When it comes to writing on paper, what’s your preferred implement? Go into as much detail as you like – this is a Stationery Geek Safety Zone!
Old-Fashioned Fruitcake
Old-Fashioned Fruitcake
When it comes to writing on paper, what’s your preferred implement? Go into as much detail as you like – this is a Stationery Geek Safety Zone!
Generally ballpoint pen – for the last three years my personal journaling has been in blue (before that I didn’t care what color.) Writing in books, which happens only in certain books that are being studied, is done in pencil because I just can’t stand to do it in pen. 😛
I did have a fountain pen for a while (still have it in a box somewhere, I think), but that was back in high school before I cared to put in the work to make it look good. I also had a brief fling after college with an actual feather pen – also still in a box, along with its bottle of beautiful dark blue ink – when I was going to get into calligraphy and handlettering everything… 😛
But in the end, I’m lazy and, as long they flow well, ballpoints are the easy road. 🙂
An actual feather pen? I’m impressed!
Ballpoints are indeed easy, although more inclined to smudge than fountain pens, in my experience.
And I quite agree about writing in books – never with pen! Do you use a wood pencil or a mechanical one?
Mmm, but I’m not a lefty, so I don’t have to worry quite as much about smudging, though it happens sometimes. 🙂
It was a green feather – I’m not sure if it was dyed or made that way, probably the latter – with a gold-colored (probably brass) nib for dipping in the bottle. It was fun, if somewhat messy and difficult to get the hang of with my handwriting.
At the moment I use a mechanical pencil. I’ve got an ancient blue plastic barreled one with a fossilized eraser that I like partly because it keeps a consistent fine point and partly because it has a clip to keep it with whichever book.
I also like retractable ballpoints for the same reason – my last two journals have been spiral bound and I like being able to tuck the pen in the binding.
Consistency of point has a good deal to be said for it!
I don’t have a particular brand or type of pen, but rather a list of preferred qualities in a pen. It must have a cap, it must be comfortable to hold, it must be quick drying enough that my hand doesn’t smudge it, it must have black or green ink, and it must leave a solid line no wider than 0.1mm (ball points, for example, tend to leave an intermittent line).
Looking pretty is a bonus. So is the ability to withstand a lot of downward force, but I’ve yet to find any pen that fills my entire list of requirements and lasts my (occasionally) forceful writing (literally forceful, I’m not boasting about my capabilities as a creative writer).
I am not a creative writer, but I do notebook a lot of things at work for later entry into computers. I write so small that if the line is wider than 0.1mm then all I end up with is a series of blobs in the approximate shapes of words, numbers and abbreviations. Which makes it rather difficult to figure out what to write in the electronic report.
Tried a fountain pen with an EF nib? The ink can be of any colour you desire and dries incredibly fast – no smudging.
I have never tried any fountain pen so far as I am aware. I will have to visit sometime, and you can give me a crash course on the uses of various pen-types.
Sure! I don’t have an EF (well, only in a dip pen, which is a whole ‘nother kettle of, er, ink) but I do have an F you can try out.