Fess Up. Do You Write With Cursive Or Printing?

[dms525]

Thank you for this nicely penned encouragement. I have a love/hate relationship with the pen, and still can't tame it. For consistent writing, it should be rotated nearly to twelve o'clock. Blame my hand, not the nib.

 

That is interesting. For Hebrew, rotating the nib as you describe is appropriate, because the vertical strokes are thin, and the horizontal strokes are thick. For italic, the nib should be 45 degrees from the writing line. For other Latin-alphabet scripts, the nib rotation may be 30 or 90 degrees.

 

Have you ever written Hebrew with a so-called "architect's nib?" That is one that writes thin vertical and broad horizontal lines. Is your nib rotation the norm for those who write Hebrew with FP's in Israel?

 

David

[eliweisz]

 

That is interesting. For Hebrew, rotating the nib as you describe is appropriate, because the vertical strokes are thin, and the horizontal strokes are thick. For italic, the nib should be 45 degrees from the writing line. For other Latin-alphabet scripts, the nib rotation may be 30 or 90 degrees.

 

Have you ever written Hebrew with a so-called "architect's nib?" That is one that writes thin vertical and broad horizontal lines. Is your nib rotation the norm for those who write Hebrew with FP's in Israel?

 

David

 

I never tried an Architect's/Hebrew/Arabic grind. I believe it's perfect for formal Hebrew (Hebrew cursive is quite a different animal, and doesn't require specialty nibs). Those who use the script on a daily basis, producing handwritten Torah scrolls, marital contracts, blessings, etc., write with good old reed pens.

 

Besides, fountain pens are rather scarce in Israel. And back in the days when Parker Vectors were available at the local newspaper stands, you could not get their calligraphy versions, with an oblique or stub nib. Medium, fine, and that's it. Today, when I sign a bill with a fountain pen, it always attracts too much attention. "Oh, a real nib! How do you write with it?"

[Mike 59]

Hi, Here's my wriitng, it's just about 'ok' to my mind, looking at the photo shows too many variations, but it is so much clearer than years ago, that's more important to me. A long way from how I would like to write, but I can read it.

[mmg122]

Almost always in cursive, because it's faster for me. When I try to print, I find myself joining letters in the center of words as the writing progresses or gets faster. I usually only print when writing checks or addressing envelopes or when required on forms. My handwriting, for the most part, whether cursive or printing, is pretty legible...although I find myself making more mistakes (requiring crossouts) the older I get. Aging is not for sissies.

[EbonitePen]

I have tried just about every writing style/method out there for cursive and print (I just love writing, it's too much fun) and I find that both print and cursive have their place. Now that being said I use cursive most of the time but I sometimes print for lists and stuff, though my print does border on calligraphy.

 

But back to your writing, I would recommend you to check out operina.com and in particular the "Cursive Italic News" book which may just be the right thing for you. It's free to download.

[MoInk]

Modified italic printing with some connectors between letters for speed and looks.

 

Better Handwriting Book

[Alexerion]

My writing is some terrible hybrid. Some of my letters (s, l, t, i, a, r, g) are very much cursive, while others look like printing. It kind of works, though.

[wjeverly]

Nothing but printing for years, to the point I forgot how to write cursive - even after entering the fountain pen world.

Then I gave a really nice Sheaffer Balance to my son-in-law; next thing I know both he and my daughter are buying Cursive instruction books and buying their own fountain pens, and fountain pens for my grandson so they can teach him cursive...

 

So for the last year I've been forcing myself to relearn and write all my notes (I write tons of work notes) in cursive. Another year or two and it might be legible. But what a lot of fun I'm having!

[wjeverly]

Eli, I love the Hebrew! Beautiful!

Actually, sometimes I print, too:

 

[Joe in Seattle]

Cursive. I'm from the generation that learned in grade school - just after we quit using those pencils as big as baseball bats on our "Big Chief" tablets. It's pen: Esterbrook

[eliweisz]

Eli, I love the Hebrew! Beautiful!

 

Thank you!

[elysee]

During elementary school, precise and elegant printing and cursive were emphasized and expected. The teachers would display writing samples for parents nights, and class work and homework were to be submitted so that they were readable and neatly written. These primary teachers instilled in me the joy of the act of writing and, when we made the transition from printing to cursive, we were expected to use cursive for all our work as it was the writing mode for adults.

 

So, with this formative training, my printing and cursive are neat and enjoyable forms for written communication. But, my default writing mode is cursive -- I write using cursive without thinking about it.

[tinta]

I'd describe my hand as being semi-cursive. I lift my nib a number of times within a longer word. Not all of my letters are completely joined to the next. Bit of a hodge-podge, but it's legible & it's me.

[inkandseeds]

Print for a variety of reasons. One, my print is neater than my cursive. Second, print slows down my writing forcing me to focus on what i am writing or trying to write. Third, it is more adult. My late father was a draftsmen in the pre-CAD era and draftsmen had incredibly neat printing back then, so i associate it with being an adult.

 

(My maternal grandmother as a child did win a handwriting contest in Pittsburgh before WWI. Her handwriting till her death was always very ornate in the fashion of that era.)

[zuerincolour]

Since learning cursive in primary school (I was around 7), I've been hooked, and have been writing in cursive ever since!

[Peregrinator]

I write with a hybrid of cursive and printing. Won't post samples though as it is pretty awful. My mom made me take typewriting way back in middle school. All the commercial writing I did was done on a machine. I have always kept logs of my travels in cursive/printed and now since I have joined this group I have really expand my writing. Working on getting a consistent style. Seems I get best results with a fine or extra fine nib and inks that are not wet.

[Heavenly_Sun]

I'm actually working on switching from print to cursive right now.

 

I like cursive a lot better, because I've found that my cursive looks a lot better than my print.

Edited August 28, 2016 by Heavenly_Sun

[WaskiSquirrel]

It depends what I'm doing. My notes for students or others to read are all printed. Anything for me or my pen pals is in cursive. I prefer cursive because it feels good, but I recognize that the essence of writing is communication.

[windibd]

Printing all the way. It's easier for my brain to digest than cursive, since the joints can make some letters illegible.

[Adi_007]

Cursive.

My cursive is very near to being illegible and my printing has already crossed that barrier.

So I'll stick to cursive.