My handwriting was borderline illegible. Sometimes I couldn't even read my own scribbles. Since I started using fountain pens, it has improved a lot. I started to slow down and use my arms and elbows more rather than just rely on my wrist and hand.

What is your experience?

Fountain pens themselves haven't directly improved my handwriting, but they have motivated me to improve my writing. I love the look of handwriting with FP ink, and I guess I just wanted to have handwriting that was worthy of a fine FP. This motivated me to set aside time every evening to practice my handwriting.

Because I love my fountain pens, my husband bought me a handwriting book. Hm.... I wonder why??? Anyway, so I guess the answer is yes, because I practice my handwriting now.

My fountain pen handwriting is better than my ball point pen handwriting and my dip pen handwriting is better than my fountain pen handwriting.

Using a FP with either a cursive italic or stub nib has improved the legibility of my handwriting greatly - my pocketbook is dying as I have to have a nibmeister work his/her magic in order to achieve this or a trusty Esterbrook stub will work as well.

That's interesting how my handwriting changes with using different pens or pencils and paper. It improves directly proportional to my liking of the pen that I am using. If I do not like the pen, my handwriting is terrible. But it also depends how relaxed or anxious I am when writing. Handwriting shows a lot about personality - some people have nice handwriting whatever pen they use.

My experience is similar to Denny's. The more I like the pen, the more care I take. But if I am anxious and scribbling quickly, the writing in similarly illegible regardless of the pen. But a nice pen motivates me to take more care, so, in general, my FP wrtiting is the better.

The same from the opposite end. I always used a fountain pen. My writing is perfectly clear (for me - 'No Comment' goes my wife!) when using a fountain pen. It is utterly illegible with anything else. It's also clearer when using my best pen than any other.

Regards

Richard

Yeah, same with me. In the past few months I have changed to a better grip on the pen and am beginning to get a pleasing slant to my cursive. Though the fountain pen itself doesn't hurt either - I still have to use the old grip on ballpoints. People have started to comment (positively) about my handwriting!

Yes, I write more slowly and use my shoulder and arm to write. Also, I don't have to press the pen into the paper to write. Peace,

A good fountain pen makes me care about what I'm writing, so I slow down a bit and make it nicer.

Every morning, I have to wait as my work computer restarts. It takes about 5-7 minutes (piece of junk). So I take that time to write in a journal, or practice my alphabet, etc....

Yes, but not because of the pen itself.

It turns out that fountain pens turned writing a much more pleasurable thing to me. Therefore, it changed my attitude torwards writing.

I didn't care at all about my (poor) handwriting at once. Now, I not only care about it, but I also work on improving my calligraphy constantly.

The fountain pen has gotten me to slow down my writing a bit... enough to control the pen well. I also get this feeling of being more "expressive". The only annoyances are clogged feeds and dry ink reservoirs, but that's part of the experience--you need to care for the pen in order for it to serve you well.

Actually, using a fountain pen has improved my penmanship back to level where it was prior to grad school and taking notes 9000 miles an hour. Now, I slow down and write more neatly, because it looks so much nicer with liquid ink, smoothly applied, than it does from a ballpoint or gel pen (I don't use RBs).
Donnie

I have to agree that it's not a mechanical improvement, but rather, the schreibvergnugen

Yes, yes, yes! That's what I was trying to say! (. . . . I think)

heh heh...found myself a new signature

Using an FP forces me to slow down, and I think that translates to legibility ...

Next, nib shape

Lastly, penhold

I am new to this area of the forum, it's interesting to get out of inky thoughts and writing instruments.
Two things are working to improve my handwriting.
1 is using hand writing recognition soft ware on my PDA , calligrapher if anyone is curious and most of my post are made this way and I use a sensa ball point with a Stylus insert

2. When you write a letter that has a space in the body of the letter, primarily vowels but also Q ,O, B and so on, if you don't pay attention to how you form the letter, especially if you write small with anything more than a fine point, you get more or less an unintelligible blob.
I use my Safari medium pt to endorse checks. My name has several letters with such spaces, when written with a B. P. or a R.B. you can be fast and some what sloppy cause the ink in those pens goes and stays where you put it . That isn't always true with a F. P.

Yes. Less pressure, more relaxation and smoothness means I can write naturally instead of doing stone-carvings into a tablet with a hammer and chisel that is a ballpoint pen. It's very enjoyable.

It's not so much the pen but the paper that has improved my handwriting. I tend to use French ruled in my journals and personal notebooks, and the discipline of the writing carries over on to regular lined paper.

It has improved my handwriting in three ways:

1. It has slowed down my writing. More time equals better writing.

2. The smoothness of the pen on the page allows me to relax my hand muscles (compared to the pressing down that I do with a ballpoint).

3. Having a nice pen makes me WANT to have neater handwriting.

I started using FP's because I wanted something that would allow me to write smoother & longer. Sadly, because FP's are so smooth, I write faster as well, which can make my writing very hard to read. My medium Lamy Safari is my smoothest writer, but when I get rolling, it's really hard to read. My XF pen is easier to read.

My handwriting/cursive printing has really improved with italic nibbed fountain pens and grows better by the week.

*Noddle*

Very true. Having nice pens makes ME want to improve my handwriting as well. I'm having a lot of fun with my flexy nibs making big pretty swirls and loops..Weeeeeeeee!!

Yes, I know my handwriting has improved!

I teach, and I can see it daily in my reports (and on the whiteboard)!
I have also used the book "Write Now", which is available at Fahrneys and Pendemonium.
This book has also helped to make my writing more legible!

Frank

I'm with Rayman - the fountain pens inspired me to concentrate on my writing to make it more deliberate. The pen itself did not contribute to better writing, though.

I used to write with ball pen, with the words like being blew by strong wind. As I pick up my first FP, the weight of the pens tells me how to write. I started to write in a slower and tidy way. Yes, the FP did improve my word style and the way I write..

I've always written with Fpn's, so let's put it this way: whenever a ball pen crosses my way, my handwriting sinks into a deep, deep dark hole.

I'll have to go against the flow here.

I was at school in the 1960s and we were only allowed to use fountain pens - pencils were permitted for drawing diagrams and maps.

I have a very light touch in everything I do (my pedometer won't register when I walk normally) and that applies to writing with ballpoints.
In descending order my handwriting quality is
1. Pencil
2. Ballpoint (but only quality refills)
3. Fountain pen
4. Fineliner
5. Gel roller
6. Liquid ink rollerball

The exception is the rotring Art Pen italic but that's because I draw the letters rather than write them. The process is much too slow for writing.

The last two are just too smooth for me. They slip all over the place.

I only use dip pens for drawing. Crow quills are too scratchy for writing. They really only want to move in one direction.

Absolutely. I no longer write like my children.

Using a fountain pen has three effects for me. First; is the pleasure of simply writing, its like I'm using a paint brush for a work of art, which is how I perceive all my writing as. secondly; because I take pleasure in the writing, I tend to slow down and pay more attention to my technique. Finally; if it weren't for these two qualities, I would not have taken up handwriting in the first place. The pleasure of writing motivates me to improve it aesthetically.

I became more conscious or aware of my penmanship when one of written statements was analyzed by a graphologist, which was very interesting because the analysis of my writing was entirely accurate. That was 40+ years ago. I don't know if handwriting analysis is still done, now that there appears to be little or no emphasis on penmanship in elementary school. Computers dominate. Who needs to handwrite a letter or note when the same message can be e-mailed or word processed?
I can assure you I've since learned that handwriting analysis was a polished art & science, since the analyst made (accurate) assessments concerning how I form friendships and loyalties, what my attitude was toward financial gain, how I responded to authority, and my attention to details, among other things. I was briefed on the graphologist's analysis about a month later, and I thought, "Did this person grow up with me?" It was eerily accurate.
That was a long time ago, and I can't say my penmanship has significantly "improved" since then, but it has developed...and so have I.
I would say my penmanship is at its best when I write with a fountain pen, primarily because I write letters to friends when I'm relaxed or unhurried. I seem to slip into a more deliberate mindset. I use a fountain pen to sign work-related documents, and I sign none of them perfunctorily or lightly. If my signature is on it, it's "bombproof". I would say that awareness or consciousness has affected my penmanship.

It has improved my handwritting. The reason behind this is simply bcause I now care what it looks like and I am practicing all the time because I like doing it.