Back to writing with a fountain pen

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Having a nice pen is one of those small pleasures you can enjoy every day. I’ve always loved pens for some reason and tried many types over the years.

I recently got a new fountain pen and started using it day-to-day. I’ve used fountain pens in the past but never as a daily one. They were imprecise (too thick), finicky, or delicate. But after using a rollerball for a couple years, I felt like a change.

So I went to a local pen shop (House of Fine Writing in Toronto, I highly recommend them) to try out some finer tipped pens. I like to sketch diagrams and write in different sizes so having a fine tip is key.
I ended up buying a Faber-Castell with an extra fine tip. So far it's great! I didn’t know you could write this precisely with a fountain pen. You definitely trade-off smoothness and get a scratchiness on some papers, but that has its own charm (sometimes I imagine myself a medieval scientist writing an important treatise under candlelight with a feather 😄).

One of my favourite design elements though is the black anodized nib. I'd never seen anything like it and with the black barrel, makes for a cool aesthetic. The tip also has a unique downward slope which reminds me of the Concorde’s nose and, as an aviation fan, makes me smile when I see it.

Anyway, I'm really enjoying this return to fountain pens and know there are some pen nerds out there that might appreciate this.

The extra fine tip of the Faber-Castell compared to the medium tip of the Parker I was using before

Make a pen that looks like an airplane and I will buy it.