I talked a lot around the topic but mostly I had some fun today.
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Glad the creek is behaving itself. 🙂
Did your Safari come with a converter for use with bottled ink? If not, buy one, and buy a bottle of ink; many pen makers also make ink, and the bottles are often collectibles in and of themselves. You can also buy a replacement Italic nib for your safari that gives that 19th century penmanship look. I have a Safari with an italic nib, in addition to several others with various-sized nibs ranging from M to EF. Good brands of bottled ink include Parker, Waterman and Mont Blanc.
If you think you fell down a hole just purchasing your first fountain pen, I’ll warn you now that the hobby is seriously addictive, and pens can cost serious money, especially the limited editions. Websites where you can drool over pens include Fountain Pen Hospital of NYC, established in 1946, and Fahrney’s Pens, established in 1929. Levenger sells fountain pens, leather goods for pens/writing, and customised notecards for same.
The Lamy Safari is a great pen, used by both beginners and veteran fountain pen aficionados, but investigate some of the classic names – – Parker, Waterman, Pelikan, Mont Blanc, et. al. A favorite of mine is the Parker 45, which was a budget pen first introduced in 1962 – – it has a semi-shrouded nib which can be replaced easily.
Oh, by the way – – fountain pens and paperback novels aren’t friendly to each other. The nib tends to tear the paper, and the ink runs. Fountain pen ink also dissolves if it gets wet with water, unless you buy a special permanent ink formula.
Some great tips.
Thanks!
I’ve been using diastatic malt (~2%). Instead of using prefermenting, I put the dough in the fridge overnight, then do the stretch and fold, put it in the pan, and let it rise.