Big Pens or Small Pens / Clips, Clipless or Rollstops

[amberleadavis]

I've been thinking more about the girth of the pen.  The MB14 has an amazing nib that I love, but after a while my hand aches.  (I'm more sensitive after being over saturated at the hospital).  The M1000 is in my opinion the perfect pen for my hand, but it has a medium nib which isn't the best for my penmanship.

 

So, back to the Sheaffer Legacy which has an amazing nib and almost perfect size, if not the perfect ink capacity.

[OMASsimo]

That‘s a topic I‘ve been wondering about for quite a while now. Where do the different preferences for pen size and girth (in particular) come from? If we all had the same preference, all pens would be the same size and things would be easy. But at all times there was a wide range of pen sizes to satisfy the demand and usually bigger pens were more expensive though the material cost was almost the same. My interpretation of that is that there is at least some correlation of size and prestige. But let‘s put that aside and assume we‘re all free of vanity. What is really the difference in writing experience between a large or a small, a slim or a girthy pen? I know from experience that the feeling is different but I couldn‘t rate any pen using those categories.

 

I have to confess that I‘m a nib junkie and my preferred nibs are vintage. They usually come in small to medium sized pens compared to current size standards. I‘ve never had a problem with the pen size itself but I usually need to get used to a different nib characteristics. I‘m neither inconvenienced by a tiny Kaweco Sport 11 from the 50s nor by a huge OMAS Paragon from the 2000s because both are outstanding writers. Maybe I‘m just lucky that size doesn‘t matter for me.

 

By contrast, I do have a strong preference for pens with a clip. I usually carry a pen in my shirt pocket because I need to write down things wherever I am. If I‘d only would write at my own desk, this wouldn‘t matter so much.

[OMASsimo]

Here is a demonstration of size differences:

 

 

 

From top to bottom: The King, Italian safety filler (ca. 1930), Kaweco Sport 12 (ca. 1950), Bayard „Le Spécial 8“ (ca. 1933), OMAS Paragon Arco (ca. 2000). The Bayard is probably the average size of my pens.

 

[ajcoleman]

Thinking about the pens I like, I guess my taste runs a bit to the smaller size, though I have larger pens I like as well. I think it is more about the feel and  balance than the diameter or length. For example, the Parker 45 is a favorite. I consider it one of the most comfortable to hold, and a bit on the thin side.  I also like the much larger Ranga Zayante from Peyton Street Pens. It has a much larger diameter section, but that pen is also comfortable to hold, though I wish it was shorter posted.  On my particular pen, the cap posts very high on the back of the pen, making the pen seem longer and more out of balance. Thus for me the jury is still out on the perfect size.

 

Clips on the other hand, are a must. I always have a pen and pencil clipped into my shirt pocket. The only exception to this is a "pocket pen" like the Fisher Bullet Space pen or Pokkapen ball point made to slip into a pants pocket.  I have seen otherwise exquisite pens downgraded a bit by a cheap looking clip, but I still prefer that to clipless.  Given my position on clips, I don't have any experience with roll stops, but my first thought when I see pens with them is "that must be where the clip is supposed to go."  🙂

 

 

[XYZZY]

TLDR:  Large pens, clip is important on expensive pens.

 

I just starting copying the Bible and my pen of choice for that is my Namiki No 50 (aka Emperor), so you can take that as emperical evidence of what I consider comfortable for extended writing sessions.  I could have also used my Custom Urushi or King of Pen.  My Pelikan M1005 would be too small.  The Custom Urushi's nib, while probably my favorite, requires that I pay more attention to it when I write, my KoP nib a bit too broad and the converters are stupidly small for this project.  The No 50 is just a very comfortable workhorse.

 

But my large/expensive pens stay at home.  I usually carry 3-5 pens in a roll, and they are usually both smaller and cheaper.  Currently a Pilot Custom Heritage 91, Sailor Lecoule, and Edison Collier Grande (it's large for EDC, but it's new and I'm giving it a good shakedown).  Anyhow, I rotate the EDC pens out constantly: as soon as one empties something else goes into the roll.

 

I find decorative roll stops to usually be gaudy, but I like having clips on a pen to serve as a roll stop.  I never actually clip the pen onto anything, though.  The necessity of that clip is proportional to the cost of the pen:  if the Sailor Lecoule had no clip it would be fine: it can roll off the desk and keep on rolling for all I care.  If the Namiki rolled off the desk that would be very very bad, so absolutely I want a clip on that pen!