How the Ballpoint Pen Killed Cursive (2015)
theatlantic.com
theatlantic.com
OTOH, I think the author needs to get himself a fat, high quality ballpoint pen. The pen size seems to actually be the part that creates the most hand stress in my case.
Also, for that matter, I find some of the cheap gel pens seem smoother than the cheap ballpoints too. The combination of a gel refill in a fat pen like an old papermate PhD multi pen might be just right.
A fountain pen with an American or European medium nib should be smooth to very smooth.
While this is necessarily true of some calligraphy pens (like those designed for crisp italics), it's absolutely not true of fountain pens. If your nib is scratchy then it needs to be adjusted.
But, but, but ... what about spitballs?
When I was a kid 50 years ago we used those $0.19 Bic pens. (We also used ink pens, but that's another discussion).
The Bic pens unscrewed very easily. Leaving you with a nice clear tube. You tore up pieces of paper into tiny wads and covered them with spit. You used the Bic tube to shoot them at your classmates.
Don't kids still do that? Without spitballs how will bored preteen boys pass their days while being stuck in boring classes?
I suppose that nowadays Ritalin and Adderal are the preferred answers. But the better answer is to have more engaging teachers. I switched schools in 7th grade and the classes were much less boring. No more spitballs. Better teachers or perhaps more mature kids?