My Fountain Pen Habit
By Tess Vonfeldt-Gross
Who would’ve thought that a severely broken right wrist (belonging to a right-hander) would, only a few months later, lead to a love of fountain pens and fountain pen inks, and then experimenting with those inks using various calligraphy tools? It’s true.
After I broke my wrist in March 2020 and was able to start writing long-hand in my journal once again, I thought that using fountain pens might be less painful, requiring less pressure than the other pens I’d used in the past. So down the fountain pen “habit hole” I ventured.
Along with buying several fountain pens, I discovered the vast galaxy of fountain pen inks, which feature all sorts of interesting effects on different types of paper. Principally, fountain pen inks are described as having, or not, the following characteristics:
- Shading (Think of how walnut ink looks when it’s dry, with varying light and dark areas, darkening at the edges, etc.)
- Sheening (This refers to a metallic sheen, which is usually a color that’s a good contrast to the main ink color. Sheening shows up differently on various types of paper, and often depends on how absorbent the paper is, what type of sizing or surface treatment the paper has. When the writing is held up to light or the paper is tipped back and forth, the effect can be striking.)
- Shimmer (This refers to tiny, tiny pearlescent, metallic mica-type particulates included in the ink. Similar to sheening, shimmer shows up dramatically when you move the paper or look at the writing under the light.)
Fountain pen ink can be used with the Pilot Parallel pen, as well as folded brass pens, broad-edge and pointed calligraphy nibs. And you don’t have a buy whole bottle of ink if you just want to play around with several different ones: many fountain pen retailers sell 3-5 mil. sample vials for a few dollars each. Venture beyond the limited number of inks that are commonly found at art stores or calligraphy materials retailers to enhance your calligraphy ink collection!
I’ve done some swatches of a few inks on different papers, photos of which I’ve included. Remember, though, the full effects of sheen and shimmer features are difficult to capture with just a photograph.
Here are some of the many reputable online stores that specialize in fountain pens and ink. Most of them sell sample ink vials.
