WRITING ON THE EDGE

I have had a long-standing fascination with the fountain pen.  When I first began to experience those teasing thoughts about art replacing medicine a Parker 45 pen was my constant companion, plying its trade in both my sketchbook and my journal.  Over the years I have acquired a modest collection of pens; with the exception of those gifted to me by my dear wife, each of my pens have cost less then $100.00.  I say this because serious collectors will pay thousands of dollars for a pen.  Currently I have about two-dozen working fountain pens.

Parker 45

I recently logged on to eBay to see what was available under “writing instruments”, and was amazed at the selection of pens available.  What really caught my eye was a fountain pen from China for $8.00 with no shipping charges.  My experience with pens has taught me that an $8.00 pen will probably provide $8.00 worth of performance, but I was intrigued, and was willing to pay $8.00 to satisfy my curiosity.  I placed the order (it was a “Buy It Now” offer) and about a week later my Hero arrived, Hero being the name of the pen.

Hero

It was small, very light, and had a fine nib that produced an even, crisp line.  I was surprised and delighted with my $8.00 treasure.  But the joy was short lived; about 2 weeks later I dropped the pen and damaged the nib beyond repair.  To ease my grief I returned to eBay and ordered another pen from China, this one for $12.00, with no shipping costs.  And once again I was the owner of a wonderful writing instrument with the brand name, Hu.

Mr. Hu

You can probably guess what comes next.  I’m back on eBay looking to make another China connection, and feeling a little flushed, I spend $39.00 for a very elegant looking Janhaio that writes like a jewel. 

Janhaio

I am now thinking very highly of myself, and am allowed to do so for a few weeks before the fountain pen gods intervene to take me down a few pegs.  Writing in my journal with my new best pen, the dreaded fear of all who write with fountain pens, especially pens under $100.00, becomes a reality as the Janhaio suddenly deposits a blob of ink on the paper.  I quickly continue writing on a piece of test paper and find that the ink leak occurs only after I’ve bee writing for several minutes, and then it writes normally until it happens again.  And thus we arrive at the title of this narrative.

Being a tiger, I am, at times, fearless and willing to face certain risks to pursue the work I am called to do on my own terms.   I have chosen to use the Janhaio in my journal, judging the safe time I have, and stopping before the leak occurs.  This challenge adds an entirely new dimension to journal writing.

A LOVE AFFAIR…WITH FOUNTAIN PENS

“I don’t remember when…” seems to be the default opening line in way too many of my posts, and I have given up trying to avoid it.  So…

I don’t remember when I first acknowledged my fondness for fountain pens.  There were always one or more on my desktop from the time I first started having desktops, nothing very fancy, just a simple leaky, scratchy, student grade pen.  During college, medical school, and residency I relied on the ubiquitous ballpoint pen for daily, non-stop use, and the fountain pen was reserved for writing letters and notes.  Some of us still remember when we literally “wrote” letters on pastel tinted stationary, folded them, stuffed them in an envelope with a stamp and return address and put them in the mail.  We could expect a possible reply in several weeks or more, depending on where and to whom it was sent.

In the early 1970’s I purchased a Parker 45 fountain pen that would serve as my workhorse for many years to come.  I used it extensively for all of my early “on the spot” drawings and sketches, and even in some of the studio work.  I eventually replaced it with a felt tip pen for my drawings.  I don’t know what happened to that pen, and in the years that followed I didn’t give much thought to fountain pens… until I did.

The Beloved Parker 45

Most likely it was one of those colorful, enticing catalogs that flooded mailboxes back in the ‘80s and ‘90s that uncovered my latent enthusiasm for these writing instruments.    Once again my memory is woefully inadequate, but I think the next pen was a Mont Blanc, and from that point the collection slowly evolved, some pens I purchased, and others were gifts.  I never spent more than $100.00 for a pen, but my dear wife has given me several pens that I believe exceeded that self-imposed limit.  In addition to the Mont Blanc, my very modest collection includes several Sheaffers, 2 Parkers, including a new Parker 45, a Wearever, a Bexley, a Cross, an Aurora, a Voyager by Fujiyama, and several off the wall makes. 

I am not a serious collector…I simply enjoy writing with fountain pens.  I love the feel and sound of the nib moving across the paper, and my handwriting, which needs all the help it can get, is much better with a fountain pen.  Sadly, there is little call for hand written anything today, so the pleasures from my fountain pens are limited to my journal entries.  Every morning I settle into a recliner in my study with a lap top desk, my journal and a small wooden cup holding the pens I will use.  Without regular use a fountain pen nib will dry out and function poorly, replacing pleasure with frustration, and even outright anger.  I learned this lesson the hard way, and now I keep 5 of my favorite pens available and use each of them in every journal entry.  I know…it’s a little weird, maybe even bordering on obsessive, but hey, it works for me. 

 on the spot drawings using the Parker 45 (1973)