Comment by ics | Hacker News Reader

Comment by ics | Hacker News Reader

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People wishing to try experiencing the pleasure of fountain pens but avoid it because they are afraid of going down a rabbit hole can use the following: get one Platinum Preppy pen with black ink and either Medium (if you like thick, felt pen like lines), Fine (comparable to a regular ballpoint), or Extra Fine (if you keep your pencils extra sharp or normally use .38 or smaller pens) for $10 or less, and any notepad made in Vietnam for less than $5 at Walmart/CVS/Michaels/Amazon/etc. You don’t need to read any product reviews to try this out for around $15.

Why I recommend it this way: I enjoy pens and have done illustration and calligraphy professionally but the Preppy has essentially replaced my other pens except when I specifically want something special. Writing with it still feels special, mind, but to enjoy things you also shouldn’t be afraid of damaging or losing something precious, nor should you miss a day of writing because you didn’t want to carry some fancy instrument in your hoodie pocket or whatever. As for the pads, fountain pens are wet compared to other types and some paper will make it impossible to use or enjoy. Vietnamese paper is cheap, available, and known to work well for this.

I picked up a preppy a couple of weeks ago. I got a fine nib, and after seeing how it writes I should have gotten extra fine, but the biggest issue I'm having is that it seems to want the pen held at a shallower angle than what works for me. If I fold my pinky and ring finger under in an uncomfortable position then I can get my grip close enough to the page that it consistently inks, but otherwise it isn't consistent, which felt frustrating rather than special. I ended up switching over to the $2 Zebra ball point pen that I bought at the same time, and have had a much better experience, including pen on paper dragging that feels just as smooth as the fountain pen.

I would like to have a good experience with the Preppy, but I don't know if this is just how it will be because I have large hands, or if I'm doing something wrong, or just got a defective pen. What is the pleasure that I should be looking for? Is there still hope I can experience it, perhaps with a different pen?

> What is the pleasure that I should be looking for?

It should feel effortless and an absolute joy to glide the pen across the paper. If writing with a BIC pen is 3/10 tedious, a well made fountain pen should be 0/10 for tedium.

It should be so easy, you find yourself able to write for longer without tiring than you usually would. Ink should always flow freely, control of movement seamless, hand comfortable and not even the least bit stressed/cramped, and the nib should not feel scratchy or catching against the paper. It should glide.

This is why I went all-in with a proper fountain pen after being frustrated with various other pens. On a budget, I have tried and can recommend the Jinhao 51A to get started. If you are willing to go all-in, Visconti and Parker makes amazing pens.

The Jinhao 51A is a clone of the Parker 51 which was a staple every-day pen for white collar work in the 40-50's. They are physically wider to fit large hands and the pen tip is fine and precise.

Good luck, I hope you're able to find something that works for you, fountain pens have very different characteristics. I own several and none of them are quite the same as the other.

In case you haven't already, try several different kinds of paper and see if there is any difference. Not necessarily "better" paper; the smoothest writing I felt recently was on the back of a receipt of all things.

The steeper your angle the more the nib rotation matters so you can try adjusting that while holding the position which is still comfortable. Someone recently tried mine and had a similar issue because they held it almost vertical; pressure on the page helps spread the tines and allow ink to flow but not if it's stabbing. Holding the pen at a different rotation to suit their writing motion worked and made it more comfortable to use less pressure but it did take some trial and error.

I have a Pilot Kakuno that I keep refilling with Noodler's Black. All my favorite pens have been cheap.

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