Comment by kstrauser | Hacker News Reader

Comment by kstrauser | Hacker News Reader

I kept wanting to love fountain pens, and I bought a couple, but the experience was always meh and not really any better (to me) than a decent ballpoint. They certainly didn’t help the writer’s cramp I’d suffered with all my life like I’d heard they would.

Then I bought a Lamy Safari on a whim and realized I could barely hold the thing. I did some reading and found out I was using the “lateral tripod pencil grip”[1], but the shape of the Safari’s wedged end really wants you to use the dynamic tripod grip. I fought through forcing myself to adjust the way I hold my pen for a couple of weeks, and what do you know: it really did end my hand cramps.

Ballpoint pens push you to hold them vertically. Fountain pens work much better at shallower angles. The difference in grip, and angle, and much lower writing pressure makes a huge difference (for me) in writing comfort. After trying and giving up fountain pens a few times, now I’m sold on them.

[1] https://www.ot-mom-learning-activities.com/correct-pencil-gr...

Thanks, I didn't know there was a name for that grip. I sort of picked it up by osmosis through watching a ton of youtube videos. I wouldn't say one arrives at that grip automatically, but due to how fountain pen nibs behave and how ink flows, I have noticed many people stumbling upon that grip without instruction. It definitely is different from a ballpoint pen grip which as you've noted is more "hand-crampy".

I've a few Lamys but my favorite pens of the last year or so have been TWSBI ECO Fs, an upgrade from Pilot Metro Fs, which I find scratchy. I also have some super cheap Jinhaos that look good on the outside but are leaky. I gather most people buy Jinhaos for the exterior, and switch out the nibs.

An astoundingly cheap and surprisingly good fountain pen ($4) is the Japanese-made Platinum Preppy F. They write way better than Pilot Metros. I kind of think Preppys should be the recommended starter pens rather than Metros.

I grew up writing with cheap Parker fountain pens in elementary school-- those poor experiences colored my perceptions of pens until I tried better pens. If I had a Preppy, I would have started on my fountain pen journey earlier...

> An astoundingly cheap and surprisingly good fountain pen ($4) is the Japanese-made Platinum Preppy F

I just wrote a comment praising cheap Platinum pens as well (though mine's not that cheap!) They must be on to something.

> I grew up writing with cheap Parker fountain pens in elementary school-- those poor experiences colored my perceptions

I have a fondness for the Parker Jotter, mainly from the fact that my grandmother always used one. I like their simple appearance as well. I have a couple, one of which I use quite a bit, but I agree, the cheap Parker doesn't write as well as the cheap Platinum.

Hmm - in fact I think I left a filled Parker Jotter in the desk drawer at work, back in the middle of March...

The difference between cheap and more expensive pen that quality control. I have dozens of Preppy pens, and almost not a single one of them wrote as good as a new Sailor pan out of the box.

But again I generally purchase moderately expensive Indian acrylic pens and send them to a nibmeister to work on it and the pens come out better than any branded expensive pens.

Once you get a nibmeister work on your nib then the only difference between a cheap and expensive pen is in the quality, style and material of the body (Preppy is too light unless you mod it to eyedropper pen and fill the body with ink completely, this means you will tire faster, compared to a slightly heavier pen).

I like Preppies. I don't know where to get them for $4 (open to suggestions), but I often want to try exotic inks with some pigment or sparkle or acrylic or acid (iron gall ink) or whatever that risks damaging a fountain pen. I'm fine if I neglect to clean it and it clogs the Preppy. Oops. Throw it away.

Amazon has a multicolor pack of 7 for $25 (~$4 per pen after tax).

If you buy them individually, they're between $5-$7 retail.

I read before that good handwriting is apparently due to relying on the shoulder muscles for fine grained control, plus results in less hand issues/cramping.

https://web.archive.org/web/20190123145432/http://www.paperp...

Have a couple Safaris myself, they've definitely helped my handwriting (long way to go still...). I find that paper makes a pretty big difference for the writing experience with fountain pens

Absolutely. In another comment I mentioned that I like the Rhodia Webnotebook paper a lot. It’s super smooth but takes the ink nicely and doesn’t blur. There are plenty of other great options (and I don’t have Lamy or Rhodia stock, honest!), but that’s my sweet spot for good paper, easy to find, nice form factor, and reasonably priced.

Rhodia is my go to as well! I like the big pads with dot pattern

I keep thinking I would, but my heart belongs to lines.

I do love the line spacing on the Rhodia, though. Some others are too narrow and it's hard to keep my writing both legible and tiny at the same time. Others flash back to those writing pads they give you in kindergarten.

Me too. Not to hard to find, and the dots are better for my notes and diagrams than lines or grids.

I really like a number of the Japanese spiral bound notebooks too. The paper is great for my (mostly Japanese) fountain pens and inks. However, it’s much easier for me to find Rhodia here the US.

I like the HP Premium 32 paper for use with fountain pens. Smooth surface that ink glides onto.

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