I totally feel for you Sorensen!

My daughter started school at 3 (she is 12 now) and ever since then it has been a game of hide and seek with those cartridges- except you will never find an empty one in the trash. Only half empty ones in pockets, drawers, and just about everywhere you would never think of. The occasional leak on clothes is always fun too! When she was younger there was also the occasional stabbing, but as she has gotten older it seems they are more into spraying each other with ink.

Ah, the joys of being a parent that has a child that must use a fountain pen!

I guess my real question is: Does it make sense to spend precious school time teaching "proper" handwriting in this day and age, in particular using tools as troublesome at fountain pens? There is a reason ballpoints took over.

I don't know how it is here, but in Denmark exams are usually done on computers nowadays.

For all the benefits of learning to write with a fountain pen, I am surprised that teachers put themselves through the grief of dealing with 8-13 year olds with these implements of mess and destruction. I started using a fountain pen probably when I was 15. For me at the time it was a sign of growded-upness. Still like a fountain pen. Still havn't grown up.

Well, let me answer with another question:

Does it make sense to teach children to add, subtract, divide etc when they all have calculators and nobody does it in real life anyway?

I see your point, it's a less needed skill these days...but....I find it's a pity that we're losing this skill. Or don't at least encourage children to develop a nice, legible handwriting style.
Next thing you know, we'll be typing up birthday cards, with no mark of personality or style.

Barbra.

Yes, because that teaches the principles of what is going on. Writing with one or the other sort of pen does not.

I probably classify myself as an old fogey, but I often do estimates in my head. As double check, but then I am an engineer...

I used a fountain pen in School but my handwriting was C**P and is probably worse now that I rarely use a pen

Using a fountain pen has not in any way taught my daughter to write legibly, and considering they also use "quad paper" for every subject it is a total mystery to me the messiness of her writing. And it is not only her- they all write that way.

I think it is just some holdover to the "old days"... .

I have lots of these Pelican school pens with the transparent color caps? I love them. I have fine & medium points ones, red, blue, green & two PINK ones!

They never spray. I think perhaps your son just needs to learn better control, as was said by others? Or does it spray when you use it too?

I took a design class and the very first assignment was to get a dip pen w/nib & dipping ink and write & draw with it for a week.

Apparently, it helps you think differently.....

I am surprised the school didn't provide the fountain pen! At the primary school my kids went to, the school gave them their first fountain pen and it's some kind of a special one for little hands and all that. Maybe it is a Bernese thing? The kids never had any mess with theirs.

Learning to tie your shoelaces, writing with fountain pens, etc. etc. All in aid of perfecting fine motor skills. IMO it's all part of growing up and absolutely necessary - I'm glad schools teach our children to use them.

I used a fountain pen from aged 8, so 23 years on...I still use one, I always write job applications in fountain pen on good paper and it stands out a mile, saying that you have to have the handwriting to go with it.

You don't need to buy expensive just don't buy cheap.

There's something quite old-fashioned + romantic about writing a letter in a fountain pen, well I think so anyway.

I feel we don't do enough of this stuff these days an e-mail just doesn't seem to cut it

2yrs time you'll wonder what all the fuss is about it takes some getting used to but they'll get there, hopefully with beautiful writing!

He's either put too much pressure on the nib (causing it to rebound in a fine skatter,) shook/flicked it (leaves a straight line) or it's blocked (huge blob)

Know you're enemy he could be having some fun with his new toy

If you're really struggling I could show you how to use one over a beer in Basel haha!

I started in my university days writing with a Parker fountain pen to take notes. Ball point pens caused me to get writer's cramp and the fountain pen helped with this. I've noticed that it generally takes some time to break a new pen in though.

I'll have to go rummage around and find my pens. Then I'll have to find some new cartridges. They tend to carry more varieties here than in the US.

Fountain pens are classy and better for the environment. I was really proud of mine when I got it at seven and we were explicitely banned from using anything else. Never got ink everywhere though, how do you do that?

I think I know where this is headed.


Today sprayed ink,

tomorrow sprayed paint...

For what it's worth (not much) I find myself having a strong urge to start using real quills (harvested from the places where pigeons congregate).

Yeah, disposable razors make a real mess of the paper.

Cheers,

Nick

One good thing about the fountain pens is that they remind you about era of papirus and parchments where everything was preserved by our ancestors.... Imagine now since most of the data is saved electronically on the hitech disks which have evolved from floppies, CD, DVD, Flash disk and who knows what comes next... In the event when all the systems crash or another millenium bug will come... then we are all back to traditional way of writing information... fountain pens

Although I have a romantic preference for fountain pen and do 'get' the kudos when a the professional chap pulls out his Mount Blanc to make a note... BUT, why is it every Drs prescription, all hand written in fountain pen, is totally illegible???