I visited Palais du Stylo to choose my first luxury fountain pen. I write all day, so I figure I deserve something that writes beautifully, while making that slightly scratchy sound on white paper. Watch this to get a glimpse into the passion some people have for fountain pens (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDra9j9POkU).
The two ladies at Palais du Stylo patiently allowed me to try a variety of pens, in various nib widths, with different colours and types of inks. They were pleasant to talk to throughout, as I went through my decision making process, in contrast to some other pen places I've visited (eg, Mora Stylo). I went back and forth between a medium and broad nib, back and forth between the Pelikan and Faber-Castell, and couldn't even make up my mind on the Aurora black versus Pelikan midnight blue ink. I had done prior research on their website and independently, so I think that contributed to things going smoothly. I'm not sure how a total newbie to pens would fare in a store like this (or any specialty pen store), so I recommend knowing a little bit about pens before walking in. read more