Beginners portal

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This portal is dedicated to topics related to beginner about the theme of fountain pens use, like calligraphy, maintenance and general recommendations for the various aspects of the use of this kind of pen. If you are interested in developing this section please do not hesitate to use the Contact information to get write access to the site and start help.

Using a fountain pen may seem, to those who are used to it, a natural thing, but for those who approach this writing instrument for the first time some indications to make up for the lack of experience may be useful, and to avoid those mistakes that can lead to improper, uncomfortable and unsatisfactory use.

This page contains all the references to the articles that deal with the best practices for a correct maintenance of a fountain pen. This should allow good operations for a long time and postpone or avoid the reading of the repair section.

The etymology of the word, from Greek, stands for beautiful writing, indicates for many an aspiration more than a reality. But natural predisposition aside, calligraphy is also a matter of exercise, application and patience, and even without becoming an artist, anyone with a bit of effort and good directions can get discreet results.

One of the most common questions that people ask themselves is who is holding a fountain pen, maybe found in a drawer, seen at a market, given by a friend, is what it could be worth. Giving an answer however is very difficult, and the only certain thing, given that the market is always in motion, is that even if you get one, this would not be definitive.

Who created and manages these pages:

Tonso-Call-Tecnic-ScrIngl-pt1-qd2.djvu

"Calligrafia insegnata nelle scuole tecniche normali ed istituti tecnici - Metodo teorico - pratico di scrittura inglese - parte I - quaderno 2" di Giovanni Tonso, 1893.

Esploso-Parti-Caricamento-Pulsante.jpg

Schema di penna con caricamento a pulsante di fondo

The distinguishing characteristic of a fountain pen is to be a tool combining a nib with an ink reservoir in a single writing instrument thus allowing long writing sessions without being continually interrupted by the need to re-dip the nib in the ink.