Jon Szanto
@jonszanto
Percussionist, pen lover. Researching joy. Attempting to fight the good fight and put things back on course.
The kids on r/fountainpens were having matchy fun today, so I played along. Shown below is a Leonardo MZ fountain pen in Brooks "Forged Patina" acrylic, matched with a Szanto "Desert Sands" watch in bronze hardware. And that's a real brand, crazy that they chose a (my) Hungarian name!
Ha! I just saw your post pop up on reddit! My collection is ALL over the map, but sometimes serendipity ends up with a narrow palette. I can't find one particular shot from years ago, but did come across another, highlighting the Parker desk set - pens where the cigarettes would be placed!
I didn't code the filter, so I can't say authoritatively. I do know that a reply with the 'secret word' will trigger inclusion of a thread, at least with the reply and the OP. Honestly, I try not to think about it too much! I just post fountain pen photos, etc.
Hi there, and it's time - after FIVE weeks - for another gathering of the SD Pen Club. Event details, as always, at sandiegopenclub.wixsite.com/index/events New pens, old pens, ink, paper, everything. We do it all. Especially fountain pens!
Typing this out loud for my sake only, I imagine: I lasted less than 5 minutes scrolling through my feed this morning. I just can't take the onslaught of awful people and awful news. To cleanse the air, here is Ranger, under the halogen 'heat' lamp, when he wasn't well - he is fine now!
Going to see a life-long favorite musician gets all the more special when the presenter surprises you with the best seat in the house! The Peter Erskine Trio at the Athenaeum in La Jolla, CA
I asked his brother, Dewey, about the matter, but he was too busy playing with my gardening gloves.
Timeline cleanse, fountain pen style... Four vintage fountain pens (1920s - 30s) that share a similar aesthetic, though four different brands. All are fully restored (I did two of them) and are exquisite writers with 14k nibs.
3/4 - I was uncertain if it was the pen for me, but when trying it at home I happened to glance to the right to a pen/brush cup. There sits one of my earliest purchases, a bespoke dip nib holder. I don't even remember the maker, save that he was from Arizona. The combination of another dark wood...
🧵 1/4 - "I am rich in my friends". I was recently gifted a lovely fountain pen from a dear friend, hoping that I would enjoy it. The pen is by Casey Giddens, a maker whom I've admired from afar but had never held one of his pens. This one is gorgeous, pairing a warm, dark-toned wood...
Yeah, well, it's not 4 parts because I managed to cut my babble. Here's a bonus shot of a single rod of old Conway-Stewart celluloid. Along with 9 other pieces, I will get bespoke fountain pens made by two or three custom makers. A fun future of projects!
🧵 1/4 - I've been lax with fountain pen posts, so here's one I finished up last night. This is a Gold Bond, a second tier brand from early last century. This pen is made from celluloid (which they termed "Stonite") in jade green. It's a nice big pen, the same length as Sheaffer flattop pens...
Endless gratitude for this selfless person, made for the moment. Thank you, @hcrichardson.bsky.social
I realize I have been waaay remiss on sending up content for the fountain pen feed, so here's one from my past. It is loosely called "Still Life with Ear Bulb and Fountain Pens". And, no, my pens don't usually slam together in a cup, they put up with that crap for the photo.
3b/3 - I should have posted this, as well: using the nib, dipped, for writing and smoothing some swatches:
3a/3 - Bonus: the backdrop image from the 1st post is from the reissue of a killer book, "WAITS / CORBIJN". Over three decades of the photographer and the musician working together, melding the outre skills and personas of two gifted artists. Superb.
3/3 - It drove me nuts for a day, so I figured out a way to install it in a Jowo #6 nib unit minus the feed and nib. Just a matter of getting a piece to fit inside, boring a hole to thread the nib into, and cementing that into the nib unit. I can now use it with any Jowo-fit inkstick:
2/3 - They make their own handle/holder for it because the nib, as it comes, just has a small threaded part at the end. It doesn't fit anything else (see below). At first I just did a kludge to make it work but that never satisfies me, so you'll see in the next reply what happened:
🧵 1/3 - A related item: I've had fun with a new Ti (titanium) dip nib from Eureka FP of South Korea. I figured out a way to put it in a standard pen (see thread) and brought back into action the pen I call "Beetlejuice", from Lucky Star Pens: