r/fountainpens

I have custom-ordered a kimono flap pen case from Uttoko Japan .

Back in the Tokyo pen show two years ago, I was mesmerized at the elegant and high quality handmade pen cases at her booth. I approached her in messages last July and asked about the possibility of ordering a special pen case using my own kimono. She was very co-operative and agreed to take my order.

Fast forwarded this year in April, I was finally settled down in my new place and was able to send out my kimono for her to work on. My kimono, which you can see from the last photo, was given by an elderly lady twenty something years ago, not long after I got married in Japan. It was a light lilac color with subtle, not too loud floral design. I have worn that kimono to several events and have had lovely memories with it (especially because I was a newlywed ).

The kimono was a symbol of the precious memories in my old house and me starting to get into the local community. Sadly, I didn't have the skills for wearing a kimono all by myself, nor did I have any future occasions to wear such a formal traditional outfit , so the kimono has been sleeping at the bottom of my closet for years. Before the move, I have decluttered all of the other kimono and accessories I was given and only left this one.

The pen case is hand stitched, soft and beautiful. I am beyond grateful for it's beauty, and the memories attached into the fabric. I was also reminded of the good conversation with Aiko san during our meets.

Only a tiny part of my kimono was used to make this pen case, I am hoping to order more when my budget allows.

If any of you are looking for special pen case for your special pens, Uttoko is your choice !

This pen, aka a galaxy fantasy work of art, is by Dao Huy Hoang!

I decided to pull it out & put together some complementary ink colors that I plan to use for color-coordinating June Hobonichi spreads 🤩

Here’s the info for my swatch tools btw:

• Wonderland222 A5 Notebook (2025 version)

• Speedball B0 Dip Pen Nib

• Brause 66 EF Arrow Dip Pen Nib

Pilot Iroshizuku "Kon-peki" 15ml bottle - in 6 months and 26 days

Firstly, I hate you all! ​Yes, you. The enablers. You made me buy this (looking directly at you u/choco-chip_cookie). You pushed me right to pen #31 - moonman wancai mini starry purple, and my wife is currently questioning both my sanity and my grasp of basic punctuation.

But I can't stay mad at this passionate community for long. This is one of the most delightfully obsessive corners of the internet, and you were absolutely right about this little marvel.

I'm attaching the pen, its size and initial writing sample.

The last photo is the liquid after I flushed the nib with soapy RO water, which has residues of oil. When I first tried, the nob was skipping just a little bit. After few flushes, it started gliding smoothly without skipping however fast I wrote.

So Cult Pens have got a birthday sale on and I couldn't resist......

Lamy 2000 OBB nib

Diamine Writers Blood

Diamine 150th Birthday Espresso

This Baby just got added to the collection. Medium Nib. Inked with MB Burgundy Red.

Writes smooth and wet right out of the box.

After getting this one I feel like I should get the other three colors as well.

I was rearranging my desk this morning and decided to line up three of my vintage pens. They all feature nibs stamped with a "No. 5," but seeing them side-by-side, I was honestly shocked by the physical differences. Even knowing that vintage pens lacked standardized sizing, I always thought the differences would be minimal. Definitely not the case.

​If you’re new to the vintage side of the hobby like I am, consider this a friendly heads-up: while nib sizing is fairly predictable today, back then it was the Wild West. You certainly can't assume a "No. 5" is always going to match that classic Waterman benchmark.

​I’m mostly in this hobby because I love writing with flex pens, not necessarily to be a pure "collector" (though I have somehow accumulated 12 of them for "research"!). But looking at these three together was just too interesting not to share.

​Here is how they stack up, from top to bottom:

• ​Morton New York No. 5 (from a German safety pen): This thing is absolutely massive. It completely dwarfs the others.

• ​Waterman Vintage #5 (from a Waterman 55): This sits right in the middle and is pretty much the gold standard. I think when most of us think of a vintage size 5, this is what comes to mind.

• ​Stilus #5 (from Italian manufacturer Pecco & C. Stilus): This one is significantly smaller than the other two, it’s actually much closer in size to a standard vintage Waterman No. 2.

​The "No. 5" stamp was really more of a loose suggestion than a rule, varying wildly depending on the era and the manufacturer.

​Did anyone else discover this wild size variation with their own eyes, or did you learn about it through online resources before taking the vintage plunge?

This time I used an Opus 88 Demo <FPR Ultraflex> with Doninant Industry Winter Wood, and Opus 88 Fantasia <EF FLEX> with Dominant Industry Earl Grey Tea, a Franklin Christoph Model 40 <EF Flex> with Jacques Herbin perle noir, and a Kaweco Sport <F> with Pilot Iroshizuku asa gao. I finished with a white prismacolor pencil in some areas

3 days later, it arrived. It writes beautifully. I inked it with Lamy Dark Lilac, as that was my preferred ink for my Piston Carbon Black LE. The pen writes extremely smooth, especially for a steel nib, and the flow seems nice and juicy Just how I like it.

This is my homemade fountain pen suitable iron gall ink in blue, darkened for a few minutes. Fresh colour is more light and without black tones.

Haven't touched a fountain pen in over a decade ago since my university days. Three weeks ago I started some rigorous studying again and I stumbled into this sub.

From left to right:

1. TWSBI ECO Cosmo (F) (Has hints of green FYI!)
2. Leonardo DolceVita Smeraldo ST (EF)
3. TWSBI ECO Persian Green (EF)

Any other green recommendations? Thanks!

*Deleted and reposted because I'm bad at reddit. It's an image post now.

I am left handed and I’ve always wanted to try using medium and broad nibs. However, they dry too slow. I’ve tried overwriting and underwriting but they’re just not comfortable for me and I couldn’t even last a week with those styles. Spent the last day trying to write with my right hand instead. The speed is pretty serviceable now and it’s…not uncomfortable at all. Just a little shaky but I think I can stick with it long enough to improve the shaky lines. How’s it look though?

I haven't really been using my pens since leaving my full time job 18 months ago for my mental health.

So quite a few of them were just left with ink in them, left forgotten in bags and all over the house.

Finally got around to rounding them up and giving them a clean. I'm amazed after seeing complaints in this sub about staining on TWSBIs that mine cleaned up pretty much straight away. I guess Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-budo (even in 18months of sun exposure) and Edelstein Golden Lapis (in the dark) aren't particularly staining or guess acidic inks.

Have fun figuring out about half of my collection from this picture. I wasn't able to find my Esterbrook JR so hopefully it turns up somewhere and I haven't left it behind somewhere many moons ago.

Got to love well made pens and the crap they can handle.

I got my first fountain pen today! It's a Sailor Shikiori Izayoi-no-Yume Yozakura (Evening Cherry Blossom) <F>. I got the matching ink too. I've been using dip pens up until now so I'm learning that it's a bit different but in a good way. I wish I got into fountain pens sooner! I probably could have gotten a different one as my first, but this was too pretty to pass up

This is the Sailor X Pelle Penna Nemophila Sky

Nemophila, also known as Baby blue eyes, is Blooms a clear blue flower like the sky.

Look at that finial! And I never knew I could love a blue ink so much! I am so happy to be the owner of this pen, but I couldn't resist since my newborn baby has blue eyes, so it was only right....right?!?

In love with this ravishing beauty!