Has technology ruined the ability to write words and numbers legibly? What good is a pen if you can't write well with it? Why worry about handwriting if you can do everything on a phone or keyboard? Have our kids not been taught penmanship in early years of school because teachers as well as students feel if they can type then why bother to learn how to write legibly? Learn penmanship on your own I guess. Bare minimum requirement would be sign your name – write to10 – and don't worry if anyone can read what you wrote because you will be texting 90% of the time anyway. Debatable.
In 1990 my son, while in grade school, nines looked like sevens, sixes looked like #2 fish hooks, lower case g looked like lower case y, and his penmanship as a whole looked like a cardiogram. I tried to get him to write legibly and of course hit a brick wall. Wasn't having it. His penmanship 25 years later is still inked chicken claws.
I went to Catholic school in the 60's and we all were required to participate in the Palmer Method and had to practice it for ½ hour every day in class. We took pride in what our handwriting looked like. Made me feel better about myself especially during detention when I had to write 100 times "I must behave in class – I must behave in class…." Then we were only allowed to use fountain pens. Nuns had a taboo with ball points or were getting a kickback from the FP industry. Funny though, I always saw the visiting priest with a ballpoint. Wearever or Schaeffer were the only 2 allowed then. Why did we have to do this? Because the teachers want to be able to read all we wrote without wasting time trying to figure out what the hell we wrote. Standardized handwriting I call it. Like a clean pair of dress pants and nice shirt, handwriting should be part of the ensemble. I like when people comment on how nice my penmanship is. I practiced it. We were all given the 'Palmer Pen' and I think that helped with the posture of the fingers and hand.
All this technology is not only affecting the quality of our handwriting, it's hurting our ability to spell as well. 'Talk text', where you speak into the phone, yields more often than not misspelled words and something other than what we spoke in the first place only to have to say it again. All the acronyms like LOL, TTYL, and more are shaping the future of how we communicate. Think about it: When's the last time you got a hand-written letter in your mail box? And how's your cursive looking these days? I have a little envy for those who can print really well and rivals my cursive skills.
Now, for me, I found there are certain requirements when it comes to pens and writing. Ink flow, grip, balance, weight, looks, and price, in that order. If I am to continue to want to write neat, comfortably, and legibly I found, by process of elimination and making lots of different kits with different inks, here is the break down.
Roller balls:
Ink flows way too fast, hard to control the pen, like writing with a syringe unless it's a bold refill. Ink bleeds thru the paper making the flip side no fun to write on. My handwriting looks bad with these. Besides they are top heavy and posting the cap causes an unbalance. On the positive side they are good looking and make nice gifts. I have made several that have a wow factor, very handsome, and are in the curio cabinet as a showpiece. I don't write with them other than one Baron on my desk which has aPilot G2-10 refill and a really nice spalted maple blank.
Ball points:
Although I do like some, I have to apply more pressure on the tip to get the ink to flow, run a drag line to get it started sometimes, extended writing times get a little fatiguing. When using a gel type refill in these it gives me a roller ball feel which is not desirable. Most work places require a ballpoint to be used especially if carbon copies or daily reporting or logs need to be done. The ones I make for me are mostly twist type, have a small trumpet bell at the end that mimics the curve of the index finger and thumb (ala Palmer Pen) and a Monteverdi refill (just my preference). I also like a rubber grip. I favor the Stratus for a click, it fits me, but there are some where the lower end is slippery and no fun after a few minutes.
Fountain pens:
They provide a nice line, minimal drag, good feedback from the paper, and I like a medium to wider grip. My penmanship is better with these. These are my 'go to' at home desk pen writer. A big 'however' is that these are not for people who are in the service industry where the risk of it falling out while crawling thru a ceiling, unloading trucks, having to take it in and out of the pocket 30 time aday and risking damage is desirable. A Jr. Statesman will not work here. Real estate, insurance people, collectors, those closing deals handing a client an Emperor fountain pen to ink the deal, this is where they shine. These are elegance and grace and intimidating to some. I handed a co-worker my Jr. George to checkout, couldn't figure out how to open it. He never had seen one before. That was a hoot.
A ten pack of BIC for $2.99 or something we made, the fact remains penmanship is something that has no real prominence in a lot of places. It's a personal thing, you either have it or you don't. I like to think it matters.
In closing: (think Andy Rooney)
You have to admit, some pens are downright painful to write with for any length of time. In this past year and a half I have made over 400 pens of all types, spent plenty of money on blanks, finishing supplies, kits, shipping, tax, and more just like all of you. What I found is that gaudy gimmick pens are not for me. Pens with flimsy clickers and unattractive embellishments are even more annoying. Companies make their money selling to us and if we ever sell what we make to anyone else doesn't matter as long as they sell what is in their inventory. The variety is vast. The quality also varies accordingly. We will never ever sell what we make to the point that suppliers can't keep up with demand. Is this a bad thing? Not for them. Are they putting importance on design to improve a person's handwriting? Not a chance. We look good in a new car, new suit, new hair style, Rolex watch. Do we really need good penmanship? I think so; it's just another way of looking good.
In 1990 my son, while in grade school, nines looked like sevens, sixes looked like #2 fish hooks, lower case g looked like lower case y, and his penmanship as a whole looked like a cardiogram. I tried to get him to write legibly and of course hit a brick wall. Wasn't having it. His penmanship 25 years later is still inked chicken claws.
I went to Catholic school in the 60's and we all were required to participate in the Palmer Method and had to practice it for ½ hour every day in class. We took pride in what our handwriting looked like. Made me feel better about myself especially during detention when I had to write 100 times "I must behave in class – I must behave in class…." Then we were only allowed to use fountain pens. Nuns had a taboo with ball points or were getting a kickback from the FP industry. Funny though, I always saw the visiting priest with a ballpoint. Wearever or Schaeffer were the only 2 allowed then. Why did we have to do this? Because the teachers want to be able to read all we wrote without wasting time trying to figure out what the hell we wrote. Standardized handwriting I call it. Like a clean pair of dress pants and nice shirt, handwriting should be part of the ensemble. I like when people comment on how nice my penmanship is. I practiced it. We were all given the 'Palmer Pen' and I think that helped with the posture of the fingers and hand.
All this technology is not only affecting the quality of our handwriting, it's hurting our ability to spell as well. 'Talk text', where you speak into the phone, yields more often than not misspelled words and something other than what we spoke in the first place only to have to say it again. All the acronyms like LOL, TTYL, and more are shaping the future of how we communicate. Think about it: When's the last time you got a hand-written letter in your mail box? And how's your cursive looking these days? I have a little envy for those who can print really well and rivals my cursive skills.
Now, for me, I found there are certain requirements when it comes to pens and writing. Ink flow, grip, balance, weight, looks, and price, in that order. If I am to continue to want to write neat, comfortably, and legibly I found, by process of elimination and making lots of different kits with different inks, here is the break down.
Roller balls:
Ink flows way too fast, hard to control the pen, like writing with a syringe unless it's a bold refill. Ink bleeds thru the paper making the flip side no fun to write on. My handwriting looks bad with these. Besides they are top heavy and posting the cap causes an unbalance. On the positive side they are good looking and make nice gifts. I have made several that have a wow factor, very handsome, and are in the curio cabinet as a showpiece. I don't write with them other than one Baron on my desk which has aPilot G2-10 refill and a really nice spalted maple blank.
Ball points:
Although I do like some, I have to apply more pressure on the tip to get the ink to flow, run a drag line to get it started sometimes, extended writing times get a little fatiguing. When using a gel type refill in these it gives me a roller ball feel which is not desirable. Most work places require a ballpoint to be used especially if carbon copies or daily reporting or logs need to be done. The ones I make for me are mostly twist type, have a small trumpet bell at the end that mimics the curve of the index finger and thumb (ala Palmer Pen) and a Monteverdi refill (just my preference). I also like a rubber grip. I favor the Stratus for a click, it fits me, but there are some where the lower end is slippery and no fun after a few minutes.
Fountain pens:
They provide a nice line, minimal drag, good feedback from the paper, and I like a medium to wider grip. My penmanship is better with these. These are my 'go to' at home desk pen writer. A big 'however' is that these are not for people who are in the service industry where the risk of it falling out while crawling thru a ceiling, unloading trucks, having to take it in and out of the pocket 30 time aday and risking damage is desirable. A Jr. Statesman will not work here. Real estate, insurance people, collectors, those closing deals handing a client an Emperor fountain pen to ink the deal, this is where they shine. These are elegance and grace and intimidating to some. I handed a co-worker my Jr. George to checkout, couldn't figure out how to open it. He never had seen one before. That was a hoot.
A ten pack of BIC for $2.99 or something we made, the fact remains penmanship is something that has no real prominence in a lot of places. It's a personal thing, you either have it or you don't. I like to think it matters.
In closing: (think Andy Rooney)
You have to admit, some pens are downright painful to write with for any length of time. In this past year and a half I have made over 400 pens of all types, spent plenty of money on blanks, finishing supplies, kits, shipping, tax, and more just like all of you. What I found is that gaudy gimmick pens are not for me. Pens with flimsy clickers and unattractive embellishments are even more annoying. Companies make their money selling to us and if we ever sell what we make to anyone else doesn't matter as long as they sell what is in their inventory. The variety is vast. The quality also varies accordingly. We will never ever sell what we make to the point that suppliers can't keep up with demand. Is this a bad thing? Not for them. Are they putting importance on design to improve a person's handwriting? Not a chance. We look good in a new car, new suit, new hair style, Rolex watch. Do we really need good penmanship? I think so; it's just another way of looking good.