Writing tools

[Jamanticus]

You care for these kind of things?

I really don't pay attention to what I'm writing with, usually just a cheap pen or pencil.

Lots of people care for these things.

Personally, my favorite thing to write with is a fountain pen. Makes it so easy to write, and such a pleasure. Only problem with a fountain pen is the maintenance it requires... Main principle that makes it so fantastic is that it uses a really, really thin channel so that ink flows down out of the tip with absolutely no pressure (cohesion and adhesion, you know). Of course, the problems start when the ink doesn't flow out perfectly or congeals a bit inside the channel...

Ah well...

When I write with a fountain pen, I love it when there's a good amount of paper underneath what I'm writing on- more cushion, more luxury... Can't write on only a single sheet of paper on a hard surface, since that gives me that weird scratchy feeling. That goes for any type of pen I use, though (although it's the exact opposite with pencils).

After fountain pens, I like writing with pens containing gel-based ink.. The low viscosity makes everything flow so nicely (I'm very big into flow... My writing is, as a few Escapists might remember, very loopy and slanty and cursive....y).

Want me to go on? Okay.

I really like writing with just about any implement. Each one has its own merits- fountain pens are effortless and voluptuous, pencils are nicely visceral, rollerballs are silky-smooth, and ballpoints charm one with their endearing drag as they roll across the page.

I love pens, love pencils, love writing. LOVE it.


Oooh, oooh! And pens that have to use inkwells! Great things, but they're like writing with a needle if you have the really thin nibs.


EDIT: And for all of my writing implements, I like medium-to-bold tips.

EDITEDIT:

Spoiler: Pen brands I love

Cross/Waterman/Mont Blanc fountains
Uni-Ball rollerballs
Waterman ballpoints

Do I come across as a sad, strange individual?

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Pile of index cards and a pile of biros. Cheap and effective.

 

[EeveeElectro]

Actually, I do care. I'm so used to using a fountain pen, that writing with a ballpoint pen feels weird and my writting looks messed up (not as pretty as when using a fountain pen).

I'm the same... I feel more comfortable writing with a fountain pen, but my writings still messy.

 

[InProgress]

Oooh, oooh! And pens that have to use inkwells! Great things, but they're like writing with a needle if you have the really thin nibs.

Do I come across as a sad, strange individual?

I use ink wells in my fountain pen. I hate writing with royal blue, so what I do is use a sirynge to mix up black and royal blue in the cartridge (that's in case I don't find blue-black).

And I wouldn't consider you a sad, strange individual. I would consider you someone interested in their writing.

 

[JemJar]

Microsoft Pen and Ink 2009.

 

[xxnightlawxx]

i now have a huge pencil

 

[Uncompetative]

Artline (R) 204 FAXBLAC 0.4 black fibre-tip

...and that's all the personal information any of you are ever getting out of me...

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

My current favored pen is a cross fountain pen of some variety. I don't recall the model's name but it often attracts comments. People are dumbfounded by the idea that someone would still use a fountain pen (and they're shocked at how much I spent). I've had it for about a year. It replaced my Waterman that didn't survive my second deployment.

I'm a sucker for a pen though. The very act of writing itself can be a pleasure with a good pen, and there have been times where I've had a good pen and good paper and it doesn't matter what I write, I just feel the need to slap ink down onto the paper.

To be honest, I'd always use a pen if I could get away with it. Apparently math classes still don't allow the use of a pen, even at the university level which I find fairly annoying.

 

[sooperman]

I have a couple of cool gel ink pens with special erasers on the end that can rub the ink out if need be. Gimmicky but sometimes very handy.

I got some pens like that. Just standard ballpoint pens with erasers on them.
Awesome

 

[Galletea]

Being left handed, writing can be a bit of a pain, since I hold my pen in a somewhat odd fashion. I like Parker fountain or cartridge pens, but generally I'm happy with any smooth pen with a padded grip, gel or ink preferably, I don't like ball points that much.

 

[InProgress]

Being left handed, writing can be a bit of a pain, since I hold my pen in a somewhat odd fashion. I

I feel your pain. Sometimes, writing for too long or too fast gives me some pains in my wrist.

 

[Crumblebumble]

Bic.

 

[TheBlackKnight]

Fountain pens: got an old beatup lamy for home use and a Waterman model for the office.
Pencils, mostly ones made by Faber-Castell, they have one with small rubber dots, so awesome.

 

[NewClassic_v1legacy]

I've always been picky about writing, mostly since I like minimizing the pages I use. That means mechanical pencils are the standard, 0.7 if I'm hyper-desperate, 0.5 since it's easy access, or my 0.3 Drafting if I'm at home. I prefer the 0.3, for the same reasons I prefer college ruled. I don't write big.

I have a big collection of pens, black and red 0.5, that I use for basic pen-writing (but I will always prefer pencils, no contest). If I ever have to do something that I want to look good while also formal, I'll use a Copic 0.1 "marker" as a pen. The tip is the second-most fine they have in that line, usually used for hatching, which I use for writing. It tends to have the solidity of ink, but the fineness of a good 0.3 or 0.5 pencil, which I really like. I don't use it much, replacing the ink or tip is a pain, but it's served me well over the years.

I'm not terribly picky, though, I'll use whatever I have around. If I can manage it though, I'll look for items in this order of importance: Mechanical pencil, pencil, fine pen, fountain pen, pen, calligraphy brush.

Hopefully that was clear enough.

 

[DragonsAteMyMarbles]

I prefer to type, given that my handwriting looks like it's been written using a malfunctioning Spirograph.
<color=white>Wonder how many people will know just what the hell I'm referring to?
If I have to write, I generally use biros (since the ink is hydrophobic, and I spend a lot of time in lab) in a variety of trippy colours.

 

[Fairee]

I personally prefer fountain pens for writing, and I have a large supply of cartridges so I know they'll always work for me. Sometimes I'll use a ball point pen, depending on what I feel like, but it's mostly a fountain pen.

 

[Flames66]

A very old (probably 30 years) Parker fountain pen. I know it's that old because it was my Dads school pen. You can't get cartridges for it anymore, I have to use a converter and get bottled ink.

I can't write properly with a ballpoint pen. I always end up pressing too hard and my hand aches to much to move my fingers after about a sentence.

 

[Trifixion]

Whatever my company buys for office supplies that I can easily stea-...er...borrow...by the boxful.

Hell, considering all the unpaid overtime I've put in over the years I've been working here, I figure they owe me as many pens and pencils as I want.