What happened to fountain pens?

[DrearyLane]

When I was at secondary school, all work had to be in fountain pens. Ink everywhere, collection of those tiny plastic balls from the cartridges were seen as a “win” and it was a pain to write quickly. Whether to use a classic Parker (which your parents thought was posh but actually harder to find a cartridge in an emergency for) or a stationary box special - still remember my lovely green jungle themed one.

in the past 30 years (The time span between me leaving school and DS starting secondary) they’ve gone.. completely. He doesn’t even recognise what one is.

When did the tide turn? (I’m very grateful it did)

I coincidentally just thinking about this the other day myself. Upon reflection I think extinction was almost guaranteed once technology advanced.

Our fingers spend significantly more time typing/texting than previous generations spent writing. In this day age, a fancy pen is waste of money.

I can't remember the last time I saw a Parker or a fountain pen. BiC have a monopoly.

I have several and use them every day. They are lovely to write with, and cartridges are quite cheap so i prefer to use them and keep a pen for years rather than using disposable pens.

I hate biros and do not understand why anyone uses them. I’ve been using fountain pens since I was a teenager. A good fountain pen is definitely not a waste of money!!

I prefer ink when writing, a lot better flow and a cheap biro is just nasty. I now hardly write anymore, for the small amount I do need a pen, I bought a quite expensive ink roller.

We tried a proper fountain pen for DD but she complained that the ink would smear. Sigh, her handwriting was so much better.

DH has a very expensive MontBlanc with proper ink jars. His fingers are quite stained every now and then but for him it's the pleasure of handwriting compared to constant typing on a keyboard.

I use my fountain pen daily! It writes so much faster than a ballpoint (less friction). I have one that takes ink, rather than cartridges, so there’s an endless choice of colours. It’s currently filled with coral coloured ink, which cheers me up every time I use it.

I use one all the time. Biro writing is all slippery and untidy.

Ohh I love my parker jotter fountain pens. I got a really lovely silver one when I was confirmed at 11 or 12. I still have the pen after 30 odd years. I've got a few with different colours in.

I was very happy to discover recently that you can get disposible fountain pens. I got some for DDs birthday, I doubt she'll be interested as they all seem to just use any pen these days. I however, will be very happy with them.

It was the same when I was at school. I now have a beautiful Visconti Van Gogh fountain pen. So much nicer to write with than a biro.

We were penalised for not having ours, it was insisted upon at secondary. I have a naice one, unfortunately it takes longer cartridges like parkers. Much orefer them - neater, smoother to write with, less waste.

I'm left handed.

Fountain pens do not work for left handers.

Bloody love biros

They’re mostly in antique shops now 🙄

Mine doesn’t have cartridges, you fill it from a bottle like we had to do with all the ones we had at school. Woe betide anyone who submitted their homework in biro.

I use my Mont Blanc daily. I can write much faster. Downside is no one can read my writing.

I got a lovely new one from DH for Christmas it's beautiful

I have a small collection of fountain pens, all of them different brands, colours and designs. There are so many different designs these days, and most of them are so pretty. Steampunk looking ones, ones with designs on them, or sparkles on them... That's not to mention all the lovely inks you can get in any shade you can imagine, and inks that have shimmer in them....

I love a fountain pen. They are also so comfortable to write with. Have a look at the fountain pen section and the ink section of the Cult Pens website. https://cultpens.com/

My kids had to have them from 3rd class (Ireland) - when they started doing joined up.. we used those red berol ones at my school when I was a kid, probably to avoid the mess of fountain pens :)

I'm so glad my adulthood doesn't need a fountain pen as a left hander. I used to leave school with pen smudged all over my hand or cramp from holding my wrist at an odd angle. My teacher seemed to take my awful writing and smeared writing personally somehow!

I did love changing the cartridges though. And being able to erase it with the white felt tip pens.

We weren't allowed to use anything but a fountain pen at school in the early 80s.

I need to buy one and re-live the love (except that one day in English when I absentmindedly chewed on an ink cartridge and it burst all over my face, my uniform, desk, books...

I'm left handed and love my fountain pen! In fact I've worn it into a groove now so no right handers can use it!

In Germany kids in primary school are only allowed fountain pens!
It's so the kids learn to write properly and for parents to spend silly amounts of money. (Apparently). Drives me crazy. Especially in the first year.

I have several and my dc have one each too. Dc1 said, when he first started high school and could use a pen of his choosing, that his friends were all intrigued and thought it was an actual fountain, expecting the ink to spray out 😂. I love fountain pens and use one every day.

I used a fountain pen , not a cartridge and had loads of different inks, turquoise and violet were my faves. Not sure it made much difference to my handwriting though.

German kids still have to use them AFAIK

Im left handed and use a fountain pen.
I love them. Got quite into collecting them at one point but now I only have 2, a fancy one and a pocket sized one.

I started using a Kaweco cartridge pen a few years ago (after a mumsnetter's recommendation) and now it's the only pen I use! It's lovely.

I have a few and I find that I write more neatly with them. I wouldn't get them for my kids though. My oldest DC had to use one at primary school and managed to spill ink on the ceiling ffs!

dc school (in forrin) insist on fountain pens for exams and dc prefer them due to the environmental aspect (refillable cartidges) and because they are easy to write with when they have to write pages and pages.
they use lamy.