Loving the fountain pen again

When I was in secondary school, one writing instrument that could be found in my schoolbag was a fountain pen. I can't speak for everyone in the 1960s and 1970s but the fountain pen featured prominently in my school life. Whenever I had to do my homework, it was always with the fountain pen unlike today, when the ball point pen has become the norm.

Together with the fountain pen, I had to learn how to write cursive. I haven't written cursive for a very long time but if I'm asked to, I would dare say that I can still write a mean cursive handwriting. I used a fountain pen until the end of my schooldays. When I went to college, I decided to give up on it and changed to a ballpoint pen. Principally because I did not want to carry a bottle of ink with me.

My first fountain pen was a Hero, given to me by my uncle. I've also used a Parker and a Pilot before. I thought that I would still have them in my possession but when I rummaged through my storeroom a few weeks ago, I couldn't find them. In all likelihood, they could have been misplaced - or worse, thrown away - when my family moved from Seang Tek Road to Lorong Zoo Tiga and thence to Seberang Jaya. That was a very long time ago.

About a month ago when I went to a new shopping mall that had opened in Bukit Mertajam, I was somewhat drawn towards the fountain pen counter. While admiring the Parker and Sheaffer pens there, my eyes fell on some Lamy pens.

Lamy pens are actually German-made writing instruments and they have been around for decades. I picked up one of them and tried writing with it. The ink flowed very smoothly and I could also maintain a good grip on the pen's barrel. And guess what...I'm now the proud owner of the Lamy Studio fountain pen. And as can be seen, I'm starting to use it on my cheque books.