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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.
What is this pen device you speak about?
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.
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I prefer the old mechanical pencil whenever possible. Besides being erasable, it has such perks as:
-- Use it to label disks, and play the fun game of getting conductive pencil shavings in your disk drive
-- Graphite + Wall Socket = Fun
-- Get to shake it when your one stick of lead finishes so the next one will catch, until you open it up to insert the lead in backwards (through the tip) because its not catching, and then when you open it the lead falls out and snaps
-- Injecting graphite into people
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.
Or should that be "inertia" instead of "momentum"? I forgot I was on /. where most of the world's physics experts seem hang out...
Sad, really.
Bush: He's Liberal in all the wrong ways.
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.
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.
I prefer the pen that is
1) closest
2) someone hasnt walked off with
3) I havent left somewhere
4) not under the HUGE stack of paper next to my computer in my 'paperless office'.
5) not dryed out
This is yet another urban myth, as explained by Snopes.
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.
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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.
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.