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LSAT studying

As some of you gents may know, I work in the legal industry and have a strong interest in attending law school, despite the well known troubles legal education and the industry as a whole is undergoing. But before you run, you must walk, and that means the entrance exam.

I've been working at it for a while now, but I'm tired of using the same old tired utensils I used in high school/college. Completely uninspiring stuff.

There's a great writing related store in Westwood here in LA, I wonder if you fellows could recommend me a nice, classy pen and notebook/notebooks to continue my work in? I'm a complete newbie when it comes to fountain pens, but it's time to be a grown up and I'd like to learn. :001_smile
 
As in most things in life it depends on
your taste.
your budget.

I have a good number of Lami safari pens.
They are good, not expensive and last. I am not trying to impress any one.

As for note books. mostly I use three ring binders and loose leaf paper I get cheep, notes are then filed or moved around as I need them.
I find that practical.

Other note books I use ? moleskin but they get expensive fast if you take allot of notes.

for fountain pens the nib is more important than the "pen" If you have a store near you go there and try out different pens.

if you can not try out different pens start with a cheep pen and a medium nib.

also do you like a fat pen or a thin pen ?

your taste, do you like modern pens or classic pens ?

If you have lots of money you can not go wrong with Pelican, Montblanc, Faberkastell, Caran d´Ache, Parker,Waterman, Montegrappa...

best to try them out and see what you like.
 
One Cut gave you several excellent ideas. Here are a few more...

If, like me, you have to write something down to get it into permanent memory, you will go through tons of paper. Keeping it organized will be a challenge.

I really like the heavy wired, sugarcane based paper used in the Sustainable Earth spiral notebooks sold at Staples. The notebooks are inexpensive and stack horizontally or vertically. They are inexpensive enough to let one buy a single notebook for a given topic of study. This will help keep things organized. The paper is very fountain pen friendly. I've seen these notebooks on sale for $2.00.

I've also heard the Staples ARC notebooks and paper are fountain pen friendly. I have no personal experience with these.

As far as a pen goes, remember YMMV, a fine point is better than a medium point for serious, ad nauseam note taking.

The Lamy 2000 and the Parker 51 have hooded nibs. That means the nib can be left uncovered far longer than most open nibs and still write at first touch. Very handy feature when you are studying, taking notes, thinking before you write... The Lamy 2000 will set you back about $170 US. Reconditioned Parker 51s cover a wide price range.

Hero sells an inexpensive hooded nib pen but some seem to think it leaves a bit to be desired. There is a video on how to take a Hero apart and reassemble it so as to make it far better. I have not tried a Hero.

Good luck with your LSAT prep!
 
For a pen I would choose a pilot vanishing point, great click action for quick easy note taking. As for note pads I am unsure as I am a loose paper kind of guy though I do use a B&B journal.
 
To an FP newbie I'd recommend a Lamy Safari. Test out in a store which nib width suits you best and if you later find out you'd like a different width you can easily swap it out with Safaris. And if you find out that FP are not quite for you it's not a big dent in your wallet.

Especially for note taking you might also want to dabble in a different ink colour than black or royal blue, so that it doesn't all look the same. At least that's what I love about it, tired of an ink, just fill it with a different one and I'm good to go again ;-)

As for paper, not sure about availability, but Clairefontaine is held in high regard by many FP users.

But I recently bought inexpensive notebooks at IKEA that work well with FP, so always be on the lookout.
 
get a pencil to practice and take the test...you'll need it.

+1. This and some good ball point pens. The bar exam is part sprint and part marathon, and IMHO fountain pens are not the best tools for the test. Now once you pass the exam, a fountain pen will be an incredibly satisfying writing/signing experience.

Edit - I should say the better tool for the LSAT is a pencil, which will be the same for the bar exam.

Good luck!
 
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I didn't write the LSAT but I did right the MCAT. The FPs will be nice to make study notes with. Lamy safari or pilot metropolitan. I'm actually back in school and I like using blue-black ink for notes

Oh, and for the exam powerade instead of water as it makes you pee less.
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
... recommend me a nice, classy pen ...

What's your budget, and what do you consider to be "classy"?

"Budget" is fairly straightforward ... no sense me recommending a $150 pen to you if you have $50 to spend ... but "classy" can be interpreted different ways. Sly Stallone thought he designed a "classy" pen, too. If your budget can stand it, I'd suggest a larger-capacity pen like a Pelikan or a Pilot Heritage 92, with a finer nib ... so you have a lot of ink capacity for a day's worth of note-taking in lectures, and an easy re-fill if you run dry (a spare bottle of ink in your locker at school, perhaps?)
 
Another vote for the Lamy Safaris, especially for a prospective law student's budget. BTW, I took the LSAT's back in 1967... :w00t:
 
Budget is $150-200ish, but I would go higher if I found something I really like. That said, I've read on these boards that the best "starter" pens are $30-50, so I'd probably end up buying one or two of those plus some notebooks.

"Classy" for me is... older/more traditional.
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
If my attorney wanted to be "classy" he could reduce his retainer fee. :laugh:

You usually pay more for "classy".


...Unless they spell it with a "k", which is the way strippers spell it. You still pay more, you just think you shouldn't.

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You usually pay more for "classy".


...Unless they spell it with a "k", which is the way strippers spell it. You still pay more, you just think you shouldn't.

All kidding aside. He has navigated a complex trust with such acumen he is worth every penny.
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
All kidding aside. He has navigated a complex trust with such acumen he is worth every penny.

All kidding aside ... don't tell him that, or he'll charge more.

(Well, tell him after he's sent his final bill and closed your file.)
 
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