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When Word Processors Are Out: What's The Best Pen?
chensonny writes "Recently I was in a situation where there was no word processor, and several of us had to write, copy and sign a big amount of paper. It was then I re-realized the need for a good and comfortable pen. I saw some friends using a Mont Blanc, others like me using a felt pen or cheap ball-point pen. What does the geeks of Slashdot use for writing?" My favorite pen is an aluminum Lamy fountain pen -- can anyone recommend a good place to order Lamy ink in the U.S.?
they do make one with a soft grip, it's all i use:
http://www.pilotpen.us/detail.asp?PenID=42
Very heavy, more momentum when you write (meaning you don't need to work as hard). Buy one of those little foam gizmos that slips on the barrel, and you'll have a fine writing instrument. They're warranted for life.
I'm a writer, so I have a bit of a pen fetish. I have used all sorts of pens, including some ver' expensive Waterman fountain pens, and nothing writes for me like the Sheaffer. It has a very smooth, very precise action and nice ink flow.
For other purposes I use fine-point Sharpies.
I am a believer of momentum and curves.
Be careful with Gel Pens--sometimes the ink doesn't scan.
This has caused problems for my credit union (scanned checks show up as blank when people view them via online banking), as well as my employer (scanned documents show up blank).
--RJ
And the hard core geeks only use the Pilot retractable mechanical pencil. Like this one.
Pentel used to make a better retractable mechanical pencil, with a nice crosshatched aluminum barrel grip, but sadly they discontinued them.
The Pilot is the next best one. If I can't dig up either of those, then the next best is the Pentel P205. Yeah, I'm a geek, but I love my mechanical pencils. Loaded with nice soft 2B lead. Great for smudging stuff.
Since I don't really have a lot of occasions where I actually handwrite on paper any more, I hardly get to use my Uniball except for writing checks.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
The Fisher Space Pen has pressurized ink and is waterproof. You can write upside down and in zero G. You can even write underwater.
"My God, this must be a truly remarkable corn chip, to be so widely and confidently touted."
My first training in the arts was at a young age of about 8, my parents thought I had crappy handwriting (they were right) so they enrolled me in a calligraphy class. I still have crappy handwriting. Well, actually, nowadays my Japanese handwriting is much better than my English handwriting. Since that time, I've tried hundreds of pens of all manufactures, anyone who is really interested in writing wel should visit an art store, especially one that imports lots of oddball Japanese pens.
Anyway, I prefer fountain pens, mostly because nobody will ever borrow them so I never lose my pens to theft. IMHO the most bang for the buck is the Lamy Safari, it's cheap and writes well. I prefer the Lamy "joy" pen, it has a wider nib that satisfies my calligraphic urges. But you have to know how to write italic to use the joy pen properly.
But my favorite pen of all time is a cheapo crap Cross ballpoint. Mine has the IBM logo on it, I got it as an award for selling my first $1million of IBM equipment. I use it solely for financial transactions, it's sort of a weird superstition of mine.
Pencils are another story. Everyone should have a really good mechanical pencil. The best kinds have retractable points so you don't poke holes in your shirt pockets. The Japanese have this one completely nailed. The Sanford Logo II 0.5mm is my favorite, although it doesn't retract the tip. For a good retractable-tip pencil, the Yasutomo Grip500 can't be beat. Rotring makes awesome mechanical pencils, although I don't personally like the harsh German design, I find them uncomfortable and hard to hold.
I'm a pen snob. And I'm not ashamed of it. In most situations, I write with a Pelikan Souveran 800 fountain pen. The nib is the most repsonsive of all of the fountain pens I've ever used, and the ink flow is superb. My two 800s are the best pens I have ever used.
In situations demanding a more durable pen, the Rotring 600 series have never failed me. They're made of solid brass, and are almost invincible. The list of potentially deadly situations my 600s have survived is long.
As a collector, user, and frequent gift-giver of high quality writing instruments, I have found Joon, a company based in New York, to be without match in all of my pen purchase needs. Check them out on the web at www.joon.com. For Timothy, they carry the entire line of Lamy inks and refills.
And just an aside- I've noticed some folks above me in this topic talking about Levenger. DON'T buy pens or ink from Levenger. They put a markup on their pens so high it's absurd, and their ink is shite. If I wanted to write with colored water, I'd buy food coloring.
--Use this space for notes--
Urban legend. Graphite shavings in 0 gee is bad. The russians also use Fisher space pens since the 60s.
I've always loved fountain pens. I have a small collection built up over the years of both modern, and vintage fountain pens. I've actually found that a restored fountain pen from the 20's or 30' can have the most pleasant feel when writing. A good one holds a huge amount of ink (as opposed to those wimpy cartridges that the modern ones tend to use. This is good because the older pens also USE a lot more ink. The ink almost leaps onto the paper, making a nice dark line and also lubricating the writing process. Unfortunately I type a lot faster than I write, and since almost everything ends up in a computer these days it's hard to justify writing instruments at all. Unless you are very famous, no one is likely to read your diary when you're gone.
Like many, I went through a phase of using a Palm Pilot (or similar device) for recording thoughts when away from any computer keyboard. I've since gone back to just using these devices for addresses and appointments (which mean that the sub $100 ones do just fine). So I'm back to carrying a pen whenever I go out and generally a small notebook (the paper variety) too.
Sometimes I carry a fountain pen, but more often I'm in a hurry and grab a ballpoint. For cheap ones I like Parker clickable ballpoints. The ink capacities are huge and they write smoothly. For $20 or so though I'd recommend the Rotring ballpoints which are all steel, have a textured grip, large ink supply and are nice and techno looking. You can enhance either Parker or Rotring pens by replacing the ink cartridge in it with one from Fisher (the makers of the original "Space Pen"). These really will write upside down, under water and on practically any surface. When writing on ordinary paper they have a nice feel too.
I remember in the 60's Bic did a series of commercials on how durable their pens were. They shot them from guns into tree trunks and then took what was left (not much) and wrote with it. They also "simulated" strapping one to a car to see how many miles you could write with one. Very impressive. Unfortunately I think cheap pens are not what they used to be. I've found that many of these if left unused for a year or so refuse to ever write again no matter how much you tap, shake or scribble with it trying to get it started again. Unfortunately many of these more expensive specialty pens (like the ones with the special grips) have the same ink mechanism used for the cheap ones. So, go with ink mechanisms from Parker, Fisher, Rotring, Lamy, Mont Blanc, or Cross, unless you are in a situation, such as a waiter, where your pens are constantly stolen.
Finally, and most importantly, if you are going to write anything that you need to last for a long time, do the following experiment:
Take all your candidate pens and make a test mark (sign your name or whatever) on several types of paper that you typically use. If you use colored ink, do this in all the colors you plan to use too. Just as a control, make the same marks with an ordinary pencil, and also pick any ordinary black-ink ballpoint (not the gel pens though, plain old ballpoint).
Tape these papers to a window or somewhere else where they will get direct sun. The back window of your car will do too. Check them in a month. You might be surprised, and if you are writing for any sort of archival purpose you might change your mind about what you want to use.
Perhaps the best all-around fountain pen is the Namiki Vanishing Point. For a street price of around $100, you get a nice pen. It has a gold nib, takes both a cartridge or a convertor (for bottled ink), and is a good size (not too large, not to small). It has a very sharp look. I personally perfer the pre-2000 models, but I hear the current ones are pretty good.
Oh! I forgot to tell you the best part. In its own right, the VP is a great pen--perhaps the best to be had for that price point. It earned this on the basis I described above. The really cool thing is, it is retractable--the only retractable foutain pen in current production! So, no cap to have to manipulate. Since I get a lot of golf shirts, it is particularly nice.
A runner up for a fount is a vintage Parker 51. The areometric ones (produced from 1948-1970ish) are generally regarded as the best fountain pen ever. They can typically be had for under $100.
Mont Blanc used to make very good pens. However, as they became hyped as "the best" (a dubious claim to begin with), the quality went down, support became worse, and only the rep had remained. They are said among collectors to have a very brittle plastic (I know from first hand reports), and the service is iffy.
If you need a ballpoint, might I suggest the rotring 600 tri? Two ball points and a