What do you collect?

[Mr.Nobody]

I collect poems and maxims, sometiems, I write them down on paper cards and send them to friends.



I've just bought a leather notebook to keep these beautiful words, I will type them out with my favorite typewriter.




Better best than most, I recommend keep collection(whatever they might be) small as possible...

[chuckdee]

Books, especially RPGs. Boardgames, and DVDs.

[adhoc]

@Mr. Nobody - is that your handwriting? Because that's really quite impressive. I'm guessing you had a paper with lines below it, because it looks perfect in vertical alignment.

As to the topic, I'm collecting fountain pens and inks. My collection of fountain pens has grown far bigger in value than my keyboards ever has.

[Mr.Nobody]

@adhoc
Yes, that's my handwriting, thanks for your compliment, I am flattered. It's hard writing by hand or typing on a mechanical typewriter after years of computer use...one single mistake will ruin the whole thing...Yes, I draw lines with pencil first, but sometimes I can write in straight line without...sometimes I can't, I know that a proficient caligraphist can write in perfect straight line without any help and at a relatively fast speed...but I have not reached that proficiency yet...

Spoiler:

PS:
This topic is good, please show off your collections fellows...

[XMIT]

"Mr.Nobody", you've been a good community member lately. You're off my "naughty" list. Keep up the good work.

[Mr.Nobody]

"Mr.Nobody", you've been a good community member lately. You're off my "naughty" list. Keep up the good work.

Officially? Are you sure it isn't because other naughty boys' recent behavior makes mine look acceptable? just kidding, thanks, glad to know that I am off your "pain-in-the-ass" list.

[snuci]

"Mr.Nobody", you've been a good community member lately. You're off my "naughty" list. Keep up the good work.

Officially? Are you sure it isn't because other naughty boys' recent behavior makes mine look acceptable? just kidding, thanks, glad to know that I am off your "pain-in-the-ass" list.

I think he wants to be on your friends poetry list

[XMIT]

"Mr.Nobody", you've been a good community member lately. You're off my "naughty" list. Keep up the good work.

Officially? Are you sure it isn't because other naughty boys' recent behavior makes mine look acceptable? just kidding, thanks, glad to know that I am off your "pain-in-the-ass" list.

I think he wants to be on your friends poetry list

Heh. Nah, I've been thinking this for a couple of days and this happened to be his most recent post when I made that comment. I've been pretty pleased with sharings of Taobao findings. In general I feel we have relatively few Chinese forum members here and I've been hoping that Mr.Nobody could be a bridge to interesting finds in China.

[Menuhin]

I collect poems and maxims...
...

Before the photos were fully loaded, I was expecting something like that:

Spoiler:

For sure Mr.Nobody's handwriting looks tidy and handsome.
My observation is that females' handwriting are in general more tidy than males'; and almost all of my American male friends, 50+ years-old full professors included had almost hideous looking handwriting. The German professors of the older generation do have better handwriting almost in script calligraphy form. Friends from China also tend to have better handwriting, both for the males and females.

[seebart]

I used to collect comics in my younger days, I sold most of them by now.

Spoiler:

84175a5182b42210079442fb76c07b71.jpg (234.36 KiB) Viewed 6467 times

[Mr.Nobody]

@Menuhin
Holy mother of Jesus~~~are those your collection you dirty boy? If they are, I love you, finally, we have a buddy frank enough to be a real man, not like those hypocrites who watch porn all night long and pretend to be saints when morning comes...

Yes, Chinese education system puts a helluva lot of emphasis on handwriting, it's called the second face of a man, but if you see my Chinese handwriting, you might say my second face is a deformed one...maybe I should spend some time on my Chinese handwriting...because, by all means, it is really a disgrace to write like that...I am ashamed of myself for writing like that...in fact, I've bought the stuff needed for practice months ago...but have spent only 2 hours on it, up to now.

由于国学的博大精深和本人修养极深的缘故，我经常研习这两个字

[adhoc]

Mr. nobody I am also working on my handwriting / calligraphy for the better part of a year now. It's a calming, lifelong and worthwhile hobby.

I see handwriting is big in Asia first and foremost, then Italy and Germany, then rest of Europe somewhat, while rest of the world doesn't give any emphasis on it almost at all. Did you know that in USA, mastering a fountain pen is not obligatory knowledge for elementary school?

Japan in particular has some amazing FP production, Platinum, Sailor, Pilot, Danitrio, Nakaya,...while I personally prefer German philosophy when it comes to fountain pen nibs and inks, a bunch of Japanese and Chinese pens are in my collection. It would be interesting to know what is your go to weapon of choice when it comes to writing!

[vometia]

Did you know that in USA, mastering a fountain pen is not obligatory knowledge for elementary school?

Nor is it in England, at least not when I was being taught in the 1970s and '80s. My parents' generation used fountain pens but it seemed that most were glad to see the end of them when ballpoints became ubiquitous. The closest I got to any sort of script was being taught the rather optimistically-named "real writing" for joined-up letters when I was about six, but it seems the only effect it had on most of us was to render our prose completely illegible so that didn't last long.

[fohat]

My daughter learned "cursive" writing in US public school (about 4th grade) in about 2007-2008.

Two years later, when my son came through, "cursive writing" had been dropped altogether.

[Mr.Nobody]

Mr. nobody I am also working on my handwriting / calligraphy for the better part of a year now. It's a calming, lifelong and worthwhile hobby.

I see handwriting is big in Asia first and foremost, then Italy and Germany, then rest of Europe somewhat, while rest of the world doesn't give any emphasis on it almost at all. Did you know that in USA, mastering a fountain pen is not obligatory knowledge for elementary school?

Japan in particular has some amazing FP production, Platinum, Sailor, Pilot, Danitrio, Nakaya,...while I personally prefer German philosophy when it comes to fountain pen nibs and inks, a bunch of Japanese and Chinese pens are in my collection. It would be interesting to know what is your go to weapon of choice when it comes to writing!

That's a big question in fact, ballpoint pen is more suitable for writing words that are Latin-letter-based, but Chinese Characters are more complex and fountain pen is requisite to do the job, but for practice, pencil is definitely perfect for both, I didn't practice with pencil on my English handwriting which I regret very much, it slowed down the improvement greatly, and made the result less satisfying...

Here is what I use for practice and writing, the most common and cheapest ballpoint pen, you can get it from any supermarket or convenience store.

Spoiler:

EDIT：
There are two systems for Chinese Calligraphy training, one is fountain pen calligraphy for practical use, taught in school, we don't use fountain pen in elementary school either, fountain pen writing starts from middle school. And the other one is traditional brush pen calligraphy for artistic purpose and hobby, which is rather hot in China since time immemorial, the latter is not mandatory but many parents send their kids to training centers to learn this skill alongside with piano lessons, violin lessons or drawing and painting lessons. I don't know why parents want their kids to learn so much art-related stuff...vanity maybe...

[Ir0n]

Retro games, Old computers (amiga/IBMs etc), Vinyl and Keyboards.. I buy and trade stuff all the time. I think funnest part is just getting out to flea markets and stuff looking for it. Lol

[Mr.Nobody]

Retro games, Old computers (amiga/IBMs etc), Vinyl and Keyboards.. I buy and trade stuff all the time. I think funnest part is just getting out to flea markets and stuff looking for it. Lol

Do you have a channel on Youtube, if you do, I will subscribe to...

[adhoc]

I'd disagree, since fountain pens work with capillary action (zero pressure required) and ballpoints basically work on mashing some gel with sheer force on paper, the objectivelly better tool is obvious.

[Mr.Nobody]

I'd disagree, since fountain pens work with capillary action (zero pressure required) and ballpoints basically work on mashing some gel with sheer force on paper, the objectivelly better tool is obvious.

The problem is the pinpoint of a fountain pen has direction, the ballpoint has no direction, I hope you get what I mean...

[adhoc]

I'd disagree, since fountain pens work with capillary action (zero pressure required) and ballpoints basically work on mashing some gel with sheer force on paper, the objectivelly better tool is obvious.

The problem is the pinpoint of a fountain pen has direction, the ballpoint has no direction, I hope you get what I mean...

You can get any nib, any grind you can possibly think of. Ballpoints, on the other hand, limit you in terms of line variation and writing flow, since you always have to press down.

You are clearly doing fine with a ballpoint, but you could do so much more with a FP

[cookie]

@Mr.Nobody

I believe you will like this (if you haven't seen it already)

[seebart]

I collect memes.

images.jpg (10.82 KiB) Viewed 6312 times

[Menuhin]

I'd disagree, since fountain pens work with capillary action (zero pressure required) and ballpoints basically work on mashing some gel with sheer force on paper, the objectivelly better tool is obvious.

The problem is the pinpoint of a fountain pen has direction, the ballpoint has no direction, I hope you get what I mean...

Yes, the nibs of most of the fountain pens have "direction".

In the older days, it was possible to have circular nibs. They called it KF, KM, etc.

Spoiler:

But big manufacturers nowadays do not care about it anymore, as FP has become more or less a niche market.

[alienman82]

removed.

[adhoc]

Yup, most people don't see the appeal in mechanical keyboards at all either and find scissor switches the best.

[Mr.Nobody]

@adhoc
You are right, in fact, Chinese Schools demand fountain pen and forbid ballpoint pen for a certain period of time to force students to form good writing habits. With a fountain pen, one can write out rich variations of strokes, and the damping(friction) is better than ballpoint pen, as long as a decent fountain pen is concerned. I don't know how to choose a suitable one, I remember back in the days when I was a student, an ordinary cheap FP would surffice...but nowadays, a rather expensive FP might still give you a frustrating writing experience, maybe that's why I choose the most ordinary ballpoint pen, I don't want my writing to be limited by tool, I am a pragmatic man. I will bide my time to get myself a decent FP some day.

@cookies
Excellent vid, but the scratching sound gives me goose pimples...The Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson has an examplary handwriting. Written with quills I guess...freakin' exquisite，if you search Ebay with keyword "handwritten letters" you can see a lot of excellent handwriting of old timers. Once, I stumbled upon a really good one, even better than Thomas Jefferson's, but I didn't bid...

@Menuhin
FP is a big genre, bigger than keyboard IMO, there are numerous FP enthusiasts all over the world, and a decent FP can cost a fortune...Thank God I am not into that rabbithole...yet....

[cookie]

I must say that I find the scratching sound very relaxing, the Declaration of Independence is in fact beautifully written.
Time to practice my handwriting a bit more, letters like that really inspire me to keep improving.
It's just so elegant to have nice handwriting and a good signature

The guy has other videos but that Falcon Namiki is by far the best.

What Fountain Pens you own btw?

Edit: Just checked out ebay for "Handwritten Letters" there are some real gems there, but quite expensive

[vometia]

I feel a bit jealous when I see someone with a really nice style of script and wish I'd been taught that sort of thing: I think handwriting was definitely seen as a more utilitarian means to an end when I was at school. I occasionally feel the inclination to learn some basic calligraphy but never do. Okay, I admit I usually end up being side-tracked by video games and stuff. :p

But yeah, my handwriting is... well, utilitarian (some of this is my gf's, which is similar). Okay, it's an order for some curry, it's the only thing I ever bothered to scan.

Spoiler:

Having said all that, for every example of really nice script I've seen, I've probably also seen several more examples of illegible scrawl, so it's not as if everybody had beautiful handwriting; and indeed that may have been the driver for focussing on something that was actually readable.

[adhoc]

@adhoc
You are right, in fact, Chinese Schools demand fountain pen and forbid ballpoint pen for a certain period of time to force students to form good writing habits. With a fountain pen, one can write out rich variations of strokes, and the damping(friction) is better than ballpoint pen, as long as a decent fountain pen is concerned. I don't know how to choose a suitable one, I remember back in the days when I was a student, an ordinary cheap FP would surffice...but nowadays, a rather expensive FP might still give you a frustrating writing experience, maybe that's why I choose the most ordinary ballpoint pen, I don't want my writing to be limited by tool, I am a pragmatic man. I will bide my time to get myself a decent FP some day.

FP world is a long and expensive journey. You're probably looking at thousands of euros worth of investment before you will find a pen that REALLY suits you perfectly. You can always start with a nib holder, a pack of zebra G nib units and some ink for as little as ~$15 for extreme line variation properties, but you will need thick paper as nib holder nibs are very sharp and will easily cut up your paper.

For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy3OEn-ZIP0

I personally bought a Jinhao X159 (~$3), a pack of zebra G nibs (~$10) and switched the original nib. It's finnicky, but it works and when it works, it's amazing. You also get a converter with which you will probably have to push ink every now and then, but you won't have to dip the nib every few strokes.

Falcon Namiki is by far the best

That's a heavily modified Namiki Falcon, so don't expect same results if you're going to buy one. But I agree with you on the videos - they are great and calming.

[cookie]

@adhoc, I was referring to the video not the pen. I never tried Namiki Falcon before.