Heavy Pens or Light Pens?

[Bennington1967]

Heavy for me. Yard O Led Grand Victorian is perfection. But I need a perfect floater of a nib as I let the pen's weight do the work for me.

 

I totally agree with Ghost Plane. Yard O Led Grand Victorian is the perfect size and weight for me. I also like my Dupont Orpheos, my Conway Stewart Icon and Drake, and my Classic Pens CP5 Modern. I find that the weight of the pen slows down my writing to the point that the writing improves. I don't write for long periods at a time, using a word processor for most lengthy compositions, so I've never gotten to the point where the heavy pen made my hand tired.

 

My favorite light pens tend to be ones with a large size, such as the Conway Stewart Churchill. I always post a light pen to gain maximum weight and to improve the balance.

 

The CS Churchill is one of those light pens that are good to use because they are large and fill the hand nicely. I guess that if you do a lot of writing then you are likely to go for a lighter pen, but for occasional note taking and signatures, a heavy pen is often better.

 

I like heft because I equate it with quality - rightly or wrongly. Very light pens are always plasticky and fragile, and I don't consider them as being objects of fine workmanship. In terms of writing alone they may well be better, but as a collector, I always look for pens that have solid build quality and feel good in the hand.

Edited October 14, 2007 by Bennington1967

[Ink Stained Wretch]

The second thing I'm curious about following this post is whether to post or not. I note from the FPN lots of folks don't post. May I ask those of you who don't, what do you do with the cap? I'm sorry but how do you not knock it off the desk or lose it, or stop it rolling into the Salsa or being swallowed by the small Terrier we all seem to have.... Ok Ok, maybe that isn't a problem for everyone, but it is aserious question. I've always posted, one because I like the look of the pen posted and second for the reason my question points to, namely I lack the imagination to know how within the boundaries of the law to cope with an unposted cap!

There have been quite a few threads and polls on posting. Just look around a bit and you'll find a whole bunch of opinions on this burning topic.

 

As a mostly non-poster what I do is keep the cap in my left hand when I'm writing out in the world, I'm right handed. At home I'll put it down next to me, since I don't have to worry about others taking the cap or moving it while I'm writing and we don't have any pets to do untoward things to my pens or caps.

 

On a whim, I ordered a Pilot Birdie, which is thin, tiny and light (also very cheap!). I've found it a very useful and fun pen - and a superb writer. - easily as nice as a Safari.

I've wondered about those little things. Are they constructed well enough to hold up to a lot of writing? How long are they? A couple of months ago I bought a plastic fountain pen and only when I got it did I realise that it was only 3½ inches long! That's too short even for me to use without posting, and the cap was of such cheap plastic that I didn't think a posting arrangement would last long.

 

Does the Birdie have a small, proprietary cartridge?

 

 

I did wonder about its diameter though, which is very small for a pen, until I held it end on and compared it to an ordinary wooden pencil. Exactly the same.

Ugh. I really like wood cased pencils, but as I age and the arthritis encroaches more and more I find it hard to spend a lot of time writing with a wood cased pencil. A fountain pen that thin would largely be unuseable for me, I think. Of course it shouldn't require as much force to move a pen nib across a page leaving a legible line as it would to get a similar line from a pencil, I suppose.

 

[johnboz]

I usually prefer a pen with a little weight to it. I'm a huge fan of Retro 51 rollerballs which have quite a bit of weight to them, but it's very nicely balanced. But, that's a rollerball. For fountain pens, I do like a light pen. But, the size has to be proportional to the weight. I think that a pen that's small needs to feel a little heavy for it's size.. A pen that's fairly large should feel light for it's size.

[Titivillus]

What is your preference and why?

 

Heavy pens bucause why would I want a light pen>

 

L

 

[encremental]

Ink Stained Wretch - the Pilot Birdie is beautifully made, basically just a tube of brushed steel with a plastic section. It has to be one of the toughest pens I own.

 

Posted (you can't use it any other way, but the barrel tapers so that the cap fits snugly) it is exactly 13cm or 5 1/10 inches. It comes with a standard Pilot cartridge converter, and because it is quite a dry writer will do a lot of work between fills. Give it a nice wet ink like Caran d'Ache Caribbean Sea and it is just a delight. To be truthful, I was hoping that my recently acquired VP would have the same qualities when writing, but it doesn't, quite. The M nib is like a true fine, finer than either the VP or a Sailor M. It is very nail-like, but also very smooth. Because of its size, it is useful for taking notes anywhere (and being a fine dry writer, you don't have to worry about smudging that much). It writes in Moleskines etc. without any feathering or bleed-through, and fits in the loop of a Filofax. You could probably find lots of uses for it without thinking very hard.

 

As you can see, I'm smitten. It has been my surprise pen buy of the last six months and at under £10 ($20) I think everybody should have one. Not available in the States, it seems, but The Writing Desk and Cultpens in the UK both have them. I think it is crying out to have more finishes, colours etc., but so far the choice comprises either a white or black plastic section, which is a very un-Japanese state of affairs.

 

In spite of all this wonder however, it is still only the diameter of a standard wooden pencil, which may spoil things for you .....

 

John

[blak000]

I can go either way, as long as it's well balanced. I do tend to lean towards a little heft in a pen, but I generally write with it unposted. I find caps tend to make the pens too top-heavy (and, consequently, unbalanced).

[Ink Stained Wretch]

Ink Stained Wretch - the Pilot Birdie is beautifully made, basically just a tube of brushed steel with a plastic section. It has to be one of the toughest pens I own.

I've just looked at it on line and it turns out that I was thinking of another fountain pen! Yes, the Birdie looks like it would be pretty rugged.

 

As you can see, I'm smitten. It has been my surprise pen buy of the last six months and at under £10 ($20) I think everybody should have one.

That's actually at the high end of what I would buy. One person's cheap is another's expensive, I guess. And I know that for most that's quite an inexpensive fountain pen.

 

In spite of all this wonder however, it is still only the diameter of a standard wooden pencil, which may spoil things for you .....

Yes, from your description, and from looking at it, I think it'd cramp my hand up pretty rapidly. The Writing Desk Web site says it's 8 mm in diameter and I'm not sure if that's the barrel or the section.

 

Well, thanks for the information. I'm sure it's a great fountain pen for some hands.

[encremental]

KCat - of course, dip pens are narrow as well - I've never really thought about that aspect of them and quills must have been even worse! For mechanical pencil grips, have you seen the Pentel GraphGear? If not, take a look next time you're in an art shop - the section is made of very fine cross-hatched steel studded with small soft silicon bumps. The feeling of this combination of textures against the fingers verges on the erotic....

 

Irritatingly, I'm starting to get my turn at experiencing the family curse, arthritis. Nothing too bad so far - hips & knees which I can keep at bay with plenty of swimming, but I do live in terror of it affecting my hands, in which case I will be glad to write with anything.

Until then, 200/215/250/400 Pelikans are my ideal, which is why I'm afraid to say I have six so far and plan on getting plenty more while the going's good!

 

John

[KROWN]

A few posters have mentioned their dislike of narrow pens, and until a couple of months ago, I would have agreed with them. Then an odd thing happened.

 

On a whim, I ordered a Pilot Birdie, which is thin, tiny and light (also very cheap!). I've found it a very useful and fun pen - and a superb writer. - easily as nice as a Safari. I did wonder about its diameter though, which is very small for a pen, until I held it end on and compared it to an ordinary wooden pencil. Exactly the same.

 

Of couse it then struck me that I have happily used pencils for extended periods for most of my life never feeling the need to buy chunky trainer pencils. Furthermore, as someone who once had delusions of being an illustrator, I have worked with watercolour brushes for up to six hours at a stretch - and the diameter of a no 6 sable has got to be far less than even a pencil .... Therefore, for me at least, a lot of the thin pen angst was in my head and was more to do with what a pen 'should' be like. When I realised that , the diameter of the Birdie has never bothered me (and when posted the length is fine too). This of course means that there are even more pens to buy, so I'm now thinking of getting a Lamy cp1

 

John

 

 

I agree with you; I suspect a lot of what we think is comfortable is just in our heads. Like you I have this predeliction for big pens with heft; I always tell myself it is because I have big hands, but the truth is they are not that big. They may not be tiny but they certainly don't drag along the pavement or knock into doorways as I pass!! :ltcapd: This week I took delivery of a Parker 51 and though I bought it for its looks and because I don't have 51 and so thought I needed one if i was to have a serious collection of any kind, I had not thought I would use it to write with. What a misjudgement; after a bit of alteration to the nib to be the way I like, it is a beautiful pen to write with and it gives me a lot of pleasure to use it. I can't understand in view of my preference until now for big pens, so I have reached the conclusion a lot of it is "in my head". Like you, new horizons of possibility now open as pens I wouldn't have thought of for personal use are now open to consideration in a way they weren't before.

[DrPJM1]

I prefer lightweight pens for long writing periods, for short notes weight is not an issue. As per width I had a Cross set that gave away because I found my fingers tended to grip it tight and cramped after a while, so I now I stick to medium sized pens. So it's a matter of preference, what feels best to you.

[JDFlood]

What is your preference and why?

 

I think weight is an important parameter when choosing a pen. To light and it doesn't feel like a quality instrument, can't find it in a shirt pocket after you put it down, and I would think, has some design trade offs in construction. To heavy, and it can become fatiging to use... although it is usually bad balance that makes a pen feel heavy, more so than the actual weight and you can damage things when dropping a shirt with it in the pocket, or dropping it becomes more serious because of the weight. To me the Montegrappa Extra 1930 defines the perfect weight. When I got my first I was immediately struck by the weight... enough to feel like a quality instrument, not enough to indicate this was an ornament. I recently bought a new, old stock Omas paragon and was really disappointed that it felt like a BIC (weight) and the cheezy refill mechanism. I was also mad at myself for paying an astronomical amount of money for it. I would imagin the exact right weight would vary for the person, but that is why pen companies make different sizes.

 

JD

[Glenn-SC]

Longer more than shorter.

Wider more than thinner.

Heavier more than lighter.

[Ghost Plane]

.... oh. Pens. You were talking about pens. Had me going a minute there , Glenn.

[Shelley]

I like a certain amount of bang for my buck-my "51"aero is about as light and slim/short as I want to go.

I like to feel the pen in my hand-whether that is a FP or another instrument, I have always liked a bit of heft-of course when it come to cycling I like the smallets lightest components I can get. So its all about circumstances, I would not like to write with a brick, nor a feather.

[Glenn-SC]

.... oh. Pens. You were talking about pens. Had me going a minute there , Glenn.

Glad I could add some enjoyment to your day ...

[andromedia226]

A few posters have mentioned their dislike of narrow pens, and until a couple of months ago, I would have agreed with them. Then an odd thing happened.

 

On a whim, I ordered a Pilot Birdie, which is thin, tiny and light (also very cheap!). I've found it a very useful and fun pen - and a superb writer. - easily as nice as a Safari. I did wonder about its diameter though, which is very small for a pen, until I held it end on and compared it to an ordinary wooden pencil. Exactly the same.

 

Of couse it then struck me that I have happily used pencils for extended periods for most of my life never feeling the need to buy chunky trainer pencils. Furthermore, as someone who once had delusions of being an illustrator, I have worked with watercolour brushes for up to six hours at a stretch - and the diameter of a no 6 sable has got to be far less than even a pencil .... Therefore, for me at least, a lot of the thin pen angst was in my head and was more to do with what a pen 'should' be like. When I realised that , the diameter of the Birdie has never bothered me (and when posted the length is fine too). This of course means that there are even more pens to buy, so I'm now thinking of getting a Lamy cp1

 

John

 

 

Thanks for the post! I've been considering the same thing. If I can sketch for hours with a pencil, then why do I suddenly become so picky about the width of my fountain pen? Personally, I think it might be a masculinity concern... I'm a guy, and I "don't wanna be seen with no tiny fountain pen". My hand could probably care less, but my self-conscious brain says "get the BIG ONE!!!".

[Shangas]

I like light fountain pens for various reasons.

 

1. My fountain pens are, first and foremost, daily writing instruments. To fulfil this, they must bve comfortable to use. A heavey fountain pen is not comfortable. it is a pain in the human posterior.

2. Light pens do not weigh down on pockets, giving the bowed-out, saggy look on shrit-pockets that heavier, metal pesn do. Nice and neat.

3. I can write faster and I don't have to worry about resting my hand so much or getting it hurt or being uncomfottable because of the pen's weight pressing down on my fingers.

 

[Songwind]

This topic exemplifies what's been so much fun about fountain pens for me. A month ago, I had no idea how much variety there was in fountain pens. I thought I preferred black ink, fine nibs, and heavy pens.

 

Now, I am changing my mind on almost all of it.

[ampatb]

It all depends what I am writing. If I am writing a long entry in my journal a light pen is the thing...Bexley or Aurora. If it is only a short note or signature I will probably reach for something a little longer and heavier. (no comments necessary1) Sometimes I just like to switch back and forth, especially if it's a long piece. The thicker pen for a while then switch to a thinner pen. A hearier pen for a while and then a lighter one. Also, sad to say, as I get older the hand seems to want the lighter pen more and more.

 

MP

[richardandtracy]

The heaviest pen I have that I can write for any length of time (6-8 hours) with is my P61 Insignia. It weighs in at a hefty 20.5 grammes capped or posted (just weighed it). My other P61's are lighter.

 

I find the Parker 51 a touch too heavy and too large in diameter for more than an hour's writing at a stretch. And that's considered a small pen now. I really don't know how people can write for any length of time with a bigger pen. It's what put me off the Parker 100 - a pen that makes the P51 seem small & delicate.

 

Regards

 

Richard.