hey so i bought a pack of four for 16 USD and a thing of waterman ink last night, not only because it could help my handwriting but it’ll be reusable and practical unlike my ballpoint pens.
my only little “concern” is the looks i’d get, since i’m planning to use it for school. in other countries it’s normal or even mandatory to bring a fountain pen to school but America’s norm is ballpoint. it’s a silly thing to worry about but it feels so out of the ordinary.
do you use fountain pens? if so, how often? has your handwriting improved because if it? if you used to be a ballpoint user, what made you switch over to fountain pens? is it easy to get the ink into the converter (without or very little mess) if you have a pen that uses a converter?
EDIT: i’ll update you guys with my first hand experience once i get home, they’ll be delivered by then
hey so i bought a pack of four for 16 USD and a thing of waterman ink last night, not only because it could help my handwriting but it’ll be reusable and practical unlike my ballpoint pens.
my only little “concern” is the looks i’d get, since i’m planning to use it for school. in other countries it’s normal or even mandatory to bring a fountain pen to school but America’s norm is ballpoint. it’s a silly thing to worry about but it feels so out of the ordinary.
do you use fountain pens? if so, how often? has your handwriting improved because if it? if you used to be a ballpoint user, what made you switch over to fountain pens? is it easy to get the ink into the converter (without or very little mess) if you have a pen that uses a converter?
EDIT: i’ll update you guys with my first hand experience once i get home, they’ll be delivered by then
..........................
|
|
|
Wow, I didn't know it was so uncommon in America. I am from Germany and it is indeed mandatory here to use fountain pens in school, at least for a while (in later grades, like A-levels, some teachers let students use ballpoint pens as well). So I used them for most of school life, and still use them every now and again today (though not as often as I use ballpoint pens).
My handwriting is definitely much messier when I use ballpoint pens, though a fountain pen won't automatically give you beautiful handwriting. If it looks like hieroglyphics with ballpoint pen, it'll most likely not look much better with a fountain pen. There's special ergonomic fountain pens however that help you hold the pen correctly and in a way that'll help your handwriting.
As for the converter, I don't know what kind of converter you have. I got one where it's relatively easy to get the ink in, albeit with a little mess that can be helped with a paper tissue before you put it back into the pen.
If you don't want any mess, ink cartridges are the way to go. But that depends on your pen I guess - mine usually let you use both, not sure if that's the case for yours.
Wow, I didn't know it was so uncommon in America. I am from Germany and it is indeed mandatory here to use fountain pens in school, at least for a while (in later grades, like A-levels, some teachers let students use ballpoint pens as well). So I used them for most of school life, and still use them every now and again today (though not as often as I use ballpoint pens).
My handwriting is definitely much messier when I use ballpoint pens, though a fountain pen won't automatically give you beautiful handwriting. If it looks like hieroglyphics with ballpoint pen, it'll most likely not look much better with a fountain pen. There's special ergonomic fountain pens however that help you hold the pen correctly and in a way that'll help your handwriting.
As for the converter, I don't know what kind of converter you have. I got one where it's relatively easy to get the ink in, albeit with a little mess that can be helped with a paper tissue before you put it back into the pen.
If you don't want any mess, ink cartridges are the way to go. But that depends on your pen I guess - mine usually let you use both, not sure if that's the case for yours.
I'm in the UK, where ball point pens are the norm, but fountain pens are optional/allowed. Or at least they were when I was at school. Bearing in mind this was the 90s...
But I actually used a fountain pen most of the way through school on the recommendation of my English teacher, who thought the issues with my handwriting would be lessened by using a fountain pen: you end up with thicker strokes and you generally write slower than with a ball point pen. It turned my handwriting from a squiggly, unreadable mess to a very beautiful, traditional looking cursive.
I don't do much handwriting these days, as everything I do is on computer. But I do, nevertheless, own a beautiful ostrich feather quill, the precursor of the fountain pen and which writes very similarly.
I'm in the UK, where ball point pens are the norm, but fountain pens are optional/allowed. Or at least they were when I was at school. Bearing in mind this was the 90s...
But I actually used a fountain pen most of the way through school on the recommendation of my English teacher, who thought the issues with my handwriting would be lessened by using a fountain pen: you end up with thicker strokes and you generally write slower than with a ball point pen. It turned my handwriting from a squiggly, unreadable mess to a very beautiful, traditional looking cursive.
I don't do much handwriting these days, as everything I do is on computer. But I do, nevertheless, own a beautiful ostrich feather quill, the precursor of the fountain pen and which writes very similarly.
I haven't used a fountain pen for writing, but I have used it for art. In an illustration class I took, we learned various uses for India ink and acrylic inks, and one of the uses was doing linework with a fountain pen.
I will say fountain pens are pretty finicky from my experience. On one hand you can get great clean lines out of them. On the other hand, you can't write with them using the same methods you can a normal ballpoint or pencil, and you have to be careful with your ink in order to avoid giant blots. I have pieces that have large blots on them due to me accidentally putting too much ink in the nib.
It's definitely a tool with a learning curve. There may be online tutorials if you are not able to learn fountain pen via a class like I was able to.
I haven't used a fountain pen for writing, but I have used it for art. In an illustration class I took, we learned various uses for India ink and acrylic inks, and one of the uses was doing linework with a fountain pen.
I will say fountain pens are pretty finicky from my experience. On one hand you can get great clean lines out of them. On the other hand, you can't write with them using the same methods you can a normal ballpoint or pencil, and you have to be careful with your ink in order to avoid giant blots. I have pieces that have large blots on them due to me accidentally putting too much ink in the nib.
It's definitely a tool with a learning curve. There may be online tutorials if you are not able to learn fountain pen via a class like I was able to.
Hey, friendly reminder to drink water, stretch, and take a short break if you can. Stay healthy! Also, don't forget about any chores or tasks you might be putting off.
thank you all for your input!
my handwriting isn’t chicken scratch, however it isn’t the best, either. I held my pencil and pen like how a fountain pen should be held, and so far, i saw a bit of improvement with my handwriting (Probably because a steady hand is needed to hold a pen like that). the converter that goes along with the pens i ordered is a little different than standard converters, it’s labeled as a piston system and could therefore hold more ink.
i’ll be looking at more tutorials once they do arrive. from what i learned so far is that the face should be up, not sideways or facing down. writing with a fountain pen i noticed (if i’m wrong, correct me) depends more on the arm than the hand. i feel a good way to describe this is me writing with a ballpoint pen, it’s all mostly the hand.
edit: the pens i ordered are Wing Sung 3008 by Lanxivi, if that helps any. Pretty sure putting the ink in the pen won’t be messy, just a paper towel cleaning and call it good.
thank you all for your input!
my handwriting isn’t chicken scratch, however it isn’t the best, either. I held my pencil and pen like how a fountain pen should be held, and so far, i saw a bit of improvement with my handwriting (Probably because a steady hand is needed to hold a pen like that). the converter that goes along with the pens i ordered is a little different than standard converters, it’s labeled as a piston system and could therefore hold more ink.
i’ll be looking at more tutorials once they do arrive. from what i learned so far is that the face should be up, not sideways or facing down. writing with a fountain pen i noticed (if i’m wrong, correct me) depends more on the arm than the hand. i feel a good way to describe this is me writing with a ballpoint pen, it’s all mostly the hand.
edit: the pens i ordered are Wing Sung 3008 by Lanxivi, if that helps any. Pretty sure putting the ink in the pen won’t be messy, just a paper towel cleaning and call it good.
|
..........................
|
|
|
I've never used them for writing, but I found they're great for doing the inking if you like drawing.
I've never used them for writing, but I found they're great for doing the inking if you like drawing.
yeah, i’m also hoping to use them alongside my sketchbook and copics ^_^
yeah, i’m also hoping to use them alongside my sketchbook and copics ^_^
|
..........................
|
|
|
I went to school in India, and over there fountain pens were more of a fad than anything else. In all honesty, fountain pens are great! I love writing in cursive with them, and I can definitely say my handwriting improved because of them!
I went to school in India, and over there fountain pens were more of a fad than anything else. In all honesty, fountain pens are great! I love writing in cursive with them, and I can definitely say my handwriting improved because of them!
I'll never touch them for writing because the way they feel against paper makes my entire skeleton stand on end and my teeth itch, but they're beautiful, and if someone wants to write with one I'm certainly not going to be bothered one way or the other about it.
I'll never touch them for writing because the way they feel against paper makes my entire skeleton stand on end and my teeth itch, but they're beautiful, and if someone wants to write with one I'm certainly not going to be bothered one way or the other about it.
