Who prefers feedback?

[azkid]

I have a few pens that feel like I am writing on the surface of water, not paper. No feel of paper beneath the nib. Just ink pouring out as I write.

And I don't like it.

Invariably my handwriting is worse with these pens, too.

Pens that have feedback feel pleasant to me and I think the small drag helps me stay in control of the pen.

This may be another factor in why I like fine and extra fine nibs.

Am I doing it wrong?

Is this penchant for feedback because I am still a ballpoint barbarian trying to become civilized? Or maybe my fine motor skills suck?

Are there others who want or need a little feedback, the feel of nib easily rolling over paper?

[migo984]

I also dislike the feeling of a slick, polished nib sliding or skating across the paper. I much prefer a degree of feedback (as opposed to scratchiness, which is another thing altogether).

[Wuddus]

Ha! Great minds think alike! While you were posting this, I was starting a separate thread. Here's what I said about feedback there...

To be perfectly honest, I'm not really bothered. So long as there's no squeak, snag, drag, chatter, furring, or feathering like I'm writing on a loo roll, the texture of the paper is kind of a moot point. I'm as happy writing on cartridge paper or glassy smooth paper, so long as the ink behaves without skipping or flooding the page. As an analogy, I don't mind walking on flagstones, carpet, tiles, grass, mud, or scree, just so long as I've got the footwear to suit.

[Jon Szanto]

[Medieval]

I prefer feedback. I believe it's how good fountain pens should be. Purely smooth highly polished bloblike nibs I've found to be a standard feature of second class nibs but YMMV

[azkid]

I definitely prefer Jimmy's kind of feedback!

[catbert]

I have a few pens that feel like I am writing on the surface of water, not paper. No feel of paper beneath the nib. Just ink pouring out as I write.

And I don't like it.

Invariably my handwriting is worse with these pens, too.

Pens that have feedback feel pleasant to me and I think the small drag helps me stay in control of the pen.

This may be another factor in why I like fine and extra fine nibs.

Am I doing it wrong?

Is this penchant for feedback because I am still a ballpoint barbarian trying to become civilized? Or maybe my fine motor skills suck?

Are there others who want or need a little feedback, the feel of nib easily rolling over paper?

Completely smooth nibs feel characterless and sloppy to me — I like some tooth or feedback to lend an illusion of control to my undisciplined hand. Not a fan of slick paper either. On the other hand, I dislike 'draggy' inks.

Heresy: I like fine precise ballpoints for markup on copy paper and fat granular ones for crosswords on newsprint. Pleasant feedback in both cases.

Perhaps the formative experience was pencils?

[gbryal]

I like a little bit of feeling that the paper is there: a little friction to keep my hand where it's supposed to be.

[fountainpenkid]

Like nib grade, I find my feedback preference to be partially mood-dependent. If I want to write with flair and abandon, a wet, ultra-smooth nib seems to best enable my hand and mind. If my aim is to create carefully-thought sentences and writing with a more structured flair, then I like some degree of feedback. Those times where I'm in the former writing mood are so few that nearly all the nibs I've owned have some amount of feedback. Like others have said, it will produce better writing, and possibly, better thought transfer.

[Deb]

I insist on feedback - not a lot, enough to feel what the pen is doing. Those pens with ultra-shiny nibs that feel greased get a little work done on them. It's easy enough to induce feedback.

[Driften]

I agree a touch of feedback helps keep the pen under control. How much depends on my mood and paper I am using.

[Paddler]

When I write in my pocket notebook I want a lot of feedback. I can control the pen and write more legibly when the book is hand held, perhaps in a moving vehicle. Otherwise, smooth is the name of the game. I had to practice my writing skills to make a slick nib work, but the lack of hand cramps made the extra effort worthwhile.

[Pterodactylus]

I like my nibs as smooth as possible.
My tool to achieve this is a leather strap with polishing paste on one side, in my experience almost no nib is as smooth as possible in its default state.

I also prefer smooth Clairefontaine paper to write to help the nib to glide as smooth as silk.

The smoothness helps me to write/draw better.

When something does not look as I like it then I know it was my fault, not a unwanted resistance from the pen.

So for me personally resistance does not help to control the pen, I understand that some think it would help to control the writing, but for me I see this as sign of too less skill, which motivates me to practice more.

As said, only a personal opinion, no judgement, for others it might be completely different.

[Wuddus]

When I write in my pocket notebook I want a lot of feedback. I can control the pen and write more legibly when the book is hand held, perhaps in a moving vehicle. Otherwise, smooth is the name of the game. I had to practice my writing skills to make a slick nib work, but the lack of hand cramps made the extra effort worthwhile.

There's an interesting perspective I hadn't considered - using pen and paper in transit. Thanks for that, it's nice to have that kind of forethought.

[aaronp]

I think it's important to have that feedback feeling. Not to the point that is is scratchy or dry but enough for me to control the pen how I want. Otherwise I do not have the feeling that I am writing but rather just sprinkling some ink all over the paper.

[Sammyo]

I don't like a lot of feedback, but then again I agree that perfectly water on glass smooth is even more horrible to me.
I like a tactile feeling from my pens, like I'm involved in what is happening.

If a nib is too smooth it feels completely unatural to me. It just feels... just meh!

I was once given a very special Pendleton butter line nib to write with... when I remarked I didn't like it the owner looked horrified!
But it's all down to taste, for me if I don't feel like I'm inloved in the art of writing I don't feel happy.

Same as others said, it's not an attack, to each their own, I just like the feeling of the nib on the paper... it separates it from a rollerball in my mind.

[dfo]

I like Sailor fines and Pelikan broads. Sometimes, I want to feel the nib on paper. Other times, I want double broad smoothness.

Variety is the spice of life.

[Kaputnik]

We're getting into very subjective impressions here. I have to say that, while I've used some nibs that were very smooth, I've never encountered one that made me think "that's too smooth". On the other hand, a slight feeling of roughness (which I'm not sure I can distinguish from "feedback") doesn't bother me either. Very few of my favorite pens feel completely smooth all the time. There's always some feedback, whether you're aware of it or not.

I think, that for me, control issues have less to do with a too smooth nib sliding all over the paper, and more with how I'm feeling at the moment. Tension, fatigue, distractions, or being rushed can all turn my generally passable writing into a bit of a mess. But if I'm relaxed and unhurried, writing with a very smooth nib is a pleasant experience.

[Kulprit]

I almost insist on some level of positive feedback. Not drag, mind you, but that positive feeling of writing with a pencil. Sailor, in my experience, has this perfected.

I can't stand drag in a pen as it makes writing laborious. I'm pretty intolerant of overly smooth nibs as well, though with certain pens it's acceptable (and always more acceptable than drag).

Admittedly, one man's feedback is another man's roughness, but that's why this is such a subjective thing. And also why it's so difficult to describe in words (or rely on the descriptions of others).....you really must use to pen to figure out where on the continuum it lies.


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[NibsForScript]

I like my nibs as smooth as possible.
My tool to achieve this is a leather strap with polishing paste on one side, in my experience almost no nib is as smooth as possible in its default state.

I also prefer smooth Clairefontaine paper to write to help the nib to glide as smooth as silk.

The smoothness helps me to write/draw better.

When something does not look as I like it then I know it was my fault, not a unwanted resistance from the pen.

So for me personally resistance does not help to control the pen, I understand that some think it would help to control the writing, but for me I see this as sign of too less skill, which motivates me to practice more.

As said, only a personal opinion, no judgement, for others it might be completely different.

That is an interesting idea to use leather and polishing paste, like sharpening a razor. I polish my nibs on my flex shaft with a small felt buffing wheel with Tripoli first and green rouge for the final. I dislike drag. The smoother the better. My awful scrawl does not improve with feedback. The easier it is for me to write or lay down a line the better.