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Comment by JumpCrisscross | Hacker News Reader

> It feels better in my hand than a biro

Ballpoints require one to constantly press down to keep the ink flowing. This makes writing tiring. (Fountain pens draw ink with capillary action.)

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Yes - this is one thing that I really didn't realise until much later in age - writing with a fountain pen is less fatiguing.

I used to press down hard with fountain pens, like I did with ballpoints, which used to cause blotting and damage my nibs. As soon as I started buying expensive fountain pens, I changed my style completely to use virtually no pressure on the page, and I am enjoying writing so much more.

At least for that purpose (can't argue with the aesthetics of a fountain pen), there is a large selection of "post-ballpoint" pens that keeps the ink flowing with no effort. The Pilot V5 and Uni-Ball Eye are both ubiquitous classics in the space. Much cheaper and much easier to deal with than fountain pens.

Uni-Ball Signos live in my pencil case and my pockets, and a Pilot Metropolitan lives at my desk.

I agree 100% that the rollerball is cheaper and easier to use. There's much to be said for not having to clean the pen, being able to take it on an airplane without fear, etc. It's also much more pleasant to use than a ballpoint. For whatever reason, though, I find I can still write for longer without discomfort, and maintain a higher quality of penmanship, with the fountain pen.

(That, or I'm just a hopeless nostalgic. I also exclusively own wristwatches that contain no electronics.)

This is the main reason I use one, keeps my RSI from acting up when I have to write a lot.

Best $25 I've ever spent ($5 on a pen, jinhao x750, the rest on ink).

Put a JoWo #6 nib on it ($15) and it will write like a $150 pen.

I’m curious - what makes the nib “better”?

Ink flow. But that can be (and should be) fine tuned even for expensive pens.

It is subjective - they feel smoother, glass-like. One factor is most cheap Chinese nibs are not cut exactly at the middle. This can be seen with a 10x+ loupe. The metal is not as hard. Different metal types have different surface tension so it affects ink flow. It works without adjustment while most Chinese nibs need adjustment, alignment and polishing (which is fun in itself to do).

The original Jinhao pen nib is quite usable, but the other parts of e.g. a x750 pen are much better, so it is a popular mod to change the nib for a German one, or a Japanese Zebra G flexible nib.

I have recently bought a Lecai Chinese pen and the nib seemed to be flawless. These guys in the right track on making a 100% Chinese upper quality pen.

Both of the sibling comments, plus good nibs don't have any rough edges which touch the paper. They've been ground/sanded down so smooth that they effectively hydroplane on the ink they're depositing.

You can improve some inexpensive nibs by simply "writing" on a high grit sandpaper or sharpening stone, but if the metal is too soft you can quickly wear away the writing surface entirely. I'd do this with the pilot disposable fountain pens with good results.

Sometimes just flushing the chinese pens out with a little water and maybe a drop of detergent will do the trick.

Why can't Chinese marketers come up with Western-sounding brand names?

This is so annoying.

They may be a better value, but European brands give you peace of mind.

Like “Canadian Solar”?

I’d prefer my Chinese products to be honestly Chinese. Write clear marketing copy, give a specification written in decent English without random Chinese characters interspersed, and you’ll have some happy English-speaking customers.

I agree to an extent, but I think it's mostly an issue of branding. Consider that Japanese brands were once associated with poor quality, but as their quality improved their brands became better known.

Chinese pens have been greatly increasing in quality for a few years now. Today, I recommend the Wing Sung 698 and 608 for new fountain pen users.

For what it's worth, those Sharpie felt tip pens also draw ink with capillary action. This is what I use and it definitely reduces fatigue as compared with a ballpoint.

Sharpies have pretty powerful fumes...

Having used both: Sharpie felt tip pens drag on paper a lot more than fountain pens do. It makes controlling the pen easier, but overall there's more effort that goes into writing with them.

What ink did you choose?

I am having trouble with ink drying up in my pilot pen.

The pilot cartridges don’t dry up. Only the bottle ink.

Noodlers xfeather black, haven't had any issues, but I also haven't compared it to other inks. It's just been good enough and one bottle has lasted me years (since I first got a fountain pen).

Maybe a fountain pen would help me with my painful cracked fingers during the winter. My only fear is that my handwriting is so bad that my notebooks would look like something by Ralph Steadman.

It takes practice, and small adjustments to your writing style, but it is possible to get there. My handwriting went to heck after years of using keyboard only, but after a few months of practice, I got it to a stage where I could reasonably expect myself (and other people) to read them. https://twitter.com/dsabar/status/728060728930799616

I used to have bloody hands too but started using Lush's king of skin product about ten years ago. I buy one bar in the late fall and use it on my hands a few times a day. It's not lotion and will fix your hands.

https://www.lushusa.com/body/body-butters/king-of-skin/02176...

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