"You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you might find
You get what you need"

In the fountain pen world perhaps that last line would be changed to: "You get what you can use".

It wouldn't be appropriate for me to start singing the Rolling Stones to a new customer. By the same token it would be less appropriate for me to say that David L's writing style was attainable simply by buying a type of pen and certain customization. First and foremost, David's calligraphy is a result of years and years of patient practice. There is no customization out there that will "make" someone able to replicate such beautiful writing. John says it well: In the same way that you wouldn't expect to be able to just pick up a violin and play, so is it the same with calligraphy and fountain pens.

I understand the hard-wired human need to get what we want. I fall victim to this condition every time I walk by a stationary shop or into my local scuba diving store. As humans we are exhilarated because by getting what we want the world is ultimately saying to us: "I accept you". The euphoria can be so overwhelming that, in these moments, we do not consider whether the "thing" we want is appropriate for us, or useful to us. Our hearts, and minds, are saturated with the gooey thoughts that getting what we want will bring us ultimate happiness.

In this fountain pen world, however, I believe true pen panacea comes from the following:

A. Be honest about how you use your pens and the skill level that you bring to your writing. Others may be doing wonderful things with their pens that you would like to replicate. However simply requesting the same pen, and customization, will not guarantee the same result.

B. Take your writing characteristics and match them with a customization, and pen, that will work for you and the way you write. Not all customizations will work for your style or handedness, no matter how badly you wished they would. Not all nib types will handle the customization you want very well.

C. Trust the judgment, and expertise, of those from whom you buy your pens and/or have them customized. I'm not condoning buying whatever someone tries to sell you, just have a little faith that you will not necessarily be led astray.

D. Let go of ego. By ego I mean the idea that you have to have what you think you want. Often what we think we want is far from what we need or in the case of pens, use.

E. Last, and in complete contradiction, understand when to break the "rules". Let intuition guide you in spite of reason and advice.

I see why Spenserian writing, for example, evokes a nostalgia for the past and why a customization that makes that style of writing attainable, is popular. Fountain pens have the unique ability to inspire a sense of yearning for bygone times.

However, as the experts here (and by experts I mean John, Pat and Danielle) our main concern is not so much the experimentation but the level of customer frustration. We would hate to see a customer become so disillusioned by one particular customization that they never use, much less purchase, another fountain pen again. Writing, and even struggling, with a fountain pen should be enjoyable.

We would not be in business if we said we could provide a pen, and customization, that would magically enable a customer to write as David L. does. On the occasions we have been persuaded to provide an extra fine, extra flexible nib for an untrained hand, the nib (and pen) have invariably been returned to us - along with exasperated notes. Very seldom has a writer persisted with one of these difficult nibs to the point where they say: "I can do this"; "persistence" is the operative word in these cases.

I suppose part of the reality of life is that truth is often revealed in the struggle. We are not here to deny anyone the opportunity to labor with their fountain pen undertakings. We are here to give you the best advice we can. In the end, the truth will set you free. It's up to you to write what truth that will be.