What's the best pen for marvelous penmanship? (handwriting, quote)
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I have a horrific handwriting. It morphs from cursive into some kind of hybrid, even in the same word at times. I had a pen pal growing up and kept a written correspondence with an elderly cousin until she died (of boredom?) That ended my letter writing. Later, I decided I would start writing letters to a few people -- try to revive the lost art. A few wrote back once or twice but begged off eventually. I am a writer but by keyboard usually. I wonder if a good fountain pen would help. I could buy two and send one to my correspondent. I probably haven't touched one in almost 60 years.
I have a horrific handwriting. It morphs from cursive into some kind of hybrid, even in the same word at times. I had a pen pal growing up and kept a written correspondence with an elderly cousin until she died (of boredom?) That ended my letter writing. Later, I decided I would start writing letters to a few people -- try to revive the lost art. A few wrote back once or twice but begged off eventually. I am a writer but by keyboard usually. I wonder if a good fountain pen would help. I could buy two and send one to my correspondent. I probably haven't touched one in almost 60 years.
I really like to correspond with them. Any letter written by hand these days is special to anyone who receives it, and its even more so when written with an ink that changes color with the light or is some color that's has never been seen before.
I don't use any of those inks. I mostly stick with black. I write letters instead of using greeting cards.
Ordinary pens with ordinary ink simply cannot match a fountain's expressiveness. The pen tends to show a person's emotions of the moment the best of anything. They make a letter extra-special to anyone who's never seen what fountain pens do normally.
Last edited by banjomike; 12-22-2021 at 08:17 PM..
I have a horrific handwriting. It morphs from cursive into some kind of hybrid, even in the same word at times. I had a pen pal growing up and kept a written correspondence with an elderly cousin until she died (of boredom?) That ended my letter writing. Later, I decided I would start writing letters to a few people -- try to revive the lost art. A few wrote back once or twice but begged off eventually. I am a writer but by keyboard usually. I wonder if a good fountain pen would help. I could buy two and send one to my correspondent. I probably haven't touched one in almost 60 years.
Start with something standard, easily attainable, and inexpensive. Then go from there.
(If I hadn't just given away about a dozen, I might have sent you one).
I, too, am a lover of fountain pens. My favorite is a Cross, gifted to me at high school graduation. Still works great. Second favorite is a German Pelikan.
When it has to be another kind of pen, I prefer gel. They are much smoother than most other non-fountain pens.
I also learned Copperplate calligraphy many years ago, when I realized how sloppy my pensmanship had become. Nowadays, only my signature is still sloppy.
As was said, Amazon and eBay have every kind of ink refill imaginable, but there are a growing number of pen-specialized stationery stores on the internet too.
Some of them, like Fahrney's or the Pen Hospital have been around since the 1920s. The Pen Hospital began as a fountain pen repair company only, but now, it sells as more new pens than it repairs.
Others are younger companies that have always used the internet for sales, formed as the mom & pop stationery stores began to disappear.
There are now some ink bottle designs and devices that cut down on the refilling mess considerably.
All the Lamy ink comes in bottles with both a very good design and a roll of blotter paper that's built in.
All you need to do is just dip your pen in and fill it up. The Pineider pen company makes a little metal snorkel you can drop into the bottle and refill a converter that allows you to get every drop of ink out of the bottle. But any bottled ink can still spill, so care must be taken.
The biggest advantage a bottle-fill only pen has over the others is the amount of ink the pen can carry. Sometimes that's 2-3 more times more ink than what's in a cartridge. For someone who writes a lot every day, that can make a big difference, especially when the pen can be re-filled in about the same time it takes to drop a cartridge into another pen.
All the companies that make fountain pens always have most of the models designed for cartridges, which are the easiest and cleanest, and for converters, which allow the use of bottled ink.
What's most interesting is the best pen makers almost always offer their finest of their top range pens in bottle fill only.
Fountain pens are one of the last writing instruments where more cost still goes directly into the pen.
If anyone who has never used one was to actually see, hold, and write with a pen that costs $15.00 and another that costs $315.00, the differences in materials, workmanship, ergonomics and ease of writing is instantly apparent.
Fountain pens reached their technological apex a long time ago. It was always a specialized industry that demanded a lot of hand labor, so when the cheap ballpoint pens took over the low end of the pen market, the only way the fountain pen makers could compete was to build more impressive, more expensive pens made with much higher quality than was acceptable in the past.
It's a lot like buying a really good Swiss-made mechanical watch or an American-made guitar now. The quality costs, but the goods deliver in spades when used.
The pen industry always skated the thin line between utility and luxury in its top of the range offerings. Some of the most expensive appear to be quite plain, with little ornamentation, but took 6 months to make by 2 or 3 very skilled craftsmen, while others are made of solid gold that's highly engraved and carved. At the top of the top, either can cost $25,000 or more.
Nowadays, the best fountains are as valuable as collectibles as they are writing instruments, as there is a huge international collector's market for them.
Thank you for your interesting, detailed posts. I found my papermate pen last night and looked on Amazon for refills but they don't have any. It's an inkjoy gel pen and it has a soft area where you hold it that makes it comfortable to use plus it tapers starting in the middle so that you get a good balance.
They have a lot of the pens but zero in the way of refills for them. I think it's a 700 RT. I'm going to check out the other places you suggested. I can't see throwing away a perfectly good pen--what a waste--I just want some refills for it.)
After looking at a few websites, it seems that my Papermate inkjoy 700RT never did have refills. Seems wasteful but I'll go ahead and order a bunch of new pens and just throw them away (cringe) when the ink runs out. At least now I know!
After looking at a few websites, it seems that my Papermate inkjoy 700RT never did have refills. Seems wasteful but I'll go ahead and order a bunch of new pens and just throw them away (cringe) when the ink runs out. At least now I know!
That's a different kind than mine. They're the colorful ones that have a rubberized grip but are fat all over. I got all the colors one year as a present.
That's a different kind than mine. They're the colorful ones that have a rubberized grip but are fat all over. I got all the colors one year as a present.
I was wondering if they were the same when I read your post. Yours seem nice too. I love the rubberized grip, so comfortable and easy to hold on to.
Does anyone use fountain pens nowadays. had one at school many years ago and writing was beautiful, now its a scribble.
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