BellaOnline Forums Beauty and Self Journals What Pen do you Write With?

It never occurred to me that different pens could "help" my writing. It always hurt to write with a pen and I figured it was normal. Then in my quest for "soft squishy" pens (softer on my fingers) I found this Uniball Signo pen. Wow! It flowed!

This makes me wonder what other pens out there could be even better. What do you guys use to write with? Do you find something works better than others?

I'm a pen junky! I love different ink colors, and I find it is sometimes inspiring to use pink or purple ink. My favorite pen is any pen that uses "Papermate Lubriglide" ink refills. The black ink is really black, not gray, and the ink flows smoothly.

I also love "Pentel R.S.V.P." stick pens. They have a rubber strip at the grip, but they're not really soft, just easy to hold. And they come in a range of ink colors like aqua, pink and purple. Although you might have to go to a stationery store to find the fun colors.

When I was a hospital nurse I would use different color inks when writing my daily work sheet. One color for general info, another for scheduled meds, a third for ordered treatments or lab tests. It helped keep me organized and on track, and it still does help with to do lists. I also love filling in my calendar with different color inks for different occasions. One color for Birthdays, another for holidays and plain black for everyday stuff.

I use a thick pen - trying to hold a skinny one really makes my fingers and thumb sore. I cannot write by hand for too long at a time because of arthritis so a fat pen with a smooth writing tip helps a lot.

I was wondering if I should switch to acid-free ink, like the gel pens I use for scrapbooking pages. I have not used those pens often , but find that they run out of ink faster than a regular pen. Does anyone use gel pens for journal writing? Does the gel/ink fade after awhile?

Oh that's an awesome question Phyllis I never thought of the ink fading away!! That would be bad.

I agree with the thick pen, and I need a really squishy holding spot. My fingers get very sore otherwise. I am really impressed with how much of a difference the gel ink makes. It makes the writing SO much easier for me. I'm sending Bob out right now to get me some more ink.

So for me the pen itself with a super-squishy barrel is most important, but then I need one with smooth flowing ink inside too.

I've only been using this Primo pen for a few months now so I don't know how the ink will last. That would be bad, if I found a pen I love but the ink vanishes!

fading away.... When the HS had their first meeting, the new members signed the charter. Some of the signatures disappeared due to the ink used. Red inks and other non permanent type inks faded and disappeared. Think about when the writers used a thin quill pen, it was the ink that has been preserved not the size of the nib.

I like thin pens that don't glop. Gloppiness is my main bugaboo. I like a soft-gel like tip for holding, but that is just a bonus. :-)

My favorite pens are the pens Jeanne gave me from Eclectic Lady, of all things. :-) I also like the Flylady "I'm so proud of you" pens. They don't glop and they make me feel happy to use.

Angie - that is really sad, that a charter signature would vanish! I wonder how you would even know what type of ink would vanish?

Bob brought me back a RAINBOW of colors for my squishy pens!! I am doing my journal in green, purple and blue! I am so thrilled, I know it's very silly but it's making me very happy

Old fashioned ink was made with carbon and has lasted hundreds of years or more. Synthetic inks have other ingredients which breakdown.

I didn't know this before but the justices of the Supreme Court use quills.

Really? That is VERY cool - that must be awesome when they are signing something!

I can't imagine using a quill for writing in my journal though ...

I am having so, so much fun with my squishy, smooth writing pens. When I have to go to other pens it is amazing how hard they are to write with! No wonder I used to always have hand cramps when writing, those other pens just are awful for me!

I am going to have to buy more of these. Right now I have 3 different colors by my bed, and I want the whole rainbow! There really are times that I want to write in green, or blue, or whatever!