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Fountain pens and ink?
mcnicks | Apr 30 2006
Another pen question! I have been experimenting with rollerball type pens and I just cannot settle with them. I have a terrible tendancy to squeeze my pens and place too much pressure on the paper, and anything that encourages me to do that is out. So I have decided to experiment with fountain pens. The first major stumbling block I have is being left-handed. That means I am likely to encounter issues with writing angle and with smudging. However, at least I know that fountain pens require much less pressure to write with, so I am willing to give a few a go. So far, I have unearthed an old fountain pen of mine and some even older ink. After a bit of a clean, it is writing fairly well and, as long as I keep my wrist rotated, I can write legibly without smudging everything. The main problem is that the profile of the pen, where the cap fits, requires me to hold it a bit too close to the nib, which pulls my posture in and brings my hand round to smudging territory. Its still nice to write with, though. I am now on the lookout for fountain pens that write well at different angles, and that are not averse to being pushed across the page by left-handers. I am also hoping that fountain pen inks may have improved over the past 20 years (yes, the last time I dabbled with fountain pens was when I was a teenager). Do any of you have any suggestions? David 72 Comments
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 Ink selectionSubmitted by Flexiblefine on May 5, 2006 - 9:19am.
a11en wrote: However, I have found ink to be both a joy to select as well as use. Oh, ink selection. Check out inksampler.com -- Greg Clark swabs ink samples by hand (over 400 now!) so you can really see what an ink will look like in use. Quote: One thing I love about my FP's- they make mundane tasks a joy to do. You'll want to write all sorts of stuff when you get a good FP. :) [BTW, it does take a while to get the hang of writing smoothly and properly with the pens... my suggestion- slow down when writing: it'll do wonders for your penmanship as well as your frustration level when first starting with an FP.] Remember how David Allen talks about choosing tools that are fun to use? My fountain pens are one of the main reasons I do my planning on paper. Tips for writing with fountain pens: Slow down, and loosen up. Conventional ballpoint ink is a paste, and it takes some effort to overcome friction around the ball. Fountain pen ink is a liquid, and it actually lubricates the point where pen meets paper. You won't need the ballpoint death grip on the pen, and you won't have to press into the paper. You may also find that a fountain pen writes better if you don't hold it as far upright as you would hold a ballpoint. Echoing a11en, I too recommend Pendemonium. They're good folks. » POSTED IN:
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