Start/stop writing with the cap off

[Josephryanevans]

Hey folks,

 I’m still kind of an amateur in FP world, but I’m ready to buy my “next level” pen. But I’m trying to fit a felt need of mine in functionality. I’d like to be able to sit in meetings and take occasional notes without having to call and uncap every few minutes to keep my ink wet. Maybe I’m asking too much. 
 

Are there features of a pen that would help the ink stay wetter uncapped, like hooded nibs or nib design?

 

 Out is this more of an issue of using a different ink? I’m using Watermen Intense black and Watermen Serenity blue. 
 

Best Regards,

 Joe

[A Smug Dill]

Welcome to FPN.

 

9 minutes ago, Josephryanevans said:

I’d like to be able to sit in meetings and take occasional notes without having to call and uncap every few minutes to keep my ink wet.

 

A Pilot Capless fountain pen would be perfectly suited to that use case. That's why I used to have one as my ‘every day carry’ pen for several years.

 

That said, snap-caps and slip-caps aren't usually so onerous or time-consuming to uncap. You could always trying something like a as-cheap-as-they-come Jinhao 51A, which has a slip-cap, with a hooded ‘financial’ nib, and see whether that works for you.

 

[Josephryanevans]

Thanks for the reply. I have thought about the Vanishing Point. I’d love to hold one in my hand before committing since that’s a lot of investment for someone like me who isn’t a collector. 
 

I’ve got two snap caps that I like OK. A Pilot Metropolitan and a Scribe Sword. They are OK. But I’d mostly like to be “present” in meetings without having to think about whether I capped my pen or if it will write when I need it too. Again, maybe I’m asking too much or being silly. But then again, I’m thinking of spending $100-150 on a pen, if that’s not silly…

[Runnin_Ute]

Do this- just tuck the nib in the cap.

Instead of full capping. 

[A Smug Dill]

17 minutes ago, Josephryanevans said:

But I’d mostly like to be “present” in meetings without having to think about whether I capped my pen or if it will write when I need it too. Again, maybe I’m asking too much or being silly.

 

Well, even with a capless fountain pen (of whichever brand, not necessary just Pilot), you'd still have to be aware of whether the nib is retracted, or extended and ready to write, immediately before putting pen to paper. Fountain pens use inks in which the solvent is mostly water, that needs to evaporate for the ink marks to dry and set on the page; it isn't the solvent that reacts with the paper fibres to produce those legible marks. If you leave the nib and feed exposed to air, the ink in the nib slit or under the nib body, and in the feed itself will dry out through evaporation in a matter of minutes, which is a shorter time-frame than the duration of a typical meeting. You have to do something ‘mechanical’ to cover (possibly by retraction into the pen body) the nib and feed to prevent that from happening. That leaves you either shielding the nib and feed with the pen cap, or the cone on a desk pen holder into which you insert the gripping section (so it is effectively a pen cap that can be removed by gravity holding it in place while you withdraw the pen), or some sort of capless mechanism that will not automatically change the configuration in response to circumstances.

[Josephryanevans]

Thank you both for your answers. That really does help with some possible directions to adapt. That explanation also helps me understand why this is an issue with fountain pens in general. 

[JulieParadise]

As much as I love fountain pens: For such an "occasional notetaking purpose" as meetings or lectures demand, I'd always use a 0,5/5 mm mechanical pencil rather than a fountain pen. Even a Capless might not be the perfect solution there, because in a very quiet surrounding the Capless/Décimo can distract others. The totally quiet Capless LS is way more expensive, so I'd almost rule that option out.

 

If your meeting content demands some sort of processing, that might give you an opportunity to use a fountain pen: When I was at university, I used to scribble all my notes on scrap paper, and sometimes the references given to scientific literature in the lecture were given incompletely, as some profs just mention them in passing. Those scribbles were transribed, or rather rewritten in a structured way with complete references, mostly concentrated/filtrated and perfectly neat.

 

I found this to be of great help when studying. First it freed me from trying to write nicely in weird situations (some lectures in literature were so overcrowded that people had to sit on the floor or outside the room almost in the hallway, on the windowsill or whereelse a student would fit, and even in a business meeting or at a conference you might find yourself with writing your notes on your lap) and it allowed me to go through my notes a second time, culling unnecessary stuff, adding what reference material I would find information to or even already researched findings and further bibliographic info from the library I went to after the lessons.

[OMASsimo]

In my opinion there are two variables to consider. One is pen quality the other is habit. I have many vintage pens and several more modern pens with ebonite feeds that don’t tend to dry out quickly. They easily can stay uncapped for fifteen minutes and yet start immediately to write without skipping. And just slipping the cap on without fastening it as @Runnin_Ute suggests works very well.

 

The other thing is getting used to cap and uncap a pen. Some pens have longer threads than others, some can be uncapped with a half or even a quarter turn (especially my vintage Pelikans). The latter of course is more practical in your situation. Slip-on or snap caps are also practical if they seal well but I only have very few of those. My experience is that when I need to jot something down quickly, I don‘t even notice how I uncap a pen. It‘s just done mechanically while I think about what I want to write down. You might get used to that as well and find out that this is not really an issue in meetings or similar situations.

[sandy101]

Waterman ink is very wet, so it is about choosing a pen that won't dry out quicky. 

 

In my experience, piston fillers/aerometrics work better at this. 

 

So the cliched answer is a vintage Parker 51. Other alternatives are the Lamy 2K or an MB. A Pelikan might do the job, but I don't have enough exprience of that brand.  The Waterman Carene might also be a good choice. 

 

Platinum also have a Curidas which is a retractable nib. 

 

However, sometimes the better tool might be a rollerball or a pencil. A clutch of sharpened Mitsubishi/Tombow/Blackwing 602's might be a better bet (and you can stab youself wth oen to kkep yourself awake in particuary boring meetings) or a rollerball might work better. 

 

 

 

[vicpen123]

Just get used to it. It's the price we pay for the joy of writing with a fountain pen.

 

I use a twist capped pen and it quickly becomes a reflex response to cap and uncap.

[A Smug Dill]

On 5/26/2022 at 11:07 AM, Josephryanevans said:

But I’d mostly like to be “present” in meetings without having to think about whether I capped my pen or if it will write when I need it too.

 

5 hours ago, OMASsimo said:

My experience is that when I need to jot something down quickly, I don‘t even notice how I uncap a pen. It‘s just done mechanically while I think about what I want to write down. You might get used to that as well and find out that this is not really an issue in meetings or similar situations.

 

That was my thought as well. I'll assume that @Josephryanevans does not keep the pen in his hand all through the meeting, but will set it down on the table or notepad in front of him after jotting down a note; and therefore, to jot down the next note when the need arises, there would be a ‘mechanical’ step of reaching for and picking up the pen as a prerequisite. I personally can't see taking that step include (i) reaching for, (ii) picking up, and (iii) uncapping the pen (especially one with a slip-cap or snap-cap, that only takes a split-second to remove) such a burden, that after the first ten instances the user would not have made it as ‘natural’ and automatic as just knowing where the pen is and picking it up, the execution of which would be quick and unconscious without intruding on one's presence of mind and awareness of the proceedings. Cap the pen every time it is set down, without exception, and that also becomes automatic without requiring conscious attention, or taking one's eyes and ears away from the meeting.

[Karmachanic]

On 5/26/2022 at 2:17 AM, Runnin_Ute said:

just tuck the nib in the cap. Instead of full capping. 

 

Or hold the cap in your left hand open end up, and rest the pen there between scribbles.  Usually rest the left hand on the left thigh.

[Josephryanevans]

Thanks again everyone. These are some great thoughts. I think that many of you are right in saying that I can train myself for uncapping to be unconscious. I also like the idea of holding the cap in left hand and just dropping the pen in it while not writing. 

[inkstainedruth]

On 5/25/2022 at 9:07 PM, Josephryanevans said:

Thanks for the reply. I have thought about the Vanishing Point. I’d love to hold one in my hand before committing since that’s a lot of investment for someone like me who isn’t a collector. 

Depends on what you find comfortable to hold (both size and weight-wise).  I bought a used Vanishing Point a few years ago at an antiques and collectibles store but it was a bit too heavy (and with the clip in a bad place) for me.  OTOH, my husband loves the size, but he didn't like the F nib, so I ordered myself a Decimo with an EF nib and swapped out the nib assembly between the two pens.  And for me (with "girly" hands) the Decimo is a perfect size and weight.

Not sure where you're located, but if you don't have a convenient B&M store near you, try to see if there is a pen show within a reasonable traveling distance (there are shows in various places throughout the year, and people on FPN are often posting info about upcoming ones).  The odds are good that there if there is one near you, some vendor might have ones at their table and you can see how they fit your hand.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[chemgeek]

Here are several options:

• Pilot vanishing point. Click and write. Click to retract. Small ink capacity, however.
• Pilot E95S. Easy to remove slip cap. But you do have to post to write. Small ink capacity.
• Lamy 2000. Hooded nib will stay wet a bit longer than an exposed nib. Snap cap is almost silent to remove and recap. Generous ink capacity.
• Visconti (various) with the hook-safe lock which is very quick and sllent to remove and re-attach. Writing without posting is just fine for most pens with this feature. Generous ink capacity.

[Arkanabar]

I have a slightly odd use case.  As a nurse in a SNF, I am constantly jotting down documentation of use of narcotics and controlled substances.  My tool for this is now a Jinhao 51A (previously a Hero 616) clipped to my collar or the outside of my breast pocket.  I pull the pen out of the cap and reinsert it one handed (the barrel held by the last two fingers of my right hand, and the cap by thumb, index, and long finger).  In five years of nursing practice, I've had my pen fall from the cap exactly once, and I probably didn't fully insert it into the cap that one time.

 

These pens have a clutch ring between barrel and section, and a set of six leaf springs inside the cap that grip it, a design cribbed from the Parker "51".  Not only is it a very secure and durable capping mechanism, but it's very quiet as well.

 

In nursing school, I had to write notes to retain anything, and I always used my fountain pens for that as well.  Mostly, I held the cap in my off hand, and partly capped in between scribbling notes.