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How anyone can enjoy writing with fountain pens is completely beyond me. They were the bane of my childhood.

• yoz-y 6y ago
  In my school we had to use a fountain pen up until fourth grade (lefties had an exception). The day I could finally ditch the fountain pen was a happy one indeed. Nowadays I use gel pens, best of both worlds. I definitely agree that ballpoint pens are hard on the wrists.
  • throwaway201101 6y ago
    This is strange to me. When I was in school (1970s/80s in the USA) we used pencils almost exclusively. Rarely, the final draft of an essay might be required in ink (pen type immaterial), or typed, but not below grade 6-ish. I do like the feel of writing with a fountain pen but never used one until I was an adult. I still prefer pencil for note-taking and rough draft writing.
    • Symbiote 6y ago
      From my point of view, writing prose in pencil is for little children. Under 8 years old, ish. I also don't see much appeal in fancy, expensive pens. The cheapest ones here are about €5 from a supermarket, so something for €15-20 is usually decent.
• stordoff 6y ago
  I had to use a (cartridge) fountain pen at school (90s, UK primary school), and they were awful - the nibs were scratchy, and prone to breaking if you pressed even slightly too hard, and they leaked fairly often. A decent fountain pen is a completely different experience. I've mostly switched over to Staedtler Triplus fineliners for general writing - they're much easier on my hands/wrists[1], but retain the convenience of ballpoints. [1] I have a joint disorder, and writing more than a couple of lines with most ballpoints will make my fingers and/or wrists hurt. I can write for 20-30 minutes with the fineliners before they trigger the same issue.
• pjc50 6y ago
  They're especially annoying for left-handed users.
• zasz 6y ago
  Fountain pen technology has come a long way! I've never had any problems with leaky pens. You can get some very nice fountain pens for around $20 these days.
  • falcolas 6y ago
    One of my favorite fountain pens is the Pilot Varsity - it’s a disposable fountain pen. Lots of ink combined with one of the best nibs out there, no matter the price. There’s an entire set of users out there dedicated to figuring out ways to refill these so they can re-use the nib. I haven’t had a single one leak on me, either. They go for around $2 each.
    • saalweachter 6y ago
      Yeah, in my foreys into fountain pens they were one that "felt good" to write with. Some had tips which snagged when you end up "pushing" as a lefty, but the Varsity was smooth. If you want to feel fancier, the Pilot Metropolitan uses the same nib (in fact, since they don't sell replacements, you end up buying a pack of Varsities if you need to replace the nib).
    • sjs7007 6y ago
      This looks pretty interesting. Thanks for the tip!