read up on and practice tuning, and tune them all anyway.

But really, the main reason to change the nibs without even trying the stock one is because many of the people who will pay big money for a fountain pen will turn their noses up at "kit nibs".



> What nibs are preferred? Exotics offers a Heritance nib upgrade with the purchase of thier kits for only a couple bucks. Is there really that much difference?



For sellability, yes. (As noted above.)

Heritance, Bock, and JoWo are all available and are all good quality. I wouldn't rank any of them above another. As I understand it, no more Heritance nibs are going to be made, so those are coming from a fixed supply of what has already been made. That's fine for replacing stock nibs in kits, if they run out you can always switch to one of the others.



> What size is more commonly used?



Depends which kits you like to make. "Junior" kits take the small/#5, "full size" kits take the large/#6. If I had to guess, I'd guess there are more pens being made for the smaller size.



> I also know that there are a couple different types of fountain. Some that use a cartridge and some that use a pump. What is the difference and which is preferred and why?



Kit fountain pens are cartridge fountain pens that come with a "converter"; the converter allows it to be used with bottled inks. _Probably_ most fountain pen lovers prefer bottled inks most of the time, so they will use the converter. As the maker, though, you don't have to worry about that since it works either way. Just don't give the customer the crappy ink cartridge that comes with the kit. Poor ink means poor writing performance, and even though it's the ink's fault, it reflects poorly on the pen.

Hope this helps. But really, make a pen. Try the crappy ink cartridge and a good one, and try some bottled ink in the converter, so you learn the differences. Try it out with the stock nib and an upgrade nib. Play with the tuning to see how to make it write wetter or dryer. And so on. Have fun!


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## wiz9777 (Nov 20, 2012)

When I got my 1st fountain pen I knew nothing about them, except that you could refill them. It was a $40 Cross (cartridge, medium nib). Then I started learning about the WORLD of fountain pens. I got a $20 Noodler's Ahab (syringe filler, flex nib), a $80 TWSBI (piston filler, italic nib), a $390 Sailor (with a 21k gold, Zoom nib), and had my eye on a $1000 Montblanc. I stopped myself and said WHY? 

 I got into turning because I wanted those expensive pens, but can't afford them. The first pen that I turned was a tycoon fountain pen. The nib was a SCRATCHY NAIL! It worked fine, but it wrote like a cheap pen. The kit nib is a steal nib that is just mass produced and sent out. You can tune the nib and smooth out most of the scratchy feeling, but it still is a stiff nail. The upgrade nibs have more spring in them and flow over the paper better. It's like having good shocks on your car vs none. Don't get me wrong you may have to tune the upgrade a bit, but they will be a joy to write with.

A word about gold nibs. Most FP people look at gold nibs for two reasons. One is status symbol. The other is flex. Yes, gold nibs usually have a bit more flex than steal nibs, but that $20 Ahab has a flex steal nib and my $390 Sailor has no flex at all. The gold never touches the paper. It is that ball of hard metal that slides on the paper. So if both steal and gold nibs have that same hard metal ball, which nib is smoother? (Considering that both are well tuned) The one with the proper amount of shock absorption for the type of writing you are doing.

Kit nibs seem to be a fine line width. You can get upgrade nibs in fine, medium, or broad widths. I carry four pens with me every day. I fill out patients charts with a medium nib, the graphs with a fine nib, and sign my work with a broad. If you really want to get fancy you can stub the broad and have an awesome italic nib. That one I keep with me just for quick notes in a fun ink color.

This is just my opinion, but I hope this helps.


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## BassBlaster (Nov 20, 2012)

Thanks for the replies guys. Ive learned alot allready and will do some more reading in the library. I ordered a couple Jr Gent II's with heritance upgrades. I may keep one for myself just to learn. Thanks again!!


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## duncsuss (Nov 20, 2012)

BassBlaster said:


> Thanks for the replies guys. Ive learned alot allready and will do some more reading in the library. I ordered a couple Jr Gent II's with heritance upgrades. I may keep one for myself just to learn. Thanks again!!



Wrap it in some nice Honduras rosewood burl and you won't be able to let go of it


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## Ulises Victoria (Nov 21, 2012)

BassBlaster said:


> Thanks for the replies guys. Ive learned alot allready and will do some more reading in the library. I ordered a couple Jr Gent II's with heritance upgrades. I may keep one for myself just to learn. Thanks again!!



Here is one nice site.

Pentrace Article # 403:- Nib grinding experiences


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