Hari's Corner

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Of fountain pens and handwriting

Filed under: Life and Leisure by Hari
Posted on Sun, Oct 30, 2005 at 12:59 IST (last updated: Wed, Jul 16, 2008 @ 21:43 IST)

I just came across this page on handwriting tips and I thought I would share a few tips on handwriting here myself. I have always believed that the best handwriting can be obtained with good, old fashioned fountain pens rather than ball point pens, gel pens and microtip pens. For a long time now, I've been using a fantastic Sheaffer fountain pen which is smooth and thick-tipped giving me excellent writing comfort and decent handwriting. It is quite an old pen, but it is still in excellent condition and allows me to write for long durations with consistently good handwriting and with much less finger-fatigue.

I don't claim to have great handwriting, but it's decent enough as you can see here. In particular you might find the difference between the thick tipped pen and the thin tipped pen interesting.

my handwriting

What I find interesting is that a fountain pen with a thick tip and smooth flow of ink can do wonders to anybody's handwriting. A thicker tip does two things: for one, it increases the line thickness and it smooths over a few flaws in your handwriting which might otherwise get highlighted by using a thin-tipped pen. Secondly it allows neat handwriting with a very pleasing, straight, rounded style of writing than a narrow, slanted style. It allows me to write much more naturally and smoothly this way, as you can see from the picture. For writing several pages in a row, it's much nicer too. With a thin tipped pen, it becomes much more difficult to control the character shapes in a rounded style. Needs a lot more control too.

Another thing is ink flow. This is obvious. A pen which allows me to apply much less pressure to get a smooth flow of ink going is going to put much less burden on my wrist. It also allows me to write faster and more freely. I have tried different kinds of pens, but never have I got the same kind of smoothness with anything else. Ball point pens are the worst in this regard - they're not meant for long durations of writing. Cheap ball point pens can give you a severe wrist ache, simply because you'll be naturally applying a lot more pressure for the same duration of writing.

A quality I particularly like about fountain pens is the fact that the good quality ones are long-lasting. They can serve you for decades or even a lifetime. Used with high grade ink, they will remain in good condition for a long time. This saves a lot of wastage compared to other kinds of disposable pens like ball-point pens, gel pens and microtip pens - those kinds are simply meant for short-term use and then you just throw them into the dustbin. Before anybody can raise their hands and say, "But fountain pens start leaking after some time and become messy!" I'll just say one thing: when I said "good quality" I meant good quality. The best pens that I have haven't leaked even once. My Sheaffer and Parker pens haven't leaked at all and I've been having them for several years now. And lest you think that good quality pens can only be had for a price, I have another, less expensive pen with a large capacity for holding ink (I humourously refer to it as the "tanker lorry" pen) which hasn't given me much trouble since I bought it. Buying at a reputed stationery shop always helps. Of course, it isn't as smooth as my Sheaffer (how can it ever be?) and obviously it's tip is not as good. However it's a solid workhouse and suitable for voluminous writing work. And in any case, paying a little more for quality always does help too. The value you get in return for paying a slightly higher price is worth it.

Long live the fountain pen!

6 comment(s)

  1. Some good points made. My English teacher (many moons ago :)) always said that fountain pens give better handwriting. I think it's something to with the pen moving more slowly and deliberately across the page.

    Comment by Ray (visitor) on Fri, Nov 4, 2005 @ 22:58 IST #
  2. Ray, thanks for the dropping by. Yes, the fountain pens have two qualities that make them easier to write with:1. A thicker grip.2. Smooth nib with free flowing ink.Of course, only high quality fountain pens have these qualities. Otherwise you end up with leaky messy pens or pens where you wear out the nib trying to get the ink to flow out smoothly.

    Comment by hari (blog owner) on Sat, Nov 5, 2005 @ 08:31 IST #
  3. when it comes to the Sheaffer pens, I am very pleased with them at home I have quite a collection if you can help me is a quest that handles where can I buy them

    http://www.sheaffer.iswift.eu/?p=369

    Comment by jankes (visitor) on Thu, Apr 8, 2010 @ 13:46 IST #
  4. Hi Mr.Hari,
    I just purchsed Jinhao x-750 and very happy with its smooth,broad and inky writing. I just read your photographic review on Fountain Pen Network.Very impressive !!! Please suggest me exact some shop in mumbai, where I get Jinhao x750. I am from Pune. Here in Pune I ask for many retailers for the same pen, but no one giving positive response for it.

    Comment by Dhananjay M (visitor) on Sun, Dec 21, 2014 @ 04:45 IST #
  5. Hi, Dhananjay, I am not based in Pune or Mumbai, so I am not able to advise you on the matter. Thanks for visiting my blog and glad you found it useful. :)

    Comment by Hari (blog owner) on Mon, Dec 22, 2014 @ 20:53 IST #
  6. Dear Hari,
    Thanks..

    Comment by Dhananjay (visitor) on Sun, Jan 4, 2015 @ 05:34 IST #

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