Fountain Pens

[SkippyLeDoo]

Though I did, as I mentioned before, use calligraphy pens quite a lot in the past, I find that I just don't have much use for hand written anything anymore. Practically everything I do is on the computer, so I don't get much practice writing or even printing anymore. It's not quite a lost art but it is on the endangered species list, metaphorically.

It's true that handwriting just isn't very necessary anymore when most lines of work involve computers, but I still feel that it's an important form of expression. Before I decided to get a fountain pen--just before the new year--I didn't really care to have good handwriting. Of course I would frequently complain that my handwriting wasn't that good, but I never made any effort to improve it.

It just wasn't important enough to me until I got a nice writing utensil. After all, what good is a nice pen if your handwriting is poor? As much as I enjoyed and still enjoy the handwriting practice, a great deal of it was out of that principle. And sure, it may not be practically necessary, but the personality handwriting can have is at the very least a nice sentiment. I think it is a skill that is easy to learn, and that it should be encouraged and celebrated.

One of the things that gave me encouragement to improve my handwriting before I actually decided to get a fountain pen was this, though I do feel his comment about batteries is a bit fallacious:
http://www.artofmanliness.com/2014/12/16/improve-your-cursive-handwriting/

 

[rogesh]

nah man i can't write things longer than a one page letter on the pc. and even that is hard for me.
well i have add so the pc is the perfeckt thing for procrastinating....
so i use every oportunity that i get to handwrite something XD
once i start writing its done pretty fast

 

[RipVanDan]

This, thread has gotten me curious, is there anyone that uses a fountain pen and is a lefty? I personally dislike pens, and really hate gel pens because my hand smears the ink as I write. I am guessing a fountain pen would be similar.

 

[SkippyLeDoo]

nah man i can't write things longer than a one page letter on the pc. and even that is hard for me.
well i have add so the pc is the perfeckt thing for procrastinating....
so i use every oportunity that i get to handwrite something XD
once i start writing its done pretty fast

I was recently diagnosed with ADD myself. Aside from the prescription, one thing that really helps me focus (in class) is writing and taking notes.

I can really empathize with you, though. For me, with undiagnosed ADD (and another issue I won't elaborate on), things like essays were a complete bitch.

This, thread has gotten me curious, is there anyone that uses a fountain pen and is a lefty? I personally dislike pens, and really hate gel pens because my hand smears the ink as I write. I am guessing a fountain pen would be similar.

There are plenty of lefties who use fountain pens. Even though I'm right handed I can give you some tips as well as this link to a post by a lefty:

http://www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/yoapj/so_i_just_found_out_that_fountain_pens_are/

In contrast to ballpoint pens' oil based ink, fountain pens use water based ink, which is less viscous, and absorbs into paper and dries more quickly. If you're writing on generic notebook paper, you probably don't have to worry about smudging much. However high quality paper, especially paper made for fountain pens (like Rhodia or Clairefontaine), is made to be ink resistant so that the ink won't feather or bleed and takes longer to dry.

When I write I rotate the paper to a ~30 degree angle counter clockwise and my hand rests below where I'm writing instead of ahead of it. If you were to get used to rotating your paper clockwise, you wouldn't need to worry about smudging ink at all.

 

[Shar Treuse]

The main use for writing over typing documents for me is memory. Being also ADD, I somehow developed a photo-kinetic, or auto-kinetic, memory. This is where things written down stick in memory better than things read or typed. In fact, I can remember practically everything I have ever hand written, but couldn't tell you what I typed into emails yesterday without looking them up in my sent mail folder.

What is nice about writing styli of all sorts is that handedness is not an issue, though you can get nibs for fountain and calligraphy pens that make it a little easier for lefties. I am ambidextrous by nature and have no trouble switching between the two, though at first it took some getting used to as writing classes in elementary school are generally geared towards right handed writers, or when not, do nothing to support ambidextrous persons learning of both ways in tandem.

As for manliness, well, I've never really cared about other peoples opinions about the subject, seeing as everyones is different and a lot of them are laughable. For example, the same website (http://www.artofmanliness.com/category/manly-skills/) recommends being an expert in 6 techniques for zombie slaying, and knowing how to levitate.

 

[Groundstain]

I read that proper penmanship "cursive" will be removed from curriculum at least in the U.S. so it is nice that people are still interested in the craft.

 

[SkippyLeDoo]

@Shar Treuse Yeah I thought it was just a useful, somewhat informative link. The whole premise of manliness and masculinity seems grounded in insecurity.

And I do think that there should be more effort towards helping those who are left handed and learning to write.

 

[CitizenDad]

I consider myself a bit of a pen enthusiast.

Unfortunately, my prized pen, a Billet Ingenuir Concombre, Crystal series. 1.0mm is in the shop right now.

But here's a stock photo of it.


Some handwriting samples:
Before: http://imgur.com/zRjZlOG

After: http://imgur.com/roshBdi

ROFL POST OF THE MONTH. Spit some Horchata all over me house sir. Thanks.

 

[CaptainHavoc]

 

[Shar Treuse]

Dixon, dixoff?

 

[rogesh]

When I write I rotate the paper to a ~30 degree angle counter clockwise and my hand rests below where I'm writing instead of ahead of it. If you were to get used to rotating your paper clockwise, you wouldn't need to worry about smudging ink at all.

thats the way i do it too.
i have seen many lefties rotate their paper clockwise some even to a 90° angle :O

 

[SkippyLeDoo]

thats the way i do it too.
i have seen many lefties rotate their paper clockwise some even to a 90° angle :O

I've seen people twist their hands into a weird claw shape to write. I don't know how people could manage to write like that.

 

[Shar Treuse]

I've seen people twist their hands into a weird claw shape to write. I don't know how people could manage to write like that.

I've seen that a lot, I don't know how anyone can do a significant amount of writing in such a contorted, unnatural position. Unfortunately, the education system (any of them, really) didn't back then, and doesn't now, allow for time spent on teaching writing properly to prevent damaging your hand. As long as you turn in passable (a loose term if I ever saw one) work, they don't care whether in 30 years you'll need to wear a brace on your wrist and suffer from horrible arthritis.

 

[SkippyLeDoo]

I've seen that a lot, I don't know how anyone can do a significant amount of writing in such a contorted, unnatural position. Unfortunately, the education system (any of them, really) didn't back then, and doesn't now, allow for time spent on teaching writing properly to prevent damaging your hand. As long as you turn in passable (a loose term if I ever saw one) work, they don't care whether in 30 years you'll need to wear a brace on your wrist and suffer from horrible arthritis.

It makes me worry about what @Groundstain said our school curriculum is doing.

 

[Clowdy Howdy]

There are a bunch of inexpensive fountain pens to get you started. Here are a couple lists of pens with prices in ascending order: [goulet] [jetpens]
Personally I think the Pilot Metropolitan could be a nice start if/once you can afford it since they're metal and, from what I've heard, pretty smooth to write with. Just be aware that you'll be dropping another $10+ for ink before shipping. Jetpens does offer free shipping with $25+ orders though.

I have the Pilot Metropolitan and I can confirm that its a great starting pen. I don't own any others, but its probably the best you can do at such a low price. I picked it up from Goulet Pens with a box of cartridges.

I don't write much anymore. I've been itching to get back into it though. It feels great to have a consistent and good looking script to right notes and cards with. Unfortunately I need some practice before I get to that point again.

 

[Krystal LeChuck]

Fountain pens? Ink? What is this? The dark ages?

I myself use OpenOffice. If I have to get something neat and official I use a printer.

Next thing I expect to see here is a comparison of sticks we use to beat dead horses with and what is the best torch to use for a good ol' witch burn.

 

[CrashMan054]

I write everything on my kindle.

 

[rogesh]

we already did discuss that thing with the sticks and dead horses. but not the witchhunt thing so you wana start? :P

 

[SkippyLeDoo]

I have the Pilot Metropolitan and I can confirm that its a great starting pen. I don't own any others, but its probably the best you can do at such a low price. I picked it up from Goulet Pens with a box of cartridges.

I don't write much anymore. I've been itching to get back into it though. It feels great to have a consistent and good looking script to right notes and cards with. Unfortunately I need some practice before I get to that point again.

You accidentally put your reply in the quote, heh.

Similar to the metro, the Cross Bailey is also a nice starter, and you can buy them at Office Depot--at least in my case. Another great starter is the Noodler's Nib Creaper and Konrad, of which I have both. Well, technically the creaper is my mother's. TWSBI pens are also great quality if you're willing and able to put a little extra money into it. They are going to release the TWSBI Eco, which should go for around $20-30 too.

I have gotten some practice by keeping a journal, though I use a constructed script so no one else can read it. Just pick up a pen/pencil or whatever and start writing random shit. That's what I did, and I made dramatic improvements in a few weeks.

Fountain pens? Ink? What is this? The dark ages?

I myself use OpenOffice. If I have to get something neat and official I use a printer.

Next thing I expect to see here is a comparison of sticks we use to beat dead horses with and what is the best torch to use for a good ol' witch burn.

Fountain pen master race! You can take your techno-witchcraft straight to the gallows!

Seriously though, as I've said before, handwriting in general doesn't have much practical application in many professions, though I believe it's a useful and respectable skill to have, and fountain pens, in my opinion, make it much more enjoyable with their feel, versatility, aesthetics, and customizability. Plus they look very professional.

Come to think of it, often companies will screen employees by their handwriting. For instance, one of the deciding factors when my father was hiring employees was their handwriting. If they had poor handwriting, he would be hesitant to hire them. On the other hand, this was a while ago, before computers were very necessary in a business--putting aside the fact that my father was a total computer geek before they started to become popular. Hipster.

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Man, I really love posting walls of text, don't I?

 

[Krystal LeChuck]

You accidentally put your reply in the quote, heh.
Fountain pen master race! You can take your techno-witchcraft straight to the gallows!

Seriously though, as I've said before, handwriting in general doesn't have much practical application in many professions, though I believe it's a useful and respectable skill to have, and fountain pens, in my opinion, make it much more enjoyable with their feel, versatility, aesthetics, and customizability. Plus they look very professional.

Come to think of it, often companies will screen employees by their handwriting. For instance, one of the deciding factors when my father was hiring employees was their handwriting. If they had poor handwriting, he would be hesitant to hire them. On the other hand, this was a while ago, before computers were very necessary in a business--putting aside the fact that my father was a total computer geek before they started to become popular. Hipster.

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Man, I really love posting walls of text, don't I?

I'd like to see you make this post using your fountain pen...

Joking aside I love fountain pens. I used to use them for ink sketching a few years back. I didn't get anything fancy thou cause I would destroy them in a few days from new due to extreme pressure I'd apply for artistic effects. I used to get plain fountain pens with wooden base that you'd have to dip in an ink bottle. They were cheap too, like 10Euro for a set of 4 or something like that. Then I got a graphics tablet and they faded out of existence for me.

Also they were awesome to write Tengwar with...