Why Do You Use A Fountain Pen?

[WOBentley]

Colors and the smooth writing are part of it. Connecting to an earlier time also plays a part...plus it's fun!

[GabrielleDuVent]

So, to sum up:

 

Using a fountain pen is an experience unto itself, like enjoying ice cream or having a glass of fine wine.

 

Does your writing change when you change from ballpoint to fountain pen? Mine doesn't... I sound just as verbose and wordy in actual speech.

[UDog]

In a way you are an artist. You draw your words with a special kind of brush in a color of your choosing.

[iamchum]

this one's an easy one:

 

Researcher: Write between 7-20 pages a day up to 40.

Got RSI from using terrible BPs

Moved onto FPs and havent looked back since I still get pain in my forearm after really long bouts of writing but I can go for hours now, with not a care in the world. Thanks FPs! You made me more productive!

[Lyander0012]

 

I said I should have used another phrase. I do like the phrase, if I say so myself. It's you boys who decided to have fun with it, showing the rest of us ladies just how much of your mind is in the gutter. On this prestigious and posh FPN too.

 

Another reason to use fountain pens: even if you write swear words and debauchery, you'd still look classy?

 

For one thing, though I agree most guys are chauvinistic in an amusing way (yours truly included, of course), our minds aren't ALWAYS in the gutter.

 

... Try 95% of the time? XD

 

And, yes, I've actually tried that when I left a note for a person with whom I was very much peeved off at. It still looked really classy, but only from afar. Actually reading it was a whole 'nother experience altogether )

 

 

this one's an easy one:

 

Researcher: Write between 7-20 pages a day up to 40.

Got RSI from using terrible BPs

Moved onto FPs and havent looked back since I still get pain in my forearm after really long bouts of writing but I can go for hours now, with not a care in the world. Thanks FPs! You made me more productive!

 

I'm lucky that I discovered FPs before I got RSI from using ballpoints (I feel that I was already fairly close, though). I've always been partial to gel pens and felt tips even before fountain pens, but it's not quite the same thing, is it?

 

Also, you have to admit that it's really nice watching ink dry on high-class paper, especially when using shading inks. I have as much fun writing as I do saying what I need to say, if that makes any sense

 

 

So, to sum up:

 

Using a fountain pen is an experience unto itself, like enjoying ice cream or having a glass of fine wine.

 

Does your writing change when you change from ballpoint to fountain pen? Mine doesn't... I sound just as verbose and wordy in actual speech.

 

Yes, though I can only relate to ice cream. My writing becomes a bit more jagged when using ballpoints (which I almost never do nowadays), and I'm actually a bit more casual in actual speech. I'm just as verbose, but the way I arrange my words is less... shall I say, stilted?

[bullfighter]

Because I hate ball point pens. I have a Mont Blanc ball point that I never use. The most expensive ball pen is only as good as the refill inside. And the fact that a ball pen has no personality. You can't hold it the wrong way. Show me a fountain pen that you can throw away when it's empty. You don't buy them by the box like BICs. If you're buying a new fountain pen, you want to try it out, get the feel of it. Too light, too heavy, too thick, too thin? In my collection there are pens that are almost too slim to get a proper grip on but I love them anyway. And the beast Mont Blanc 149 is almost too huge for most people but oh how it writes. And it all started with a Parker 51 my wife has had since high school and that still writes like the day it was purchased. Then I found an old Esterbrook in a drawer, had it restored and now it's like new. The thrill of the hunt for that elusive one. I am an avid collector, not just of pens but various other things that bring me pleasure. Some functional, some just things of beauty. A fountain pen is both.

[cybaea]

[...] Show me a fountain pen that you can throw away when it's empty. You don't buy them by the box like BICs.

 

Sure thing, here is one (Pilot's V Pen disposable fountain pen):

 

http://pilot-validation.hosting.clever-age.net/media/wysiwyg/TeasersUK/668x144/EN_VPen_668x144_.jpg

 

Always happy to help

[Gloucesterman]

Why do I use fountain pens?

 

For the same reason I still drive a car with a manual transmission...

For the same reason I don't watch television...

For the same reason I walk the miles around town to do errands...

For the same reason I don't use an alarm clock... and never oversleep (;-)) - Gabrielle)

For the same reason I have more than 500 books on my shelves in a small apartment...

For the same reason I have a "dumb" phone with no voice mail (yet?) that means people have to speak with (not to) me

 

And for the same reason I write letters by hand and send them by post...

 

It involves having more control over my environment, using the resources such as my legs & feet and maintaining a level of health because of it and because it is a conscious, intentional choice that I make every time I pick up a fountain pen, uncap it and express something.

 

Ultimately because that it is a way for me to live my Life Aloud! (and it's fun too, especially the part about being here on FPN, meeting some wonderful people, and exchanging thoughts and ideas with all or you.

 

That's all (for now) Folks!!!

Sid

[jetsam]

brgmarketing, you actually have an alarm fountain pen??????

Edited June 7, 2013 by jetsam

[GabrielleDuVent]

brgmarketing, you actually have an alarm fountain pen??????

 

That is quite "alarm"ing.

[proton007]

A fountain pen in itself is a unique writing instrument. As in, there's no alternative to a FP if you want that FP style.

[fountainpenjunkie]

I almost voted, 'to uphold a tradition', but for me it is mostly nostalgic, which is sorta related, I think.

When I was a teenager in the early seventies, I really enjoyed writing with the micro point felt pens. They came in a variety of colors, but for me, it was the fascination of the ink flowing out of the felt tip and so uniformly on the page. Maybe the sense of contact between the paper and the felt tip.

 

One day, I thought of fountain pens and wondered if they were still available. I found a cheap one in a drug store isle, bought it and was hooked right away. Even though I was using it upside down and the tines would snag the paper, When I realized I was using the thing upside down I laughed at myself. Today, that moment reminds me of the line from the 80's movie, "Back to the Future", " I'm your density. I mean, your destiny." Which was true on both counts - my lack of basic awareness (density) and once I flipped the thing over, my destiny. I really enjoyed writing with it and made sure I used one anytime I wrote letters to friends and family. Since 2001, I use them anytime I can. I have a few cheap ones at work and generally carry a nice vintage pen, but I use them for the pure enjoyment of the technology. That 'modern' representation of the quill.

 

Thanks for the question. I enjoy reminiscing on that moment.

Edited June 7, 2013 by fountainpenjunkie

[JulesSilvan]

I like the tactile sensation of writing and drawing by hand. The fact that my handwriting looks neater with a fountain pen and the bigger range of ink colours are added bonuses.

[diamondmaster]

I do not think it is cool to use a fountain pen. There are certain drawbacks of using actually. However, the line variation and the way to write is something a modern pen can not provide.

 

Tradition, Memories Of my Father, School , University.......My First Big Deal.....My first Sign in a Check....and from only Year Ago....interest in Cooperplaete Hand.....for Fun .

[mm1624124]

I have weak writing pressure because I learned to write with a fountain pen! Ballpoints require way too much pressure to be comfortable.

[de_pen_dent]

Groupies.

[saaj]

To me , the main appeal is that fountain pens just flow over the paper. I enjoy writing with them because of this . That's why I use fountain pens.

[Holdav]

Groupies.

 

Brilliant! Though I feel I may be writing wrong as I have not experienced this from my pens.

 

I went for other,

 

I'm sure others have said similar but, when I write it do it for enjoyment, and nothing I have found has come close to a fountain pen. Add in the effects you can get with different paper, ink and nibs that just aren't available to a ballpoints I just can't go back now.

[cbaytan]

FP Advantages:

 

1-Getting thicker lines than the other pens as much as you wish.

2-Endliess variety of colors for your taste, incredible fun.

3-Have a chance to change colors anytime

4-Fun to use, actually more than just fun it's a real hobby.

5,More classy and kinda odd man impression.

6-Preserving cultural heritage.

 

Disadvantages:

1-Danger of leak in the pocket, especially in hot summer days.

2-Airplanes are a no no!

3-More expensive (Hell with it)

4-Very time consuming /Deciding which pen to get, finding it, then purchasing it, supplying proper ink, trying them, not to mention papers (Did I say it's a hobby? Maybe I should've written this to the advantages part)

5-Needs lot more frequent ink fills than the gel/roller-pen replacements, so a danger of getting out of ink somewhere ie. in the field (or shaky jobs like referees) FP's are impractical. But on the other hand using same ink/standard colors for months would be very boring,.

 

Thats it for me.

[wspohn]

None of your options in the poll apply to me except 'other'.

No one ever notices you using an FP anyway nor do I care what anyone thinks. I use one because it converts a normally tedious task to one with at least a bit of pleasure component.

Edited June 12, 2013 by wspohn