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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.?
The Logitech io Digital Pen and the USB Memory Pen.
These seem to be more for the rich geek, unfortunatly I'm only a poor geek. So I just use a Pilot Gel Pen.
Bugs are just features that have been fixed.
Uniball
Someone hates these cans.
These are excellent pens for the price- a 5-pack is $7 or so. Amazingly smooth and, uh... precise. Pilots are the best.
I don't know if they make one with a big comfy grip, though, if that's what you're looking for. I'm not sure if I like those big, comfy grips, though... they sort of make me feel like I'm in nursery school again, grasping one of those crayons that seemed to huge at the time. Wait, that's probably a good thing. I'll shut up, now.
OtakuBooty.com: Smart, funny, sexy nerds.
I have a big, fat, Mont Blanc fountain pen. Best pen ever.
Dont bother with a skinny one, and be careful as some of them seem to leak, but if you pick one that's good then you'll love it. No idea how much they would cost now, mine was about 300 10 years ago.
Edward
Bad analogies are like waxing a monkey with a rainbow.
I would much rather have a pencil not only because it's eraseable (mentioned already), but because you don't need to worry about getting it on your clothes or it exploding. I would have to vote for the Cross Classic Century Pencil...
It's very comfortable, and lasts a long time. The only disadvantage is that it does NOT work as a small pry-bar...which is why I need to buy a new one ;)
--<Mike>--
Using a fountain pen rather than a roller-ball is like using C++ or Java rather than VB. Sure if you're used to VB you'll create crap using C++/Java, but if you know how to use the tool the results and significantly superior.
Or it's the same as the difference between a Mac user and a PC user. The former values quality is prepared to pay for it, the latter doesn't and isn't. ;-)
Edward
Bad analogies are like waxing a monkey with a rainbow.
Just found a stash of them in my school bookstore a year or two after their discontinuation. A godsend. Great for chewing on and an amazing writing instrument. You can even take off the clip and any other exztraneous pieces nonessesntial for writing.
I will die with one of these pens in my hands.
---- The real Slashdot is still here. You just have to browse at -1 to read the comments.
For some reason my writing is always better with a pencil than a pen. No idea why, but then I'd have to work to make it worse than my pen handwriting which usually makes doctor's writing look clear and well developed...
A fountain pen has so much more individual expression than a rollerball, though a rollerball is a good enough compromise between a ballpoint and a fountain pen.
Who doesn't like writing with liquid ink?
Perhaps you didn't have a good-quality fountain pen--I've used some which leak all over your pocket and your hands and your paper. The nib might take a little getting used to, but if you keep writing with it it will eventually mold itself to your writing style.
Now quills...that's a different story.
Had you used it long enough to wear in the nib? Until you do, they tend to be quite scratchy. When it is worn in, it will be smoother and easier than a rollerball. It will glide over the paper. I've always beens happy with the cheap-o ones from WH Smiths (UK), and I'm still using one I bought theere ten years ago. Never let anybody else use your fountain pen either, unless you want problems. I found with a fountain pen that my hand writing doesn't deteriorate as the writing session progresses.
After years of using computers almost exclusively for written communication, my manual writing skills have atrophied to the point of near uselessness. My handwriting - never my strong point - now makes a doctor's look like calligraphy, and my hand starts cramping up almost instantly.
It's not just the physical act of writing that I can't do any more. Over a decade of using a word processor has led to me thinking in an "inside out" fashion about writing - I write say the main sentence of a paragraph, then add more before and after to fill in the rest of the point I'm trying to make. Or I write a document in a different order, perhaps writing the discussion first, then the background beforehand, then the conclusion then the introduction. Having a medium where you can't jump back and forth at will within the text, adding and moving at will, makes it almost impossible for me to compose a document by hand, unless I start off with one paragraph per page, written in the middle and take it from there, which means several drafts written out by hand before I get the final version.
When I need to hand write, for example a personal letter, I'll often write it out in a word processor, then hand copy it!
My Pelikan M800 Fine was very smooth out of the box, like it was supposed to be.
Arjen
MarsMicro 775 0.5mm 2B + Staedtler Plastic Eraser.
From Deutschland. Vorsprung durch Teknik and all.
In case you don't know, this is a complete hoax. Look on Snopes for it; I'm too lazy at the moment. The Astro Pen was developed by a private company and then sold to NASA at a modest price, avoiding the need to deal with pencil shavings and broken tips in electronic equipment.
Has anyone tried the Kyocera ceramic ball pens? I've always wanted to know how well they write.
Dr. Phil Agre, UCLA Professor of Information Studies, has an entire page dedicated to the topic of cheap, high quality pens. Highly recommend checking it out: http://dlis.gseis.ucla.edu/people/pagre/pens.html
The best Fisher Space Pen I've had the pleasure of using is the Millennium model. Guaranteed to never run out of ink for your lifetime. Of course, I was too cheap to pony up the several hundred they're asking and opted for the titanium bullet pen instead. That pen soon developed a leak, perhaps due to the ink being over-pressurized. The good thing is that they fully guarantee their products. Just send it back and they'll fix it or replace it free.
But that Millennium pen... damn you, I just may have to spring for it.
Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
There was a related story (sorta) to this Why Johnny Can't Handwrite a few months earlier.
When I was in school, we had to do a buttload of writing. Then I came to college in mi. I think I did more writing in the 5th grade than I did in 3 years at college. If it wasn't on computer, I probably wouldn't touch it.
The only stuff was signing credit card bills at convenience stores and taking the odd note in class.
Now I've taken a break and am studying by myself(maths, phy, elec engineering). I finish a 160 page double side A4 size notebook in about 10 days. I've used up about quite a few of those notebooks(>30). Biggest problem here is not writing but motivation. But I digress.
My hands hurt too when I did that much writing but I am used to it now. You gotta take it slowly just like the gym regimen.
Writing is best done with a fountain pen, rolling ball or gel pens. If you are going to write a lot, ballpoint pens are the worst.
Ballpoints are made for convenience. The viscosity of the ink is what tires the palm and elbow faster than the the rest.
Whenever I buy a fountain pen, I buy extra nibs. If the nib is smooth, nice; otherwise I use fine sandpaper. Sometimes this works, sometimes not.
I use Hero pens( Hero). Its pens and nibs are cheap. Availability is not a problem.
I've also used parker and schaeffer cartridge pens. Instead of buying new cartridges everytime, get a syringe and a nice ink bottle to refill the cartridges.
Rolling balls are nice but nearly everybody just uses and disposes them. It is actually possible to take the nib contraption out and refill its ink. Pilot makes rolling ball ink but its not sold in the states. Each of its 15 ml bottle is good for 8-10 refills.
Uniball's are decent too but not really suited for cursive writing.
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Bush is on fire and its not good for my lungs.
Mont Blanc is easily one of the most recognized names in fountain and rollerball pens today. However, my local independent pen merchant had only negative things to say about them when I dropped the name, and with a little more experience and research, I have to agree with his position: they're overrated.
For the money, Mont Blanc pens tend to be ridiculously fragile, and repair costs range from $35 to $400+ (USD). Sometimes leakage is a result of improper pen storage and/or maintenance, but with Mont Blancs the problem seems to be suspiciously epidemic.
Don't take my word for it, but don't blindly trust the name either. If you have access to a fine pen shop, spend some time learning about the subject, then do the comparitive research. Imho, if you really want a pen that will last a lifetime, Mont Blanc is not the one.
First, I cant imagine how anyone could unintentionally subject themselves to an environment without a word processor. I didn't believe a story like this would be possible these days.
Two years ago, however, I went on a sabbatical from computers. I had enough of CS and wanted to spend some time out and about with friends. After finding out that pen writing was a bad choice for me, I researched typewriters (the movie Naked Lunch helped quite a bit). A good old Royal typewriter can really do wonders and even make you want to write again.
I tried several typewriters, and gradually I learned what to look for in a typewriter.
1) Keyboard and button size, make sure they are comfortable. Same rules for a keyboard.
2) Availability of ribbon, does someone still make a replacement? I've had to respool several ribbons onto the old spools to make them work.
3) Weight of keys, how much force does it take to activate a key. I light a heavy key for its momentum, they leave a nice dark imprint, but it has to be balanced very well, otherwise it takes a lot of force to get it moving.
4) Key return, how fast a key returns to a safe or resting position, a quick return is good but can add more force.
5) The Mechanics, are the keys likely to hit each other while in action? Are they equally aligned both horizontally and vertically?
6) Physical Properties - A Heavy typewriter is good for home use. A later 70's plastic briefcase style typewriter might be a little better for travel, for when you want to write that novel or code at a coffee bar.
Every typewriter is a little different so it may take a while to find a good one. However, these days, its sometimes easy to pick one up for $5 or $10. Just hearing the clickity clack of the keys is enough to inspire one to write.
Personally I like the Cross Ion. It's small, easy to carry, quick to use. As long as you don't mind gel ink, it's great. I've used mine for almost a year straight, and loved it. It's also fun to flip open like a switchblade...
Makes for a good pocket pen, and it really confuses your friends when you hand it to them unopened.
If ever you stuck the thing into a wall socket, I'd make you hold on to it.
If you get funny ideas about sticking me with some wimpy little pentel, just forget it.
Tell me some storries about graphite in disk drives. If you mess with MY drives, I'll crack you over the head with my Model M keyboard.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
An informative thread, this; to recap:
1) Paper makes a big difference; you need good paper for fountain pens.
2) Good fountain pens write smoothly out of the box
3) Don't let others use your fountain pen too much
4) Use a biro for signing credit cards, payment slips etc
I use a Mont Blanc Meisterstuck (medium sized). My friend Steve (hi!) let me have a go with his about 14 year ago, and it was a revelation after the Parkers I had used until then. It cost two and a half times as much, but was incomparably better... I got one that evening and am still using it... (and yes, my hand does hurt)
http://www.spacepen.com/
Writes in zero gravity/upside down, in freezing cold , under water but best of all...
Can fit inside your front pants pocket (for when your shirt has no front pocket).
Oddly enough, it was a Seinfeld episode that turned me on to these.