Fountain Pens

Wow it’s actually the same here in China! At least when I was in primary school haha. There were so many fountain pens that I broke. :rofl:

When I was at primary school, they made us to write with fountain pens, too :wink:
I used Aurora’s “auretta” model with plug-in cartridges, and a special double ended felt tip pen to cancel and rewrite in case of errors.
I remember that, after a certain number of “flight” from the desk, the nib could be irremediably ruined.
Italy has issued a stamp last year dedicated to 100 years of “Aurora” brand:
aurora

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Italy has issued a stamp last year dedicated to 100 years of “Aurora” brand


Wow!

Happy Fountain Pen Day! It’s annually celebrated on the first Friday of November.

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I remember the balls too! Collected as well! No idea where they went.

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I am not a real fountain pen aficionado, but I do have a few. I use them on postcards sometimes, either with a waterproof ink like Noodlers Bulletproof Black or Lexington Gray, or Platinum Carbon Black, or by putting some sort of sealant on non-waterproof ink afterwards.

Does anyone have recommendations for waterproof inks for fountain pens? Are there any that you love? I’m looking for some for my postcard writing! :slight_smile:

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In general: Almost every ink in “blue-black” (that’s an information I got from an employee at Faber-Castell).

It’s said that these inks are waterproof / indelible: Montblanc Midnight Blue, Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite, Pelikan 4001 blue-black, Rohrer und Klingner Iron gallus ink “Salix”.

About 2 years ago I bought “Faber Castell high quality ink - royal blue” directly at the factory outlet. They told me that it is waterproof. I used it only one time then I broke the converter. So no further experience for postcards. When I look on the website it’s said “Most of our high quality inks are waterproof”, but unfortunately no further details…

My love instead belongs to ink of Diamine and Octopus fluids…these colors… :heart_eyes:

But…meanwhile I found out that there is also waterproof ink for Lamy, too, and, surprise, I also have one of those - yeah. It’s the color blue-black, too.
(I also found inkpots at Lamy website, so I have to go now for shopping … sigh…)

Edit: I’ve just went to Wikipedia and found an article (unfortunately in German only). So I learned that the Montblanc Midnight blue is no longer with iron gallus. And: inks with iron gallus can cause ink corrosion on the paper - ooops :scream:

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Yeah, I am into fountain pens, but somehow along the way, I can’t keep up on the rising prices of the great brands and inks. But I still love them.

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I’m using Sailor Seiboku, I love it! I’ve tried the Platinum ones - my favourite is Forest black. My only issue with the Platinum Iron Gall are they can be dry with “dry” nibs.

This article has the answer to your question.

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@adrimagination’s JetPens link is great. I’ve also read somewhere (maybe in an old Forum thread) that some people just use their favorite non-waterproof fountain pen ink and then rub over it with a stick of wax or paraffin. I tried it myself a few times and it seemed to work all right, but these days I use my fountain pens mostly for things other than postcard writing, and my stick of paraffin has disappeared somewhere.

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I’m a big fountain pen fan for me I got into fountain pens first, then onto Postcrossing (was looking for ways to use the pens - so writing postcards sounded good)

I do use my fountain pens on postcards - though they can take a while to dry. I usually use an ink that dries quicker, or a rocker blotter to blot away excess ink.

Waterproof inks - I like the Noodler’s series.

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Has anyone tried rubbing paraffin or wax on postcards when using non-iron gall/non-waterproof ink? I’ve been using regular inks lately but not sure if the recipients get my cards with the messages still readable!

Hi,
I also love fountain pens… I have several now but not using them all the time.
Do you have any advice on how to clean them before storing them?
Thanks!

@malcarado, it’s simple, please, read this article with a video :wink:

Thank you @adrimagination for the article and vid. Now I can clean my pens properly :slight_smile: :grinning:

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I am a happy and devoted fountain pen user! I won’t say how many pens and inks I use, but the people who get my cards have a good idea. :wink: I generally use at least 3 different pens and inks on each card.

Water-resistant inks are problematic for a number of reasons, in my opinion, so I don’t generally use them. My solution to the problem of smudging and smearing is to cover my writing with clear packing tape. It’s a little more work, but I think it’s worth it.

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@HalloweenHJB Hi, and welcome to the new forum! :wave: That is a very impressive collection you have there.

If you have the time, please do share some of your tips and experience with the community! For instance, why do you say water-resistant inks are problematic? I’ve been considering them for a while since I’ve had one or two complaints of smudged postcards… but now I wonder if your solution would be better.

@meiadeleite I just got this Distress Glaze maybe you can find it locally? It’s like petroleum jelly to waterproof ink. :slight_smile:

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Oh, this sounds like magic! :heart_eyes: Can you see it at all once you rub it in the paper?