Best Pens for Writing

[sc211]

Someone just mentioned a Pilot G2 in their post, and that - along with a cramped hand - got me to thinking, what's the best kind of pen for long bouts of writing?

[spacejock]

A keyboard. Ha ha.

Seriously, I can write maybe 1/2 page with a pen before I cramp up. Therefore I use pen for editing and notes, and keyboard for writing - unless I have no alternative.

If I must write by hand I use a cheap Bic pen with a medium point. (The clear ones, not the orange ones). It has to roll smoothly - anything which catches or moves sluggishly across the page goes straight in the bin. Cheap Bic pens always seem to work just fine.

Heavy pens just mean more work for the fingers. Clicky pens spend more time being clicked than written with. Pens which unscrew spend more time in pieces. (I'm so bad with this I'll pull the little plug out the back of a Bic and put back over and over. If I take it out and throw it away I just end up pulling the other end out instead.)

[Stlight]

felt tip pens are good if you're going to type the pages fairly soon - some run and the story slips off the page. I suppose hair spray might set the ink. We used it to set chalk drawings in art.

Indelible fountain pen ink and a comfortably sized fountain pen ... I know try to find a working fountain pen and a tissue at the same time you can find the ink. :rollin

Edited to add, my father used IBM number whatever pencils, those wrote in thick lines almost like caryon. Again smearing problem.

Stlight

[reph]

Pilot Precise Rolling Ball, extra fine; but there's something to be said for pencil, because it erases.

[katdad]

I'm a leftie and tend to drag my hand across the recent print, so I need something that won't smear.

For many years I have sworn by the Parker Jotter. It has this enormous cartridge that lasts months, and always writes on nearly any surface. Won't smear either.

But I rarely write much by hand any more. Most is keyboard these days.

I hate pencils.

[sc211]

I don't favor pencils myself, but it did remind me of a couple who did, and after a little rummaging about...

My choice of pencils lies now between the black Calculator stolen from Fox Films and this Mongol 2 3/8 F which is quite black and holds its point well. I will get six more and maybe four more dozen of them for my pencil tray.
- John Steinbeck, Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters

"Blackwing 602, the best - soft lead, six-sided so they won't roll away and wonderful erasers."
- Stephen Sondheim, NYT Magazine

For myself, I was given a fancy Arrow pen in high school, but it was thin, hard, and wrote terribly, so for many years I used the cheap orange BIC ones, but then got into the Papermate Flexgrip Ultras Fine Point (which is a fancy name for a regular blue plastic pen with a metal point).

In the last box they included a free Papermate Xtend, which I like much better, since it has the rubber grip.

[pencilone]

I edit with glitter and metallic gel pens of various colours ;)

[Jamesaritchie]

I probably know more writers who use the Pilot G2 than anything else.

But when I write fiction with a pen, I very much prefer a good fountain pen with a fine nib. One with a bladder, not those cheap things with the plastic refill cartriges. A good fountain pen writes without effort, and the nib soon forms itself to your unique style. I also use a fountain pen for journaling. Waterman makes some excellent fountain pens at very reasonable prices. So does Conklin. My two favorites are the Conklin Mark Twain Crescent Fountain Pen, and the Waterman Carene Matte. Writing with a good fountain pen is a pure joy.

Then again, like Shelby Foote, I sometimes use a dip pen for writing, and I have been known to cut my own goose feather quill and use it.

I also use mechanical pencils fairly often. I use the Sanford Ph. D. most often because it has a wonderful feel, but I'm also getting really fond of a very heavy Pierre Cardin mechanical pencil that takes 0.9mm lead.

When not using a mechanical pencil, I use Ticonderoga 2.5 woodcase pencils. The Ticonderoga is the traditional pencil for writers, and I like sharpening them. It gives me time to think. John Steinbeck recorded using 25 dozen Ticonderoga pencils in the writing of East of Eden.

But when using these, I also use a slide-on triangular grip.

Writers cramp can often be avoided, or at least greatly lessened, by using a writing stone. Traditionally, this is a smooth stone held in the hand behind the pen or pencil as you write. Cramp is often caused by the position of the ring finger and the little finger, and a writing stone keeps these fingers supported, and in a position where cramp is less a possibility. Using steel Chinese exercise balls for the hand also helps. The 1.5 inch ones are best.

You can also make a form fitting writing "stone" from Playdough.

The main cause of writer's cramp is not writing often enough, of course. The muscles aren't used to the activity, and cramp when used. But a writing stone, and a good, thick, heavy pen or pencil with good balance helps greatly.

Cheap pens and pencils also cause cramps. A good pen or pencil has some heft to it, and has a grip thick enough to hold without squeezing. But the thinner the pen, the more you cramp. The lighter the pen, the more you cramp.

You barely even have to hold a good pen or pencil. It does all the work through weight and balance. The weight makes it write without any pressure at all, and the balance means it stays in position without the need of controlling it with your hand.

Improper grip also causes writer's cramp, and just hold a pen or pencil correctly makes things much easier.

[EGGammon]

uniball VISION fine

I never use anything else. They are the best pens in the world! Perfect weight, perfect grip and they write smoothly.(But, if you are a leftie, the ink will smear, my mom hates them)

[macalicious731]

I like the Pilot P-700, in fine. I never write by hand, but this is the pen I like for taking notes in class and doing other writing assignments. It's smooth and never catches on the page.

[Ketzel]

I have repetitive stress problems with my hands and writing can be hard sometimes. I need lightweight, fat-barrelled pens with smooth-flowing ink because I like to handwrite my stuff. The best two I've found: Zebra's Zeb 2000 Rollerball and the Uniball Gel Impact RT. I also use the SumoGrip mechanical pencils, hard to find but the best out there in terms of weight and balance for sore hands.

[Gala]

Great info. Most pens don't work well for me because the ink smears. Left handed.

I'd love to use a fountain pen--does anyone know of ink that doesn't smear as a lefty moves the heel of their hand along?

Also curious--what kind of paper do you prefer? I like yellow legal pads. Notebooks are out because of the left hand problem. Even the legals are a problem half-way through unless I stop to remove the tear-off strips at the top.

Thanks.

[allion]

Now I really have to go to Staples after work with a long shopping list...

I use pens with a thicker barrel. For me, it's easier to grip than the narrow ones and I don't cramp as much. Gel ink has a good smooth flow when it hits the paper and I can scribble faster. Fountain ink also works well.

It's a balance between how fast I can write and how fast the ink dries before I stick my finger in it somehow.

I was thinking the other day that I don't really have the writer's callus on my middle finger like I did when I was in school and taking copious notes all day long. I miss that bump. Always used to get this sore spot when school started up again in the fall and I had to start writing again.

[Velleity]

I do the bulk of my composing at the keyboard, but for editing and handwriting I use a pencil, not a pen.

Pentel Quicker Clicker, 0.5 mm lead. I probably have two dozen of 'em of various vintages stashed around the house at this point.

[Maryn]

I've never found a pen that doesn't smear at all as my left hand moves across the words I've just written, so I'm no help there. (Although I do like the Pilot G2 since it smears less than many.) I think that's a factor in my reluctance to write by hand unless forced.

I have the same problem with legal pads that Gala reports, that my left-handedness means I have to deal with the stubs remaining after sheets are torn off once they reach a certain depth. You righties try slanting your letters to the left without twisting your hand upward!

However, there's no reason to give up notebooks, as Gala has. Since high school, or maybe earlier, I've used notebooks from the back. Once you're writing, who cares which side of the page it's on? It also doesn't matter that any pretty cover is on the front, because once it's open, you're not looking at the cover anyway.

Maryn, urging Gala to give spirals another shot

[Azura Skye]

Pilot EasyTouch fine point.


Meh, I'm cheap.:rollin

[SRHowen]

Mechanical pencils when I write by hand with a spongy thing on them.

Never tried on of those stones---where do you get them?

Shawn

[Gala]

Since high school, or maybe earlier, I've used notebooks from the back. Once you're writing, who cares which side of the page it's on?

Doesn't work because the holes are on the wrong side when the writing is ripped out and filed in a binder. Even in a hanging file, the top edge is all wrong.

Also, the top corner curve of some spiral bound paper ends up on the wrong side, as does the margin printing. I've tried all kinds of binders and notebooks and upside down backwards use of them.

The issue is that English handwriting goes from left to right. Trying to cheat devices and paper made for a right-handed world doesn't solve that basic problem.

I could make notebooks correcting some of those problems but nothing fixes that writing is designed for right handed people.

Hence ink and paper that don't smear are paramount.

At least I can laugh at the adds for all these items, knowing they're missing out the small percentage of the population, lefties, genetically predisposed to artistic genius.
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[macalicious731]

Gala (and other lefties) have you seen this (http://thelefthand.com/statit.html)?

[ChunkyC]

I work in an office supply store and am familiar with almost everything mentioned here. I write on the computer, and use a Pilot G2 when editing printouts. I also like Sheaffer pens, though some can be a bit heavy. I have large hands so I don't mind so much. Cross makes some nice thin pens for folks with small hands.

James A -- I could probably get you a job based on that post alone, not that you'd be interested in commuting to Canada for nine bucks an hour to sell pens to tourists. :b Excellent info for those who like to write with a pen or pencil.

[Gala]

Thanks, Malicious. I've looked at "left-handed" notebooks, and they are basically the familiar product with the binding supposedly reversed. They don't change or affect the fact the writing goes left to right, and what I said above.

I'll look at the other stuff. A left handed pencil sharpener? Cute. I solved that already with an electric ;)


...malicious: is this site a joke? I mean, some of it's so obvious. Anyone with a little common sense can reverse a three-ring binder. (think about it.) Features would be lost, but creative problem solving is the genious of lefties.
8)
<hr /><a href="http://www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk/famous.html" target="_new">Famous Lefties</a> check out the writing products; righties might enjoy them too

[EGGammon]

Man, a lot of lefties here. I feel like I'm at home, because in my house, being RIGHT handed, I was the odd ball. My mom, dad and brother are all left handed, well, my dad had that thing where he could write with both, but he always used his left.

[rtilryarms]

Secretries!

[macalicious731]

Gala, I'm pretty sure it's not. I googled the subject, and that's what I came up with. There was one other site I looked into (seemed a bit more professional) but it seemed European-based and the products more expensive with not as much selection. (Actually, I think it's the one you've now linked.)

Like what you said - anybody can figure to reverse the products. It's just not something I'd ever found in common stores before (Walmart, Target, etc.) so I figured they'd be online somewhere.

[Elizabeth Genco]

Oh my God. Best thread EVER.

I am such a nerd for pens, I can hardly stand it.

The G2: I went out and bought a couple of these after I heard everyone raving. I now have dozens scattered about the house and in messenger bags, in all of the colors. I have seven of them within arm's length here.

The Zebra Sarasa: This is alarmingly close in style to the G2. I think it writes a little better, actually. I was originally attracted to it because they make 'em in this snappy pink. They come in a dozen colors. I bought four of them just today, in lime and some shade of blue that's lighter than usual. Attention: pink is the new black.

The Sanford Liquid Expresso: This is another cheap pen that I LOVE. Like fountain pens, it's too juicy for Moleskines, but that's okay -- I just use 'em elsewhere. The first time I used one of these, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. But for the longest time, I couldn't find them anywhere; as a result, I hoarded and guarded that pen most unnaturally. Then one day, I walked into an office supplies store and there they were. I walked out with a dozen.

Fountain pen favorites: the Parker Sonnet, the Levenger True Writer, and the Waterman Phileas. For the love of God, people, you all need Phileases right now. Never a better budget pen did ever roam this green earth. Trust me on this one.

It's funny -- I buy pens that I love compulsively, even if I have more than I can use. It's like there's a part of me that's afraid that I'll never get them again and I need to stock up at every opportunity.

[Writing Again]

I solve my left handed problem by using 3X5 index cards for everything. Pens? I buy BIC: ten for a dollar on sale: I don't care if I lose them or not.

[maestrowork]

Pens? I really don't know. I got my pens from various sources: banks, restaurants (don't give the pens back to the waiters... they never notice anyway), doctor's office, friend's homes, kids' parties...

Just pay everything with a credit card.... the pen is yours.

[Gala]

Thanks mal--you got me to stop whining and do a little research. Everything changes on the web so fast...I'd not even googled the issue in over a year.

I'm slotting time to hit an office supply and re-shop the pen choices mentioned in this thread.

I tried Mont Blanc pens in Barcelona and the suckers smeared. I'm considering swapping writing hands.
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[sc211]

Wow, James, those are some serious pens. And I like your comment about the weight being a help. People are always surprised at the weight of my camera, like it's a hindrance, when really you want a good, solid camera that won't shake when you take the picture, as well as good balance between it and the lens. Just never thought of the same thing applying to pens.

I searched for writing stones, but all I'm getting is jewelry. Can you link me up to a picture, or describe what one would look like?

And thanks, Elizabeth, for the mention of the afforable Waterman Philieas. I got quite a list for my next shopping trip. :D

[mr mistook]

You just don't appreciate what a blessing is the invention of the pen, until you're stuck without one. What am I supposed to use? My finger?

A big part of my job entails going into people's apartments when they're not home to fix things, and it's absolutely crucial that we fill out a little card and stick it in the door before we leave, to let the resident know we were there.

Every other day I find I've forgotten my pen, but I swear to God, nine out of ten people simply do NOT have pens laying around in the open. Some days I just marvel, "How do these people get through the night without a PEN?"

Walking all the way back to the shop in search of such a cheep, seemingly ubiquitous implement, says exactly how valuable even a Bic can be.

If the terrorists ever figured out a way to rob us of our pens, the free world would fall apart in a single day.

[debraji]

Zebra F301 retractable ballpoint, around $2.25 each. I buy 'em by the box. I buy the refills, too.

[ChunkyC]

I buy pens that I love compulsively, even if I have more than I can use. It's like there's a part of me that's afraid that I'll never get them again and I need to stock up at every opportunity.
That's not an irrational compulsion, Elizabeth. I've lost count of how many times a customer has come in looking for a refill or pen only to discover that it has been discontinued. Then they have to spend half an hour scouring the thousands of pens we have on the shelf, looking for one they like. Plus, we office supply folks love those of you who buy pens by the case! :D

[maestrowork]

I can't afford to be obsessive about pens. I lose them like I lose my mind... one minute I'm feeding the chicken... the sky is really blue today. It rained, but now it's wait that monkey is mine what is the world in the heck the butter is upside down....

[allion]

I'll tell you what pen and ink compulsion means:

Back in the fall of 1990, I am doing a 3-week tour round and round and round the United Kingdom. I wander into a shop and lo and behold - I find purple Shaeffer fountain ink refills at 1 pound a package.

I bought all they had and brought them back over the ocean home with me because I thought I died and went to heaven...

(You can sometimes find the purple ones here in Canada, but they usually are packaged with other colours I'm just not interested in, which is a ripoff to me. And don't get me started on the blue-black ink shortage either.)

[willietheshakes]

Well, you know this, E - we're largely of one mind on the subject of pens. From the moment we met, as a matter of fact...

Anyway, I've got more fountain pens in active rotation than is likely healthy:

The current work in progress is being written with a Pelikan 600 (fine, loaded with Noodler's Black) and a Waterman Phileas (also fine, Private Reserve American Blue). I do all the writing each day in a single colour, then switch for the next day. It's a useful measure of my progress (and I can see where I'm slacking off).

Outlining is done on index cards with any one of a number of Lamy Safari's (fine or extra fine). Large scale revisions are done with a Lamy Flame with a 1.5 nib, loaded with the aforementioned Noodler's Black. You don't miss the line this lays down, and the sheer look of the page after a bunch of cuts is a kind of bizarre beauty.

Freelancing is done with whatever is closest to hand - often a Pilot G2 .5 or a Sarasa .7. I love the deep green Sarasas... I always have a Rotring Core or two kicking around - let's see... currently loaded with PR Copper Burst and Sherwood Green.

Notes on the new novel go in a gridded Miquelrius pocket size notebook with a fine Rotring 600.

And I've never had any problems with bleed when using my fountain pens with my Moleskines. It may because I use fine points in it exclusively (so I'm laying down less ink). Or maybe I'm just doing it wrong...

[willietheshakes]

Re-reading the above, I realize that it might sound... what's the word? Excessive.

Fact is, though, I love my pens, and I love what they do for my work. Using a good pen, on good paper, is a sheer, sensual pleasure. The way the words dance on the page, the way the ink, when wet, catches the light, the way the pen serves as an extension of the mind and body... Anything that makes writing a pleasurable act on a physical level can't be a bad thing. And it certainly works for me...

My pens are my tools. While many people scoff at spending $25-30 on a pen (and I rarely spend more than that - the Pelikan was an exception), they more than justify their cost in the sheer joy they bring to the act of writing. And I've never lost one. I've had one stolen, but that's an obscenity-riddled tirade that I'll save for a later time.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Oh my God. Best thread EVER.

I am such a nerd for pens, I can hardly stand it.

Clear the decks!

I've actually written articles on my obssession with pens.

My writing instrument depends on my mood, and sometimes I get very particular.

Zebra Sarasas are a blessing. A RETRACTIBLE gel pen in so many colors!

Uniball Visions are good. But so are a number of cheap, nameless pens.

As for fountain pens, I like the inexpensive Sheaffers. Always reliable, and they have a very fine line for a cheap pen. The Pelikano Junior is another great writer. Rotring's ArtPen is a good choice when I want a variable line.

I don't have every ink color ever made. I am about three colors shy. I have industrial syringes to refill my cartridges and mix custom colors.

Woe is me; I just discovered that ebay has fountain pens at low, low prices!

[STORMTURNER]

I'll never be caught dead with my BIC GripRoller (Fine) and my Uniball Vision Elite -- both in blue. I hit Walmart up for a case just in case they get discontinued.

A girl can't make it w/o her Today Sponges or her BIC!

[Kate Nepveu]

Writing at speed: Uniball Signo.

Editing: Pilot Precise V5.

I need to get some more Uniball Signos for taking panel notes at Boskone. And another Moleskine notebook.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I'd love to use a fountain pen--does anyone know of ink that doesn't smear as a lefty moves the heel of their hand along?

It ain't the ink, it's the hand!

I'm a lefty too... I resort to using an extreme backslant sometimes.

[tjosban]

Gala, there is a notebook they recently came out with (year or two ago) that is top bind like a legal pad, but a spiral, and I believe some of them are 3 hole already. The top never gets in the way, and the spirals stay off your hands. Great things for lefties.

As for preventing ink smear, I am not 100% successful, but I managed to adjust the way I write without creating the backslant. It just took some time. Also, I hold a pen funny, between my thumb and ring finger, with my index and middle fingers resting along the side.

My favorite pen right now is a Papermate Mystix med. pt. that is low smear and writes smoothly. Not a huge fan of pencils for writing or taking notes because the pages rub together and smear over time. The exception is the liquid pencils, but I think they discontinued them.

[ChunkyC]

Anything that makes writing a pleasurable act on a physical level can't be a bad thing.
How right you are, Willie, and welcome to the Cooler. A writing instrument, in the hands of a craftsman, should indeed cease to be an inanimate object and become part of the body.

This thread should be called "Zen and the Art of Handwriting."

[Mya Bell]

I much prefer a keyboard to a pen.

But, if I write with a pen I like rollerball pens and fountain pens. Black ink. I've never cared much for blue ink. For editing, I use red ink.

Sometimes I prefer a pencil, nice and sharp. A pencil doesn't leak all over me, but then, a pen doesn't snap off as readily as a pencil.

The problem with using pencils is my cat likes to steal them.


--- Mya Bell

[Sailor Kenshin]

The exception is the liquid pencils, but I think they discontinued them.

I loooves the liquid pencils! :D

[reph]

Re-reading the above, I realize that it might sound... what's the word? Excessive.

Pornographic.

[aka eraser]

You're so naughty reph. Penographic...maybe. ;)

[Sailor Kenshin]

Today I'm working on a new story for the first time (well, second really) in three years.

Using a Waterman Phileas with custom-mixed green-black ink. Ahhhh.

[Puddle Jumper]

Best kind of pen for me is a PC. ;) I can type a whole heck of a lot faster than I can write, and my arm/wrist doesn't feel cramped nearly as fast.

Now if you're not a fast typer, then I would suggest just spending lots of time on message boards. That's how I learned to type. When I first got the internet back around five years ago, I was typing with two fingers. I found when I visited message boards with a high amount of traffic, typing slow didn't work because by the time I had posted one message, maybe 30 more had just shown up.

So, I made the conscious decision to put my fingers on the write keys and type the way you're supposed to. At first, I was looking at the keyboard a lot when doing this, gradually though the more I did it, the less I needed to look at the keyboard and the more I could stare at the screen while typing. Now today I'm at something like 72 wpm, which I'm told is extremely fast. And this coming from someone who refused to take any typing courses in High School because I was afraid of failing because I thought I would never learn it. So I tend to have the mentality that if I can do it, it's easy and anyone can do it. :D

Seriously, for anyone struggling with writers cramp when using a pen or pencil, I seriously suggest writing your stories on a computer, or a typewriter if those still exist, or you can use a word processor, they sell those you know, I've got one stashed away somewhere. Now I'm not sure if when typing there's a way to avoid cramping. I think you're supposed to have your hands elevated when typing. Fortunately for me, my computer desk is designed for such.

[JenNipps]

Someone just mentioned a Pilot G2 in their post, and that - along with a cramped hand - got me to thinking, what's the best kind of pen for long bouts of writing?

I'm a pen-aholic. I have a LOT of pens. In my purse, in my jeans pockets, in my jacket pockets, on my desk, in my desk drawers, in a pen holder... You get the idea.

I love color, so I have a lot of different colors. I use them for either crits or personal use only. I also have three wood pens because I love the way they look.

For writing, it depends. For smooth writing, I use either a Vision Elite uni-ball or a Vision Signo (ball-point). For comfort when writing an extended time, I use a triangular-shaped ball-point pen. It's a lot more comfortable than regular pens because it has a neat cushy thing around the barrel, and the shape makes me hold the pen correctly and reduces cramping in my hand.

[Mistook]

I am so so so so glad I took a typing class in high school. Can't even remember why I did it. I think it was simply the lesser of a few evils as far as "electives" went.

I wasn't looking forward to it, and I didn't particularly enjoy it, but boy has it paid off in the information age.

Interesting bit of trivia, all the letters to spell the word "Typewriter" are on the top row of keys. This was deliberate. It helped typewriter salesmen in their demonstrations. They could tap out the word "Typewriter" without much trouble.

The arrangement of the letters on the keyboard is actually designed to slow your fingers down as much as possible. This is because the original typewriters tended to get hung up if you typed too fast.

[Medievalist]

I'm very dyslexic, so I took to typing on computers at an early age.

But sometimes, for instance when I'm taking notes, I prefer to write by hand. I use either a plastic refillable automatic pencil with a replaceable eraser, or a Namiki Vanishing Point Fountain pen with a Fine nib.

The Vanishing Point is a retractable point fountain pen; it provides the best of both worlds, and uses cartridges, or bottled ink.