A fountain pen is noticeably different from writing with a pencil or ballpoint, because you do not have to exert significant pressure, and because there is a lo

A fountain pen is noticeably different from writing with a pencil or ballpoint, because you do not have to exert significant pressure, and because there is a lot less friction of your pen on the page. Writing with ballpoints and pencils has conditioned us to Press Hard (whether for exam books or carbon copies). This leads to our hands feeling tired and cramped much more easily. You're very right about the impact of typing, but even now I miss using a fountain pen after discovering them years ago. (I tend to use gel pens, as they are close, less messy, and cheap enough that I don't worry about losing them, but they're not as nice to write with.)