Why Do People Specifically Use Fp For Signatures?

[Savit]

I have seen many people use fountain pens specifically for signatures.

In fact, when I sometimes gift FP to friends, their first response is 'I will use it as a signature pen'.

Why does FP have a reputation for signatures? Is this just the case in my country (India) or everywhere in the world? Especially, considering the fact that FPs are more likely to fade than ball pens and are more likely to cause ink spillage on important documents.

 

Do you use FP for signatures specifically? If so, why?

[Beechwood]

There are some lawyers who require to see a fountain pen signature on contract and official documents, there are erasers that can remove ball point ink, much more difficult with black ink from a fountain pen.

 

A broad nibbed fountain pen also looks impressive on a signature when writ large on the bottom of a letter, giving the document gravitas.

[bemon]

I've heard that here in Canada from time to time, though I do somewhere near 100% of my signing via docu-sign on my iPad with my perpetually undercharged Apple Pencil. Despite the fact that it won't hold a charge, it's still more convenient than printing, signing and scanning back into email.

 

My guess is that some people romanticize fountain pens as exotic or novelty items. Either that or they think all nibs will magically write with an oblique style that will change the look of their signature.

[corniche]

Hi SBP,

 

1. Tradition & Ceremony.

 

2. Often times regulations dictate black or blue ink,... but they haven't gotten around to regulating the SHADE of blue... I like to use Diamine blue-black (or some other unique shade of blue) as proof that it's really my signature... and even laser copiers can't quite capture the nuances of fountain ink.

 

 

All the best & God bless,

 

Sean

[Olya]

From times when quills were used, then fountain pens and when ballpoints entered they were unreliable and some leaked, as the ballpoint took over there's an association of fpens being "upper class", so it's fancier to use them for signatures (see eg the signing of big contracts, treaties etc in business and politics). The image shifted from being the most common writing instrument to that of one being fancy and "worthy" to be used for the occasion.

 

Fp ink is not necessarily likely to fade sooner or more than ballpoint ink, some ballpoint inks do worse in that regard than washable blue fountain pen ink.

Fountain pens, particularly more expensive ones associated with business and states people, do not really have the image of leaking. I guess it depends which brands and quality you used, what you grew up with and what is common, I had to use fountain pens at school and they never had an image of being leaky.

 

I don't use fountain pens just for signatures, I always use the pen which either strikes my fancy or is on hand, signature or otherwise.

[Estycollector]

Beside medical documents, the fountain pen of the day is what I use for writing.

[eclectic2316]

A broad nibbed fountain pen signature may add seriousness, longevity, and perhaps 'class'.

[MoriartyR]

Fountain pens are much smoother to write with and have greater ink flow. As signatures are often written faster and with more expression than normal writing a fountain pen is more suitable for the task. Other pens will work, of course, but it isn’t the same.

Edited July 15, 2020 by MoriartyR

[kazoolaw]

In addition to all the above, if you have many documents to sign a fountain pen is easier and smoother to use.

 

And, if I use a fountain pen I can just use the same pen that I use for all my other writing.

Edited July 15, 2020 by gary

[Intensity]

As for erasing, it's surprising (to me) just how many inks almost disappear to faint yellowish lines with application of bleach (or spray-cleaning products containing bleach, like Clorox Tilex--I've tested). So in terms of overwriting or modifying a signature, it might be easy with judicious use of bleach on many blue, blue-black, or black inks.

[MadAsAHatter]

2. Often times regulations dictate black or blue ink,... but they haven't gotten around to regulating the SHADE of blue... I like to use Diamine blue-black (or some other unique shade of blue) as proof that it's really my signature... and even laser copiers can't quite capture the nuances of fountain ink.

 

This is the exact reason I started using fountain pens in the first place. Regulations for documents state black or blue ink but not the shade. I got bored with the same ole bic pen blue and wanted something more fun and vibrant.

[Jerome Tarshis]

Some of us in the fountain-pen community think of broad or even double-broad nibs as "signature" nibs, whereas a fine nib is what one would use for ordinary work. A fountain pen with a wider-than-fine nib will tend to produce a wetter line than a fine nib will, and the combination of wetness and width will produce a line that seems more individually expressive than a fine line will.

 

Even a broad ballpoint line (and I use broads on the few occasions when I write with a ballpoint pen) will not give that sense of individual flair that a generous fountain-pen nib will give. To the extent that a signature is intended to be an individual expression (and it isn't always) a generous fountain pen will seem to do a better job.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I haven't run into the fountain pens as signature only pens attitude so much here in the U.S. Of course, I don't get out much.

 

I do run into the "oh, a calligraphy pen" response from time to time. And of course, one might want to get a bit ornate with one's signature on an important document, so maybe there's a connection there.

 

Again, speaking only of my own experience of my own country, I think that most people don't really know what to make of a fountain pen, and assume it must have some special use. Either that or they think it's a status symbol.

 

I'm much more likely to use a fountain pen than a ballpoint or gel pen for anything that I write, including signatures. But if someone just needs a quick signature, and hands me a Bic ballpoint along with the document, I won't make a production about taking out my vintage Eversharp, or one of my modern Pilots. I'll just sign with the Bic.

[sail1942]

In use Noodler's Black Waterproof Fountain Pen Ink - Bulletproof

[Runnin_Ute]

One of the reasons/justifications for getting a fountain pen when I got my first was to sign the 80 to 220 sales tax returns I ahd to sign on a monthly basis at the time. (Quarterly returns were in the 200-220 range. About 1600 annually) Something other than a boring ballpoint.

Edited July 16, 2020 by Runnin_Ute

[A Smug Dill]

Do you use FP for signatures specifically? If so, why?

 

 

No. In fact, my use of fountain pens could be characterised as for anything but signatures. There are usually only two categories of things I need to sign in ink: credit cards (not that the signature actually matters any more these days, when information read digitally off) the electronic chip and CVC/CVV code on the code have more standing), and documents that fellow signatories, witnesses and/or my lawyer are expected to also sign with the same pen (so I tend to use the pen provided by the lawyer). I don't think I've come across a single 'good' combination of nib and ink with which to sign the signature panels on the back of credit cards.

 

If I sign a legal document with a fountain pen, nine times out of ten it's because that's what's handy at the time, and nobody else needs to co-sign it. The only exception was when I got married last year, and my bride and I as well as the witnesses all signed with my carefully chosen pen and ink for the occasion; even so, the clueless celebrant could easily have wrecked my limited edition fountain pen (and almost did).

 

My wife, who is a published author, does her book signing with a fountain pen because she likes to use a pen chosen for the occasion, as well as perhaps pick an ink that's unusual in colour and (I've) tested not to feather or bleed-through on the paper on which her book in printed. However, for signing contracts and legal documents, any permanent rollerball or ballpoint pen would be considered to serve the purpose just as well.

[Beechwood]

A reminder that some lawyers, in my experience US lawyers, require important documents to be signed with a fountain pen with black ink. A business was sold 3 years ago to a US company, the contract documents were required to be signed by fountain pen and stipulated in the covering letter.

 

It is therefore not correct to say that any permanent rollerball or ballpoint pen would be considered to serve the purpose just as well, this cannot be accepted as a certainty in every case whereas signing by fountain pen, in my experience, is always fit for purpose.

[A Smug Dill]

It is therefore not correct to say that any permanent rollerball or ballpoint pen would be considered to serve the purpose just as well, this cannot be accepted as a certainty in every case whereas signing by fountain pen, in my experience, is always fit for purpose.

 

 

Fair enough.

 

I'll assume whichever pen that either our lawyer(s) or, say, a Justice of the Peace, hands us to sign a document in front of them is fit for purpose in accordance with the law and other regulatory requirements. In the last thirty years, I/we have never been handed anything other than a rollerball or ballpoint pen to sign a legal document, with a singular exception that I can recall: for a particular real estate transaction, her cousin was acting as our solicitor, and he made a point of using the fountain pen we gave him previously as a present.

[TSherbs]

To be fair, most people don't use fps for anything. The only time I have seen or heard of a signature pen being a fountain pen is for Presidential documents. I always saw that as just for ceremonial show (prestige of office).

[bayindirh]

I have seen many people use fountain pens specifically for signatures.

In fact, when I sometimes gift FP to friends, their first response is 'I will use it as a signature pen'.

Why does FP have a reputation for signatures? Is this just the case in my country (India) or everywhere in the world? Especially, considering the fact that FPs are more likely to fade than ball pens and are more likely to cause ink spillage on important documents.

 

Do you use FP for signatures specifically? If so, why?

I tend to sign everything with a unique shade (generally blue black) so, it's the first line of proof. I also tend to choose a permanent/bulletproof ink so it can't be forged away. On the other hand, a fountain pen's handling is different and I tend to control my writing much better with a FP.

 

If the paper I use allows, I always use a fountain pen to write. It's a one more little thing to enjoy during the day. Also, the pen lives with me, so it's more of a life-long companion/instrument and I like to have things for life.

Edited July 16, 2020 by bayindirh