A few years ago I went round the house and threw out every ballpoint / biro (replacing them with Uni-ball UM-153S which are much more pleasant to use). There had to have been at least a hundred of them. So many were free from conferences or charities.
The cheap pen that changed writing forever
31–40 of 193 posts
Re: The cheap pen that changed writing forever
#32I recently switched to a fountain pen - way easier to write with and way less tension. Neil Gaiman suggested it and so I gave it a shot. Never going back - my handwriting is better (but I write cursive) and it is easier to write longer without strain. That said - super cool story.
Same, once I used one, there is no no going back. You can certainly go deep with ink and pens and whatnot, but you can buy a Lamy for cheap on Amazon and just stick with cartridges and still get a far superior result. If anyone feel like their writing is sloppy and avoid writing because of it, try a fountain pen.
For what it's worth, the consensus on /r/fountainpens and other fountain pen enthusiast sites is that you risk receiving counterfeit Lamy Safari pens when purchasing from Amazon. These fakes often have poor quality nibs and ruin people's first experience with fountain pens. The recommendation is to purchase a pen through a reputable dealer so you know that you are getting the real thing.
There's a post here on Imgur [0] regarding an individual's experience after receiving a fake on Amazon if you want to compare the fake and original.
Re: The cheap pen that changed writing forever
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's the difference between the kind of strain you get from pressing harder with a ball point pen and the kind of strain you get from lifting weights in a gym? I guess what I'm really asking is if your body will adapt to the increased hand strain? Is it a short-term problem?
you lift weights along muscle systems designed to handle load. Your wrist/elbows etc are relatively weak. See tennis elbow, etc. The other issue is that you end up writing 4-6hrs a day in school 5days a week, wheras the gym is something like, maybe 20 minutes per muscle group? depending. And that doesn't tend to be more than 3-4x a week. I used to weightlift with a much lighter ex. The one thing I noticed was that ev…
Yeah, rest days are incredibly important. If you wrote until your hands are tired and then did not write again until you were fully recovered, perhaps you could do something akin to weight training for writing. That isn't what anyone actually does, though.
Re: The cheap pen that changed writing forever
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't most of us live in a bubble of ballpoint users? It is the most pervasive pen by a pretty wide margin.
I don't think so. I have lived, studied, and taught in three different European countries and everywhere, a sizeable proportion of students used fountain pens (a large majority in the case of France). For my part, I use mostly rollers and fountain pens, and I hate the high pressure needed to use ballpoints. EDIT: In any case, even if most people use only ballpoint pens, it seems very hard to live without ever crossin…
This definitely varies by country.
In the US, fountain pen use is common among people who have a particular interest in pens (e.g. collecting them), and almost zero among everyone else. I’d say they’re roughly comparable to mechanical keyboards in this respect.
No one at any level of school is required to use fountain pens; typically, students use a mix of graphite pencils, ballpoint pens, and rollerballs.
I would expect a large fraction of Americans, maybe even the majority, to be surprised to learn that fountain pens are still in common use anywhere in the world.
Re: The cheap pen that changed writing forever
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't most of us live in a bubble of ballpoint users? It is the most pervasive pen by a pretty wide margin.
I don't think so. I have lived, studied, and taught in three different European countries and everywhere, a sizeable proportion of students used fountain pens (a large majority in the case of France). For my part, I use mostly rollers and fountain pens, and I hate the high pressure needed to use ballpoints. EDIT: In any case, even if most people use only ballpoint pens, it seems very hard to live without ever crossin…
I reside in the US and have met only one person over the past 25 years who used a fountain pen.
Re: The cheap pen that changed writing forever
#36Anybody else here who uses Fineliners? I've only stuck to fineliners ever since the first time I've used it, the upgrade in comfort and penmanship was extraordinary. Yes fountain pens are great and I've used them most of my life, as most ballpoints weren't suitable for my left hand writing style. But fineliners are way less cumbersome
Re: The cheap pen that changed writing forever
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't most of us live in a bubble of ballpoint users? It is the most pervasive pen by a pretty wide margin.
I don't think so. I have lived, studied, and taught in three different European countries and everywhere, a sizeable proportion of students used fountain pens (a large majority in the case of France). For my part, I use mostly rollers and fountain pens, and I hate the high pressure needed to use ballpoints. EDIT: In any case, even if most people use only ballpoint pens, it seems very hard to live without ever crossin…
I don't think I've ever seen someone use a fountain pen in person. In school most people used pencils almost exclusively, and the exceptions used ballpoint or gel pens.
Re: The cheap pen that changed writing forever
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
My favorite pen is the pentel energel 0.7mm. It will write smooth dark lines just the right thicknes without blobbing or cutting out, and is the most effortless pen to write with. But yes, it does write at a higher angle than a fountain pen. I had a fountain pen years and years ago, and it was something you had to want to use. I can't help but think of it like vinyl records, straight razors and film cameras.
>> pentel energel 0.7mm. Thanks for mentioning this I am currently on the lookout for new pen to make my standard usage pen. My prime requirement is that it should be 1.0mm, or at a minimal 0.7mm, since I love the thickness. Secondary requirement is that it should be smooth. I bought Baoke gel from Amazon and while I loved it a lot, was greatly disappointed to find it was of Chinese make. Am now searching for somethi…
> greatly disappointed to find it was of Chinese make.
May I ask why, as it is not among your requirements?
> Am now searching for something that’s of non-Chinese origin
Any specific reasons?
Re: The cheap pen that changed writing forever
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
The gel pens are my favorite, but I did enjoy using fountain pens in grade school - I just liked the way the result looked.
How anyone can enjoy writing with fountain pens is completely beyond me. They were the bane of my childhood.
They're especially annoying for left-handed users.
Re: The cheap pen that changed writing forever
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
>> pentel energel 0.7mm. Thanks for mentioning this I am currently on the lookout for new pen to make my standard usage pen. My prime requirement is that it should be 1.0mm, or at a minimal 0.7mm, since I love the thickness. Secondary requirement is that it should be smooth. I bought Baoke gel from Amazon and while I loved it a lot, was greatly disappointed to find it was of Chinese make. Am now searching for somethi…
> greatly disappointed to find it was of Chinese make. May I ask why, as it is not among your requirements? > Am now searching for something that’s of non-Chinese origin Any specific reasons?
I personally try to avoid things manufactured in China due to ethical objections [0]. I don't expect everyone to do so, but I think it's the right thing to do, where possible.
[0] https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2020/03/05/china-move...