Someone in a private forum I belong to mentioned fountain pens and thus I became acquainted with the role of a nibmeister, a person who can remake the nib of your pen more to your liking (different angle, better flow, etc).
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Comments 4
uh oh...be careful, the fountain pen rabbit hole is deep. Ask me how I know, except don't actually.
This reminds me of the book Craftland by James Fox which focuses on the fading crafts and trades found in England. There's an appendix in the back of the book that lists (mostly) extinct occupations. Just to name a few favorites on a Friday afternoon:
Belly man: made and assembled sound boards inside pianos
Quarrel picker: cutter and fitter of small panes of glass used in lattice windows
Ransacker: examined fishing nets for holes and passed them to beatsters for repair
First half doer: turner of points or pivots for the center, third, or fourth wheels of a watch
Although I now use laptops and tablets almost exclusively, there is nothing more satisfying than writing with a fountain pen on good paper. Ball-point pens don't even come close. Roller-ball pens are better than ballpoints but there is no emotional connection. The silky feel of a fountain pen gliding effortlessly on paper is something else.
My son is in third grade in Germany and he (and all his classmates) had to qualify to earn their fountain pens as second graders. Then I had to take him to a special store where the employees help kids to find the right pen for their grip strength, writing style, etc. A very cool thing to be a part of, I thought!
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