Aug

23

Why We Write

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Frequently, I see the question raised by people both in the know and not, of why we choose to write with fountain pens. I think it is a good question, though also one with no straight answer. This is usually true for questions of this nature. It does, however, have a lot of interesting story to it. So I thought what the heck, I’d spin my thoughts on the matter, and see what the community thinks, too. So, what follows is my stream of consciousness opinion on the matter. Nothing is really researched, and a lot of it comes from my experience and the experiences of those I have talked to.

If you’ve been by the site recently, you might have noticed the poll I was running to the right asking why you used fountain pens. The results, highly unscientific and from a very small sample, were easily interpreted. More than three-quarters of those who responded said that it was everything: the look, feel, and the chance to be a little special. And let’s face it, who out there among us doesn’t draw a certain pleasure or satisfaction when we pull out our pen and hear someone say: “Wow, that sure is a nice pen!” No one, that’s who! But really, there’s more to it than that, and as my poll showed, it really is a combination of things. We are complex people using complex pens.

There did happen to be a poll ran over at FPN on this same subject a while back. It gives a little bit better insight than mine did, I think. When forced to pick just one, the overwhelming reasoning provided by the voting public was the general writing pleasure of using a fountain pen. This is especially important for those that don’t use fountain pens. When that is all that you use, it is easy to forget what ball points are like. And if ball points are all that you know, then you have no clue what you are missing out on. Until very recently, I hadn’t touched a fountain pen in years. Since that time, I have barely used anything but, and I find myself not only writing more, but also looking for excuses to write more. It’s kind of like crack, only I get to keep my teeth (and if you try to chew the end of one of my pens, you risk losing yours!).

What I think is that the easy flow of a fountain pen, while a minimal difference when compared to a ball point, crosses that line to make writing by hand an enjoyable, effortless, flowing art. By comparison, writing with other pens is just one more task you do, almost a job. It isn’t a huge difference, but it is just enough to affect a user, to make you enjoy uncapping that pen, and anticipate your next chance to reach for it. If you have written with a ball point for any length of time, you are familiar with the cramped hands and callused middle finger that ultimately result. With the fountain pen, you can go on for hours without a single sign of stress.

On the flip side of this, is why we don’t use fountain pens. The FPN survey is clear. No one, not one single soul who voted, said that they did it to make money. Pens can be a good investment. They almost never go down in value, and they are easy to find lying around auctions and garage sales for only a fraction of their value, but despite that, the drive to make money off them really doesn’t exist. Now, I fancy myself an amateur repairer these days, and I admit, I’ll charge a dollar or two to cover my time, but the inspiration to repair, my modus operandi, is not to pay my bills or stuff my coffers. My motivation is to see these items preserved and used, to see them appreciated and handed on, and to keep that idea from the past alive. I think that’s an opinion shared by us all. We are a cult that drinks ink instead of Kool-Aid (Don’t really drink ink, kids. It might be neat seeing your mouth a different color, but it tastes terrible and your teeth will never be the right color afterwards).

We use fountain pens for a lot of reasons. But the ultimate, most important reason is to appreciate our past. Whether you use contemporary or vintage pens, you’re reaching back a hundred years for what makes this important, and you understand how important communication - written, physical communication - is. This is the tie that binds us, and why we value our pens so much. I could buy a hundred Bics for the price of one fountain pen, and I never will, because the value of what using that pen symbolizes will far surpass anything those mere plastic sticks can give me.

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