Another note on Fountain Pens
Jun. 6th, 2018 03:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mangosteenMeta: I haven't been posting here much, but I've been journaling a ton; just mostly in paper form.
Observation: Ballpoint pens represent a technological advance and an engineering tradeoff. They're cheap, they handle air pressure changes a lot better than fountain pens (important if you fly a lot), you don't need to worry about the quality of the paper nearly as much, etc. Most of these are positive-sum tradeoffs.
On top of that, there are a couple of tradeoffs which are essentially neutral... most people don't really care about being able to swap out umpty-bazillion colors of inks... they want to write something on something.
In fact, I can think of only one use case where a ballpoint is a negative tradeoff against a fountain pen: Sitting down and writing a lot.
Turns out I do rather a lot of that, though.
Current fountain pen of choice: TWSBI ECO, Extra-Fine point. Relatively inexpensive (~$28), a massive reservoir (~2ml of ink... about 2-3 weeks of regular writing for me), and is an utter joy to write with.
Observation: Ballpoint pens represent a technological advance and an engineering tradeoff. They're cheap, they handle air pressure changes a lot better than fountain pens (important if you fly a lot), you don't need to worry about the quality of the paper nearly as much, etc. Most of these are positive-sum tradeoffs.
On top of that, there are a couple of tradeoffs which are essentially neutral... most people don't really care about being able to swap out umpty-bazillion colors of inks... they want to write something on something.
In fact, I can think of only one use case where a ballpoint is a negative tradeoff against a fountain pen: Sitting down and writing a lot.
Turns out I do rather a lot of that, though.
Current fountain pen of choice: TWSBI ECO, Extra-Fine point. Relatively inexpensive (~$28), a massive reservoir (~2ml of ink... about 2-3 weeks of regular writing for me), and is an utter joy to write with.
my opinions, let me tell you them
Date: 2018-06-06 08:04 pm (UTC)my ultimate favorites (edc, used throughout the day) as of this moment:
parker jotter (brown pinstripe) with black medium point schmidt easyflow 9000 hybrid refill: this is the platonic ideal of pens, except for the ballpointness: perfect width, weight, satisfyingly clicky. i use this for quick notes or lousy paper like receipts. this is also the one i will hand over to people wanting to borrow a pen for a moment.
pilot coleto multipen 1000, with pink, green, brown, and purple: the hi-tec-c is the best of gel pens, with vivid colors and smooth very fine writing. this is what i use in my planner. all the colors have meanings.
ti arto with some gel pen refill, usually hi-tec-c or signo: this pen will almost accept any refill, and i swap out the color when i get bored. this is what i use for meeting notes. it is comfortable for long writing sessions and doesn't mind being uncapped for a long time, unlike the
pilot m90 integrated nib fountain pen: which i love and is beautiful, even though it's too dry for noodlers & i'm stuck with the pilot refills, which is fine because their brown is great and that's usually what i use, but i do not fly with this because i don't have time for ink stains on my hands after it leaks a bit into its cap.
i also have some mini pens which are super cute, and others with particular properties for particular purposes, but those are my principal staff, and i rely primarily on them.
but what ink do you use in your eco?
Re: my opinions, let me tell you them
Date: 2018-06-06 08:26 pm (UTC)One thing to note is that my handwriting is very dense and based on cursive looping motions, but not cursive. Upsides: efficient use of paper, readable, and looks hella cool. Downsides: I need a fine point to have it look intelligible.
Current ballpoint favorite: Pentel BK77 Superb Fine Point, it's my "quick note grab a pen write things down, doesn't matter how crappy the paper is" pen. Hard to find inside the US, but amazon.co.uk ships, and they last a while.
I've used the Hi-Tec-C pens before, but I find them too scratchy at my preferred width.
Re: ink: So, I have two ECOs. The one I have on me typically has J. Herbin Perle Noire, which is a lovely non-shading black ink. A little on the wet side, but not a big deal. The one I keep at home has Pilot Iroshizuku asa-gao (purple-blue) ink. It's the blue I always wanted to write with.
Since we're on opinions.... I tend to think of Noodler's Ink as "artisan, and not in a good way". I tried using their 54th Massachusetts, and it bled all over the place, even on paper that was perfect with any other ink I used. Lovely color, though.
Lately I've been ogling the Pilot Vanishing Point (Fine Point), and while it is rather awesome, the price is still a bit off-putting. Still thinking about it, though...
Re: my opinions, let me tell you them
Date: 2018-06-06 08:37 pm (UTC)yea, noodlers inks are super tempermental. even if you find one that's a color you love, and works with your preferred pen & paper, a 2nd bottle from a different batch may fail spectacularly.
i'm a big pilot fan, but the vanishing point is way too big in the grip section for me. they are very cool though.
Re: my opinions, let me tell you them
Date: 2018-06-06 08:52 pm (UTC)Also, a hearty endorsement for Goulet Pens. Their customer service is excellent, their prices are good, and they have a writing sample comparison tool on the site, for eyeballing different nib widths.
Re: my opinions, let me tell you them
Date: 2018-06-06 09:03 pm (UTC)lucky for my budget, the decimo grip comes in at 9.9mm. the ti arto is right at my upper edge at 9.5mm, and the jotter's 9.0mm is ideal for my small hands.
Re: my opinions, let me tell you them
Date: 2018-06-09 01:28 am (UTC)Re: my opinions, let me tell you them
Date: 2018-06-07 01:57 am (UTC)Re: my opinions, let me tell you them
Date: 2018-06-07 04:31 pm (UTC)Re: my opinions, let me tell you them
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