Laura's Top 10 Fountain Pen User Mistakes

Do you make any fountain pen user "mistakes"?  I know I do!  When Pen Boutique owner Leena asked me to write this article, I was surprised, because it's very different from my usual topics, which focus on specific pens, inks, or accessories that I am excited to explore.  But, the more I thought about it, the more I realized what a helpful and interesting subject it actually is. Whether you are brand new to fountain pens or have been using them for a lifetime, there may be things that you could do differently to get the most out of your pens.

Holding Your Pen Improperly

First things first.  When a customer comes into the store and tries a fountain pen for the first time, I often need to show them the right way to hold the pen. This may sound a little silly, but it's not!  Most people catch on quickly, but it is not necessarily intuitive.  Although typical writing instruments don't have a "right side up" or "upside down" position, fountain pens do.  When you hold the pen to write, you should be looking down at the nib, the pointy metal part at the writing end.  The plastic or ebonite part underneath the nib is called the feed, and that's what carries the ink from the reservoir inside the pen up to the nib. When you are writing, the feed should be down, toward the paper, and the flat part of the nib should face up. 

Some people do intentionally flip their pens upside down and use "reverse writing" to make very thin lines, but your nib is designed to face up and you will get the best ink flow and the intended line width that way.

Beyond just facing up, it's important that the nib is positioned at an angle that allows the tipping material at its end to maintain good contact with the paper, and that this position is maintained as you continue to write with the pen. This means that the pen cannot be rotated too much to either side, and that your angle to the page shouldn't be too high or too low.  For most fountain pens, the angle between pen and paper for best ink flow is usually around 40°-55°.  When I took Pilot Corporation's handwriting analysis test at the Washington DC Fountain Pen Supershow last August, the results told me that I have a 49° writing angle, and write with my pen slightly twisted outward (5°).  My angle is good, but my rotation can occasionally be a problem.

The reason your nib's position is so important is that fountain pens use liquid ink that is delivered through the nib and feed to the paper by a combination of gravity and capillary action.  When the tip of the pen comes in contact with the paper, a capillary force helps draw the ink out through the narrow slit between the tines and onto the paper.  Some nibs are more forgiving about this than others, but you need to stay within the nib's "sweet spot," or the tip will lose contact with the paper, capillary action will be interrupted, ink will stop flowing, and you will see breaks in your pen's lines (this is called "skipping"), or the pen may stop writing entirely.  You want a nice consistent and smooth feel when you write with your pen, and holding it properly can make a big difference.

Don't get frustrated and give up if you need to practice a little before you get the hang of it, or if certain pens just aren't compatible with your hold. I own about 50 fountain pens, and all my pens write well for me, but there have been times when I decided a pen or nib just wasn't for me because its sweet spot was too precise for my tendency to rotate slightly outward.  This is probably something I should work on, but it hasn't bothered me enough to stop me from enjoying a huge range of pens.

[Pictured:  My Petrol-Marbled Pelikan M205, black Pilot Metropolitan, Lilac Lamy AL-Star, and black Pilot E95s.]

Nib positioning is something you may have more trouble with when you first start using a fountain pen, then get a feel for as you become more experienced, and there are also a number of pens that have features designed to help you hold the pen in the right position to get good contact between the nib and the paper.  Starting with one of these pens can help teach a new fountain pen user proper form.

The Pilot Kakuno (meaning "to write" in Japanese) has a two-pronged approach to help young or inexperienced fountain pen users. A subtly triangular-shaped ergonomic grip guides you to hold the pen in the right position, and a cute smiley face on the nib reminds you to make sure the flat part of the nib is facing up so you can see the cheerful and encouraging smile brightening your day. The Kakuno is also inexpensive, accepts Pilot's large CON-70 converter (sold separately), and is a very smooth writer!  It has a lot of big fans who aren't necessarily young or new to fountain pens.  I'm right handed, but I'm holding a Kakuno in my left hand in this photo.  It's very comfortable for me in either hand.

Another great beginner pen geared toward helping you with your positioning is the Sailor Compass TUZU Adjust.  It has a silver ring at the bottom of the grip section that can be unscrewed to allow you to rotate the grip section and adjust it to best suit the way you hold your pen. Adjusting the grip is easy, and there are clear instructions printed on the box.  All you have to do is loosen the silver ring, slide it down far enough to allow the grip section to also slide down and turn freely, and then rotate the grip section at 10-degree pitches in either direction.  It will fit into grooves and lock into place. The idea is that if you are left handed, or hold your pen at any other unusual angle, you can compensate for this and make it easier to keep contact between your nib and the page.

Other pens with grip sections molded to assist you with your writing position include the Lamy Safari, AL-Star, LX, Nexx, and ABC, Kaweco Perkeo, TWSBI Eco-T, Faber-Castell Grip, and Pelikan Twist and Pelikano.  I asked Pen Boutique owner Leena’s daughter Shriya to try seven of these pens and rank them in order of how pronounced the shaping of the grip sections is.  She put them in this order, from most extreme to most subtle (pictured below):  Pelikan Twist, Lamy Safari/AL-Star, Kaweco Perkeo, Pelikan Pelikano, TWSBI Eco-T, Pilot Kakuno, and Faber-Castell Grip.  We didn't compare the Sailor TUZU, but I think it's in between Safari and Perkeo. 

Some people find pronounced triangular grip sections very helpful, but they can be uncomfortable for others, especially for people who don't hold their pen with a standard grip. Shriya said the subtle contouring on the TWSBI Eco-T, Pilot Kakuno, and Faber-Castell Grip felt nice and ergonomic, and was barely noticeable. 

All of these are steel-nib pens that are fairly inexpensive and make good beginner pens.  Writing with these pens definitely helps me hold my pen properly, although I don't limit myself to them.

A "next level" gold-nib pen that encourages you to hold your pen properly is the Pilot Vanishing Point.  If you use a traditional tripod grip, the narrower part of the clip falls in the curved space between your thumb and finger. If you have a nonstandard grip, the clip may bother you, but, for most people, the clip helps you align the pen in the right position and you don't even feel it. I was surprised how quickly it "disappears" when I pick up the pen.  Even though this pen doesn't have a traditional grip section, the shape and placement of the clip guides you into holding the pen correctly.  I think that's pretty cool!

 

Pressing Too Hard

Another mistake I often make myself is that I press down harder than is necessary to write with my fountain pen. The writing instruments most of us grew up using, such as pencils and ballpoints, require force to make their mark on the page.  In fact, ballpoints and rollerballs deliver their ink to the page with a literal rotating ball that needs pressure to engage the ball.  But, since gravity and capillary action allows fountain pens' liquid ink to flow, your fountain pen will write under its own weight with no additional pressure at all!  You can see a dramatic illustration of this if you hold your pen by the end of the barrel and try dragging the nib across the paper.

[Pictured:  my Sea Glass Esterbrook Estie and favorite pairing with this pen, Waterman Harmonious Green ink.]

Another way to understand the light touch you should strive for when you use your fountain pen is to hold the pen as you normally do while writing, and draw the nib across the back of your hand. (You can do this with an empty pen so your hand doesn't get inky!) If it feels like a gentle tickle, that's good!  If it scratches or hurts, that's too hard!  

Your fountain pen should glide across your writing surface, which makes using a fountain pen very relaxing and pleasurable, and can prevent hand strain.  When using your pen, try to relax your hand, don't grip too tightly, and just experience the unique smoothness of a fountain pen's ink moving across the page. 

Although a fountain pen nib's tines can have some bounce to them (this varies depending on the softness and the shape of the nib), most fountain pens aren't meant for calligraphy or flexing, and the tines aren't intended to separate to create line variation.  In the photo below, I first wrote with my Estie using a light touch, then wrote with the same pen while pressing hard.  Even though this is a steel nib (and therefore stiffer than most gold nibs), there is a huge difference in how the writing looks.  The lines are much thicker and darker when I press hard, so you can't see my Waterman Harmonious Green ink's lovely shading. Pressing too hard can bend your tines over time, and create permanently thicker lines.  And, in addition to straining your nib, it strains your hand.

There are some pens specifically made with nibs designed to be flexible, but even those should only be given pressure on the downstroke, and you should write lightly with them most of the time.  Pressing too hard with a fountain pen, especially one with a soft nib, can "spring" the tines, forcing them past their capability to bounce back. When this happens, the tines are permanently bent and your nib is ruined.  Be gentle!

 

Putting Your Cartridge in Wrong

I asked my co-worker Joy what the most common fountain pen user mistake she encounters when answering customer service phone calls is, and she answered without hesitation:  "putting your cartridge in backwards!"  She then added that another very common related mistake is not pushing the cartridge in far enough.  I never would have thought of these on my own, but they are really good ones!

Joy said it can be very easy for new fountain pen users to get confused about which end of an ink cartridge is supposed to be inserted into the pen's section, especially with brands like Pilot, whose cartridge has a pointy back end that looks like it's supposed to be punctured.  The part of a Pilot cartridge that goes into your pen is the hollow end with some empty space on top.  My photo below shows the correct orientation.  If you insert your cartridge into your pen's section and the ink won't flow, don't get frustrated: you may have put it in backwards!

[Pictured:  Pilot Retro Pop Purple fountain pen, Monk Paper Trekker Journal in Pipal Leaf, and Girologio Repurposed Leather Writing Mat in Orange.]

If you put the cartridge in the correct way and the ink still doesn't flow, make sure that it is fully pushed in.  With some cartridge brands, you may need to firmly press the cartridge against a hard surface, like your desk, to puncture the seal.  When the cartridge is in place, it should stay in the pen and not fall out unless pulled out.

Then, it will still take a few minutes for the ink to saturate your feed and flow through your nib.  Be sure to hold the pen nib-down to help the ink flow, and be patient. You will soon be writing, but, when you don't fill your pen through its nib, it isn't an instantaneous process.  This is something you'll get used to after filling your pen a time or two, but it can be confusing at first!

 

Using the Wrong Cartridge or Converter

I'm sometimes surprised when a customer comes into the store and tells me that they are frustrated because they tried a Sailor converter in their Pilot, but it wouldn't fit, or that their Cross cartridges wouldn't work in their Lamy pen.  I've been working with a lot of different brands of fountain pens for quite a while, so I forget that I had to learn which brands use proprietary cartridges and converters, and it's definitely not an obvious thing!

These brands of pen all need to stick to their own brand cartridges and converters:

• Aurora
• Cross
• Lamy
• Parker
• Pilot
• Platinum
• Sailor
• Sheaffer
• Taccia (nibs are made by Sailor, so they use Sailor)

Most other pen brands will accept "standard international" cartridges, which include:

• Diamine
• Graf von Faber-Castell
• J. Herbin
• Kaweco
• Montblanc
  
• Monteverde
• Pelikan
• Visconti 
• Waterman

Keep in mind that many pens are too small to accept standard international long cartridges, and need standard international short.  Fitting a converter to a pen can be more tricky than fitting a cartridge, because cartridges are usually a little more flexible than a converter.  In most cases, you will want to stick with a pen's own brand converter, or do a little research before trying a different brand, even if it's a pen that accepts standard international ink cartridges.

 

Using the Wrong Ink

Speaking of ink--ink is ink, right?  Nope!  When using a fountain pen, you need to select ink specifically designed for fountain pens.  India ink, which you may find at craft stores, is not fountain pen compatible.  It's made from fine soot combined with water to form a liquid, and the carbon molecules in the soot form a waterproof layer when the ink dries.  Sometimes a binding agent such as shellac is added to make the ink more durable.  This type of ink is meant for dip pens only.  It is too thick to put in your fountain pen, and will clog the nib and feed.  If it dries in the pen, it will harden and be extremely difficult or impossible to get out.  Never use India ink with your fountain pen!

All of the ink we sell at Pen Boutique is fountain pen ink, with the exception of Sailor's "Dipton" series of dip pen inks.  The Dipton inks have beautiful intense shimmering or sheening properties, and look great when used with dip pens, but will clog your fountain pens' nibs and feeds.

When I asked Shriya what her biggest fountain pen mistake was, she confessed that it was putting shimmer ink in one of her Fine nib Sailor pens.  She told me she loves shimmer ink, so she excitedly put it into her new pen, but it clogged the nib and she was never able to get it completely out.  Now the pen doesn't write very well and she is sad!  

Shimmer fountain pen ink, which has fine glitter particles mixed into it, is technically fountain pen compatible, but you still need to be careful which pens you use it in.  This type of ink is known by various names depending on brand, including shimmer ink, glistening ink, Shake 'n' Shimmy ink, and more.  Sometimes the clue word isn't in the name of the ink, but is written on the bottle, so be sure to look carefully.  For example, Wearingeul has many glistening inks, but I can't link to them because the word is in the description, but not the name.  Wearingeul also makes glitter potions that you can add to a standard ink to turn it into a shimmering ink.  You can also recognize shimmer inks by looking at the bottles.  You will see the glitter particles settled in a layer at the bottom.

Shimmer ink is very pretty, and makes your ink sparkle on the paper, but it can easily clog your nib, especially if you are using a nib size that is too fine for the particles to easily pass through.  I recommend saving your shimmer inks for at least a Medium nib.  I only use shimmer inks in pens with Broad (B), Double Broad (BB), or Stub/Calligraphy nibs.  You may want to only put shimmer ink in pens that can be fully disassembled for cleaning, or dedicate a specific pen to shimmer ink, because it can be very difficult to wash out every last glittering particle from your feed, and, if you switch from a shimmer ink back to standard ink, you may find your standard ink occasionally glistening!  Also keep in mind that shimmer ink needs to be shaken before filling a pen to ensure that the particles are evenly distributed in the ink, and remember to rotate your pen occasionally while writing so that the particles don't settle in the pen. 

I wouldn't put shimmer ink in a very expensive pen, but they are fun to use, and you don't need to be scared of them as long as you are aware of their limitations.  I often recommend Broad or Stub TWSBIs for shimmer inks and have had good luck with this combination.  I love to put shimmer ink in my TWSBI Diamond Mini, pictured above.  When I do use shimmering inks, I occasionally get a clogged nib even though I only put them into pens that can handle it.  When this happens, I rinse the nib under a faucet or in a glass of clear water, and this will usually dislodge the clump of shimmer particles so I can go back to writing!

If your nib does get fully clogged from a shimmer ink, sheening ink, or any other ink, don't freak out.  That just means it's time to clean the pen, and that maybe that pen isn't compatible with that particular ink.

Pen and ink incompatibility is something that happens a lot with fountain pens, and it's something that doesn't really have hard and fast rules.  Finer nibs tend to clog more easily from shimmer and sheen, but pens can also be picky about ink flow (how "wet" or "dry" the ink is), or other factors that are hard to pin down.  Sometimes you need to experiment to figure out which inks work best with your pen, so don't discount a pen just because it isn't writing well the first time you try it.

When I get a new pen, I often need to try a few different inks before I find the one that flows the most consistently and really makes that pen shine.  If the pen brand makes its own ink (such as Montblanc and Montblanc ink, Pilot and Iroshizuku ink, or Pelikan and Pelikan 4001 or Edelstein ink), that ink is often the most compatible, as it is designed by the pen company to work well with their own pens, so that's a good starting point.  You can absolutely try any brand ink in any brand pen, but, if you find that the ink isn't flowing well, or that the line is too light and thin, or too thick and wet, clean your pen and switch to a different ink.  It may make all the difference.  If you need help choosing an ink that works well with your pen, try asking for suggestions at Pen Boutique, on our Discord discussion server, or on other online discussion groups.

 

Improper Cleaning

Speaking of cleaning, what is "improper" cleaning?  The most common type of improper cleaning is not cleaning at all! We often have pen owners coming into the store very sad that their pen won't write anymore, only to take a closer look at the pen and discover that the nib and feed are crusted with coagulated ink.  When we ask the pen owner when they last cleaned the pen, they give us a blank look.  "Clean?"  Yikes!  If this is you, don't feel ashamed.  As I said, it's pretty common. But, you do need to clean your fountain pens sometimes, particularly if you don't write with them regularly.

If you have a pen you haven't cleaned in a long time and don't use often, the ink probably isn't flowing very well, or maybe isn't flowing at all.  I could write a whole article on how to clean pens, but I'm trying to keep the length of this article reasonable, so I'd recommend looking for a demonstration video online.  When I have a pen that has dried up ink stuck in it, I soak the nib and feed in a glass of room temperature water overnight, or even for a couple of days if it's really bad.  You can also use an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner to help clean particularly dirty pens, but don't use them with pen parts that are made from delicate materials.

When it comes to cleaning your pen:

Don't put leftover used ink back in the bottle!  It could contaminate the rest of the bottle, and that small amount of ink isn't worth trying to save and reuse. Dump it down the sink!

Don't use harsh cleaners like alcohol or acetone! These could destroy the materials in your pen. 

Don't use hot water! Again, this could warp or discolor the materials of some pens.

Do just use plain room temperature water.  Adding a drop of mild dish soap is okay, but be sure to rinse thoroughly or it will affect your ink flow.  You can also use a pen flush like Monteverde Fountain Pen Flush for particularly stubborn ink.  The main ingredient in these types of pen flushes is household ammonia (not alcohol or bleach!)

Do clean your pens when you change inks.  If you don't, the two inks will mix together and you won't get the color you are expecting.  Even if you are sticking with the same color (say, black), it's best to clean your pen if you are switching to a different brand, as some ink brands are incompatible and you may get an unexpected chemical reaction when the two inks mix.  They could clump or otherwise behave bizarrely.

Do clean your pens when they run out of ink and you aren't going to refill them right away.  It's not nice to your pen to put it away with a dirty nib and remnants of dried up ink in the feed and reservoir!  I'm guilty of this when I get busy.  Sorry, pens!

[Pictured:  bath day for some of my pens, including my Copper Rose Gold Pelikan M200, Sailor Professional Gear, Pilot Falcon, and colorful Pelikan Pen Collection P21 from the 1990s.]

Do be cautious when you clean vintage fountain pens or very expensive pens.  They can be made from more delicate materials that require special care.  It's not advisable to soak vintage pens in water, as this can ruin them.  If needed, you can usually remove the nib and feed and just soak that part.

Some people will advise you to clean your pens regularly no matter what, but others say that you really only need to clean your pens when changing inks or when they clog.  I'm in the second camp.  If you are using your pen regularly and sticking with the same ink, the ink is flowing well, and you are happy, you don't need to clean just for the sake of cleaning. However, if your ink flow is obstructed or your ink has evaporated, that's when you need to give them a good bath.

When I clean my pens, I expel the unused ink (if any), and then rinse the nib, feed, and reservoir with water until it runs clear. If it's a cartridge/converter filled pen, I often use a bulb syringe (like you can buy in the baby aisle or ear care aisle of a drugstore) to flush water directly through the section. In many pens, its tip will fit perfectly into the section (where you usually insert the cartridge/converter) and you can force a greater volume of water through the feed and nib more quickly than you'd be able to by just running it under the faucet.

[I asked my co-worker Lauren to take a photo when I was cleaning some of the pens that were dip-tested in the store on Saturday.  Thanks, Lauren!  The one in the photo is an Esterbrook Estie, but this trick works for most brands.]

If the pen has a built-in piston filling mechanism or uses a converter, I repeatedly draw clean water into that part and expel the inky water out, until it runs clear.  Then I allow the pen to dry nib-down in an empty glass with a soft paper towel placed at the bottom to help wick out the remaining water from the feed.

You don't need to disassemble your entire pen to clean it unless there is a real reason to.  Disassembling your pen too often just puts unnecessary wear and tear on it, and, in most cases, it's overkill.  Friction fit nibs and feeds will stop fitting securely if you take them apart too often, and you may crack your pens' sections, or lose parts. Pens aren't designed to be taken apart unless they need repairs, and, if you disassemble your pens every time you clean them, you will reduce the life of the pens.

 

Leaving Your Pen Uncapped

This is a very important one, and also pretty easy to explain.  When you're using a fountain pen, you need to put the cap on right away after you are done writing.  Ballpoints can stay uncapped because their ink is oil-based, but, because fountain pen ink is liquid-based, your nib will dry out if you don't keep it covered. 

Leaving the cap off is also a disaster waiting to happen, because an uncapped fountain pen could be dropped or knocked somewhere.  The uncovered nib could touch something it shouldn't and stain it with ink (or ink could fly out of the nib if the pen were to be flung with forward momentum), or the unprotected nib could hit the floor or other hard object and be bent! 

It's a very sad day when this happens to your beloved pen.  The nib may be replaceable (depending on the pen), or a nibmieister may be able to fix it for you, but a new nib can be expensive, especially a gold nib, and a nibmeister's services aren't cheap, either.  Please be careful with your pens!

I have to take photos of pens with their caps off for my blog so you can see the nibs, but I am very cautious when I do this, and it still always makes me a little nervous.  Fortunately, I haven't had any pen mishaps (yet!) other than a few minor ink incidents.  In this case, don't follow my example!  My photos are meant to show you the pens in a beautiful way, not serve as ideas for risky things you should do with your own pens.  

 

Not Protecting Your Pen With a Case

Speaking of being kind to your pens, please protect them in a case when you aren't using them!  I'm going to paraphrase what my co-host Leila told attendees at our Fountain Pen 101 pen show seminar here, because I think she said it perfectly:  when you're just starting out, pen cases can seem like an unnecessary expense, but, even if your pens are lower cost ones, it's important to build good habits.  If and when you start using more expensive pens, consider the cost of the case in relation to the cost of what you're protecting.  Is a $65 case very expensive if you're protecting a $500 pen?

Even inexpensive pens can have sentimental value, and taking good care of all your pens is like taking care of yourself.  You are using a fountain pen because it elevates your writing experience and brings joy and beauty to your life, so you want your pen to remain unscratched, un-dinged, clean, and in an organized, easy to access place.  If you haphazardly throw your fountain pens into your bag unprotected, shove them in a desk drawer, or stick them in your pocket with your car keys, they will end up scratched, broken, and lost.

There are so many different kinds of great cases available, at all different price points.  I like to store my pen collection in denim Girologio cases, and use smaller leather pen cases or single pen sleeves to carry a few pens with me in my bag. Our exclusive Yak leather cases are wonderful, as are the creative Esterbrook storage options, Montblanc's beautiful leather cases, Rickshaw Bagworks' fun and interesting fabric cases, and many others.

We even have the Lacquered Wood Montblanc Collector Box to display a beautiful collection in your home. Poke around and find a few cases that suit you and your pen collection, then make it a point to use them regularly. You'll be happy you did.

Storing Your Pens and Inks Improperly

What do I mean by "improperly"?  Well, do you leave your fountain pens or inks in a place where young children or animals can get to them and chew on them or break them?  Do you leave them on your desk where someone might "borrow" them and misuse them or never return them?  Do you leave your ink bottles where direct sunlight can shine on them and break down the dyes?  Or in a place where you or someone else might knock them over and spill them?  Or keep your pens and inks somewhere very hot or very cold, such as a car?  Do you throw your pens in a pile, where they can rub against each other and get scratched? Do you store them nib down or in a place where they get jostled around, so they can leak and make a mess?  Do you leave your lacquer, wood, or ebonite pens exposed to sunlight or other bright lights?

You may not think about it, but heat and light are enemies to your pens and inks. High temperatures can cause materials such as acrylic or celluloid to warp or crack, and a sealed pen left in the heat can build up pressure in the ink chamber and leak or even explode.  Yikes!  Exposure to UV light and fluorescent light damages the surface of materials like Urushi lacquer, wood, and ebonite, causing them to lose their gloss and the color to fade.  (Urushi pens also shouldn't be stored somewhere overly dry.)  Heat and light exposure can also alter the properties of ink and affect its vibrancy, flow, and permanence.  Don't be thoughtless with your pens and inks! 

If you have made some of these mistakes, don't feel alone. I am actually guilty of leaving bottles of inks on my desk where the sun shines on them. I keep most of my inks in drawers, but my desk can get messy when I'm busy, and I don't always put things away right away.  A bottle of ink isn't going to spontaneously combust in an afternoon, but, over time, it will degrade. Leaving your ink exposed to light after it has been used is just as bad.  Most fountain pen ink will fade quite dramatically, so close your notebooks, put your precious letters away, and protect your artwork.

Below is a dramatic example of how fountain pen ink responds to exposure to direct sunlight.  I painted this on September 12th, 2022, for my dad's birthday two days later.  He loved it and hung it on the wall next to a window.  The second photo shows how it looks now.  If you want your fountain pen ink art to last, be sure to cover it with UV glass and hang it out of direct sunlight!  I like what happened to this piece because it fascinates and touches me.  I think the faded version is beautiful.  But it's certainly not something that you'd want to happen in most cases. Other pieces that I have painted and kept protected still look vibrant after six years.

Using the Wrong Paper

If you are using a fountain pen and you haven't tried it with fountain pen-friendly paper, you are missing out. The right paper is just as important as the pen and the ink, and can elevate your writing enjoyment just as much.

I could write a whole article just about paper, but the key things I look for when choosing paper for my fountain pens are:

1) The paper should be resistant to feathering, so my lines look nice and crisp.

2) Fountain pen ink used in normal writing should not bleed through the paper.

3) I love paper that has the ability to show off the beautiful qualities of my ink, like sheen and shading.

Consider how different the same inks look in these two examples.  First I used Monteverde Ocean Noir and Iroshizuku Yama-budo with a non-fountain pen friendly paper.  The Ocean Noir looked okay, but kind of boring and feathered a little. The Yama-Budo, a wet ink, feathered horribly and looked terrible.  Are these bad inks?  No way!  They are beautiful inks!

Here are the same two inks on very fountain pen friendly paper.  They both have pretty shading, gorgeous sheen, didn't feather all, and look incredible!

Other factors to consider when choosing paper: 

Does ink show through to the back side of the paper ("ghosting"), so you can only use one side? Does this bother you?

Do you like a more translucent paper, so you can trace something underneath or use a guide sheet of your choice?

What about weight? Thin paper allows you lots of pages in one notebook, but maybe you prefer a more substantial feel.

Does your ink take an inordinate amount of time to dry on the paper, leading to smearing? Or do you feel that a slower dry time is worth it because it allows more sheening?

Do you like bright white paper to show your ink's true colors, or do you prefer a softer ivory or cream shade that's easier on the eyes?

Do you like your paper blank, or with guides of some sort to help you write straight? 

How does the paper feel to write on? Some people like the feel of extra smooth paper that allows their pen to glide over the surface; others prefer paper with texture that offers a little bit of resistance or feedback. I like both, depending on what I'm in the mood for!

Choosing paper is just like choosing a fountain pen nib... do you like the super smooth feel of a wet soft bouncy nib?  Or do you prefer a stiffer nib that gives you audible feedback and allows you to feel the paper? Maybe you love both! Exploring the sensuous aspects of fountain pens is all part of the fun, and paper can be a big factor in that. 

Because everyone's tastes are different, and writing with a fountain pen is such a personal experience, there is no one perfect paper. Of the notebooks and paper that we carry, I highly recommend Midori (used in many TRAVELERS notebook refills, and we will also be carrying more Midori paper soon!), Rhodia, Write, Maruman Mnemosyne, Apica, Clairefontaine, Oasis, Kartos, and Leuchtturm 1917. Choosing the kind of paper that works best with your particular pens and feels the best to you can take a little trial and error, but it's definitely worth it to try a few different brands of paper designed for use with fountain pens to see which ones appeal to you the most!  Although it can be a little more expensive than ordinary paper, you will notice a huge difference if you use fountain pen friendly paper rather than paper more compatible with ballpoints.

I hope my list of mistakes was helpful, and didn't scare anyone away from using fountain pens.  Yes, they require a little more care than other kinds of writing instruments, but it's worth it!  Fountain pens can bring you so much joy and pleasure, and there is so much to explore. Don't be afraid to try different kinds of pens and nibs to discover what you love most, experiment with inks and paper, and bring your pens with you out into the world.  Fountain pens are meant to be used, and you will get the most out of them if you enjoy them regularly in your everyday life. Don't leave your pen in your desk; take it out and show it to the world!  You may even "penable" other people.

-Laura P.

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