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My son has some problems with his handwriting. Wonder where he got that from... Anyhow, it is a nice excuse to take a look at the school writing tools he's given here in the Netherlands. So I made a handfull of writing examples with his schoolpen and some others laying around. Ample reason to share the result here. And to beg you all for proper advise. First on the line is my daily writer: Sheaffer Imperial IV TD. It is of sentimental value to me, but apart from that: nothing I have touched comes even close to its performance. Never dry, easy filler, no hassle nibcleaning, smooth, balanced, medium nib, wet but not very wet line. No flex in the nib (but hey - t's been designed to use on carboncopy paper). Second is a 'Hoover de Luxe', read its story elswhere. A compact and light pen, not half as smooth as the Sheaffer, but I like it very much for its look and feel. To me it has an air of being exotic about it. In terms of writing it has a nice flex nib, because of its small size you use it posted, it is a buttonfiller. Third is a Jinhao X450 I recently got. (€4,00 or there about...). Amazing! The nib needed a bit of tinkering, but it is a perfect writer. Like most Chines pens I've seen, the cap is heavy (the whole pen is heavy), the 'click' it closes with is loud and far from effortless. But then again: It has beautifull details, a large and somewhat springy nib, and is a stable, smooth writer. Unbelievable value. More then a bit inspired on Mont Blanc Meisterstück. International cartridge / convertor included. Then the first Bruynzeel. On the plus side: colourfull, affordable (€7,19 in a webshop), rubber grip, ink window. But then... My children keep bringing them home because they leak or clutter. But man - is that scratchy! One needs a lot of pressure to get any line at all. I said: I have to be carefull not to rip up the paper! My son says: Yes, that happens to me occasionally - but the teacher praises me because I am the only one who doesn't demolish the pen in te process! So I cleansed it out, polished the nib with a nail-polisher, and adjusted the nib to make it a bit less dry (the washed out colour on this picture is a result of the cleansing, combined with the fact that it doesn't exept the Jinhao convertor for some reason). Now it actually writes more or less, and you don't have to squeeze the ink out. But it is about as comfortable as writing with a pair of scissors (hey, they have some capillar activity, and a pointy bit as well!). Maybe part of the problem is the nibsize, which is Fine. The nib is extremely rigid. O, I have two of these laying around, and they 'perform' identical. How on earth can you teach children to write with something as bad as this!?!?! The last pen is another Bruynzeel, and another pen received at school. But one generation ago. This one is my wife's, but I had a similar one. This one is even a XF nib, and fine it is as you can see. Of course it needed some TLC - and it received that. It is not a nice writer. Any XF is vulnerable to scratchiness, but this is just bad. There is hardly any tip-matrial to tinker with. I got it in writing state. A very narrow line. I like that. But the feel is appalling. The metal cap sits so losely on the pen you might think it is from another brand. There is no clip. To avoid rolling of there is kind of a ridge on the barrel, perfectly lined out to be a pain in the ehhh... finger while writing. Now for the question: I would like to give my son a proper FP. His writing is cramped and full of pressure, so I look for a pen with an ergonomic, distressing grip, a fluid, smooth writing experience, and of course an international C/C, because of reinking at school. It 'd better be cheap, because first graders eat pens for breakfast, or use them for purposes I'd never dream of. Any suggestions?