writing quickly and ledgible with a fountain pen

February 20, 2006

I am relatively new in the use of fountain pens and was wondering if there is a fountain pen that I could take notes quickly and neatly. The fountain should be under 50.00 dollars and can be any brand that a user has had a good writing experience with . Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely

D.marcus

February 20, 2006

Save some money and buy a Wality. It is a superb low-cost pen made in India. It does have a fine point, though, but it holds a lot of ink so it can take a lot of notes before refilling.

If you want to fuss a bit the eyedropper model holds a huge amount of ink. The other filling mechanism is a reliable piston filler.

You should be able to pick it up for under $20.00. It is well worth it if you can be happy with a fine nib.

Andy

February 21, 2006

Walitys are pretty good inexpensive "budget" pens. You can get a basic Wality 52 piston filler for about $10 or the larger Wality 69L piston filler or eyedropper model for about $20 depending on where you buy. They all write very well and the eyedropper models hold an enormous amount of ink.

If you prefer something less pedestrian and want a higher quality pen, then you must take a look at the Pilot Knight. You can get a Knight for under $40 and they look and write like much more expensive pens.

February 21, 2006

My thoughts are that for quick legible writing, you want a firm nib (practically all modern nibs are), and very probably fine in width, though that depends on the size of your handwriting.

Perhaps the most important factor is the size; I find that a smaller pen is better for fast writing (something like a Pelikan 200). I think that might be generalizable, but what is small depends on the size of your hand.

You need to decide on what sort of ink supply. Many people will say that the only real pens are self-fillers (mostly piston these days). I think there are occasions when cartridges are really good, notably when you might have to write more than you'll get with a single fill, or when you're travelling away from base and it's easier to carry a box of cartridges than an ink bottle. People tend to pooh-pooh the disadvantages of carrying ink bottles around, but if you're not a major FP nut but just want to write, there are times when cartridges win. That, at least, is the judgment of the market.

There is a huge wadge of good pens in your price range, often recommended, most with stiff nibs; choose one that fits your hand.

ELSE for a used pen, adopting voice of the tempter, Sheaffer Triumph Imperials are excellent pens (they were Sheaffer's mainstay for years) and tend to go for very low prices (maybe US$35).

OR you might get an Aerometric Parker "51" with a fine nib for $50 if you were a bit lucky and could accept minor cosmetic blemishes. That would be the elegant way to do it.

Good luck and have fun

Michael

February 21, 2006

I took notes all through high school and college with a Parker 51 aero. Of course, both it an I were MUCH younger at the time.

In short, any FP that is a reliable writer (writes right first time, every time) that feels comfortable in your hand is a good choice.

I would suggest that, among others, you check out the Lamy Safari (and its variants).

February 21, 2006

My thoughts are that for quick legible writing, you want a firm nib (practically all modern nibs are), and very probably fine in width, though that depends on the size of your handwriting.

Perhaps the most important factor is the size; I find that a smaller pen is better for fast writing (something like a Pelikan 200). I think that might be generalizable, but what is small depends on the size of your hand.

You need to decide on what sort of ink supply. Many people will say that the only real pens are self-fillers (mostly piston these days). I think there are occasions when cartridges are really good, notably when you might have to write more than you'll get with a single fill, or when you're travelling away from base and it's easier to carry a box of cartridges than an ink bottle. People tend to pooh-pooh the disadvantages of carrying ink bottles around, but if you're not a major FP nut but just want to write, there are times when cartridges win. That, at least, is the judgment of the market.

There is a huge wadge of good pens in your price range, often recommended, most with stiff nibs; choose one that fits your hand.

Michael has said what I wanted to say and said it much better than I could have done. So I'll just say "Hear! Hear!"

So, in short, relative to the size of your hand and handwriting, smaller pen with a finer nib might be the way to go. And depending on the duration of your note-taking sessions, the weight of the pen might be worth considering - lighter pen will generally tire you less quickly than a heavier one.

Here are a few that I can think of right now, which could meet your budget (but only before shipping costs, assuming you are buying online):

Lamy Safari/Al-Star/Vista

Rotring Core

Waterman Phileas

Pelikan M200

Parker Frontier

Good luck, D.marcus.

G.

February 21, 2006

A Pelikan M150 might be a good choice for a nice pen under $50 that has a wet enough ink flow for quick note taking - I use one for that purpose. Good luck searching.

February 21, 2006

Hi,

I simply LOVE M200 pens for note taking.

A. Dillon

February 21, 2006

A Pelikan M150 might be a good choice for a nice pen under $50 that has a wet enough ink flow for quick note taking - I use one for that purpose. Good luck searching.

I forgot inkflow, which is a bit of a compromise. rigo311 is quite right that a good inkflow lubricates the nib and makes for quick, unfussy writing. OTOH, if it's too wet, you get smudging if you have to turn over the pages quickly. All of which compromises have to be reset for the sort of paper you use.

If you're like most people, you'll get a pen, and then experiment a bit with inks and papers to get it right. But if you do a lot of note taking, it's worth it.

Good luck

Michael

February 21, 2006

A Pelikan M150 might be a good choice for a nice pen under $50 that has a wet enough ink flow for quick note taking - I use one for that purpose. Good luck searching.
I forgot inkflow, which is a bit of a compromise. rigo311 is quite right that a good inkflow lubricates the nib and makes for quick, unfussy writing. OTOH, if it's too wet, you get smudging if you have to turn over the pages quickly. All of which compromises have to be reset for the sort of paper you use.

If you're like most people, you'll get a pen, and then experiment a bit with inks and papers to get it right. But if you do a lot of note taking, it's worth it.

Good luck

Michael

My favorite choice for note taking is a fine nib "51" that is adjusted to write fairly wet.

To combat the smudging problem I always carry a small piece of blotting paper in the notebook, acts as a placemarker and stops any ink transfer.

My .02 worth,

Jim

February 21, 2006

I can't imagine the horrors of being a lefty who wants a fast, wet writing pen. Another recommendation that comes to mind is a medium vanishing point - you might be able to find one used for a little under $50 - the only problem with it is that if your taking a lot of notes, this one doesn't carry much ink, and with the medium, which is in my experience a very smooth, fast writing, wet nib, you can go through a load in no time. But if you'll have ink available in your note taking situations, then this isn't too much of a problem. This pen also has the advantage of not having to cap it, which is great for on again off again note taking - at least that's why I still own one.

February 21, 2006

I can only comment that I used a Cross Century with a broad nib for note-taking at Uni (post-grad, hence the use of an expensive pen) and found it to be perfect for me. I got through a lot of paper and ink in that year! (edit - and I'm left-handed too)

A fine nib makes my writing very untidy if I write quickly .

OK I often had to re-fill during the day, but a check and fill during coffee or lunch meant no drying out during the late morning or afternoon.

There was a girl in our class who used a FP of unkown make and it had barbed wire in place of a nib as you could hear it scratching across the room. It also had malevolent tendencies and would vomit copius quantities of greeny-black fluid periodically to the accompanyment of curses in Icelandic.

I hope your choice behaves itself.

Chris

Edited February 21, 2006 by Chris

February 21, 2006

I am relatively new in the use of fountain pens and was wondering if there is a fountain pen that I could take notes quickly and neatly. The fountain should be under 50.00 dollars and can be any brand that a user has had a good writing experience with . Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely
D.marcus

D.,

Truth be told, it ain't necessarily the pen, it might be the letter forms. The first question..what writing system were you taught in school. I was taught something called D'Nealian script, which, because of its swoopy flowing lines and my lousy hand-eye coordination, I couldn't do very well. So over the years I developed my own system which was called "Bill's Illegible".

About two years ago, I realized that I was the source of my own trouble and got a book on Italic letterforms..from Richard Binder (no link..just satisfied with his service) title--

Write Now - A complete self teaching program for better handwriting, Getty and Dubay, copyright 1991, revised edition 2005, published by Continuing Education Press - Portland State University, softbound, 96 pages.

Has made all the difference in the world...

Now on to the original question...

All the suggestions are good, but...

I suggest you look into a Pelikan Level. The Level 1 I got was about $15.00. All the Levels hold a HUGE SUPPLY OF INK. I would guess twice the amount of the Wailty pens, but I've never owned a Wailty, so don't know their capacity or quality.

I have 3 or so Levels around here...and all are solid writers, reliable (one got stuck between the seat and transmission tunnel in my Infiniti FX35 for 6 months and when I finally got it out, wrote on the first stroke). Good firm nib.

Between good letterforms and a firm nib backed by a lot of ink...you should be in great shape to take lotsa notes...

Bill