These are some of my favorite pen websites and forums. Many of these are the sites I use for research on a very regular basis.
These are fountain pen discussion forums. There are a few other ones but these are the "big Four".
Fountain Pen Network - FPN is the big daddy of all fountain pen forums. It has been around since 2004, has thousands of members and is an amazing resource for the fountain pen collector
Fountain Pen Board - FPNuts is the little brother of FPN. It has been around since 2010 and being the new kid on the block doesn't have as many members. But some of the most well know pen collectors hang out here so it does seem a bit more focused than FPN
PenTrace - PenTrace has been around since 2000. I was kind of overtaken by FPN years ago but is still an active community. It's a bit outdated and harder to use than FPN but still a good resource.
Fountain Pen Network - FPN is the big daddy of all fountain pen forums. It has been around since 2004, has thousands of members and is an amazing resource for the fountain pen collector
Fountain Pen Board - FPNuts is the little brother of FPN. It has been around since 2010 and being the new kid on the block doesn't have as many members. But some of the most well know pen collectors hang out here so it does seem a bit more focused than FPN
PenTrace - PenTrace has been around since 2000. I was kind of overtaken by FPN years ago but is still an active community. It's a bit outdated and harder to use than FPN but still a good resource.
There are three pen magazines published in the United States
Pen World - Pen World is a glossy very commercial magazine mostly focused on new pens and writing culture. There is usually one article per issue on vintage pens. Penworld has a holiday buyer's guide in the fall or winter issue and yearly Reader's Choice award to recognize outstanding new pens of the year.
The Pennant - The Pennant is the magazine of The Pen Collectors of America. It's an excellent publication focused on vintage pens, club news and pen show news. The must-read publication for all vintage pen collectors
The Fountain Pen Journal - FPJ is Paul Erano's pen magazine. It started years ago as Erano's Quarterly Pen Review and has grown into an exceptional glossy color publication with articles written by many of the most well-known and knowledgeable pen collectors you'll ever meet. Great photos, Paul's offbeat humor is great and just a really fun magazine. FPJ mostly focuses on vintage pen but is always full of surprises. He also often has articles about new pens makers in the USA.
Pen World - Pen World is a glossy very commercial magazine mostly focused on new pens and writing culture. There is usually one article per issue on vintage pens. Penworld has a holiday buyer's guide in the fall or winter issue and yearly Reader's Choice award to recognize outstanding new pens of the year.
The Pennant - The Pennant is the magazine of The Pen Collectors of America. It's an excellent publication focused on vintage pens, club news and pen show news. The must-read publication for all vintage pen collectors
The Fountain Pen Journal - FPJ is Paul Erano's pen magazine. It started years ago as Erano's Quarterly Pen Review and has grown into an exceptional glossy color publication with articles written by many of the most well-known and knowledgeable pen collectors you'll ever meet. Great photos, Paul's offbeat humor is great and just a really fun magazine. FPJ mostly focuses on vintage pen but is always full of surprises. He also often has articles about new pens makers in the USA.
These are some of my favorite pen sites for research. There are many more and I'll continue to add more.
Richard's Pens - Richard Binder's website is a goldmine of pen knowledge. Just go right to the reference pages. You'll be overwhelmed with the amount of information. There is no other single source of fountain pen knowledge like it on the internet. If this is what he wrote down, just think of what is in his head!
Sheaffer Targa - This is the single best website for information on Sheaffer Targa pens and most contemporary (post 1980) Sheaffer pens. The number reference lists are really useful.
Parker 51 - This is a site just for Parker 51 information. Excellent.
Vacumania - This is Dr. Isaacson's awesome Parker vacumatic site. Dr. Isaacson is THE authority on the Vacumatic. Great site for research on Parker vacumatic pens. He also has quite a lot of info on other brands, "eye-candy" photos and articles
Parker75.com - This is Lih-Tah Wongs awesome site for everything Parker 75. It's the most comprehensive Parker 75 site with an enormous amount of information. He also has some parts for sale. Only annoying thing about this site is it doesn't seem to work on Internet Explorer or Edge very well but it does work
Levenger True Writer History - I have a large close-out of Levenger True Writer pens for sale. This is a good page for learning about the True Writer and dating your pen. It's not all that up to date but is useful.
Japanese Pens - This is a list of current and past Japanese pen companies. Excellent for research but only very basic info. It's interesting that so many pen brands have/had English names.
Pen companies by country - This is a list of current and past pen companies by country.
More to come soon!
Richard's Pens - Richard Binder's website is a goldmine of pen knowledge. Just go right to the reference pages. You'll be overwhelmed with the amount of information. There is no other single source of fountain pen knowledge like it on the internet. If this is what he wrote down, just think of what is in his head!
Sheaffer Targa - This is the single best website for information on Sheaffer Targa pens and most contemporary (post 1980) Sheaffer pens. The number reference lists are really useful.
Parker 51 - This is a site just for Parker 51 information. Excellent.
Vacumania - This is Dr. Isaacson's awesome Parker vacumatic site. Dr. Isaacson is THE authority on the Vacumatic. Great site for research on Parker vacumatic pens. He also has quite a lot of info on other brands, "eye-candy" photos and articles
Parker75.com - This is Lih-Tah Wongs awesome site for everything Parker 75. It's the most comprehensive Parker 75 site with an enormous amount of information. He also has some parts for sale. Only annoying thing about this site is it doesn't seem to work on Internet Explorer or Edge very well but it does work
Levenger True Writer History - I have a large close-out of Levenger True Writer pens for sale. This is a good page for learning about the True Writer and dating your pen. It's not all that up to date but is useful.
Japanese Pens - This is a list of current and past Japanese pen companies. Excellent for research but only very basic info. It's interesting that so many pen brands have/had English names.
Pen companies by country - This is a list of current and past pen companies by country.
More to come soon!
I receive the occasional question from a customer who is new to fountain pens about how to fill a fountain pen. Here are a few videos about how to fill a fountain pen.
This is how to fill a cartridge/converter fountain pen. Got to love this one from Visconti just for the classiness of it!
This is how to fill a cartridge/converter fountain pen. Got to love this one from Visconti just for the classiness of it!
This one from Jet Pens is great. It covers cartridges, converters, piston fillers and eyedroppers