Why Do You Use A Fountain Pen?

[kestrel]

First, comfort. Arthritic hands like mine don't like ballpoints and the pressure it takes to make them put ink on paper. Writing a few sentences with a ballpoint sends me off to find the painkillers. I can write page after pain free page with a good fountain pen.

Second, they improve my handwriting aka scribbling aka hamster tracks.

Third, the history. I am a history lover and vintage pens fit right in. I wrote my various holiday and Christmas cards last December with a fountain pen that was manufactured when Ulysses S. Grant was president.

Fourth, the feel of vintage HR and celluloid paired with a smooth nib makes writing fun.

Fifth, to quote Vincent Prices reply when someone asked him why he had purchased a certain piece of art for his home, "Because I like it." I like fountain pens.

[byggyns]

I said "other" because, as others have said, it is the sensory experience of the pen. The fountain pen has its own beauty, and the writing it produces is unique in the world of writing implements. There are many ways to write out there, but few give you a more multi-sensory experience than a fountain pen. The pen and ink each have a smell. There is the sound of the nib on the paper. The feel of the paper texture, the solid feeling of a well made section, the smooth gliding without pressure to get a great line, and the weight of the pen body give an experience unmatched in other forms of writing.

 

I am also a fan of mechanical things. Anything that moves, has mechanisms, has an engine or motor is fascinating to me. I have long been a interested in antiquated and vintage mechanics. Steam engines, manual powered devices, and pre-industrial technology are so much fun to learn about, and to learn to operate. As a result, I love my old Smith Corona typewriter, and my growing collection of both modern and vintage fountain pens.

 

 

 

I also chose "to improve penmanship." This for me is a circular reason. When I started writing with a fountain pen, my writing did look better, but still had structural issues, so I practiced my handriting in order to improve it. The practice was not nearly as tedious because I could use a smooth-writing fountain pen instead of bearing down with a ballpoint. I find that learning proper writing techniques with a fountain pen has helped me to not bear down as hard with a pencil and to finally use a triangle grip style that I've been attempting to master for nearly 30 years of writing. (my mother the school teacher was always frustrated with the way I gripped my pencils and pens) So, the end result is learning a new and more gracefully flowing style of penmanship that looks even better because I use a fountain pen to make it.

 

I bought my first fountain pen in 2000. I was on a trip to Ukraine, and saw it for sale in a store. I thought it would be really cool to use a fountain pen. But I never really did anything with it except use it occasionally, then let the cartridge dry out. Of course then I had to try to get the ink flowing again with a new cartridge. The whole experience was quite frustrating because I had no idea what I was doing. It has only been within the last year that I have really figured out how these things work, and have added to the original pen I bought those years ago. This has coincided with a desire to journal more, and doing that with a fountain pen gives me more incentive to journal more often. Now, I wouldn't want to write with anything else unless the fountain pen was not able to fill that role.

[Charles Rice]

I like the way they write, the wide choice of colors, and that my fingers do not cramp. Also love to watch the ink dry.

[pajaro]

I use a fountain pen because that's the way I have always done it, and I resist change.

[Icywolfe]

Looking cool is just the side effect. (Of using old technology.)

 

Main Reason: Pencils tend to rub off easily and Bic pens really do hurt the area between the index and the thumb, Rollerball and Gel pens are forever to dry. Worse than any FP I've used. Even worse than the dip pen I have.

 

Also sketching Anime stuff seems to be much better with FPs because it's liquid ink.

 

I've recently started playing around writing letters in a fancy way, so far it's fun.

[Moondrop]

For me, they're more fun to use for sketching than any other kind of pen. For a long time, I sketched with pencils only. At some point I decided I wanted to sketch with ink, to eliminate the option of erasing mistakes. I tried different kinds of pens and, of course, I can sketch with felt-tipped pens or ballpoints or rollerballs or gel pens, if I don't have anything else. But I prefer fountain pens, and the very first fountain pen I bought, I bought to use as a drawing pen. It was the last good version of the Sheaffer cartridge pen; cost $6/$7 at the time, IIRC, and it was much more pleasant to use than everything else I'd tried.

 

Then I found out about waterproof fountain pen inks and how well they can work with watercolors...

 

Oh, they're also more fun to write with.

Edited March 4, 2014 by Moondrop

[Stratman351]

I went to Catholic School through grade 5 back in the 60's. Penmanship was taken very seriously, and I grew to love the tactile feel and bond of writing with a fountain pen and producing an elegant result. I still have that love.

[Stratman351]

I love the confusion it stirs up. A techie using such an "un-techie" instrument. Or is it? A fountain pen to me is the perfect blend of "simple" technology. By masterfully engineering an ink delivery system through the use of capillary action, a complex function is wrapped up in a seemingly simple fountain pen.I love it! Besides that I do love the variety of inks

 

 

Myste

 

I'm kind of known as a techie/gadget guy, and usually raise a few eyebrows when people see the tech stuff I use and then see me pull out a fountain pen, which is all I use for writing.

[Inky Tom]

I confess it's the feel of the nib gliding across the paper on a film of ink. Just the right speed for me unlike a ballpoint which feels like I'm trying to walk on marbles if you know what I mean. Also my pens tend to last much, much longer than the cheap 5 rupee pens which often break or are lost within a couple of days of use.I really hate to see the dozens of unusable ballpoints I see lying about the house. The "software" (ink) is also inexpensive and come in more colours. Then again there is the "do it my way" streak in me....

[fountainpagan]

It all started 45 years ago when I received my first one.

I love the way they look, the smothness of the nib, the sound some nibs do when touching the paper.

I have always had an attachement to my foutain pens that I could never develop with bic, roller and others.

I tire less, maybe because I press less when writing with a fountain pen.

Edited March 19, 2014 by fountainpagan

[Tasmith]

The process of removing the cap, posting (making sure the clip aligns with the nib!), adjusting my hold, ect., slows me down to be a bit more thoughtful in what I'm writing. I seem to make less mistakes with a fountain pen than I do typing or using a ballpoint. I compare it to when I used a view camera and the mulitiple steps involved in exposing a single sheet of film really made you concentrate on subject and technique and that made a huge difference the quality of the image. Instead of being able to shoot quickly with an SLR and hoping a one or two keepers.

[crw]

I like that no down pressure is required to write and makes writing fun again

[death89]

I'm another who uses it to improve penmanship, keep it alive, use the colours available and also because it's so much more comfortable for extended note taking. That makes a huge difference in my job (safety consultant ).

[Water Ouzel]

I compare it to when I used a view camera and the mulitiple steps involved in exposing a single sheet of film really made you concentrate on subject and technique and that made a huge difference the quality of the image. Instead of being able to shoot quickly with an SLR and hoping a one or two keepers.

I've been doing photography "seriously" since late high school, almost 50 years now, and early on worked with a 5x7" field view camera.

 

Almost all my photography for the past 30 years has been with an SLR or DSLR ... and I still work as if it's a view camera, on a tripod, even with a hand-held light meter in some lighting conditions. Slowing down and thinking can be useful, no matter the tool at hand.

 

Even on days that return only one or two keepers. Or journal entries, for that matter.

[LWJ2]

I learnt to write with one; after twenty years of medicine and more of college, I'm attempting to recover my penmanship.

[GUNGA GALUNGA]

my initial reason for using fountain pens was because i really liked the way it felt. then i bought a few. then it began to take on a sorta romantic quality. the whole thing,,, sitting at your desk, a number of ink bottles, a few stacks of nice writing paper. tinkering with your pens, filling them from one your ink wells. FOR THE PURE ENJOYMENT AND THE BEAUTY OF IT.

[nakiana]

Because I enjoy it.

[Colourfingers]

I've used Fountain pens since I was 10. It's just totally natural to me. A part of my life. Ballpens and biros have their place but not for writing anything longer than a quick note or a shopping list.

[Dottie]

I switched over when I was completing a masters and doing so much longhand writing that my thumb started giving me problems. Fountain pens allowed for a light touch and the problem was gone. It was reinforced when I looked at my handwriting once I was employed and realized that not even I could read it, so I found Fred Eager's book and got hooked on italic writing, followed by italic nibs. Next I discovered the world of converters, inks, paper and different pens.

 

I've never gotten into expensive fountain pens because I am always misplacing stuff and besides, things get "borrowed" at the library. often never to be seen again. I'm going to retire very, very soon though and I'm thinking of commemorating it with a Pelikan M200 with an italic nib. Not too expensive in case I lose it and I don't like a bulky pen. I'll be on the hunt for something like that at the Atlanta Pen Show.

[a student]

 

Posh is still used often in England.

 

My partner said today: "the wine was quite posh, but the cheese wasn't".

 

I didn't include the "fun" option because I found those kind of classifications overall too vague. There are many reasons something can be fun, and I wanted to know those reasons.

 

Thanks to everyone who responded, and keep those responses coming!

POSH

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