Why Do You Use A Fountain Pen?

[seoulseeker]

Personally I use fountain pens because other writing instruments tend to make me "death grip" my pen. Fountain pens are the only way I can write without hand cramps.

[lynxcat]

i deliberately got into fountain pens around christmastime of 2009 in order to give myself a fancy incentive to train my penmanship. i hated my writing back then; all block-printed, all uppercase, all ugly. i thought if i bought a stupidly expensive pen ($12 !! for ONE pen!) i'd be guilting myself into practising.

 

and, well, it kindof worked. four and a half years later i have a handful-and-some more pens (some of them a LOT more expensive than that first pilot 78G), i'm in a pattern of drifting out of then back into the hobby on a period of several months at a time, and my handwriting... now has lowercase, and is cursive.

 

i'll never be a calligrapher, and my writing will never be pretty or artistic, but it's functional, and in my eyes a LOT better than it was when i got started. i no longer see any reason to write with ballpoints; my FP's do the job well, and give me a pleasant writing experience doing it.

 

...in theory i like the notion of reusability and no-waste writing, too. in practice, all these pens that are accumulating, and all these bottles of ink that never get less than half full, kind of sink that argument...

[I like mango cheesecake]

I use it because of it's elegance compared to the utiliatrian ball point. I use it because I like how it paints its wet glistening lines on the paper and instantly dries up. I use it because I can vary the style of my writing based on the type of pen. I use it because I like to be an individual amongst the general population of people who think of a pen as nothing more than a mere tool to put words on paper. I use it because it reflects my personality on the pen and ink combinations I choose. I use it because I am considered unique amongst the commonality of everyone around me.

[Zilknitha]

I'm dyslexic, so having a writing tool that I can change ink colors just makes life easier for me. Especially for college notes that I have to read back from. Also, I find it so much comfortable to use on a daily basis.

[SujiCorp12345]

I use FPs for comfort, and I've always loved the looks of the nibs ever since I saw my first FP.

[NewFPU]

On second reflection of this question, I must add that fountain pens fit in with my sense of style. I like button-down, crisp, clean, long-sleeve white shirts & classic looking analog wrist watches. Fountain pens fit in quite nicely.

 

 

Myste

[SyntheticEvil13]

I've always liked the look of a fountain pen. Other than that, I just like "old school" things. I shave with DE safety razors, I smoke a pipe, and I write with a fountain pen. I guess I'm just quirky like that.

[Whiterose64]

I have loved fountain pens as long as I can remember.

 

At junior school we had to write in pencil till our writing was good enough then we were allowed to use a fountain pen. My writing was always too big or too small and it took ages before I was allowed a fountain pen so I was brainwashed into thinking it was something to strive for and a prize.

 

I'm glad to have been brainwashed whenever I take a fountain pen out to sign something people always ask questions and compliment my writing (only because FP's make anyone's writing look better than a biro). Also as someone said in an earlier post you don't get stub or italic ballpoint pens. The different ink colours is always a big plus.

[scratchofapen]

Hmm, interesting what you can come up with when you want to nail your reasons down....i checked other cause i don't think the other given reasons fit for me.

 

So i camedown to this:

 

1.I like old (read "older than me") things, And i don' like to put them away because there is something newer (read"considered flashy") while they still work or can be repaired/serviced. I may use penmodels from the last year, but the whole FP-thing runs in the Old-field for me

 

2. As an engineer i strongly belive in "right tool for the right job" . FPs might not be perfect, but mostly better than ball or gelpoints.

Be honest, the most sutable writing tool may be a good pencil for most tasks (dug away and getting cover), but although i alway carry one i mostly use the FP because i like to fiddle with it, like to unscrew the cap, like how it feels writing with it etc. It is a nice experience a pencil can not give me. So for me personally the fun using a fountainpen plays into the mentioned "right tool for the righ job" thing, as a pencil may be good, but i find them boring for something longer to write. A tool that bores you might not be the right one for the job

 

3. As stupid as it sounds, if i am honest to my self, i like to be a bit different, so if anyone uses disposanle BPs or GPs(or maybe high quality ones) that is not the thing for me. God beware everyone would use FPs, that day i would be forced to invent a steam powered one or something like that. ;0)

 

4. I like the little bit of slow down a FP offeres, it helps me to focus. Nowadays anything has to be maximum efficient all the time. I think doing something considered "anachronistic" helps people to stay focussed to the task.

For the same reason i use a razorblade. Once a day i take the time to concentrate on shaving, in oposite to do it electrical and have my thoughts somewhere else.

Edited June 25, 2014 by scratchofapen

[napalm]

Because they're the best tool for writing very vast for extended periods of time without getting cramps in your hand period.

[Chi Town]

I use a Fountain pen because! I get to use all different kinds and colors of bottled inks and sometimes cartridge inks, the other reason is that the pens them selves are so very different in nature from all the other pens out there.......

[ArnyDelan168]

The pleasure delivered to writing experience, of course.

[amk]

Using a nice wet nib, laying down ink on paper is a sensuous experience. Why would I use any other writing implement?

[Blue_Moon]

I use a fountain pen mainly for the colors of ink available and to improve my handwriting. I also use one because I just like the feel of writing on quality paper with quality ink, using a quality pen. However, I don't use a fountain pen all the time.

[Tony_Perez]

Personally, I think that in (and due to) modern day culture, we don't pay enough attention to what we use to write, especially considering how much time in our lives we spend doing it. Whether it's using a ballpoint pen or your laptop, barely any thought goes into the process of recording our thoughts.

A few months ago I began to think about the way I write and what ballpoint pens didn't give me, what they lacked, and found that an alternative could be the fountain pen. So I tried easing myself into the world of FP's, but quickly found myself sucked in. So here I am now. When people at school ask me why I use fountain pens (Im only in HS) I simply tell them that I can't say why I use a fountain pen, I can only feel that I have to use one.

[jar]

Personally, I think that in (and due to) modern day culture, we don't pay enough attention to what we use to write, especially considering how much time in our lives we spend doing it. Whether it's using a ballpoint pen or your laptop, barely any thought goes into the process of recording our thoughts.

A few months ago I began to think about the way I write and what ballpoint pens didn't give me, what they lacked, and found that an alternative could be the fountain pen. So I tried easing myself into the world of FP's, but quickly found myself sucked in. So here I am now. When people at school ask me why I use fountain pens (Im only in HS) I simply tell them that I can't say why I use a fountain pen, I can only feel that I have to use one.

Welcome home Tony. Pull up a stump and set a spell.

[praxim]

Since Tony alerted me to this thread by bringing it up into recently updated, I added my votes which are "Other" and "Inks". The Other is that a pen is lighter to hold and smoother, a better writer. Even when an Onoto is demonstrating its slight temperament over ink flow, it is no more hassle than a ballpoint and mostly far, far nicer to use. Having switched back to pens after an accidental 6-year interregnum, I have taken advantage to have a variety of pens all of which I use, and thus a variety of inks at hand as well as in reserve.

 

In a previous life when giving a presentation I would demand of the organiser that there be a minimum of three and preferably four colours with new or tested pens (you would have thought they could manage that without me checking on them). Colour affects response, even if only by virtue of changing it, without getting in to more contemplative aspects in personal use.

Edited November 16, 2016 by praxim

[ParramattaPaul]

I just voted "other" on this poll. "Other" best fits my multiple motives.

 

Firstly, I am a lover of history and a vintage fountain pen is a physical remnant of its time and place in history. It also, indirectly attaches us individually as we use a vintage pen to all previous users. As we unscrew the cap, draw up ink from a bottle, and then begin to write, we are performing the same acts as someone, a quarter or half a century earlier did with the same pen. We can not know what he or she was thinking, what or why they were writing, but we can physically know what it was like for that person to hold and use that pen. In a way, we are also attached to them spiritually (emotionally) as we write with "their" pen.

 

Secondly, I like the way the ink flows, and its richness on paper. Biros (ballpoint pens), Gel pens, etc. do not offer the same qualities of writing.

 

Then too, using a fountain pen improves my handwriting since; a, I don't grip the pen so tightly; b, I don't press down as firmly; and c, I write slower - and enjoy it more.

 

There are other, far less significant and unexplainable motives for me to use a fountain pen, but the three above will suffice as an answer.

[Bookman]

Writing with a fountain pen is a pleasure. Writing with anything else is a chore.

[AGxM]

I use it because of it's elegance compared to the utiliatrian ball point. I use it because I like how it paints its wet glistening lines on the paper and instantly dries up. I use it because I can vary the style of my writing based on the type of pen. I use it because I like to be an individual amongst the general population of people who think of a pen as nothing more than a mere tool to put words on paper. I use it because it reflects my personality on the pen and ink combinations I choose. I use it because I am considered unique amongst the commonality of everyone around me.

 

This sums things up perfectly for me, thank you