Why use a fountain pen?

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BRobbins629

BRobbins629

Passed Away Dec 28, 2021
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Joined
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Location
Richmond, VA, USA.
I am putting together a presentation on fountain pens and one of the topics I would like to cover is why. Some of my reasons are:

1) Selection of inks
2) Variation in line width
3) Conversation piece

Any others??
 
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My first commission for a pen was from a colleague. He is from Pakistan, and claims that he had to learn how to use a fountain pen in school. They could not use ballpoints.

Bulletize That:laugh:
 
Old-school accountants insist that all checks MUST be signed using a fountain pen. And the color MUST be blue-black; not blue, not black.

LOL.....Can you tell my dad was an accountant that didn't stray from the basic laws of accounting?
 
BRobbins629 said:
I am putting together a presentation on fountain pens and one of the topics I would like to cover is why. Some of my reasons are:

1) Selection of inks
2) Variation in line width
3) Conversation piece

Any others??
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Protects the population of birds---quills were becoming scarce, don't you remember that, Bruce???:eek::eek::eek:
 
BRobbins629 said:
I am putting together a presentation on fountain pens and one of the topics I would like to cover is why. Some of my reasons are:

1) Selection of inks
2) Variation in line width
3) Conversation piece

Any others??
Click to expand...


Yes - the style of writing is totally different with a fountain pen. Fountain pen ink flows onto the paper, so writing is smooth and effortless. With a ballpoint, you have to press against the paper to create the friction needed to drag the ink out of the pen. As a result, with a fountain pen, you can concentrate on what you are writing and how it appears, not on the physical effort required to apply marks on paper.
 
monophoto said:
Yes - the style of writing is totally different with a fountain pen. Fountain pen ink flows onto the paper, so writing is smooth and effortless. With a ballpoint, you have to press against the paper to create the friction needed to drag the ink out of the pen. As a result, with a fountain pen, you can concentrate on what you are writing and how it appears, not on the physical effort required to apply marks on paper.
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one of my booth "lines" is that with a fountain pen, you are introducing ink to paper...with that bic you usually use, you are trying to force them to be campatible....
 
There really is only one real reason, IMO, everything else just being secondary justifications.

That reason?

Class.

Nothing shows off your sophistication and class they way writing with a fountain pen does, and people notice it even if they don't mention it.
 
I'd also add (as the devils advocate), that lefties suck with a fountain pen. Being a leftie myself, I can't use a fountain pen, I push, and the paper does not like that.
 
Content. When using a fountain pen you are forced to slow down and focus on what you are writing. The quality of the content of what you write will improve with a fountain pen.

It is analogous to spouting off and saying the first thing that comes to mind verses taking some time and giving serious thought to what you have to say before replying.
 
Plus, when you make a large elevation change, such as going over a mountain pass, the cartridge will leak ink all over your shirt pocket!!

Learned that one the hard way.
 
When you do a serious attempt at switching (at least some of the time) to use of a fountain pen, your handwriting will, almost without fail, improve greatly. Some of us could use that. Also,overall quality of life will improve by at least 12%. Try it...You will like it.
Steve
 
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It ranks as one of those things that you just can't explain. To me it's magical. Started only a few years ago and now am never without one. I suppose it's the old adage "if you have to ask, you wouldn't understand."
And you can quote me on that.
 
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As a m.d. qualified calligrapher...I can make a ballpoint, rollerball, or a crayon look like a epileptic dyslexic was riding a dirtbike down an oldtime railroad track and trying to write neatly to impress his mother(who is a teacher with a penchant for perfection in neatness) less than proud that her son that can't even print let alone write cursive, shake her head and blame Dad, God bless his soul. I love making fps but would pay very good money to never,ever,ever use one...:rolleyes::rolleyes: IMHO as usual..George
 
A good fountain pen is like fine writing in motion. A totally classy why of putting thought to paper. That's my story and I'm sticking to it as to 'why' use a FP.
 
carlmorrell said:
I'd also add (as the devils advocate), that lefties suck with a fountain pen. Being a leftie myself, I can't use a fountain pen, I push, and the paper does not like that.
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Wo...wo...wo there Carl..:wink:

If you are writing at a correct hand angle being left handed is actually a huge advantage with fountain pens. Especially with Spencerian script or Copperplate. For this you must be an underwriter and accustomed to writing on a slant of around 50 degrees. This is the whole premise behind righties using oblique holders to get to the angle that comes to us naturally.
 
Pick up chicks.

Nothing more gratifying to my ego, and no better conversation starter than when a hotty compliments my pen.

Get your minds out of the gutter!
 
chriselle said:
carlmorrell said:
I'd also add (as the devils advocate), that lefties suck with a fountain pen. Being a leftie myself, I can't use a fountain pen, I push, and the paper does not like that.
Click to expand...

Wo...wo...wo there Carl..:wink:

If you are writing at a correct hand angle being left handed is actually a huge advantage with fountain pens. Especially with Spencerian script or Copperplate. For this you must be an underwriter and accustomed to writing on a slant of around 50 degrees. This is the whole premise behind righties using oblique holders to get to the angle that comes to us naturally.
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I too am a leftie and I have smear issues with a ball point and do not with a fountain pen.
 
in the second grade (1962) the nuns would not allow anything but fountain pens. i didn't kno any better. the girls used different colors like peacock. i often wondered how long ball points have been around. the other night on " boardwalk empire" they used a bp and i wondered if that was correct. and i grew up driving a stick and using a bottle opener
 
Like Neal said...+

Neal,

In 50's when I went to school our dear Nuns (with the greatest respect), didn't permit possession of a ball point pen. CONTRABAND!

We used pencil until whatever grade (no erasures permitted). Then we had to have a fountain pen. It was wonderful when that old ink reservoir let go and you had a blue stain from your pocket to your waist. Then someone came out with a disposable ink reservoir (cartridge), fewer accidents, but still leaked.

I believe that the roller ball and ceramic refills of today, give one as close a feel to a fountain pen without the potential mess. If I were to say it in a single word it would be that they add "Flair" to ones writing.

I may have to make one for myself, try it out once again and transport myself back in time. Oh that nostalgia.

I can remember what a good friend of mine from my old fire company used to say. "The Indians knew a good thing when they saw the Winchesters didn't they. They knew bows and arrows were a thing of the past. That was before the compound bow---old friend!"

Old typewriter technician (30 years),
Charlie
 
I don't know if this was mentioned yet, but it's a direct descendent of the quill pen...history to fill pages there, or at least the Declaration of Independence and associated documents!
 
I know when I pulled my FP out to fill out my POA before my deployment, the young lady behind the counter said "Wow, Nice pen" Then when I told her I made it, she really perked up. A couple of days later, I showed one of the guys on the deployment with me, the same pen, and appearantly the lady had told him about it when he came in after me.
 
Nothing Beats a Fountain Pen!!
Many of the worlds most Famous Books were written with a Fountain Pen
Modern Fountain Pens and todays Piston Fillers and Ink Cartridges are easy to use and mess free.
 
Bruce:
Perhaps the fountain pen is the only instrument that "tunes" itself to the writing style of its owner.

All others, roller ball, ballpoint, gel filled, etc, write the same way for all writers.

If you DON'T believe this, LOAN YOUR fountain pen to another writer and it'll NEVER write the same way again. It's sorta like shaving your face with your razor that your wife has used on her legs! It's NEVER PRETTY!

Respectfully submitted.
 
I can usually tell the "meter" of someone's writing. If their thinking is slow and deliberate, you can see the ink starting to flow again after a long pause.

When someone is writing quickly, you can almost trace the passion by the pen's stroke.

One of my favorite activities is reading original manuscripts written in ink. Often the beauty of the writing style is as powerful as the message they deliver.
 
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BRobbins629 said:
I am putting together a presentation on fountain pens and one of the topics I would like to cover is why. Some of my reasons are:

1) Selection of inks
2) Variation in line width
3) Conversation piece

Any others??
Click to expand...

I think it was Forbes magazine that had a story about how Fountain Pens was a level of prestige equal to that of owning a high end performance automobile.

On a side note, Dr Neil Degrasse Tyson, uses a fountain pen however not in the conventional way. he dips his pen as someone mentioned in a prior post in the meter of how one would give a speech. He deduced that from of all things, the Gettysburg address.
 
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