After all this time I've just noticed...

[Biber]

It's been a while and I'm trying to get back into using my FPs. I've been inspired to by my cardiologist who is into FPs (He has other admirable and inspiring qualities as well -  I think he even frequents FPN too.) Would that I knew him outside of a professional relationship...  But I digress. 

 

Anyway, I've dug out some pens and I'm trying to get back at it. Aside from reaffirming my revulsion with IPG nibs, I just realized just how differently I write with different pens, and it's not at all good. I never noticed that before. I write best with a Pelikan M200 with a "Binderized" needle point with a nicely shading homebrew I call "Biber's Bistre" (it's a corrupted Diamine Golden Brown). Much to my disappointment my handwriting turns to (bleep) with the Lamy 2000 and a Parker 51. Go figure.  I'm chalking it up to the slightly wider girth of the pens, as I can get what I feel is an acceptable line, with a bit more character,  by slightly rotating the nibs when I write. Maybe it's all in my head, writing better with a preferred/favored nib/ink combination. Anyone else experience this?  

 

 

[Paul-in-SF]

I find I write much better with a Fine or EF or even finer nib and a little feedback; pens like the Lamy 2000 are too smooth for me. I don't pay a lot of attention to the attributes of ink, mostly because I don't branch out and experiment very much. I have around 140 bottles or samples of ink, lots of different colors, but they are all dye-based, with limited shading, almost none with sheening, and no sparkly stuff. Some are wetter than others, but I'm not sure how much difference that makes to my writing. I just know that with some pens writing is a great experience, with others it's a struggle, and the majority of pens are somewhere in between. 

[kealani]

On 4/23/2024 at 1:00 PM, Biber said:

It's been a while and I'm trying to get back into using my FPs. I've been inspired to by my cardiologist who is into FPs (He has other admirable and inspiring qualities as well -  I think he even frequents FPN too.) Would that I knew him outside of a professional relationship...  But I digress. 

 

Anyway, I've dug out some pens and I'm trying to get back at it. Aside from reaffirming my revulsion with IPG nibs, I just realized just how differently I write with different pens, and it's not at all good. I never noticed that before. I write best with a Pelikan M200 with a "Binderized" needle point with a nicely shading homebrew I call "Biber's Bistre" (it's a corrupted Diamine Golden Brown). Much to my disappointment my handwriting turns to (bleep) with the Lamy 2000 and a Parker 51. Go figure.  I'm chalking it up to the slightly wider girth of the pens, as I can get what I feel is an acceptable line, with a bit more character,  by slightly rotating the nibs when I write. Maybe it's all in my head, writing better with a preferred/favored nib/ink combination. Anyone else experience this?  

 

 

Yes. If I were to take 12 fountain pens inked with various brands, wet to not so wet ink, and write the same sentence on Rhodia and other paper, in Palmer Script and Italic/printing, the results vary greatly. It is a combination of "feedback" from the nib/ink/paper combination, as well as the wet/dry/type of ink effect on line clarity, etc.

For example, an excellent Pelikan M400 with a custom polished and tuned nib, with inks high in lubricant on slippery Rhodia paper has very little feedback and/or nib drag. It can be difficult to write clearly. On the opposite end of that, a Parker with an EEF P.O Nib and a dryer ink, or a EF TSWBI, can give too much drag and feedback and feel scratchy depending on what's being written and how.

And, then, as you mentioned, the shape of the pen and how comfortable you are with it also effects the results on the page. For example, the thicker body and a little heft of a TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR vs the narrow thin body of a Pilot Metro or Lamy 2000 with no finger "purchase/ledge/form" so the fingers tend to slide down the barrel when writing, depending on one's fingers, etc.

 

So, the fun of things is finding out what works for "you" and how you write, and how you want things to look. Pen testing, ink testing, paper testing, learning new "hands" and writing styles, and fixing up the "hand" you already have.

 

Aloha

k

 

[Surlyprof]

On 4/23/2024 at 1:22 PM, Paul-in-SF said:

I find I write much better with a Fine or EF or even finer nib and a little feedback; pens like the Lamy 2000 are too smooth for me.

I’m beginning to realize that I’m just the opposite.  I prefer to sketch with a finer nib that has some feedback (loving my new Sailor MF for this!).  But, when it comes to writing, I’m really enjoying the thicker and more glassy smooth.  My favorites for writing have become a Pilot Custom and one of my 2000s, both with medium nibs.  These are the smoothest pens I have and I love how the words just “show up” on the pages as I’m writing.  It feels like I just need to think of the words and give those pens a little guidance and they take care of the rest.  I find that writing with more feedback is not as enjoyable experience for me.  That might be different if I was focusing on writing with fancier letterforms.  Calligraphy seems more like drawing than my standard cursive writing.  I might want the feedback for more control.  As for daily writing, if I could change anything, I would have purchased the Pilot with a broad nib since the medium writes like my  other 2000 with a fine nib.  That said, it’s still the smoothest pen in my humble collection.

[kealani]

On 4/30/2024 at 6:05 AM, kealani said:

Yes. If I were to take 12 fountain pens inked with various brands, wet to not so wet ink, and write the same sentence on Rhodia and other paper, in Palmer Script and Italic/printing, the results vary greatly. It is a combination of "feedback" from the nib/ink/paper combination, as well as the wet/dry/type of ink effect on line clarity, etc.

For example, an excellent Pelikan M400 with a custom polished and tuned nib, with inks high in lubricant on slippery Rhodia paper has very little feedback and/or nib drag. It can be difficult to write clearly. On the opposite end of that, a Parker with an EEF P.O Nib and a dryer ink, or a EF TSWBI, can give too much drag and feedback and feel scratchy depending on what's being written and how.

And, then, as you mentioned, the shape of the pen and how comfortable you are with it also effects the results on the page. For example, the thicker body and a little heft of a TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR vs the narrow thin body of a Pilot Metro or Lamy 2000 with no finger "purchase/ledge/form" so the fingers tend to slide down the barrel when writing, depending on one's fingers, etc.

 

So, the fun of things is finding out what works for "you" and how you write, and how you want things to look. Pen testing, ink testing, paper testing, learning new "hands" and writing styles, and fixing up the "hand" you already have.

 

Aloha

k

 

For example:

Results depend on paper, nib, ink, and pen.

[Alexandra]

I find that both pen and paper influence my writing.

[inkstainedruth]

And in addition to what Alexandra said, it also depends on what time of day it is and how I'm feeling.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Alexandra]

So true.

[Geslina]

On 4/23/2024 at 4:00 PM, Biber said:

It's been a while and I'm trying to get back into using my FPs. I've been inspired to by my cardiologist who is into FPs (He has other admirable and inspiring qualities as well -  I think he even frequents FPN too.) Would that I knew him outside of a professional relationship...  But I digress. 

 

Anyway, I've dug out some pens and I'm trying to get back at it. Aside from reaffirming my revulsion with IPG nibs, I just realized just how differently I write with different pens, and it's not at all good. I never noticed that before. I write best with a Pelikan M200 with a "Binderized" needle point with a nicely shading homebrew I call "Biber's Bistre" (it's a corrupted Diamine Golden Brown). Much to my disappointment my handwriting turns to (bleep) with the Lamy 2000 and a Parker 51. Go figure.  I'm chalking it up to the slightly wider girth of the pens, as I can get what I feel is an acceptable line, with a bit more character,  by slightly rotating the nibs when I write. Maybe it's all in my head, writing better with a preferred/favored nib/ink combination. Anyone else experience this?  

 

 

My writing is not nearly as nice with the Lamy 2000 as it is with slimmer, lighter weight pens with longer nibs.  I like the Lamy, but it’s awkward and heavy and I feel like my grip always wants to slide down, plus I feel I have a better view of my writing with a longer nib.

[Biber]

On further reflection, I note that I also hold different pens at different angles when I write. This is, of course an artifact of the nib (don't get me started on IPG nibs!) and the line that I want or think I should get out of it. With my Lamy 2000 (XF) and a Parker 51 (F/M?) from the 50s, I hold them closer to vertical (maybe +/- 75 degrees) than not, in an attempt to get a finer line with a bit of character. Rotating the nib sometimes gets me there too. This tends to produce a more jagged script than the lower angle I use on other pens that produce a more true XF line.  

[alexwi]

Writing is about feed-back. Too much or too little of it is definitely bad.

 

The pen's girth, weight, and balance also play crucial roles in the feed-back you get while writing.

 

And we, who obsess over minutiae, are far likelier than the rest of the world to pick up on these things.

 

Alex

[kealani]

On 6/2/2024 at 10:19 PM, alexwi said:

Writing is about feed-back. Too much or too little of it is definitely bad.

 

The pen's girth, weight, and balance also play crucial roles in the feed-back you get while writing.

 

And we, who obsess over minutiae, are far likelier than the rest of the world to pick up on these things.

 

Alex

Well said, Alex.

After so many years of thinking that my best writing would be with the a polished and tuned nib, with excellent lubricated ink, on Rhodia Clairfontane or similar paper, I've realized that there's no feed back and the writing is sloppy. Whereas the writing might be much better with a Tul gel medium ballpoint pen on color copy paper with a backing sheet. 

 

Yes. "Feedback".

k

[Alexandra]

Now there’s a painful thought. I do agree, though, that ultra smooth paper does not lend itself to beautiful writing. Tooth helps for some reason.

[Merrick]

I get different results with different paper/nib combinations, I haven’t noticed as much of a difference between inks as I do paper and nib. 
 

My preference is for smooth paper and feedback in the nib. A Sailor F, MF, or M with Tomoe River or Rhodia is the best for me. I just finished a journal using Midori paper and I hated how toothy it was on top of the feedback I got from my pens. 
 

If possible I like my nibs to have a little bounce to them as well, but not outright flex. The Sailor King of Pen has this, as does my Visconti Rembrandt. Adds a touch of flair without overdoing it that aids my handwriting.