Review: Pens, Need We Say More?
Categories: Product Reviews, featured
Written By: admin
Okay, so they’re not the most fascinating items in the world (for most people), but choosing a good pen can play a vital role in ensuring your shorthand flows smoothly, your note is neat and legible and your wrist doesn’t ache after prolongued use or practice. Moreover, as Shorthand World found in testing some of the following pens, picking the best point can boost your speed by up to seven words a minute. In preparing this article, Shorthand World asked a number of experienced shorthand practitioners for their views and recommendations. Here are the four pens which stood out from the rest.
Pilot V5 Extra Fine Needlepoint Rollerball Blue Box of 12
The Pilot V5, is an excellent pen. The ink runs smoothe, feels great in the hand and glides over the page. On our test, this pen improved shorthand speed the most – a staggering 7wpm over the standard disposable ballpoint at 100wpm. A great buy.
Again, this is a great pen. The gel ink is smoothe and it feels incredibly comfortable in the hand. Although on our test the improvement on speed was not as high as the Pilot V5 (at an extra 4wpm) it is more comfortable. So for those using shorthand throughout the day or relentlessly engaged in practice or exam preparation, this pen is hard to beat.
Waterman Expert Fountain Pen Lacque Black/Gold Medium
This fine fountain pen is roughly the shape of a fat cigar, looks stunning and is a joy to use. Shorthand notes are clean and crisp and the nib flows effortlessly across paper. A number of our shorthand experts recommended this pen. The price is steep compared with the others, but is good value for a quality fountain pen that will give years of writing and shorthand pleasure.
July 20th, 2010 at 6:56 pm
I have a really lovely shorthand pen years ago when I first learned shorthand, then I dropped it, and I’ve never been able to find a good one since. It was a Senator. Anyone know of a source?
qwinzle
August 17th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
Me, too. I had a Senator professional (with a gold nib!) which I had taken years to wear in beautifully. It needed a clean so I left in soak in a washbasin in the staff toilets at work. I forgot about it and a few days later I asked the cleaner what had happended to it and she said she had thrown it away because it was leaking!!
I have been trying ever since to find another one. So HELP anyone.
pensive
August 18th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
There’s a good thread on the excellent Fountain pen network about this (Senator pen mentioned at the bottom):
http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/47916-shorthand-pens-or-nibs/
Basically, it appears Senator was a brand name used by Merz & Krell for its specialist shorthand pen (not the same Senator company you might conjure in Google search).
A few alternatives are also mentioned.