Pen and Paper

Those new to fountain pens will appreciate learning, if they haven’t already, that choice of paper and ink make a difference.

This is not a question of having the best of all three but rather of having the right combination.

Wet nibs with highly lubricated inks (Noodler’s Eels) on Japanese smooth paper (Tomoe) is the equivalent of running in new leather soled shoes on a sheet of ice while urinating. Heavily. The converse, dry nib with dry ink on toothy paper will likely result in your just carving words into its surface.

So the idea is to find the right combination so that the right amount of ink is left on the page and your hand glides the nib across it with the amount of force that feels comfortable to you. Too fast and you’re out of control writing an ugly hand.