Haynie
Member
I am very new to the fountain pen life style and thought I would write up my thoughts on using one as a daily writer for a month.
I made my first fountain pen a little over a month ago. I decided I wanted to see what all of the hubbub was about. I decided that for me to really get the experience I would have to adopt it as my daily writer. As a teacher I do a lot of writing on mainly cruddy budget paper. I spent a lot of time talking to Ed, from Exotic Blanks about fountain pens and ink and nibs. I also had a few questions answered by Brian at Meisternibs. With the help of these very knowledgeable and helpful individuals I decided to upgrade my nib from the regular kit nib but not worry about going uber expensive. In the end I grabbed a Jr. Gent II kit, heritance nib, and private reserve ink. Once the kit was made and the nib changed thanks to the library at IAP I sat town to tune my nib to the way I write in the manner described to me by Ed. As I watched TV I drew figure 8s on a brown paper bag with no ink in the pen. It was a good program and I spent quite a bit longer writing figure 8s than was suggested.
Changes I had to make
It was clear right away that I would have to change the way I wrote. I am accustomed to writing with ball point pens and roller ball pens. I never really thought about the death grip I was writing with or the pressure I was putting on the paper when I was writing with a ball point pen. It is possible to write with a roller ball in the same manner as a ball point pen but a fountain pen tells you right away. A fountain pen requires a decidedly non-manly fluid writing style. I suppose I should write in cursive but I have NEVER been able to do that.
Positives
My writing arm, shoulder, and hand have taken a serious beating over the years. As the injuries catch up to me I have found that writing became painful after a short period of time. After switching to the fountain pen I am able to write for longer periods if I do not post the cap. The combination of softer grip and less pressure helps.
It is smooth and consistent no matter what paper I write on. Yes the fancy Claire Fontaine is sweet to write on, but the school budget does not allow for fancy paper. Around here we have regular old Xerox paper, three ring binder paper, news print paper, and the rough stuff the student planners are printed on. The nib I have has a ball point like tip and this may add to the smooth writing experience. I assume flat tipped nibs would be scratchy and hang up on the fibers. The gravity fed ink does not skip and leave blank spots like ball point pens do. I have even had this issue with roller balls on recycled paper that has very smooth pieces mixed in. You are writing along and a big chunk of a letter does not get written. This is not an issue with the fountain pen. Being a fast writer I was worried about the ink not keeping up with me. I have not had an issue. In fact, if I write slow I find the lines become much more bold and this allows me to put subtle emphasis on words just by slowing my writing stride a little. This is a nice bonus when writing a note to kids on the bottom of their papers.
Let's face it, these pens draw attention. There is just something classy about using one.
The negatives are few but they are big.
A fountain pen is not a rugged drop on the ground, run over with the car, kind of pen. As I said my writing hand has taken a beating over the years. I have some nerve damage and tend to drop things on occasion without realizing it. If I am writing something standing up I have to consciously remember to cap the pen. I know that if I happen to drop it on the nib, the nib is history.
You have to keep the thing nib up. While this may not be an issue to many it is to me. I do not wear shirts with pockets most of the time. This means I have to figure out how to carry the pen so it stays up right. I have found that carrying it in my pocket seemed to cause the ink to come out. This must have been caused by the heat. Because it needs to be carried nib up I am not able to throw it into the back pack, fly bag, or camera bag and hit the road. Both of these items get tossed around quite a bit and do not always sit top up. This means that I am not able to comfortably take the fountain pen on photo outings, into the boonies, or trips to the river. I have done it and whenever the cap is removed and I use the pen my fingers turn blue. The ink is jostled out and drops onto the grip.
Until I can come up with a more rugged design I will have to stick with the Space Pan as my general purpose throw in the pocket and go pen.
Conclusion
All in all using the fountain pen on a daily basis has been a very pleasant writing experience and I do not plan on going back to the ball points except for the Fisher Bullet pen. Using a roller ball even feels like a step down. A more rugged pen is in the designs but there will not be a way to avoid the need to be upright.
I made my first fountain pen a little over a month ago. I decided I wanted to see what all of the hubbub was about. I decided that for me to really get the experience I would have to adopt it as my daily writer. As a teacher I do a lot of writing on mainly cruddy budget paper. I spent a lot of time talking to Ed, from Exotic Blanks about fountain pens and ink and nibs. I also had a few questions answered by Brian at Meisternibs. With the help of these very knowledgeable and helpful individuals I decided to upgrade my nib from the regular kit nib but not worry about going uber expensive. In the end I grabbed a Jr. Gent II kit, heritance nib, and private reserve ink. Once the kit was made and the nib changed thanks to the library at IAP I sat town to tune my nib to the way I write in the manner described to me by Ed. As I watched TV I drew figure 8s on a brown paper bag with no ink in the pen. It was a good program and I spent quite a bit longer writing figure 8s than was suggested.
Changes I had to make
It was clear right away that I would have to change the way I wrote. I am accustomed to writing with ball point pens and roller ball pens. I never really thought about the death grip I was writing with or the pressure I was putting on the paper when I was writing with a ball point pen. It is possible to write with a roller ball in the same manner as a ball point pen but a fountain pen tells you right away. A fountain pen requires a decidedly non-manly fluid writing style. I suppose I should write in cursive but I have NEVER been able to do that.
Positives
My writing arm, shoulder, and hand have taken a serious beating over the years. As the injuries catch up to me I have found that writing became painful after a short period of time. After switching to the fountain pen I am able to write for longer periods if I do not post the cap. The combination of softer grip and less pressure helps.
It is smooth and consistent no matter what paper I write on. Yes the fancy Claire Fontaine is sweet to write on, but the school budget does not allow for fancy paper. Around here we have regular old Xerox paper, three ring binder paper, news print paper, and the rough stuff the student planners are printed on. The nib I have has a ball point like tip and this may add to the smooth writing experience. I assume flat tipped nibs would be scratchy and hang up on the fibers. The gravity fed ink does not skip and leave blank spots like ball point pens do. I have even had this issue with roller balls on recycled paper that has very smooth pieces mixed in. You are writing along and a big chunk of a letter does not get written. This is not an issue with the fountain pen. Being a fast writer I was worried about the ink not keeping up with me. I have not had an issue. In fact, if I write slow I find the lines become much more bold and this allows me to put subtle emphasis on words just by slowing my writing stride a little. This is a nice bonus when writing a note to kids on the bottom of their papers.
Let's face it, these pens draw attention. There is just something classy about using one.
The negatives are few but they are big.
A fountain pen is not a rugged drop on the ground, run over with the car, kind of pen. As I said my writing hand has taken a beating over the years. I have some nerve damage and tend to drop things on occasion without realizing it. If I am writing something standing up I have to consciously remember to cap the pen. I know that if I happen to drop it on the nib, the nib is history.
You have to keep the thing nib up. While this may not be an issue to many it is to me. I do not wear shirts with pockets most of the time. This means I have to figure out how to carry the pen so it stays up right. I have found that carrying it in my pocket seemed to cause the ink to come out. This must have been caused by the heat. Because it needs to be carried nib up I am not able to throw it into the back pack, fly bag, or camera bag and hit the road. Both of these items get tossed around quite a bit and do not always sit top up. This means that I am not able to comfortably take the fountain pen on photo outings, into the boonies, or trips to the river. I have done it and whenever the cap is removed and I use the pen my fingers turn blue. The ink is jostled out and drops onto the grip.
Until I can come up with a more rugged design I will have to stick with the Space Pan as my general purpose throw in the pocket and go pen.
Conclusion
All in all using the fountain pen on a daily basis has been a very pleasant writing experience and I do not plan on going back to the ball points except for the Fisher Bullet pen. Using a roller ball even feels like a step down. A more rugged pen is in the designs but there will not be a way to avoid the need to be upright.
