Pen for doing math

[acyso]

Hi -- I'm pretty new to fountain pens. I recently discovered the awesomeness of using them and I now already have a MB 146 and a Lamy Studio. But I've found that either of them don't really work very well when I am trying to do math, so I'm looking for one that writes a little sharper. I realize that this mostly has to do with my nib, but I am also happy with the nibs I am using on the other two pens. I've been looking at the new Pilot M90 or a Pilot VP. Any suggestions? My price range probably is topped at around $250.

 

Thanks a lot in advance!

[DanS]

I would probably take a chance and buy another Sailor either a Professional Gear or a large 1911. I got an EF and it was a very thin and scratchy nib. I would probably go for a Fine nib if I were to buy another Sailor.

[PAKMAN]

Pelikan 200 with xf nib from Richard Binder.

[adt475]

I have never found a fountain pen that was any good at doings Maths, so I switched to a calculator.

[MidnightBlue]

For a kind of cheapy from Speerbob, a Filcao with a fine nib. It's what I use for scoring music. It gives good definition and totally reliable with a nice old fashioned handmade look.

Thanks

[AltecGreen]

For math and calculations, I use a Nakaya pen with a fine nib. In a pinch (i.e. not carrying a Nakaya or Platinum), a Pilot fine or western EF works ok. I find that the Pelikan EF is more like a fine and still too broad.

 

 

So I would suggest trying a Platinumm/Nakaya fine or extra fine. Alternatively, have a nibmeister grind a nib down to the right size (XXF or even an XXXF).

 

 

A Sailor fine seems pretty close to a Platinum/Nakaya fine according to the size chart at nibs.com.

 

The only thing is that such fine nibs require a very light hand and perhaps tuning by a nibmeister to be smooth.

Edited April 28, 2009 by AltecGreen

[Daosus]

Any pen with a fairly fine nib can be used for doing math. A Sailor F or EF would probably be the smoothest off the shelf, but with your budget, you have a wide range of pens to select from, especially since you could budget in having it ground down to size.

[MJSchuelke]

I now have a MB 146 and a Lamy Studio. But I've found that either of them don't really work very well when I am trying to do math, so I'm looking for one that writes a little sharper.

 

What's wrong with a larger sheet of paper? I've found that A3 landscape was enough for all my maths needs. Then again, I'm a physicist, not a mathematician...

[chkuo]

There's a long thread on this topic in the review forum:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=72156

[Zeroblade]

A Sailor Pro Gear with an EF nib. You can get one at nibs.com (no affiliation, etc.) for just about 248 USD, just right in your budget.

 

edit: if you can really push it, try going for the Pro Gear with a Saibi Togi nib. It might not be very suitable for super-fast writing activity though.

Edited April 28, 2009 by Zeroblade

[JimStrutton]

People ask me why I often carry two Parker "51"s. Here is my reasoning, a "51" with a UK Medium Nib is just great for my handwriting style, but to add notations onto spreadsheets, do calculations or add margin notes to anything, you really need a Fine, and for this there is nothing better in my opinion than a Parker "51" with a Fine US Nib.

 

You can get a good user "51" with a Fine or even XF nib for around half your budget, you might even want to consider a restored Vacumatic, you would need to do a lot of math to use up the ink on one of those You can then spend the spare cash on another "51" to use as a daily writer :roflmho: Or maybe have two colours of ink

[Daosus]

I must've lucked out. My 51 Special writes a fine when held the right way, and a smooth XXF when held upside down

[inkypete]

I knew a constipated mathematician once and he worked it out with a pencil. :roflmho:

[hari317]

Any suggestions? My price range probably is topped at around $250.

 

I would recommend a Pilot Custom 742 with a PO nib for your purpose. This pen takes the Con70 converter which holds a lot of ink. The pen is full size and has a very nice feel to it. You can even win a Custom 743 with a PO nib from Engieka on ebay. NAYY

 

Best,

Hari

 

 

 

[Woods]

I use a studio with an F nib. I tried EF and F, and both work well, but I find that I prefer the F and it's a good balance for writing maths and writing words. What nib do you have on your studio?

[troglokev]

Hi -- I'm pretty new to fountain pens. I recently discovered the awesomeness of using them and I now already have a MB 146 and a Lamy Studio. But I've found that either of them don't really work very well when I am trying to do math, so I'm looking for one that writes a little sharper. I realize that this mostly has to do with my nib, but I am also happy with the nibs I am using on the other two pens. I've been looking at the new Pilot M90 or a Pilot VP. Any suggestions? My price range probably is topped at around $250.

 

You could do a lot worse than either of those pens: I have the M90, and I love it. I also have the Sailor Saibi Togi (and have reviewed both these pens in the review section), so here are some writing samples on standard lecture pad paper.

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3627/3483075388_fa9eb09a44_b.jpg

 

The comparison shows a Montblanc 149 that I ground to a proper extra fine myself, the Pilot M90 and the Sailor Saibi Togi nib doing some statistical mechanics. Of the three, I'd say the Pilot M90 is the most suitable for your purpose. The Sailor Saibi Togi if you like a really fine line. Unless you're willing to follow my example and grind the nib, I'd steer clear of the Montblanc: their EF wrote a broader line than most mediums, before I took to it with the nail buffer.

[yachtsilverswan]

Very fine nibs are best for math and science to resolve all the subscripts and superscripts. But as nibs are ground finer and finer, they often loose the glassy smoothness that most fountain pen users like.

 

Nibmeister Richard Binder has rediscovered a technique of grinding very fine nibs while maintaining smoothness - a technique that was originally developed by Shaeffer - the Waverly Nib.

 

Search his website at www.richardspens.com for more information on the Waverly Nib.

[jar]

Hi -- I'm pretty new to fountain pens. I recently discovered the awesomeness of using them and I now already have a MB 146 and a Lamy Studio. But I've found that either of them don't really work very well when I am trying to do math, so I'm looking for one that writes a little sharper. I realize that this mostly has to do with my nib, but I am also happy with the nibs I am using on the other two pens. I've been looking at the new Pilot M90 or a Pilot VP. Any suggestions? My price range probably is topped at around $250.

 

Thanks a lot in advance!

 

An Esterbrook with an accountants nib.

[daveg]

I have never found a fountain pen that was any good at doings Maths, so I switched to a calculator.

 

These pens do math

 

http://www.vintagecalculators.com/calcupen.JPG

 

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/1844/calcupen7iw1.jpg

Edited April 28, 2009 by daveg

[someonesdad]

When I was doing calculations, I had a wonderful Sheaffer fountain pen I bought in the 1960's. Sadly, I lost that pen; it had a wonderful nib and was perfect for calculations.

 

I occasionally do calculations now and use either my Hero 616 Jumbos or Hero 332 pens. Their points typically produce a line approximately 0.4 mm wide, which is suitable to my tastes. Some folks like finer lines. The nice thing about the Hero pens is that you can get them for at most a few dollars apiece (the 616 Jumbos were $4 each delivered to the US from Hong Kong). The other 616s I have and the 332s were 80 cents or less apiece.

 

I keep one 332 inked with Fox Red for editing and the other with DC Supershow Blue. The 616 Jumbo, my favorite, stays inked with Bay State Blue. Another 616 has Noodler's Forest Green.

 

The beauties of these pens is that they work well and leave you money for other toys.