Hi everybody!

As you can see from the title I'm a physician. Some would say I was born for that job (or at least couldn't do much of anything else) because my handwriting is so bad. As a child I was taught to write with a fountain pen (in Argentina), but then I lost practice when I came here to the States. My penmanship has always been terrible, since at least third grade, but that has not stopped me from trying anything I can find to improve it. Several google searches led me here and rekindled my love for fountain pens. So I got a Pilot VP and jumped into the deep end of the pool this weekend when I'm on call. I feel like I ran a marathon on my right arm only! I still have a hard time with upward strokes because the pen seems to catch. I tried the medium nib, which was smoother but the strokes were too heavy and wide and my writing was even worse than usual. Today I'm working with the fine nib and trying to lay it flatter on the paper, rotate it a little so it doesn't catch. And my biggest problem: not choking the duckling (or what ever little bird that was supposed to be.) I get really tense when I write and my grip, while not white knuckled, is pretty strong. The pen does a better job when I relax but that only lasts about a line then I find myself squeezing the pen again.

I know the answer, practice practice practice.

This forum has some fabulous advice and great exercises so I'm excited to be a part of it. I'll let you guys know how I progress and if my staff will finally be able to tell if I wrote a 1 or a 2!

LDB

I don't have any advice (I couldn't use the VP I had, cos the clip got in the way of my grip), but... HELLO and WELCOME!

Lisa

Don't feel bad Doctor. None of the doctors I know write legibly, so you are not alone. Welcome aboard and practice when you have time.

Greetings and welcome. Take two aspirins and call me in the morning.....

Let's see, the fine on the Pilot Vanishing Point is a pretty fine tip and a bit on the rough side. Had one once and could never quite get the tip smooth enough to avoid catching and writing rough. Maybe some of the other members have a few tips on that. Have you tried writing circles for a few minutes on a brown paper bag? Sometimes that will smoothe out a rough tip.

There are a few pens that have great tips out of the box, usually. Pelikan Technixx, Pilot 78G, and the Parker 51. If you want to try out a hooded pen like the 51, try one of the Hero pens offered by isellpens or hisnibs.com. There are many other great pens available, hit the Fountain Pen Database in Writing Instruments and look it over for a while. As for exercises, there are a lot of listed projects and plans for improving one's writing available here as well. Welcome aboard!

Welcome LDB.

Hi and welcome to the FPN! Everybody can enter here, but NO ONE can get out

If you are used writing with ballpens/rollerballs , I am guessing that that you need a stiff nib, a "nail" and I know that the VP has a lot of spring to it . Lamy 2000 has the MK (round medium) nib for people not used to FP, but the line is too wide for your handwriting.
Parker 51,21 have stiff nibs and are very smooth.
Also you might want to take a look at Richard Binder's site. No affiliation...
He can tell what kind of pen you need by the way you hold the pen, how fast you write, etc.
Good luck

Welcome!

Hi Doc! Welcome to here! You need a rOtring Core. It is a TANK, and you just can't hurt it (not even with needles )!!


http://www.swisherpens.com

This guy has the Cores on sale for very good prices (have you paid off your student loans yet?).

satrap

Welcome. My doc has tne computer print his orders and the dermatologist has his nurse write scripts for his sig.

Welcome Doc! Lots of good advice here and it's all free! I hope you find that balance that lets you use a fountain pen and improve your hand writing. I know Fountain Pens have improved mine!

Good morning, doctor,

Rest assured that you will find help here with regards to your handwriting quality, and how to improve it. Check the "PENMANSHIP" board for more details.

And while you're here, pick up a few dozen fountain pens. I already have!

Hi doc! Invest a bit (say about 100-150 USD) and buy yourself an old Sheaffer Crest. That is one unbelievably smooth writer, upwards too.

Mike

Welcome to the FPN!!

Though I am getting better, I still struggle at times with F nibs. For me it was more about preassure to paper than grip. I have a couple pens that I just barely touch the paper when writing and they do fine.

Clearly that was meant to be!

Welcome aboard.

Welcome!!!! to FPN I´m from Argentina and wanted to say welcome. You´ll see that you start with one pen and when you realize you own a couple of them with different nibs and you start using them as women uses jewelry.

Best Regards,

Martin from Bs. As.

Hello and welcome to FPN.

Hello and welcome to FPN. Kick off your shoes and have a stroll around the grounds. There is lots of good information as well as people willing to share information. Heck you might even pick up a pen or two at the Marketplace.


Once again welcome.

Kurt