Do you write Posted or Unposted?

[inkstainedruth]

I prefer to post. And voted that way. I have a few pens that I can't post for one reason or another (the Rotring ArtPen has a tapered barrel, one of my Konrads has some sort of obstruction in the cap, etc.) and those pens drive me nuts.

Also, the BIC fine post Philistine I'm married to loses pen caps on a regular basis.... Which is why he's getting the Vanishing Point I lucked into in an antiques store last year -- no cap to lose! (I've already warned him that if he loses the cap on the EF nibbed Parker 51 Aerometric which I got for him, I'm going to stage an intervention....) He liked the size and weight of one of my other 51s last summer, and last week the only pen I had with me at the time was the 51 Vac with the EF nib that I had Ron Zorn refurb for me at the Triangle Pen Show last summer -- I thought the nib was a little scratchy, and Ron opened up the tines for me a little. I'm still not completely 100% sold on a EF, but I do like that pen).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Astronymus]

The weight distribution has no effect during fall. As praxim says, you could add air drag to the equation but it's not of much effect at such a height. So, without minding the air drag, the nib and the posted cap fall with the same velocity. Remember the feather and the coin in vacuum?

 

If you think of a pen as a bomb or projectile - they are all about air drag. Bombs have air brakes on the rear end to keep the tip downwards after release. A Projectile like an arrow is made nose heavy (plus the fins) so the drag will pull it straight on it's lighter end. (A bullet is stabilized by rotation.) So this is a completly different topic.

 

The rate of rotation that's added when the pen tilts off your hand and the height determine on which end the pens will crash. It is possible that the height of an average human is critical to this so a pen would most likely land on it's tip.

 

It's the same with the buttered toast. Unfortunatly the height of a normal table results in a toast most likely to fall on the buttered side.

 

Damn you physics!

 

 

 

 

I hope I got everything right. It's past midnight.

[Inkvisible]

I post the cap, unless it cannot be posted. The Cross Bailey is a notable offender.

[Driften]

I prefer unposted as well, but some pens post better then others and those I don't mind I just normally don't post them.

[Erik Dalton]

Definately Unposted at all times with all pens. If the pen is so short that it needs a cap to fit in my hand, it's not in my collection.

[Ed_Usinowicz]

I really had not taken notice until this question was asked (posted). I guess I tend to write unposted with the cap in my left hand, but with smaller gauge pens I post automatically - go figure. I sometimes write with my tongue between my teeth - does that count for anything?

[praxim]

I sometimes write with my tongue between my teeth - does that count for anything?

Need a new thread to get that in the voting list.

 

I noticed that "unposted" was pretty stable around 56% from an early stage. "Tongue between teeth" may not scale such dizzy heights.

[Ed_Usinowicz]

"Tongue between teeth" may not scale such dizzy heights.

Yeah, I kinda figured.

[empliau]

Completely OT, but one of my favorite anecdotes about P.G. Wodehouse concerns how he managed his correspondence - he would address and stamp the envelope, and then throw it out the window. (I now wonder if he did this in the rain.) He said (I paraphrase) that he assumed that people, finding a stamped envelope on the sidewalk, would deposit in the nearest box, which apparently they did - I believe he said that almost none of them went astray.

 

I keep thinking of this story when I see the topic "Posted or Unposted"

[OakIris]

A poll resurrected from 2007! Cool that it is still going.

I don't post on desk pens.

 

Love this answer, pajaro.

 

Completely OT, but one of my favorite anecdotes about P.G. Wodehouse concerns how he managed his correspondence - he would address and stamp the envelope, and then throw it out the window. (I now wonder if he did this in the rain.) He said (I paraphrase) that he assumed that people, finding a stamped envelope on the sidewalk, would deposit in the nearest box, which apparently they did - I believe he said that almost none of them went astray.

 

I keep thinking of this story when I see the topic "Posted or Unposted"

Thank you for sharing that story - absolutely fits in a discussion of "posted or unposted." He no doubt used iron gall inks, right?!? so probably did toss them out in the rain, too.

 

Like others, it depends upon the pen - does it post securely? can it be posted? does it throw off the balance when posted? - but I do prefer to post my pens and seldom buy one if, after reading reviews, I discover it cannot be posted or does not post well. Unlike those that think fountain pens look odd posted - to quote Polanova, "Posted pens look silly, analogous to wearing sun-glasses on the top of ones head..." - I think posted pens look complete and I am quite sure that they were designed by the maker with posting in mind for proper balance and aesthetics. (I do not, however, wear my sunglasses on top of my head. )

 

Holly

Edited March 28, 2017 by OakIris

[mbankirer]

Totally pen-dependent!

 

I have several 'little' pens that must be posted to be useable, others that cannot be posted or they are off-balance...when I can't post, I have gotten into the habit of holding the cap in my left hand...

[Pinkspecs]

Always posted - and with the clip uppermost so that it points directly in the middle of the thumb - forefinger joint. Most satisfying.

[OakIris]

Always posted - and with the clip uppermost so that it points directly in the middle of the thumb - forefinger joint. Most satisfying.

 

lol - I remember Susan Wirth saying at one of our pen shows that the cap of the pen should be posted, that it is like a hood ornament that completes and complements a car, and the clip should point towards the nib, the working end of the pen. I think this is basically the same orientation you use. I do the same thing with my caps on pens that post, though I may not be quite as precise with the alignment as you are.

 

Holly

[Pyx]

Unposted; posted seems to make it too long for me. Plus the only pen I have is a metro and I think there's a small weight at the tip of the cap.

[Mihailo]

For me I start with my pens posted, and some way or another the cap always ends up in my hands rather than on the pen. I swear it's gremlins.

[madrigal]

I prefer unposted. My hands are fairly small (I can write comfortably with an unposted Kaweco Sport) so if I do write posted, most pens feel too long and unbalanced.

[praxim]

I notice "unposted" is making small but steady gains in the poll. After appearing to stabilise around 56% it is now nearly 58% (57.94 as of this post).

[Cocobird]

I have small hands, so I usually don't post.

[OakIris]

I notice "unposted" is making small but steady gains in the poll. After appearing to stabilise around 56% it is now nearly 58% (57.94 as of this post).

 

A bunch of philistines hang out here, obviously! Even Theresa May posts her pens, as shown in the recent photo of her signing the Brexit Article 50 letter.

 

I say each to her own. I will continue to post caps on those pens that can be comfortably posted and not post the caps on those that are top heavy or just won't post properly. The main thing is to keep using those fountain pens! (Though I imagine if I ever have the funds to purchase one of those lovely Nakaya urushi pens I will have no temptation to post that one! I can certainly see that cap posting can cause scratches or wear marks on some pens.)

 

Holly

Edited March 31, 2017 by OakIris

[praxim]

 

A bunch of philistines hang out here, obviously! Even Theresa May posts her pens, as shown in the recent photo of her signing the Brexit Article 50 letter.

 

Yeah, but she's a splitter!