Precious Ink – On handwriting | Hacker News Reader

Precious Ink – On handwriting

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16 pointsmitmads26 comments

Yes, absolutely. When I worked as an employee, I would have a growing stack of all the things my co-workers printed (why do they print so much shit?) and I would write on the backs to try to get some use out of their paper. That is just for incidental notes, though. Any note that is just for remembering over the next few minutes to an hour goes on whatever scrap of paper I can find. But much longer-lived notes go into one of my growing stacks of notebooks. I use unlined art pads with ring binder sides for even technical notes. I scribble sketches and ideas at random in them, and mix in more serious drawings. They become a sort of journal for me, as I hate writing classical journal style. I keep them, then look back through the old ones every once in a while. It is a good review of how far I've come and also helps me recapture good ideas I had and dropped because either I wasn't ready or I got distracted by something else.

Yes. I like 1-side papers. Some times i used to fold them, staple them together to make it a pocket sized notebook. I am not sure how for this is true - I remember reading somewhere that Gandhi used to use the white space on news paper borders to write.

Default to duplex. After 10 years of service my old Brother laser printer died last month. Got the Brother HL-2270DW: duplex, laser, airprint, ethernet. PPD files available for CUPS, fits on shelf.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00450DVDY

This is actually less of a solution than my solution, because the printing of the paper is certainly a waste of the paper, the old coworkers didn't need to be printing anything, let alone on both sides of the paper. At least my note taking was constructive.

But I've solved the problem in an even better way, I just plain don't work in an office with coworkers anymore.

I know for certain that writing things down makes them more 'important' to my mind. Printouts and the like generally get forgotten a few minutes after they were printed. Whenever I need to map out an idea within a script/program I'm working on I usually turn to my good ol' number two pencil and a couple sheets of paper and map out the basics of what I need to do, why I need to do it and any similar links.

I find that this allows me to clarify things greatly, even the simple act of sitting for a moment and mapping things out. Pretty much I have found that without fail this leads to better outcomes with scripting for me and things just flow better.

I'm not saying this will necessarily work for you, but for myself at least, writing certainly clarifies and brings into focus programming tasks.

Also, getting into the whole bit with reading from LCD screens when reading from them, the material I read on LCD I find that it is remembered less clearly than when it is on paper (be it a book or, notes, etc.). So for myself, the order of order of best/worst material for remembering information is: Writing -> Printouts -> Screen.

Do you use any specific mind mapping technique?

>I know for certain that writing things down makes them more 'important' to my mind.

I'm sure it does, but are you certain that writing things down commits them more firmly than manually typing them?

Oh gosh, this takes me back.

`De Laude Scriptorum' In praise of Scribes by Johannes Trithimeus, Abbotus of Spondheim Abbey, what now, something like 600 years ago!

A delightful and informative early book celebrating this most beautiful and ergonomically satisfying word machine ever made(1). The scratch of quill on vellum, is an itch scratched of divine satisfaction. This is the same Trithimeus who did the first book on Stegonography, absconded funds and stoled books to build up the library. There may be a free pdf out here somewhere. Parker, of the Parker Duofold fountain pen, whose quill recently quipped, "Writing with a ballpoint pen is like writing with a nail". We can mention here also Miller's Canticle For Liebowitz, with perennial novice Francis' inspired decades' dutiful inkish scrivening.

(1)But we must also remember and keep things in perspective, those monk novices were not allowed to get their groove on Fender Stratocasters.

This reminds me of Dijkstra's wordprocessor[1]. He had a pencil dangling from a string with a sign pointing to it saying "Word Processor".

[1] http://vanemden.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/i-remember-edsger-d...

I usually take notes in a notebook, but then transcribe them to OneNote later. This paid off handsomely when my bag was stolen last week, containing my notebook - all my notes are still safely saved.

Going to sound silly but - a pencil every time. Just seems a better match to the mind flow. Very zen.

Yes. I glanced thru this book at my local library - http://www.amazon.com/How-Sharpen-Pencils-Theoretical-Contra... - Read very zen. My personal preference is a good/non-expensive fountain pen though. Still searching for one.

I do some drawing with quill pens and tubs of ink. The sound off the sharp tip scratching across the paper is very relaxing, and the look is distinctly different from ballpoints.

i have had a namiki falcon (student edition in plastic, i have the more expensive one but i find i don't like it as much) for the last 3 or 4 years. it is bliss.

I bought a Lamy thinking it would be something different than normal ink pens to write in - but it wasn't. It just stays on the drawer since a couple days after it was bought.

I like the Parker Vector, mainly because I used one at primary school in 1986 and have found no particular reason to change. They should be available in the US. (In the UK, WHSmith do some cheap own-brand fountain pens that are OK.) The ink always flows immediately, it writes smoothly, it works tolerably with the nib upside-down as a replacement for a fine-tipped felt pen, and it's fairly smart-looking and presentable. I think mine cost less than £10, which represents fair value for money given how long it's lasted me.

More fountain pen reviews than you ever thought possible: http://www.youtube.com/user/sbrebrown

Entry-level fountain pens: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UId3hHz4bjk

The main issue with using a fountain pen I've found is that sometimes people will ask to borrow a pen, and now you have to vet them carefully to check that they don't hold the pen with their fist all scrunched up and the nib pointing straight down.

I'd like a fountain pen where the nib actually splayed on a little downward pressure so the width of the stroke was wider. Most nibs are far too strong and don't yield at all.

If you want a fountain pen like that (as opposed to a dip pen†), the only non-insanely-expensive source I've found is old pens with gold nibs ... If it's something not particularly attractive (there are lots of dull black old pens around), the price can be vastly more tractable than modern high-quality fountain pens.

Unfortunately the basic market for high-quality new pens seems to be as a luxury accessory, with price inflation to match. There's an apparent increase in low-priced new fountain pens in the last few years, but they all seem to have extremely stiff nibs made of thick steel or something.

[I met a guy in Boston who had a small open-by-appointment shop with like 4-5000 old fountain pens, most of which were not really pretty enough to sell well as boutique/antique items, but many of which wrote very nicely. He bought a lot of pens and eeked out a living selling the prettier ones; I'm not really sure what the eventual fate of the rest is.]

† There are tons of super cheap and nice flexible nibs available for dip pens, though I guess many are not well suited to general writing.

Thanks snogglethorpe, that reinforces an opinion I read a while ago when I last looked into this; modern manufactured nibs are steel with little yield and an old gold one can be a better buy for the price. Also, only the Japanese still bother with making old-quality nibs but at a huge price, e.g. the top ones tailor it after having seen you writing. :-)

I've seen nibs for dip pens in the local art-supplies shop, including drawing and map-making nibs, but it's just not practical so I haven't even tried them to see if they're what I want. If they were, I'm puzzled why they have to be dip-only, presumably a fountain nib works differently?

Having searched a little it seems 14K gold alloy is best, but modern rules mean it can't be labelled gold so isn't manufactured any more. http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/ttp/materials.htm

I'm no expert, but this is my impression based on seeing and using lots of nibs :):

Most drawing / calligraphy nibs only work well when you're pulling the pen (e.g. try pushing with a pointed nib, and you'll quickly tear up the paper or break the nib). Because of this, they can be of fairly simple construction, made of flat uniformly thin metal (generally just steel AFAICT). As they're relatively cheap and easily replaceable, it's not a huge deal if a nib breaks, you just put in a new one, and you're not out too much money.

Fountain pens, on the other hand, have to work reasonably well when pushing the pen too, so you can't really make them entirely out of thin flexible metal. Together with a more complex ink delivery mechanism, the nibs seem inherently more expensive, and so tend to be part of the pen rather than a disposable part (I imagine the average person who just wants to write his stuff wouldn't be very happy if they had to constantly replace the nib either). By making them out of relatively stiff metal, you can sort of avoid some of the problems while still using cheapish construction. I don't know why gold is better offhand, but I imagine it may be better able to put up with the forces involved when the nib is thinner and more fleixble, without breaking.

Ah, the "pulling" issue hadn't occurred to me.

Gold is good because it's flexible but pure gold is too soft and wears too easily so an alloy is used. 14K gold alloy seems to be the sweet spot between flexing and durability, modern 18K loses the former.

I use a Lamy Al-Star with a fine nib fitted. I find the choice of ink much more important though, some of the inks I've used feather a lot and others dry too slowly which isn't great for someone left handed. The best ink that I have found is Noodler's, its cheap, comes in fairly large bottles, and has an amazing range of colours.

Edit: Noodler's website, http://noodlersink.com/

"My personal preference is a good/non-expensive fountain pen though. Still searching for one."

I happen to have a Parker Vector, but many people swear by the price/performance ratio of Pilot 78G. (I believe it's 78G, it's something-G anyway.) It's cheap, go ahead and try it. And keep in mind that Japanese nibs are finer than the designation (F, M...) would suggest.

Thank you. I'll try them.

Yes... and spend a bit more on good pencils. Go to an art supply store, or a good office supply store.

I like German-made Faber-Castel pencils, but there are other good ones. My preference is for medium-hardness (HB and the slightly harder 2H). They sharpen beautifully. The lead doesn't snap off when you are writing. The feel on the paper is smooth and consistent. You'll never go back to generic yellow school-supply pencils.

A while back, our office moved locations, and I was searching for a pencil sharpener ... a manager stopped me and asked what I was looking for, and when I told him, he sort of gasped, and said out loud in a half-laughing voice "You want a Pencil Sharpener?!" People around started laughing...

It was ... weird. oO;

I did eventually fine a pencil sharpener though. :)

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