Ball point pen vs FP

[mfwebb]

I have used Fountain pens for 50 years and only reverted to ball pens for a period of about 1 year 5 or 6 years ago. My handwriting deteriorated to the point where even I couldn't read it. A fountain pen makes you think about your writing -- a ballpoint is just a cheap convenience.

 

If you want all the benefits of a fountain pen and the convenience of a ballpoint with click action, try a Pilot Capless (Namiki Vanishing Point) -- I now have 5 and rarely use anything else these days, apart from my Pelikan 800 which is my signature pen.

[Parse Error]

I'm 14 and I don't use any more ball pens. (Ever since a couple months ago.) I also do robotics and don't exactly write that much either.

Why never ball pens:

1. They just feel awkward. Even with a pad of throwaway paper down at the bottom, it still felt awkward

2. It's expensive at hell. Normally, I use Pilot G2, but those are ridiculously expensive -- a pack there lasts for not that long, while ink is cheap and lasts long (or at least relatively.)

3. They're the epitome of performance for money. A cheap CC pen works pretty well and you grow yourself into it, instead of constantly switching pens and you grow accustomed to one pen

4. Believe it or not, almost all refill paper accept ballpoint pen ink. Norcom notebooks are good on this point. Even if their paper is bad, it'll accept the ink, you might only get to use one side of the paper, but it'll still accept the ink. Well.

5. Though I only have a Lamy Vista (and a couple of dry Hero pens that I don't dare to use because of quality control issues and a couple of Preppies that I use for backup), people notice. And it's kind of interesting that I get random comments:

To the Vista:

I HATE THIS PEN! WHY WOULD'NT IT WRITE!,Ooh... let me try it out (ok, sure.),You spent $35 on a pen just to UNDERLINE things? (Fountain pens at this price range are all refillable.)

Comments on the Preppy (the one I take around with me while I travel.) Nice pen... nice pen... nice pen...

6. Not that much maintenance either besides refilling the ink.

7. If done correctly, then there's dead silent writing and a thick inky line that can't compare to the regular pen

8. NO learning curve at all -- I just picked up the pen, noticed that I needed to do a couple of essays for history, and did them using the pen. Sounded a little bit scratchy at first, but that goes down afterwards after you learn not to press so hard

9. you could do cool tricks, especially balancing acts with the Safari/Vista since the clip weighs so much compared to the ABS/PVC/Polycarbonate

10. Nobody steals your pens. Or at least it's really easy to get it back now that these pens aren't so common

11. Eco friendly in a different way -- Buying noodler's ink by the 3 oz bottle, it really is better for the environment because

A. shipping -- buy a couple of bottles (like what most people do.) and you don't really consider the CO2 for shipping

B. paper box -- biodegradeable

C. no flair at all -- no blister packs to struggle on, just a bottle

D. It take neraly forever to use up a bottle of ink. The same person writing the same amount of RB will be putting at least 2 pounds of used pens at the dump

12. It's effortless.

[JBat]

There's a question in my mind since I first touched FP.

 

Modern FPs are stiff and has minimal line variation. The round and smooth tip allows us to write in whatever direction, whatever posture just like what we do when using ball point pens. So for me, an f-point FP is just the same as a ball point pen, which can be very smooth.

 

And changing from ball points to FP doesn't equals better handwriting, as one needs to pay attention to the posture, angle, pressure, hand and arm movements etc that a stiff nib FP and obviously ball points doesn't require (Some says the advent of ball point pens is one of the main reasons of the deteriorating penmanship, which i agree). That's why lots of people review a several-thousand-dollar FP in their own not-yet-polished handwriting, only describing how smooth, how wet by words, without actually demonstrating it.

 

For me, i switched to FP with italic nibs as i love the line variations that it achieves, and i realise when i use a ball point now, my handwriting would become much uglier as the constriants in posture, movement, etc are gone. I'm considering a flexible nib too but it's currently too expensive for me.

 

If not for the line variation, i personally find no indication to switch from ball points to FP. If for a feel of luxury, most expensive pens have both a ball point and FP version, so one can choose a ball point version right away and forget FPs.

 

So, when they write the same, and people use them the same, why choose FP but not ball point?

I'd be appreciated if someone could enlighten me on this issue. Thanks!

 

Nick

 

I use them because they are beautiful, smooth and easy to write with. The ink varieties is also very appealing.

 

I disagree that it's the advent of ballpoints that has caused the decline of penmanship, I think the fact that it isn't taught anymore is. Computers have obviously affected things as well.

 

As far as BP's being as smooth as FP's, no way. I've never written with pens as smooth as the two FP's I own now.

[Keye Skware]

This thread could have just as easily been titled "Finding a $100 bill in your pocket vs. Being punched in the face: Which will people choose?"

[Sesheta]

I've always used a fountain pen for writing long hand. Anything else only lasts for brief notes. I prefer the way my writing looks and my hand doesn't cramp. I write mainly using a keyboard these days so any help with the long hand is even more important than it ever was. For work, where I use shorthand, I've always used ball points until this week when I decided to try out an Esterbrook with a 9555 nib. I'm astonished at the difference it makes to the legibility of my outlines. Also the lightness of moving the nib across the nib means my speeds have spiked this year. So once again fountain pens win hands down. Just sorry I never tried them for shorthand before!

[georges zaslavsky]

for better handwriting and because of the nibs

[Parker51]

I am a professional. What I write effects peoples lives. I am paid for my skills and my competencies. I am showing respect to those I work with and to myself by using a respectful writing instrument. I am showing them I care and reminding myself that what I do matters.

[wykeite]

The ballpoint pen was a sensation, it cannot be ignored. It was in fact a fantastic ballpoint that led me to FPN. I now prefer the FP, I think I always did but just needed convincing.

Edited April 27, 2010 by wykeite

[slimshaneee]

I like the ink varieties.

I also like that words on paper written with a fountain pen are bold no matter how fine the line. The words just jump out at you eyes.

[Torrilin]

I like having one or two pens and a decentish pile of nibs and a bunch of ink colors. Maybe on one day I want to write in a fairly simple unserifed style, so I grab a medium ball nib. Or I might want to have feathery fine writing, so I grab a tiny thin ball nib, or a quite fine italic. Or I'm cranky and feeling loud, so I go for the broadest italic I own. I can have a "new" pen every time I swap cartridges or fill the converter, if I want.

 

I'm a lefty, so there are no ball points where I don't end up covered in ink. Shaeffer's Skrip isn't much better, but once I branched out from that, I found there are lots of fountain pen inks where I don't have to be covered in ink. Joy! No more ugly, flat ballpoint blue or black glued to my hand, ever again. I can have all the iron-gall ink I want, and weirder colors besides.

[Maruk]

I have chosen FP's mostly because of shading and ease of writing. Most of the writing that I wish to do does require me to do shading for the complete effect. This is not easy to accomplish without a nib or one of the "calligraphy" pens with odd writing angles. Additionally, I find it hard to use a lot of pressure to write with, which is why I stayed with liquid ink or felt-tip pens for most of my life. Now that I have an actual writing instrument, I can actually get correct practice.

[jBeckett]

If I had to say a single reason why (and just for this poll I'm counting dip pens) it's all about the ink for me. Sure a FP gives me more control and has more options with nib variations. But really, I'm just an ink addict.

[synthoric]

I'm exclusively using fountain pens for writing now, for all the reasons everyone has mentioned EXCEPT improvement of handwriting. My handwriting actually looks terrible if I attempt to do the whole 'gliding effortlessly over the page' thing. I mean, I don't etch into the page or anything, but I do exert some pressure. And I want to maintain the precise, delicate look of my relatively small writing, so my grip hasn't changed at all.

 

My big annoyance with fountain pens since switching over is not being able to use correction fluid.

[mihaixp]

I would rather use Fountain pens because I find their nib shape very elegant and more versatile in the process of handwriting.

[Achim]

My big annoyance with fountain pens since switching over is not being able to use correction fluid.

 

There are ink erasers instead (for standard blue ink like Pelikan 4001). They look and work like ball pens. Simply write the correction over the wrong letters and then erase everything not needed.

[Apotheosis]

Anyone can use a ballpen.

There's an art to writing with a Fountain pen that many people do not understand.

Being able to use a fountain pen, and seeing someone using it well - now THAT is what I find most appealing.

 

There's a very subtle glow of confidence and grace in each FP user if you watch closely when they're writing with their instrument.

 

I remember finding myself just watching my dad work and writing with his FP and everytime without fail, I'd be like "Whoa..now THAT is what it's all about". I guess you just had to be there.

Edited May 19, 2010 by Apotheosis

[Renzhe]

I can write better and easier with fountain pens. Other stuff such as how they look cool are just icing on the cake (or whatever expression was appropriate).

Edited May 19, 2010 by Renzhe

[Okami]

I became a full time FP user when I could not find the ink color I wanted for my RB. I had been using FPs but not to the extent that I do now. Don't know what I was thinking, should have made the switch long ago.

[hawkmp4]

FPs allow me to use a much more relaxed grip- which, as a left-hander, is a significant advantage over ballpoints, where I have to lean into the pen. FPs made writing bearable, nay, fun again.

[countrydirt]

I use fountain pens, dip pens and bottle ink for the romance! Romancing my wife with love letters, finding the romance in watching things appear on a blank paper and finding a connection to the days gone by. Fountain pens are a part of my ongoing quest to "turn down" my dependence on technology. So far, I have given up zippers on pants, laces on shoes and combs for my head! (well, I think genetics have something to do with that one!)

 

Writing with a fountain pen allows me to be a more thoughtful writer. I am so absorbed with the process of the nib gliding across the paper, that I can actually think about what I am writing. It has been a fun and eye-opening experience for me.