I'm a 72 yr old lady and so enjoy your videos because of your vocabulary, your tone of voice and, of course, your counsel. My father was not a wealthy man, had little education, and grew up in Western Colorado, but he was a true gentleman. Your recommendations and suggestions would have fit him very comfortably. Thank you so much for your videos.

A thank you note written with a fountain pen is a must for someone who has helped you. They don't forget.

I used to write a letter to my father every week. I found out after he passed, that he kept every one of those letters. I miss him

May I add, that cursive writing, attention to detail, spelling words out, and sentence structure is very important. Despite the fact that I enjoy technology, nothing can replace a well handwritten letter.

What a timely video! Just hours ago I sent a note to someone who has had two huge losses in their immediate family and only weeks apart. The second memorial service a few days ago. I sent a note ot my friend that I'm continuing to pray for them and for the remaining family members. My note was only one sentence long. It wasn't a short, abrupt sentence, but still just one sentence. I didn't see the need to embellish or add; just letting someone know that they and their relatives aren't forgotten now that the memorial services are over. Also when I send a letter to someone when there has been a death, in no way do I expect a reply. The only motive is to acknowledge and to, hopefully, offer a little comfort. I enjoy writing letters. I've been complimented on my penmanship. As I've aged, my writing isn't as good as it used to be or at least has changed, and I may now have arthritis in my wrists, but I'm not done using and enjoying pens and paper!

I am glad you covered this topic. I am someone who grew up writing with a fountain pen and I use one for my journaling. These old school school, tried and proven methods of communication are truly an art that should be preserved

Handwriting promotes artistic merit. It's personal and is the oldest form of communication. Messaging becomes more meaningful. If some of your writing is done by hand...it's handsome!

Fountain pen is the epitome of the art of hand writing. In my primary school we were taught fountain pen writing as specific technique, by rationing pressure of hand, inclination and speed. Writing is not just a physical action. It involves body soul and mind.

Great topic. Stationary is one of those under appreciated things that you often don’t think about until you need it and don’t have it. I would add that gents often will say they don’t write because their handwriting is so bad. That’s just because you’re out of the habit. Slow down, which a fountain pen will help you do, and be deliberate about forming letters. It’s amazing how much better your handwriting will get with a little practice. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

I bought an inexpensive "corner rounder" punch. It's amazing how much classier business cards and any straight-edged stationery look when you round off the corners.

Great points about handwritten letters. The local congregation of Jehovah's witnesses started sending out what looks like personal hand written messages about their teachings. I was very impressed. They look like they're hand written in cursive, and the return address does not reflect the fact that the letter came from a kingdom hall address. I thought at first that it was from the person's home. On very close inspection one can see that the letters are printed instead of being hand written. The paper is lined and the color of the lines and the color of the text is different. Some thought went into creating the letter. Looking up the return address revealed that it was a kingdom hall (what they call their church) address. I almost wrote them back. Point is that it drew me into wanting to interact with them rather than ignoring them as I do with type written advertisement letters.

Finally a stationery guide. These correspondence cards are a great idea. Thanks James.

This is an interesting and helpful post. I use a Waterman Exception fountain pen with a converter instead of a cartridge. Refilling the pen is part of the process for me. Additionally, I use an A-6 notebook when traveling or commuting. Thank you from a 62-year-old male.

I am basically like you. I love fountain pens, still use them. While in elementary school, fountain pens were a must ! I still love hand writing, especially with fountain pen. Parker is my number one brand. And yes, there's nothing like a hand written note ! And because I sill use fountain pens, I do have a lot of compliments on my hand writing. I am very traditional if it goes to that. Very interesting vlog btw.

I have written many ink letters using my fountain pen. My suggestion for a pen is a Pelikan.

I am currently working through the Spencerian Penmanship copy books to improve my handwriting. Highly recommended!

This channel is so helpful to an aspiring gentleman like me. Thank you for always guiding us onto this journey ❤😂

I, often, write personal cards and letters. I believe it is a lost art and you are right that the handwritten card is greatly appreciated.

Hello James. This was a great video for your viewers. I have many different styles of correspondence cards as well as different stationary. Depending on the message and to whom I am sending it to, I choose the appropriate one. This is a value lost with time and it is sad that the habit has fallen out of favor. I'm happy to see your attempt to resurrect this fine practice.

Thank you for mentioning the love letter. I used to write them to my wife often and she loved them. Just a small suggestion for the young Gentlemen out there. I found that to get the most impact, a love letter should be slipped into your lady's purse or handbag without her knowledge. That way, the chances are great that she will discover the letter while in the company of her friends or co-workers.

Wow. What an education. Thank you James.

Thank you for making this video. I have written with a fountain pen my whole life and love it.

I am still using the Pelikan my parents gave me for my middle school final exam, when I was fourteen years old. When I graduated I was given a Mont Blanc, but my old Pelikan still remains my favourite

Over the years I have come to own a small collection of pens. I have parker, mont blanc and sheaffer fountain pens. My favourite is my mont blanc, It gives me such a wonderful writing experience

I got myself a wax seal with my initials on it which I can use to seal off letters in a classy and memorable way

You are so right on about keeping a Pen in your Jacket. I remember reading The Fame Game by Rona Jaffe. Dick Devere a TV Producer took out his Notebook and a Pen, and wrote down some Novels that he thought Sarah aka "Silky" who was in an up an coming Girl Grop called Silky & The Satins would enjoy. She was thrilled.

My mom got me a Parker ballpoint pen as a gift when I was promoted a couple of years ago and I love it.

Great vid. Nothing more personal and impactful than handwritten correspondence, especially these days when everyone types. I too was only allowed fountain pens at school and miss the chance to use them. They focus the mind and make your handwriting better. Thanks to you, I'm going to dig out my old fountain pen.

I enjoyed this video very much! Writing with a fountain pen is one of my favorite past times. I would highly recommend going to the Montblanc boutique in Chicago since you live there. They were so kind and thoughtful when I visited that I ordered my Meisterstuck through them rather than ordering online even though I live on the West Coast.

I don't own a fountain pen, I never learned how to use one 😂but I have several ball point pens and i write all my notes, to do lists, my journal with a pen or a pencil. I still write in cursive as well. My nephew never learned how to write or read cursive. He is graduating high school this June. It is sad that our school systems are not teaching these things anymore...

Yes a personal hand letter or note that's been written is a lot more personable. Especially in the computer age

This is quite valuable information, looking for to more videos

hahahahaha @ Biro. I sent My big Brother some gloves a few weeks ago. I used black ink in my pen written covering letter. He sent a response via facebook, He liked the gloves but was absolutely ecstatic over the hand written letter. I could feel his emotional smile at it :-)

Absolutely… there’s nothing like receiving a handwritten note or letter. So much more meaningful than a text message or email. I have come to love writing with a fountain pen and I now use fountain pens almost exclusively. One point, though, I have found that typically Moleskin notebooks are not very fountain pen friendly, especially if you use a broad nib that lays down a lot of ink. The paper will cause the ink to feather and won’t look crisp. You can research good paper to use that will bring out the best features of the beautiful inks that are available.

A lost art. Good content.

Great video. I've come to realize that my most enjoyable moments was when I would receive a hand written letter from my then fiancé as it felt more personal and intimate. I very much enjoyed reading her letters and she mine. A fountain pen makes ones writing look more thoughtful and makes the receiver feel important. I'm going to go back to doing that. Thanks. May suggest doing a video on the proper gentleman's grooming kit? There's so many out there to choose from. I'd like to pick the best one for me.

I've made it a habit to keep one or two with envelopes (and postage) in my work/personal notebook (A5 size) that I carry everywhere. That way I'm always prepared in the event I'm away from home and need to make an impact.

I had something like this in the back of my mind, I have a few Thank You card I sometimes mail to people. This tutorial highlights a forgotten skill which if practiced will make an impression as pretty much all the social media practices been done in excess that make them all bankrupt.

I have a Parker pen.

The curse of being left handed is the smearing of ink while using a fountain pen.

As an older man, and someone who is left handed, also from my experiences at school in the late 70's i would never use a fountain pen again.

A great alternative to Montblanc is Sailor. Do try out the Parker Sonnet also. Although I love the Meisterstuck roller ball, a Caran d'Ache is just as good and from a respected Swiss house also

I'm a huge fan of writing. I love fountain pens and have a lovely little collection of different nips, I use the fine for letters and journaling and a medium for notes. Mainly because the medium flows quicker, making it easier to jot down things quicker. If you get a fountain pen make sure you get fountain pen-friendly paper as some of the stuff you can buy can be waxy. Which is okay for the oily ink in ballpoints but not the water-based ink fountain pens use.

I own a Mont Blanc Meisterstuck and it is one of my favourite possessions. I practise writing daily and have dozens of inks. My favourite ink is Asa Gao by pilot, a really stunning blue. I also own a Visconti homo sapiens which might be the greatest writing pen of all time. It is made out of volcanic ash which prevents your hands sweating when writing a lot.

I‘m back into hand writing after a long period of computer usage. Please let me express my sincere thank to pick up this topic and spread the word. I‘m happy to see that the matter of personal, handwritten messages is getting more attention nowadays.

Well done on this lesson. Well done!

Great video , i will keep them in mind and do when I grow up .

Thank you for the video! Rhodia notepads are amazing with fountain pens. In my experience, Moleskin does not do as well with heavier inks.

I write all the time. I pay as many of my bills by cheque as I can, sending them with a covering letter. Texting is easy and fast, writing is slow and thoughtful. I have a parker fountain pen and a parker biro. Both are presents from my children when they were at school. They only had pocket money to buy them with but saved up to give me these inexpensive gifts. They are of course my most prized possessions and I use them every day. I also have a vintage Conway Stewart fountain pen. For a future video how about cuff links and tie clips?

The value nowadays of a hand written note or letter it's just an unforgettable thing. I allways keep it in mind, and you also should.

Excellent

just looking at you ❤ your eyes are speaking more ❤... oh yes, and I'm very well listening too

Hello there, another good starter fountain pens I can relate to are the following: - Pilot Metropolitan - Kaweco Sport - TWSBI Eco If you like the Lamy safari but more fancy, the Lamy Al-star Is the same pen but with aluminium instead of poly carbonate And my final tip is look for a cartridge converter (or just converter) to enable the option to use any writing ink from an ink well and in the long run is cheaper than using disposable cartridges

Excellent advice for aspiring gentlemen. The only thing I'd quibble with is your statement that Moleskine notebooks are suitable for fountain pens. In truth, they are generally not appropriate because one's writing often feathers (line gets fuzzy) and bleeds (soaks through to the other side). These are common complaints expressed by Moleskine users worldwide. For this reason, fountain pen aficionados often prefer higher-quality paper from Clairefontaine, Rhodia, Tomoe River (from Japan), and Midori (also from Japan). Another point to consider: the broader the nib of your fountain pen and the wetter your ink, the more important paper quality is. I personally love broad nibs and extremely wet inks, so I tend to use Midori and Tomoe River paper, which stand up well to gushing fountain pens.

Nowadays, we people simply type by using a keyboard if we want to send a message. in days gone by, we used to write letters and send them by mail/post.

This was a nice video, i quite agree with you about pens. I have a Faber Castel fountain pen, i have had it for many years, it is only i who use it so the ni have been worn to suit my hand. I also have a vintage Papermate ballpoint pen that i use for my diary(yes i am a diarist) i got that from my wife when she was my girlfriend, The first christmas gift. Lastly in my pocket i have a Ballograf ballpoint pen, i use that to sign off all work orders and I voices that i have to sign to complete a work. The Ballograf is the last pen that is made in Sweden. And dear boy lastly you forgot that a gentleman also should own some high quality pencils, i always have one if i need to do a sketch of something that i need to change while working, like when excavatiing for drain, i get down to bedrock, i can show an alternative that would be cheaper for the cliwnt than getting a blasting crew.

Thank you loved the video

Very good!

I use purple ink. Its a total flex.

You are a very unique and interesting presence here on KZfaq. I wish I had my shit together as much as you do when I was your age.

For your first fountain pen I would recommend the platinum preppy or pilot kakuno or the next models up from those. People rave about the Lamy pens, but I've had bad experiences with the nib and ink apparatus that connects to the nib. The quality control can be mixed

Can you answer this question: should the note card be folded or the same size as the envelope? Thanks

I, too, attended a school where we were required to write with fountain pens. Unfortunately, I'm left handed. They tried to change my hand preference. That didn't work. Consequently, I spent years dragging the side of my left palm through wet ink. Consequently, my cursive is atrocious. I spent years with an ink stain on the outside of my left palm that never seemed to quite go away.

It's a lost art, if people still gave me gifts they would receive a proper thank you. Unfortunately as you age the gifts go one way so my opportunities are rare. Keep up the fight.

Goodness, I’m very surprised you recommended Parker! I mean they make good pens, but there’s a ton of manufacturers that excel Parker. Sailor, Platinum, Pilot, Pelikan, Namiki, Nakaya, Waldmann, Otto Hutt, Onoto all produce pens that far out perform and offer more interesting pens. Good choice with the ink though!

When I passed my Abitur (= A-Levels, I think) in Germany in 1986 we had been allowed to write with with anything we wanted beside from a pencil. But including then 10th grade everybody had to write with a fountain pen. I do not know if this is true until today in Germany. A black border edge in Germany is dedicated to death messages, I think any dark border edge is to avoid as normal there not to shock the recipient of paper mail.

Moleskine notebooks fall somewhat short of being A5. Neither are they fountain pen friendly, unless you write with a fine nib which lays down much less ink than a medium or a broad nib would. The bleed through of ink on Moleskine paper can be dreadful. I would recommend Leuchtturm over Moleskine. It actually is a true A5 and a much better quality of paper which is more than adequate for fountain pens. Around the same price, and comes with a variety of sticky labels that can be very useful for classifying and archiving.

Don't overlook the rollerball pen.

Much in the video made sense until I heard Moleskine as a quality notebook suggestion for anything other than a pencil or maybe a ball point. People need to look to Midori, Tomoe River Notebooks, Stalogy Notebooks, Rhodia as a quality A5 or A4 notebook able to handle a fountain pen and rollerballs, and pencils and with TR paper even some water and brush to diffuse and wash over ink drawings by fountain pen.

My man!

What is the best way to send a handwritten note to someone? Do you do it via post? Or do you send it through a mutual contact?

👍❤

Great video James, as a fountain pen user for over two decades, I would suggest Rhodia A5 notebooks. I’ve never found Moleskine to be that fountain pen friendly.

I prefer off the rack products and commodities.

For first class paper and pen without spending Smthyson of Bond Street prices, look to the best Japanese Tomoe River paper and inexpensive (but leak resistant) fountain pens from Japanese companies like Platinum. Keep a diary or a "log book" ---this exceptional paper, such as from Hobonichi, will not bleed with fountain ink.

Unfortunately, left-handed people are unable to use fountain pens. We smear the ink as we write.

This channel is so inspirational...something to strive for and done so well in little doses that are achievable! Might I suggest a topic one the world needs today? How to argue and debate, as there is a slight difference between the two while stressing the true definition of both in this instance, like a Gentleman.

Didn't expect to hear the words 'dick pics'. I'd like to hear you talk more on the subject of correspondence. I like to write personal letters in dark green ink to differentiate them from more formal or business writing. Its also traditional to scratch through your name on personalized stationery when writing more intimate letters. I assume this is to show the intimate nature of the correspondence but I'm not sure. I've just grown up seeing it so I still do it. "Pro" tip. I really like writing with fountain pens all the time so for my little notebooks, journals I tend to use smaller sketchbooks with thicker paper, it doesn't bleed through. Sometimes it feathers a little but I don't mind that much for things that won't be seen by anyone.

I started writing with a fountain pen a year ago, at age 33. Now I can’t stand to write with anything else.

I started a stationery club at college, but I closed it not long after starting it. It wasn’t going anywhere. M

So, would the Waldmann Famous English Crime Writers pen be considered the Hermès Birkin of fountain pens? 😆

I don't see why a ballpoint pen is being recommended, they don't offer anything over fountain pens.

Nobody uses paper and pen anymore other then the millions of people who still do.

Wonderful video! I definitely agree on Montblancs being amazing pens, might I suggest those who aren’t looking to spend thousands on one to look at the 1x, 2x and 2xx lines from the 1960s beautiful nibs 14k gold and super smooth. I typically use my 1963 Montblanc 22 Fountain pen in an OM nib and then my ballpoint is a Montblanc 164. Although one thing in this video I disagree with, moleskin comparatively to what you can find elsewhere is lower quality paper and honestly not worth it for the price, (for fountain pens anyways with nice inks) I would instead recommend RHODIA paper. Great silky smooth paper that makes ink look amazing and typically is cheaper than Moleskin notebooks. Wonderful video as always, Thanks, Max

😂

Moleskine used to be a great brand, unfortunately they moved to china manufacturing and the quality has severely suffered.

How to have a more masculine vocal sound like u?

Moleskine notebooks are not fit for fountain pens

🤣 I completely lost it when you mentioned smexting & eggplant pics. The written word as a form of gratitude 🙏 is a lost art. I think it's sad 😔 that you can give a gift 🎁 & not even be told it was recieved let alone recieved well 🤷‍♀️ The original Valentines were not only to profess loving feelings but also to cleverly express your disdain for someone in your community in a poetic & creative way (Tasting History did a nice short on the subject) When I was in school in the 80's we passed many a note 📝 during class which were rated by how stealthy they could be passed along without raising the teacher's suspicions & the level of thought & creativity put into the note. Origami, use of Smelly markers, hand drawn doodles, various grades of stickers (oily stickers were highly prized), Haiku/poetry, length of notes were all indicators as to how much you valued a person's friendship & earned you bragging rights for the day 🥰

3:49 - If you cannot write in it with a fountain pen, I do not think the notebook is high quality. Moleskine is unfortunately useless with fountain pens due to their low-quality paper, and, in my opinion, therefore not be considered a high quality notebook. Sorry.

Pen is mightier than a sword but you should not bring either to a gun fight.

I agree, i love sitting down with a good cigar and taking real notes, such a relaxing experience

Another nice touch for personalized stationery is to have an engraved die with your name and also your address for the paper and envelopes. 😮

What

While i agree with the premise, a better notebook brand is Clairefontaine. It is fountain pen friendly in a way that moleskin isn't.

Moleskin notebooks are rubbish for fountain pens

In this day of email proliferation, do you think there are situations where asking someone for their mailing address could come off as creepy? How would one handle that?

rhodia and clairefontaine notebooks are also excellent for fountain pens. moleskine is quite inconsistent with their paper quality and may cause feathering and bleed through

Moleskine is a good intro but depending on your fountain pen it may not handle ink well. Leuchtturm fairs better but ultimately a Rodhia or Midori notebook are considered a baseline for many enthusiasts. My personal favorite I’ve found is Itoya. In the fountain pen world, Tomoe River paper is considered the favorite for many people. Life and Campus paper are also considered high quality paper.

Honestly you should retract the moleskine recommendation, it will turn people off of fountain pens. Straight trash. Perhaps look at rhodia, clairefontaine, and mnemosyne for that role