Signing off on fountain pens

I am not sure how many people relish using a fountain pen these days. I, for one, am such a person. I (re)started using one few months ago, after my better half got me a Parker Fountain Pen for my birthday and I found it a sheer joy using what we used to call �ink pen�. Sad thing is that these days, I seldom get to write anything and as a result, my handwriting has deteriorated considerably. Now, I make it a point to write at least few lines of crap just to relive the good old school days when we used to return home with fingers painted blue.
Sad to hear Sheaffer's selling manufacturing equipment...

I love writing with fountain pen. We learned to write (printing) in pencil, then we were taught cursive script ("joined up writing" was actually the phrase used) again in pencil, and then graduated to pen and ink. As in, dip pens, inkwell in the desk. (to this day, the smell of ink takes me right back to Class 13, Mrs Lewis' room). Once we'd learned to manage dip pens, you were allowed to bring a fountain pen (preferably Osmiroid(tm) or Parker(tm)). Took me ages to get around to that, so went around for nearly 2y with full-time blue-black stains on the thumb and first two fingers of my right hand. We were not allowed to use Biros(tm) (ball point pens) under any circumstances, and indeed, in the early 60s they were pretty poor quality. In Canada I went through 15c ballpoints pretty fast, like everyone else, and my handwriting was horrible. Annoyed at the pen-loss, I thought to buy a slightly more expensive (about $2, I suspect) fountain pen, and maybe I'd keep it longer. It worked, and the fountain pen slowed me down enough that my writing became much clearer (an unintended consequence). I really like the feel of the words flowing out of the tip of a fountain pen, and my handwriting is actually quite good.