How to Write with a Fountain Pen

As someone who has always been a fan of writing with a fountain pen instead of the more pedestrian ball point pen, I have noticed that there is a basic lack of familiarity in the general public with the art of writing with the more elegant fountain pen. I was frustrated by this lack of general awareness most recently when I allowed a student of mine to borrow my Waterman Phileas fountain pen to sign a petition to add my philosophy course. While I had let others borrow my pens before, I was unprepared for this student's basic lack of finesse with a fine writing instrument. He removed the pen's cap and immediately pushed the bib straight down onto the paper, hard, as though he were writing with a ballpoint pen. Unfortunately the fountain pen's nib suffered irreparable damage and was fairly severely bent.

It got me thinking that what one could really use is a straightforward guide to writing with a fine writing instrument such as a fountain pen. The single most important factor is overcoming the urge to treat the fountain pen as though it were a ballpoint pen. Rather than pushing the pen straight down onto the paper, it is important to hold the pen at a rather sharp angle relative to the plane of the paper. Rather than pressing hard, one simply glides the pen over the paper allowing the thin fountain pen ink to flow freely from the ink reservoir, through the nib, and onto the paper.

Unlike a ballpoint pen, a fountain pen's nib is designed to allow the ink to flow liberally from the pen. Thus fountain pen ink is quite watery from the perspective of the ballpoint pen user. It can certainly take a period of adjustment to learn how to write with a fountain pen, but the result is a more elegant and smooth writing stroke that does not tire one's hand as quickly as writing with a ballpoint pen. For anyone who does a fair amount of handwriting, the benefit of learning to write with a fountain pen is clear. Less downward pressure means less strain on the hand, wrist and arm. I have personally found that I can write for hours on end with a fountain pen without a single arm cramp to testify of my profuse writing.

An added benefit of learning to write with a fountain pen is the wide variety of ink colors that are available in fountain pen ink. Every shade of color imaginable is available in a fountain ink, and half the fun of writing with a fountain pen is experimenting with the various colors, hues, and shades, not to mention textures, of fountain pen ink. You will find that you actually begin to enjoy to write by hand rather than dread to do so like most ballpoint pen users do. Your handwriting will improve because a fountain pen naturally causes one's writing style to become more elegant and flowing. So if you have never experienced the joy of writing with a fountain pen, go ahead and pick one up. You can get a basic Waterman Phileas fountain pen for some price between $25 and $40. The ink can be a little pricey, but a small bottle of ink will last for quite a long time. Or if you prefer, you can use fountain pen ink cartridges that are more easily replaceable than filling an ink reservoir by hand. The writing experience is the same either way. You can pick up a basic fountain pen at most office supply stores, including Staples and Office Depot. Just remember to press lightly and not to treat it like a ballpoint pen.

Two more quick tips: you should probably never lend your pen to anyone so the same thing does not happen to your new pen as happened to mine. In addition, the fountain pen nib will begin to conform to your writing style, and if you let other people use your pen this can throw off the symbiotic relationship between you and your pen. And finally remember that fountain pen ink is thinner than ballpoint ink, so you should refrain from using your fountain pen on highly absorbent paper. Doing so will cause the ink to bleed excessively into the paper rather than form a crisp and well-defined line. With that in mind, good luck with your new fountain pen writing adventure!