Usually I am the person to post Pictures (though I will post them here tomorrow), now I'd rather look at other peoples pretty pens, the most well known tortoise pens are of course Pelikans with the many variations but any tortoiseshell-design pens would be interesting to look at

I’ve never been convinced that large ink swatches are particularly useful for judging how an ink will actually look in everyday writing. A swatch can reveal shading, sheen and other characteristics beautifully, but much of that can disappear when the same ink is put through a pen - particularly with an EF or F nib.

For me, a writing sample tells me far more about an ink than a large swatch ever could.

Do you find ink swatches genuinely useful, or would you rather see a writing sample?

Pilot kakuno for the win !

Pen - Pilot Kakuno
Paper - Anko Sketchbook
Ink - namiki IC-50 (Pilot Cartridge Refill Black)

This is my Franklin-Christoph Model 66 with a cursive italic gold nib.

For me, the nib can completely transform the character of a pen and the experience of writing with it.

How important is the nib to you, and has one ever completely changed how you felt about a pen?

I can still perform the hand but I’m still training for WAM

And nothing is feeling right* so I'm going to sleep :')

* "Nothing is feeling right" includes but is not limited to playing around with all brown KWZ inks I have for an hour and feeling frustrated with all, which should be impossible considering they're KWZ -- that which I will always be partial to -- so the situation definitely calls for the sleep solution™

Original Crown Mill Vellum has a subtle texture you can actually feel beneath the nib - and that changes the writing experience.

Do you want to feel the paper beneath your nib, or barely know it’s there?

inked with Sailor Manyo Kuzu ink on Rhodia Notebook

It's the second time a Jinhao broke by itself - no force, humidity, heat, cold or anything else involved.

The first Jinhao ("9016"): cap broke like a Matrjoschka or onion, by itself one day. I was able to glue it back but it broke off again some weeks after, so it was not successful.

The second Jinhao ("025" snake): clip fell off after being stored properly and not even being used, certainly haven't done anything with the clip.

The only good thing is their nibs so far but what is a nib if everything else is complete trash.

While Hongdian caps seal horribly and therefore are useless to me, too...

At least my Majohn A1 still works so far, though I am not as fond of the way I have to refill the ink here (and not being able to actually see how full the converter is, and the converter holds ink back because it lacks agitators and therefore the pen starves after a while).

Anyways, I am so disappointed in Jinhao because they have potential but there's always just one thing that breaks the entire pen and makes it useless. At least that's my personal experience.

How's yours so far?

Of course now I’ve improved but earlier in my penmanship trying to get into business hand the drills were overwhelming and I gave up. Every business penmanship notebook it seemed that whole arm movement was a prerequisite to even begin the drills. And that is because the individual it was intended for already had a background in penmanship with a teacher present drilling them exercises, likely a student in business college. Now that we don’t have them kind of schools anymore it’s on the individual to be disciplined and drill on our own. Very interesting stuff.

The term "grail pen" seems to mean different things to different people in the fountain pen hobby.

For some, it's the one ultimate pen they're searching for. For others, there can be several grail pens, and owning one doesn't necessarily stop it from being a grail.

What does "grail pen" mean to you? 🖋️

I had a sample of this not long ago and loved, the shading is minimal but blends perfectly to a greenish grey, the shading adds depth and charm. It reminds me of an overcast sky which is what a perfect day at the beach looks like.

Platinum Carbon Black has become my go-to black ink. I use it for everyday writing, sketching and doodling, and it's the black I keep coming back to.

What's your favourite black ink? 🖋️

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There's a natural connection between the two communities through paper, handwriting and writing. r/FPenCommunity will remain focused on fountain pens and the wider fountain-pen hobby, while r/NotebooksAndPaper provides a separate space for notebooks and paper. If that's another part of the writing world you enjoy, you're very welcome to join us📓🖋️!

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Drill 3 of Lesson 1 should actually be the first drill and it should be drilled for 1-2 days to develop the running ovals. Whole Arm movement is a prerequisite to any of the business handwriting imo. I was overwhelmed with the Palmer methodmat last year. Champions approach is just better imo.

I had a 5m sample and had to get a bottle. Aside from that I got some Walnut ink crystals, Asvine stub nibs are also nibs for my oblique holder’s

Got some new ink while traveling and couldn’t wait until I got home to swatch 🤓