Our company provides two sorts of pens, Pilot retractable ballpoints which are not bad as such things go, and Pilot G2 rollerballs which are actually very good. Of course, I'm the eccentric who brings his own pens, and fountain pens at that.
I was talking briefly with a couple of co-workers about the company pens. I said something about the rollerballs being better because they were so much smoother. One fellow said that he preferred the ballpoints, because the rollerballs were too smooth.
Well, he's a friend, and some months back I actually lent him a Safari and gave him a Varsity so he could try fountain pens. It didn't take, and he went back to ballpoints. I can see how he might not appreciate smoothness, he doesn't write cursive at all, and his printing is pretty awful; you wouldn't think that printing could be that illegible.
He's also not currently the type to sit down in front of a notebook and write for even fifteen minutes straight. But that's another story.
I was just thinking about the idea of "too smooth", though. I can imagine a nib gliding across the paper so smoothly that it was impossible to control, but this is not something that has actually come up with any pen that I have. The feel of the nib gliding "effortlessly" is one of the best things about fountain pens, but various levels of smoothness are within the comfort range. I do have some nibs which are smooth enough that I don't believe I'd need anything smoother. On the other hand, I can see the point of view of a typical ballpoint user, for whom the smoothness of even a good rollerball represents loss of control.
What do others think? Have you ever tried a pen that was so smooth you couldn't control it? If so, did it make you want to learn to control it, or did you prefer to go back to something a little less smooth?
I was talking briefly with a couple of co-workers about the company pens. I said something about the rollerballs being better because they were so much smoother. One fellow said that he preferred the ballpoints, because the rollerballs were too smooth.
Well, he's a friend, and some months back I actually lent him a Safari and gave him a Varsity so he could try fountain pens. It didn't take, and he went back to ballpoints. I can see how he might not appreciate smoothness, he doesn't write cursive at all, and his printing is pretty awful; you wouldn't think that printing could be that illegible.
He's also not currently the type to sit down in front of a notebook and write for even fifteen minutes straight. But that's another story.I was just thinking about the idea of "too smooth", though. I can imagine a nib gliding across the paper so smoothly that it was impossible to control, but this is not something that has actually come up with any pen that I have. The feel of the nib gliding "effortlessly" is one of the best things about fountain pens, but various levels of smoothness are within the comfort range. I do have some nibs which are smooth enough that I don't believe I'd need anything smoother. On the other hand, I can see the point of view of a typical ballpoint user, for whom the smoothness of even a good rollerball represents loss of control.
What do others think? Have you ever tried a pen that was so smooth you couldn't control it? If so, did it make you want to learn to control it, or did you prefer to go back to something a little less smooth?
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