Why Do You Use A Fountain Pen?

[highlander1307]

My pens and pencils are a reflection of myself, my role, and the function. They are tools, in my profession. As for any craftsman, tools' form follows function and are often decorated at the elevation of one wielding the tool at the appropriate task.

[j.a.j.]

Writing with fountain pen feels pleasant and natural. It is easier to get into flow state when wielding a fountain pen..

[IWantThat]

Because I want to... 'Nuff said

[trdsf]

I voted other since none of the options really cover my reasons: primarily, I prefer the look and feel of real ink on paper... additionally, it's my psychological crutch when I suffer from writer's block.

[ravantra]

Other:

 

I like the "bond" formed with using something that ISN'T disposable. You learn it's strengths and weaknesses. Attachment and reliance on a tool can have benefits.

[shawndp]

I learnt to write with a fountain pen in school back in the late 80's and was contemplating how little I actually write these days (as opposed to typing) - I figure if I am going to write, I might as well do it the right way and enjoy the process...

[JeffB]

Because I think my words are worth using a classic means of writing them. Or to remind myself to try to make them so. Ink applied directly to the page from a pen--the most basic writing method since clay tablets.

 

As for "POSH," it originated in travel from England to India during the heyday of the India trade. Ships stayed close to land on those trips, so passengers on the outbound leg from England to India would pay extra to see the land and scenery from the port side of the ship. On the way back to England, passengers on the starboard side paid extra for the pleasure. Thus, the passengers who sailed "port outbound, starboard home" were the more well-to-do set willing and able to pay the higher rates. They were POSH.

[discopig]

I use fountain pens a lot, but writing with them is secondary. My main use for them has been sketching and drawing. Before I found out about fountain pens I used to use rollerballs, but the choice of ink and nib sizes wasn't very satisfying.

[DaveBj]

I was reading thru the "What do people say when you whip out a fountain pen?" and ran across the link for this thread. None of the poll choices fit; I use fountain pens because they feel good in my hand. The feather-light Hero 359, or the heavy Invincia; it doesn't matter. They all feel good.

 

Also, while I don't have a weak writing hand (I can "engrave" the paper if I have to ), my natural writing touch is very light, and FPs provide the best result. Yes, fiber-tipped pens will also write with a light touch, but somehow it's just not the same.

[Lyander0012]

As for "POSH," it originated in travel from England to India during the heyday of the India trade. Ships stayed close to land on those trips, so passengers on the outbound leg from England to India would pay extra to see the land and scenery from the port side of the ship. On the way back to England, passengers on the starboard side paid extra for the pleasure. Thus, the passengers who sailed "port outbound, starboard home" were the more well-to-do set willing and able to pay the higher rates. They were POSH.

 

Interesting tale! Haha, some of the words we use nowadays have quite the strange etymology, huh? Still, this was really quite amusing, and it makes sense actually. This anecdote, however, makes me fear for how the language (or any language, really), will evolve over the next few years, what with that whole "posh" thing being a relatively recent episode.

 

 

Kevin

[Eclectica]

Other:

 

One line of writing with a BIC/biro and - smudged ink all over the place!

 

(I think it is the angle I hold the pen at which accumulates a splodge of ink which then suddenly detaches and smears natsy gook all over the place.)

[Gaslight]

Voted "other"

 

I had to use on in school (germany) and they always were absolutely normal writing instruments. Writing cursive is easier with them and I also like nice things..and FPs are nice things while ballpoints are just.... well... things...

[adamselene]

It's not me, it's my right arm, all the way down to the fingers, staring in the shoulder. It connects to the flow, and it NEEDS!

[raducan]

A sign of nobility and individuality

[Journaler]

Because I think my words are worth using a classic means of writing them. Or to remind myself to try to make them so. Ink applied directly to the page from a pen--the most basic writing method since clay tablets.

 

As for "POSH," it originated in travel from England to India during the heyday of the India trade. Ships stayed close to land on those trips, so passengers on the outbound leg from England to India would pay extra to see the land and scenery from the port side of the ship. On the way back to England, passengers on the starboard side paid extra for the pleasure. Thus, the passengers who sailed "port outbound, starboard home" were the more well-to-do set willing and able to pay the higher rates. They were POSH.

 

Urban myth?

[Hardcase]

Jar, were you thinking of the original meaning, "Port Out, Starbord Home" from the days when the only way to take a trip from England was by boat?

 

Or, the more generic meaning of a sense of style, being upscale, or what have you?

 

I'd never heard that one before - in my Navy days, it was "Red Right Returning".

[DaveBj]

Re "posh": Merriam-Webster says "origin unknown." The New Oxford American Dictionary (possibly not a good resource for researching Britspeak) and the Oxford English Dictionary (a very good resource for researching Britspeak both say, "There is no evidence to support the folk etymology that posh is formed from the initials of port out starboard home . . ."

[Rubicon]

I started proper when I was in high school. At first it's just because of the mystique of fountain pens. I had always associated fountain pens with "cultured" in the back of my mind even though for the longest time I didn't really know what fountain pens were. They were from a faded childhood memory when I attended a hellish Chinese elementary school. They made us learn fountain pens with horrible Hero pens and horrible Hero inks. But the mystique remained. So in high school my dad gave me his Parker Sonnet and I carried it around like a prize... then lost it. I was self conscious about it at first, but then people became fascinated by it. I even gained a convert during that time. Then I started to use it in earnest to improve my penmanship, and during that time my collection ballooned. Now I just use it because 1) it's so easy to write 2) I feel so posh 3) It really doesn't hurt that other people think I'm posh! But that's an afterthought. I'm actually serious. My primary purpose is not to seem impressive at all. It just happened to be a side effect, one I rather like. And plus, it's really fun. In an expensive sort of way.

 

I'm also rather old school in all sorts of ways. I'm a math major. I know a bit of computer programming and using high powered CAS programs and can totally write my math homework with Tex. I have an iPhone 5 and consider myself a power user (I have an app for every occasion. I really milk every bit of functionality out of that baby), so I'm far from tech illiterate. But as much as possible, I like to do things the old fashioned way. All of my problem sets are hand written. I actually have a calendar. All of my class notes are handwritten. Whenever I can, I read real books instead of e-books. If I can, I prefer letters to e-mails. I can proudly say I spend less than 3 hours in front of the computer everyday because I religiously avoid having it easily accessible to me. The whole fountain pen mystique is just a part of the whole "living the real, gritty, analog way" mystique.

Edited June 12, 2014 by Rubicon

[abstract49]

Re "posh": Merriam-Webster says "origin unknown." The New Oxford American Dictionary (possibly not a good resource for researching Britspeak) and the Oxford English Dictionary (a very good resource for researching Britspeak both say, "There is no evidence to support the folk etymology that posh is formed from the initials of port out starboard home . . ."

 

I am crushed! I really liked the "Port out, starboard home" explanation. Alas, another cherished myth slain. Oh, well, LGO (I just made up a new one, I think - life goes on - are you going to tell me this is already in use?).

 

All sarcasm and irony aside (ASIA?), I have all the dictionaries you mention, and on occasion, I refer to them all for the same word. It's interesting to compare the definitions, etymology, preferred pronunciations, etc. between them. I rely on Oxford University Press for authority on a number of subjects, and I particularly like its dictionaries. I have two or three versions on my MacPro and iPad as well as physical versions, Latin dictionaries and grammars, etc.

 

Oh, and if I haven't contributed to this thread already, I use fountain pens because (a) it helps me avoid the cramps I get with ballpoints and pencils when writing for long periods, and ( b ) I'm a snob and think fountain pens are beyond cool.

Edited June 12, 2014 by abstract49

[JeffB]

As there has been some interest in my remark on the origin of "posh," I'll provide a reference. In James (later Jan) Morris' book "Pax Britannica: The Climax of an Empire," (Harcourt, Brace, World; New York, 1968) he writes, on page 54, "So much a part of Empire was their passage that the common abbreviation for the best combination of cabins on the India run (Port Outward, Starboard Home) had already gone into the language: Posh."

 

For us writers, another delightful quote from this book (p. 296) relating to life in India in that era (1875) is as follows: "[The Kashmir houseboats]…looked like little Thames-side chalets mounted on hulls, with dormer windows and shingle roofs, the whole slightly orientalized by curving prows: and on their decks the exiled British, gazing across the water towards the white ramparts beyond, took their tea and crumpets, did their embroidery, devised new phrases for their journals in uninterrupted content." [italics added]