Quest For A Schoolpen

[SmoutKa]

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?

Edited April 3, 2015 by SmoutKa

[mcgeechan]

Jinhao X450 is a great pen, I love them to death.

The new Jinhao 886 is also a really nice pen and uses a screw on top and its a lot lighter than the X450.

 

other options could be Pilot 78G with the broad nib, the italic nib on it makes even bad handwriting look great.

[SmoutKa]

Using the X450 for some days, I notice it won't start after a nights sleep.

Any thougths about that?

 

Jinhao X450 is a great pen, I love them to death.

The new Jinhao 886 is also a really nice pen and uses a screw on top and its a lot lighter than the X450.

 

other options could be Pilot 78G with the broad nib, the italic nib on it makes even bad handwriting look great.

[Mark9117]

Using the X450 for some days, I notice it won't start after a nights sleep.

Any thougths about that?

 

 

Extract, clean and reseat the nib and feed? Floss the nib with a brass shim? Use a "wetter" ink?

 

Are you storing it overnight with the nib pointing up?

 

Just asking.

 

 

Mark

[PDW]

If you want him to develop what some consider a "correct" grip, might a Lamy Safari work if the budget will stretch? International cartridges don't fit, but the Lamy ones are large and the Lamy blue ink has good characteristics.

 

You might want to adjust the nib before handing the pen over, but all my Safaris have been OK with only a few needing any nib tweaking at all. And, of course, if the pen does get inserted in unexpected places the nib can be replaced cheaply

[Skyppere]

you might consider a 'starter fountain pen,' like a Pilot Varsity. You could even give him all six colors. I suggest this

because they write perfectly right out of the box, their durable and easily replaced when lost. I would think if you gave

him one or some of these for say 5 months or so and he took to them and took care of them then you could take the

next step up and get him a non disposable pen with cartridges and converter...

skyppere

[stephanos]

Pelikan makes the Pelikano and the Twist, both of which are good, durable, colourful and inexpensive (and readily available, and take standard cartridges). They are definitely worth considering.

[stephanos]

There is also a German brand called Online that makes a lot of school pens.

[Abner C. Kemp]

I'd suggest getting your child a Lamy Safari or Al-Star. Both have sections that promote a proper grip and the nibs are interchangeable. Alternatively, the Pelikan Pelicano would also be a good buy and it is on the cheaper end of the spectrum. It is hard to improve your penmanship with a scratchy pen!!

Edited April 10, 2015 by Abner C. Kemp

[SmoutKa]

 

Extract, clean and reseat the nib and feed? Floss the nib with a brass shim? Use a "wetter" ink?

 

Are you storing it overnight with the nib pointing up?

 

Just asking.

 

 

Mark

Good questions :-)

 

To start: Yes, I have the pen nib up on my desk. Bad idea, could have known. Never considered, since the Sheaffer and Hoover never gave problems.

I did wetten up the nib, however. But now I have a proper reason for disassembly ;-)

Thnks for advise!

[SmoutKa]

PDW, Skyppere, Stephanos and Abner C. Kemp:

That is a good round of advise! Thanks a lot.

Lamys and Pilots disqualify because at school only international cartridges are supplied.

Pelikanos take proprietary cartridges, too. But they can also be loaded with two international cartridges, isn't it?

Well, I ordered some Jinhao 599 imitations (aliexpress.com. €1,41 each) of the Lamy Safari, after I read some promising reviews. They'll take a small eternity to get here, I suppose. Until then he writes with the tuned version of the Bruynzeel schoolpen.

Umless I improve the X450 with Mark's advice.

[Mark9117]

PDW, Skyppere, Stephanos and Abner C. Kemp:

That is a good round of advise! Thanks a lot.

Lamys and Pilots disqualify because at school only international cartridges are supplied.

Pelikanos take proprietary cartridges, too. But they can also be loaded with two international cartridges, isn't it?

Well, I ordered some Jinhao 599 imitations (aliexpress.com. €1,41 each) of the Lamy Safari, after I read some promising reviews. They'll take a small eternity to get here, I suppose. Until then he writes with the tuned version of the Bruynzeel schoolpen.

Umless I improve the X450 with Mark's advice.

 

Best of luck. It's really not that hard with the Jenhao's. SBRE Brown has oodles of information on YouTube to help out.

 

Mark

[Sasha Royale]

All your fountain pens work okay, in the staged demonstration. The bargain-priced Jinhao x450 works

good, since you take care of it. A child will neglect his fountain pen -- cookies, TV, "It's snowing !"

A teenage son will neglect his fountain pen -- "Gretchen, liebchen !" if the pen quits on him, he

may abandon fp's for decades.

 

Start with the Pilot V-pen. (Varsity in America)

If he does well in school, a LAMY Safari for high school.

For college, get him a second LAMY Safari, so he will have two at the university.

 

(When I say "Safari" , include Vista and Al-star.)

 

He can still use YOUR fine fountain pens, at home, for letters to Gretchen.

[basterma]

Schneider Base is a good one. Similar to the Safari in size and design. I like the nib better than the Lamy. Pelikan also makes the Grand Prix school pen.

[PDW]

Jinhao 599 - a Safari-like pen that comes in a range of colours and takes the school's cartridges. Sounds like a good choice.

 

Just watch out for your son's classmates' envy

[SmoutKa]

Thnx Mark. Good video. Cleansed the feed, reassembled the unit, and made some more space between nib and feed.

Stored it nib-up for some days. And it works flawlessly.

Getting confident in disassembling, I did the Parker 25 that would never work. Now it does!

 

Sasha - that is a great advise. I'll keep it in mind.

But really, the Bruynzeels (both vintage and recent) write terribly. They must have been designed for frugal use of ink. Why else would you combine a F nib with a starving dry feed? In the end you don't need ink at all: Sometimes his classmates just slid through the paper...

 

basterma: Schneider! Just forgot about Schneider. It was 'the other' schoolbrand for stationary, besides Bruynzeel. (Got some pencils, a ruler and an eraser) Never knew they made FPs.

 

@PDW: I hope mister postman finds my house before the end of the schoolseason

[platon951]

hero 360 best strong nib

[strictlyobiter]

My partner's nephew loves his Pelikan Twist. He had been using a Parker Vector but he found the grip too thin and it fatigued his hand quickly. The Twist is very ergonomic with a lovely smooth nib. I was so impressed with it I bought one for myself!

[rwilsonedn]

I would second the idea of the Pilot Varsity (or V-Pen). It is a very inexpensive "disposable" that you can in fact refill. It will go years without drying out or starting hard, so you can carry a working pen and a back-up, and just bring the working pen home for a refill when it runs out. And the rather wide M nib is quite good.

Then whey your understudy wants to graduate to a fancier pen, move up the Pilot or Platinum line a little bit. All of their pens--even the very inexpensive ones--have excellent quality and writing feel, plus very good nibs and feeds, in my experience. I would avoid the German schools pens because of the weird triangular section that is supposed to force kids to hold the pen in one particular (and in my opinion poorly-chosen) way.

Wonderful that you are taking such interest in this, and sharing your enthusiasm with your son!

ron

[RyanM]

I would agree with the Lamy Safari or Al-Star. This pen has grip sections, which should help your son correct his finger positioning. It's also a very nice pen. Your son will be able to pick the nib and colour he likes best. And if he loses it? It's not as cheap as some of the Jin Hao pens, but it's not an expensive Fountain Pen by any stretch.