For North Americans, I highly recommend the 32lb HP copier paper. Print out 5mm graph template on it and use for practice. Excellent value - 500 pages for the price of a single Clairefontaine notebook.

The way my father taught me back in the Dark Ages, was using musical staff paper. There's lots of info online on how to use it and loads of printable pages. It should help you keep the characters uniform due to the lines. Yes I was scolded as well, I still have samples of my father's script and I try to emulate it (though he passed when I was 10)

I am currently getting back into fountain pen again after leaving it for more than 15 years. I learned this handwriting whilst I was in England long time ago. Moving back to Malaysia, fountain pen is not a norm here. Most people either use ballpoint or gel pen. I remember the time when I wrote using cursive handwriting, my classmates doesn't understand what I wrote. Now my handwriting is a mixture of cursive and non-cursive handwriting. Your videos had help me back to track on fountain pen and cursive handwriting. TQ so much.

@sbrebrown

8 жыл бұрын

+Agnes Lim Thank you, I'm very glad my videos are helpful!

@naturelover2347

4 жыл бұрын

@@sbrebrown yeah indeed...your videos are too helpful for me also.....

@theslicere23

4 жыл бұрын

yeah fountain pens here in Malaysia are quite uncommon thing but the bright side is that whoever does use em' you can pretty much tell that they really wanted to start and enjoy the hobby :)

@davebellamy4867

4 жыл бұрын

40 years for me. I had a Parker fountain pen (a 45 I think) and a couple of cartridge pens when I was 9 or 10 years old. When I broke the nib I never used one again until now. The lockdown has caused me to start collecting some pens to use!

You should become a motivational speaker! I feel that every word you said can be applied not just to calligraphy but pretty much any kind of skill. Practice, practice, practice, practice and practice. After that practice. Love it!

@sbrebrown

9 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@user-qk3kc8qv4d

2 жыл бұрын

مرحبا

And being a 'primary teacher' Stephen Brown can I add another "P" to your list - PURPOSE! Use your handwriting; write notes, write thank you cards, write labels, write letters, annotate documents, write cheques, write a novel - USE it!

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

Indeed, the more you use it, the better it is!

One of my secondary school teachers described my handwriting as 'a spider crawling across the page'! Believe me, I've had to work on it!

@sbrebrown

9 жыл бұрын

I know the feeling :)

"I Enjoy it" - that is the most important part I heard ... very very nice videos, very practical, I don't I have heard dry theory in your videos ever, even in theory you provide some good points. Love it.

Quite inspiring ~ thank you Stephen. My father was a sign painter for over 50 years and tried to teach me calligraphy but my attention span wasn't what it should have been in my younger days. He was truly an expert (did work for the Smithsonian Institute). Now, years later, you have sparked my interest, thank you for that.

@sbrebrown

9 жыл бұрын

You're very welcome!

I've had chicken scratch my while life but I turned in my first paper for the term and my professor said it looked like calligraphy, I'm so glad I got into fountain pens a few weeks ago

@sbrebrown

8 жыл бұрын

That's wonderful!

@spacialterror9877

7 жыл бұрын

sbrebrown my handwriting is crap

@stinky_lizard

7 жыл бұрын

bisquitnspanky man, that's awesome. It's been like 6 months since that comment and I'm still obsessing over new pens and nibs and inks. The thing that really made a difference for me was using a 1.1 stub nib, I'd imagine that's the only reason my writing looked different.

@viglobalsolutionsltd359

7 жыл бұрын

Johnny Petes Weeks l.p. Doeskisirk councils medium,jjsmx

My grandfather was a pharmacist for 40+ years. He once commented on my handwriting when I was about 12 "If it only took handwriting to be a Doctor you would be a brain surgeon" When using a ballpoint to this day (I'm now over 60) this is still true ... I write much to fast. When I do calligraphy or write with a fountain pen even my mother thinks it is like someone else is doing the writing ...

I used to have the best handwriting. I taught myself cursive in kindergarten at Montessori school when I seen it in the encyclopedia. I fell in love with it and took that darn book home because they said I had to wait. I didn't want to wait. Fast forward to this time last year. I was in the hospital for a month and they hit a nerve putting a pik in. My hand has been numb ever since, so this is therapy for me and something Immensely enjoy!

@gael606

7 жыл бұрын

need to learn to conjugate the verb to see first....

@AA-gl1dr

6 жыл бұрын

A Montessori school telling you to wait on learning something? That seems odd. My Montessori school allowed me to learn at whatever pace I was going!

Good job! I also do calligraphy and most of the time when people see me writing they usually say that I don't write but draw the letters. I love to write using a cursive writing because they look so great. Thank you for your presentation.

Thanks for the tip man! although I am not that into calligraphy, good hand writing makes you feel more confident!

I've watched this video many times and it helps greatly. Thank you.

Writing starts at 15:09

The lowercase f is killing me. I swear all mine are unique. God forbid there are two together, like "effort" or whatever. Back to practicing, I guess...

@kingprone7846

7 жыл бұрын

i literally have the same problem. it all started when i was probably in my early teens when i got bored of the standard f they tought us in school. i could never quite settle on a new one and now have about 6 different one i use at random X_x

@CarthagoMike

7 жыл бұрын

exactly the same here! Often it looks like a lowercase B, sometimes like a lowercase L, and at times even like an uppercase F.

@Redeadwalker13

7 жыл бұрын

My "f"s are fine, but I cannot write an "a" or "o" properly to save my life 😭

@techtruth9077

7 жыл бұрын

I have trouble with F's depending on the letters that follow it and in the middle of words

@vanezcha

6 жыл бұрын

Luckily your name isn't Mark Hornfferger :P

I used to do calligraphy, and I had gotten my handwriting from cursive writing to much closer to copperplate. Then college note taking started to corrupt my handwriting, and then I had a stroke in 2010 which threw my handwriting back to almost illegible. I have worked and worked to get it legible again, then I was reminded that fountain pens lessened hand strain and cramps, which, because the stroke impacted my writing hand, ballpoint pens really make worse. Got a fountain pen that I really like, it's the right size for me to be comfortable with, and my handwriting is really starting to look like it used to. You really nailed it, with the whole explanation. Great job!

Fascinating and enthralling!! I've recently started watching calligraphy type videos and I think I just found a new hobby/passion... Good work on the old Irish font by the way, I'm going to start practicing with that first! Bravo sir.

I usually hit the like button even before I watch Stephen's videos. This time it was even easier. Congrats for this tutorial, much needed and wanted by many of the channel's followers. This vid has everything. Great tips, awesome fountain pens, beautiful inks and a new haircut :-) Congrats and thanks for posting this!

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I'm glad you found this useful and like the videos pretty much automatically :-).

@rohanweeresinghe2278

7 жыл бұрын

sbrebrown

What I do to practice cursiva writing is to choose a book I like and copy the text, during several days. I try on different paper sheets, of distinct textures. After watching your video, I was motivated to try other techniques as well. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

I practiced with dip pens , and now my hand writing is really cool :D

Thank you so much for your most thorough and candid instructional video on improving one's handwriting. I am about to embark on the addressing of 200 wedding invitations for my only daughter....wish me luck. With computers being all the craze these days, most people rarely circulate anything handwritten anymore. I have been practicing all this week...and you are quite correct in your emphasis on PRACTICE...it does tend to make anything more perfect...!!! Luckily, I come from the generation that received extensive instruction in the elementary grades on handwriting...and the ball point pen was introduced when I was very young, so I have been had lots of experience and access to fountain pens throughout my life....it is a true pity that the emphasis on handwriting has waned over the past few years....there is absolutely nothing more beautiful than an beautifully handwritten letter or note. Thanks again...I am very excited about your other videos....so now on to them...xoxo

My class teacher Miss Shapiro (who I adored and furnished me with my first standard italic pen) said my handwriting looked like a cat had crawled across the page! Now I'm told I have beautiful handwriting - sound trumpets. Good video Stephen!

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

Thank you! It's a nice feeling to "get even" in that manner, right :-)?

I don't know if you covered it and I just missed it while watching the video, but I believe that one of the main reasons people have poor handwriting is because they try to do all the work with their fingers. Instead of incorporating the shoulder and the forearm too, they try to push through their writing by using mostly their fingers while only relocating their hand when they need to move on. Using mostly the fingers, puts the fingers in a lot of tension which hinders control and writing performance; it is also very tiring and slow. The fluidity your shoulder and entire arm plus minute and relaxed finger movements is what I attribute to neat consistent handwriting. Practicing is the key to solidify the coordination that is needed and I also agree is of immense importance (if not, the most). Using more of your shoulder and arm is also better for when your paper is being held in the air by your other hand. Writing from the shoulder helps to write more fluidly and helps a lot with loopy letters and cursive. Another main reason why I believe some people have trouble writing is because of the angle of the paper in respect to the position of their body. This is true for both, left handed and right handed people, although I believe the angle of the paper affects left handers way more severely. I am left handed, and I have to place the paper almost 90 degrees clockwise (not always, angle also depends on how I am positioned). The location of the paper on the desk also depends on the alignment of my body; sometimes the paper will be more to my left side, sometimes to my right. I don't always sit the same, so the alignment of my hips with respect to my spine (and thus my thorax, from which my arms are attached) will affect on where I place the paper, and the angle of the paper. I don't ever smear, I can see everything that I write perfectly, and I don't crook/wrap my wrist and hand like I have seen other poor left-handers do ( I can also use fountain pens perfectly, I don't need a fancy left-handed nib). But, like I also said, the angle and position of the paper affects right handed people too. I remember most of my elementary teachers would always try to place the paper directly in front of me, centered and with no angle...I suffered while my right handed classmates got by. In middle-school and on, teachers don't generally try to correct your handwriting technique, they will only tell you to be neater if they can't read your work. I notice that right-handers that hold the paper in slight counterclockwise angles (I have even seen some that like me hold it almost 90 deegres counterclockwise similar to me) have better handwriting in general. Overall, it is not just the hand/fingers/writing instrument that produces writing. It is a whole bunch of body mechanics. Also, while general for most and a margin involved (no exact position/parameters), one should try to find the body mechanics that best works for them and have some consideration on the way you write. And like our wise friend Stephen says: PRACTICE.

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

Yes, these are all very important points.

As a product of the American educational system (no cracks, please, we all know it's a bit of a joke), my cursive handwriting was never that good to begin with. The letters 'B' and 'F' in lowercase always looked the same, and at 38 years old, it's still not-so-good. I recently purchased a Platinum Preppy with the Fine nib and have tried to write something every day since I got it a week or so ago. Mostly journal-type entries with the odd set of song lyrics or a famous poem to break up the monotony. I think I need to concentrate more on getting the individual letters right than making everything 'look' right, if that makes sense. Thank you Stephen for your videos and advice.

@sbrebrown

8 жыл бұрын

You're most welcome. Maybe have a good look at Foundational calligraphy, that might help.

Theory as to why you enjoy the letter "G" so much. Or at least why I was loving it and maybe it's the same reason you love it. It almost seems like a ribbon on paper. I personally do enjoy drawn out ribbons. Thoughts?

@sbrebrown

9 жыл бұрын

Sounds interesting!

Having several fountain pens, my best handwriting is with the Vanishing Point pen, I suppose because the clip helps me keep the nib on the straight and level. Besides, I love writing with that pen. It has a fine (F) nib, and I use only Noodler's ink ( I'm a nut for security ink). And, it's beautiful - dark blue ink and pen. I hope someday Pilot offers a stouter pen with greater ink capacity.

I like how you focus more on the enjoyment than the fruit of the action because what's the point of it's not fun?

Good video for those who want to start writing in cursive. What I have notice a lot is that most people pause/stop right in the middle of writing a words and that is not the correct way to do it. I learned to write in cursive when I was in second grade and it was always drilled in my head to never stop or pause. When you finish writing the words you go back and add the dots on the I or the line that goes across to create the x and so on. Like I said, this is a good way to start and hopefully more people will start wanting to learn it.

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

I do that wrongly too.

Great video! Very useful, and perfect timing for me! Thank you! And, you do have lovely handwriting.

@veronicanicholls7132

8 жыл бұрын

+Diane Milligan Agree! Has inspired me to improve my awful handwriting. Veronica

Thanks for this! I just got into fountain pens and came across your videos! This is an excellent one! You have great advice and good presentation. Vicki

@sbrebrown

8 жыл бұрын

+dizzyk54 Thank you, I am glad it was useful.

In England primary school back in 1967 we were taught cursive hand writing.did the exercises again and again.but to no avail could i write neatly,grab a fountain pen ,i write with nib at a slant like forward hash/ my writing changed for the better.then learnt myself calligrapy.love ink

You writing with the italic nib is so beautiful!

I'm a college freshmen but I remember in 3rd grade elementary, it was part of the school curriculum for everyone to learn cursive. For some reason learning cursive was taken out and by now Ive completely forgotten it. Now trying to relearn it.

Awesome videos! For someone who only started using fountain pens a year and a half ago, they really help me to stay motivated to continually practice my handwriting with my Lamy Safari. =) A little piece of advice for anyone that's trying to practice their handwriting: write out the lyrics to your favourite songs, poems, quotes, etc. (slooooowwwly)! When I do this, I often look back at my watch once my hand starts to get sore and find that an hour has passed by haha. Losing yourself in your writing is, in my opinion the best way to find your true style!

@sbrebrown

9 жыл бұрын

I agree, that's an excellent way to do it.

@seandavidson1188

9 жыл бұрын

Excellent suggestion, Liam, thank you so very much for offering it. I am already incorporating it into my regimen for improving my penmanship and expanding my knowledge of all things "pen-ish".

People have always said that I have good handwriting, but I've recently gotten into fountain pens and I've found that; as you said; I have to slow down and be mindful of what I'm writing. Through trial and error, I've found that a fine nib is best for me. Two problems that I encountered right off, was I either exerted too much pressure and left a lot of ink on the page, or I wrote too lightly and had skips. I don't see how you can write letters that slant right, when you hand is angled to the left. My hand needs to angle in the direction of the lettering.

I too have a poor handwriting... but the trick I do is to consistently writing lower case l and e alternatively in cursive in my free time or lecture breaks.. it gives you the feel of actual thing.

I went from chicken scratch to greatly improved calligraphy in a few weeks! I made a birthday card for my gf and she asked me if I printed it!

Really wish there was a pen store around here so I could try them out. But I live in the US and there isn't a whole lot of fountain pen culture and shops around.

My handwriting is like...handwriting of a doctor. But! With an italic nib - whole different story. I usually use my fountain pen about...8 hours most of the days and with italic nib, my handwriting looks actually pretty good. I can almost feel ink flowing gently, every curve of the paper. It's pleasure for me. But with regular nib....man. As a writer I'm used to write quickly if I need to take some notes or sth like that. So it's more like routine than pleasure writing with italic nib. Thank you so much for this video! Really great! :) Greetings from Czech republic

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

Italics are a great way to improve your handwriting.

Just a great video thank you so very much for sharing this with us. The advice you give is very helpful to the FP community.

@sbrebrown

9 жыл бұрын

You're welcome!

Totally agreed! Practice makes perfect, love your video. thank you for sharing!

Great video! It's interesting that my handwriting in English characters is much better than in Chinese strokes since I am a native Chinese speaker and I only started learning English from grade three.

@mayhem380

10 жыл бұрын

You know, I've actually never thought about the handwriting of non-Latin characters! How noticeable and how different does handwriting get in Asian script?

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

mayhem380 I know that when I had ancient Greek in school (for just a year), our teacher said that in Greek, as in any other script, everyone develops his or her own handwriting.

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

Maybe that's because you have to try more consciously?

@SwetPotato

10 жыл бұрын

mayhem380 Glad you're interesting in this. Normally, we break handwriting into two parts in China, hard writing and soft writing. 'Hard' and 'soft' are refer to the nib and brush. 'Soft' writing is more like traditional arts, written by the writing brush. Some may learn it and practice it as a hobby especially elders. There are some famous scripts from ancient grand scholars for the 'soft' writing.

@SwetPotato

10 жыл бұрын

mayhem380 Lack of scripts and lack of motivation is damaging atmosphere of handwriting. In my father's generation, fountain pens and handwriting are so popular that almost everyone had a fountain pen and anyone who wrote would buy scripts to practice. Nowadays, younger generations write Chinese characters in some kind of girlish cute style which probably inspired by some Korean and Japanese fonts. It's a shame that we don't have many scripts for simplified Chinese, even Japanese Kanji which succeed part of the Chinese characters has more scripts than us.

During my first semester of college, I taught myself a German script from the 50s called Lateinische Ausgangsschrift. I like it a lot better than the cursive I was taught in elementary school.

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

I'll check it out.

@MattiasWirf

6 жыл бұрын

Reading your comment three years later, that looks really interesting and close to cursive. Thanks for writing the comment.

This yet another truly enjoyable presentation! If you are a school teacher in your personal life I am sure your students absolutely love you and recommend you to other students. The would say to other students "Hey take his class. He is good!" Thank you.

@sbrebrown

8 жыл бұрын

Thank you, I appreciate it!

I just can't write in cursive, but my longhand is great. I'm trying to get back in to practicing cursive, and this is helping a lot.

@sbrebrown

9 жыл бұрын

I'm glad this was useful for you!

Thanks for the advice. I personally improved by using my fountain pen EVERY TIME I had to write ANYTHING. I also tried copying other people's handwriting which I thought it was very good, but that, did not work.

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

Yes, writing everything you can with a fountain pen is a great way to improve your handwriting :-).

LOL to me it's the contrary: I started writing nicely, and during the years I got worse...now I write ancient Aramaic :D

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

That's a nice language :-).

Awesome video! I can see you must be a great teacher, as you explain thing very nicely. One tip I have for practicing, is to get a pen pal or more and write letters back and forth. I just started this through FP Geeks and it makes writing a lot of fun and before you know it you are writing a lot and your handwriting is improving and you are making some fun friends along the way.

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

Yes, letter writing can be a lot of fun!

I already have the pilot metropolitan with a fine nib, which is apparently smaller than a western extra-fine nib, and my e's still have no space in them lmao. Great video. Gonna start practicing!

You are a well-spoken, intelligent person.

This video is actually very helpful thank you. I come from a family with terrible penmanship and it has taken me so many years to get mine to look decent. I know first hand that practice really does work. Also i'm hopefully getting my Parallel Pens tomorrow and can't wait to start using them!

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

I'm glad you found this useful! Good luck with your efforts and enjoy the Parallels: they're nice pens to use.

@darkangelkarasu

10 жыл бұрын

sbrebrown i got them today and immediately started using them and yes they are very nice.

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

darkangelkarasu Glad you like them!

Your worst penmanship would be a major improvement for me. I get so frustrated with my handwriting -- it looks like I'm in grade school! It is perfectly legible, but there is zero repeatability, tons of shakiness and no artistic quality. I literally can't make the same shape twice. Thanks to your videos, I am hopeful for improvement. Best regards.

@sbrebrown

9 жыл бұрын

I think the only way to improve is practice: it definitely helped my handwriting along.

@JorgeSalema

9 жыл бұрын

FFOGHORN if you have a problem of shakiness you may want to observe the way you hold other objects. May be a heath problem. The hand righting was the first symptom of my sisters neurologic condition.

@suhailmirza8867

6 жыл бұрын

same...

I was finger-picking a little jumping tune on my guitar and he starting saying Practice over and over in time with it

"This is not great handwriting" It's still better than mine lol

Thanks for posting the video, this gave me inspiration and some structure to practicing my handwriting. I have tried to improve my handwriting a little bit in the last month but had no method to improving it. I feel I have lost a bit of skill during the years when digital has taking over more and more. One thing I have discovered is that I like writing with a M nib (which I have on a Lamy Safari), but drawing with a F nib (TWSBI 580). I also have a Rotring Art pen with 2.3 nib from when I was younger, that I restored (it was dried up with old India ink... yeah I did not know better back then ) and converted to an eyedropper. I think I will give a try writing with that. I also got some dip pen and nibs, but I'm guessing it's harder to write with them. Love your work, I have watched many of your KZread videos. You have got me to want more pens though, at the moment I only have the three mentioned above ;)

@sbrebrown

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you kindly!

I noticed that when I purposely write small with a medium nib, my handwriting looks neater and more consistent than when I write larger. I'm guessing that the "neatness" of my handwriting is proportional to the ratio of the line width to the letter size. My writing is naturally large, so if I want to get the same "neatness" with larger writing, I need a broader nib.

@hassannur5187

6 жыл бұрын

Rabi Ahmad m

Liked the be proud of your personal handwriting bit.

Can you tell us what you write with all your pens-diaries, journals, personal letters ?

Thanks for your video! I totally agree with you that there's no easy way to improve your handwriting. I've been practicing my Chinese handwriting for a couple of months, and I found that the more I practiced, the less uglier it looked! Using fountain pens really helps a lot on handwriting. Highly recommend!

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

Yes, this is really a matter of practising and then practising some more.

Today we write a lot on the computer, fountain pens are awesome. Even if you use a simple pencil and paper from the supermarket you will improve your handwriting. I like the handwriting of Albert Einstein, you will find some letters online.

Hahahaha, the hole in my letter "e" is filled with ink, and i have a Lamy Extra fine nib. Though i hear that that japanese/chinese extra fine nib's line variation (being around 0.3-0.4mm) differs to the german's extra fine nib line thickness(being around 0.7mm)

For me it was when I put a Jowo 1.1 stub nib on my Jinhao X750. Someone told me to slope my handwriting forward. Those two things and practice has transformed my handwriting beyond my wildest dreams

Just discovered your channel recently, as I have gotten back into using fountain pens. Thanks for all the tips in this video on improving one's handwriting. BTW, I like your handwriting. It may not be Palmer Perfect writing, but it is very legible and has character.

Would you consider showing us different ways how to write all the different letters of the alphabet? Especially caps are difficult for me since I need quite a lot of them in german. Thanks in advance and nice video!(:

thanx for your tips

Tip for the lefties - get a dip pen and suffer. Seriously, it may sound dumb but the pen will teach you with brute force how to use it. Don't defend the handwriting you already have. Be open to the possibility that if you hold the pen in an awkward way, it'll render the pen unusable. I have two handwritings now. The one I've learned at school and the one I've learnt from a dip pen. Guess which is more readable and enjoyable. Now which dip pen & ink to get? I have Joseph Gillott reversible mapping pen. Extra fine and compact pen. Extra pointy and scratchy. That's good. I got it for about four pounds in a local arts store. And the cheapest calligraphy ink you can get your hands on. It doesn't matter with a dip pen for learning purposes. I suggest going to a local China town and their arts store where they have brushes and ink stones and all that and grab any ink. These inks are good and 60ml bottle can be easily a pound.

man,. u went right down to the basics..good work..

+Albert Nettlin Thank you!

Pens and Writing: "The Twenty-Six Old Characters" 1947 W.A. Sheaffer Pen Company Take a look at this video, around minute 8:40 you can see someone writing what I believe to be copper plate. The hand is not anchored down heavily on the paper, it almost glides, while his fingers barely move. This accentuates the use of the shoulder and forearm if you are wondering how to write with your shoulder. Perhaps this form is very extreme for practical writing, and requires intense precision and control ( imagine the practice behind this), but one can appreciate the mechanism that the shoulder and forearm lend to writing.

Thanks for this Stephen. I've never been a great writer, something that got worse once we were forced to write cursive with a fountain pen since about age 9. What made it worse was we were all expected to have handwriting that was a carbon copy of a certain style, and that the fountain pens available weren't very good (supermarket purchased platignum's which leaked and blotted constantly). I started using fountain pens again a few years ago (Lamy), and have noticed a vast improvement in my handwriting when using even ball point pens (of decent quality - Schneider slider memo Xb are my fav). I've been thinking of getting the Seyes set from Bureau Direct for practicing with - do any adults out there have experience of these?

Love your videos as always, and got a good laugh out of the "it's actually vodka", haha!

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

I'm glad you're enjoying my videos!

Great tutorial!!! You do have a nice hand writing. Cheers mate!!! Pet :")

Definitely agree with the buying your first FP from a brick and mortar. Bought my Pilot Metropolitan f off Goulet pen company's website, and though I love the pen, I'd definitely be better off with a b, which is what my next pen will be.

Apache sunset is so hard to find in London! Has anyone managed to get their hands on some recently?

Out of the whole video, the thing that meant the most to me is for me to be proud of my handwriting, as it is part of me. Like you, I was scolded from my elementary school days about having awful handwriting. I write legibly now, but I have had people comment that it isn't very pretty or nice. It didn't really dawn on me why until I heard you talk about it. I have been working hard every night to improve,not for anyone else, but for me. I'm also learning to see handwriting as something positive and artistic, not as something to be dreaded.

@sbrebrown

8 жыл бұрын

Look, even now, I get people who tell me that my handwriting is atrocious. Another issue is that you have to look at the source; typically those are people who have not uploaded a single video on KZread, but they feel the need to tell me that my handwriting is bad. I'm sure their script is pure Copperplate :-). So, don't worry, just keep practicing and know how much effot you've put into it. As long as YOU see the difference, it shouldn't really matter what anybody else says or thinks.

Great video, Stephen! Your handwriting is easy on the eyes and has character, too! Oh---what is the 2nd pen you used (the one after the metal Waldmann)?

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Ah, that's a Delta Titanio. It actually has a flexy nib, I forgot to go into flex writing. Ah well, I'll save it for the sequel :-).

kunstler script helped me a lot thanks a ton for suggesting

@sbrebrown

8 жыл бұрын

You're welcome!

The problem that I ran into is that every brick-and-mortar store I've been to stocks only medium. If you want a different nib, you have to return the pen and they'll get the nib size you want from the manufacturer.

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

That is, indeed, an issue. I've experienced that most stores here have F or M, and sometimes B. It's an annoying issue, but I guess these stores adjust to the market.

Pretty much do The Maclean’s Method of Writing 😉. We did that every day in school 1st few years! (Obviously I’m not young 😂)

Is the clear sheet of plastic you are moving around for keeping the sweat from your hand from warping the page?

@2010stoof

4 жыл бұрын

Sweat and oils from skin. With water based fountain pen ink, the oils from your hand can block the ink from getting to the paper to bond.

Btw if you want to find some affordable paper that works surprisingly well with FPs go to your Office Depot and look for the spiral bound notebook with item number 588-286 / 22285607 (under the barcode). This stuff was given to me by my work and i tried it with my FPs being curious and it doesnt feather and has only minor show through. Ive tried it with fines, my m1000 (only one to feather but it lays down SOO much ink), m600 M, Yard O Led Grand medium. Can get them for a couple of dollars USD. I use Rhodia too but sometimes you dont want to spend 10USD and rather spend 5 on 2/3 notebooks.

@sbrebrown

7 жыл бұрын

Tgmpest Silverstorm Thank you for the suggestion!

Thank you Stephen for a helpful video.

>starts the video with the first mode apichima man I like you

@anastaziuskaejatidarjan4711

4 жыл бұрын

I just read a bit on your website. You know more about byzantine music than anyone I've come across who isn't a chanter. Are you a chanter?

Sbre! I missed your videos and I didn't even realise :) I watched you about 4 years ago. I can't afford most pens reviewed by you but I can always fantasise about them :)

@sbrebrown

8 жыл бұрын

Glad to have you back!

Thank you for making this video Stephen. I would like to buy a good fountain pen (my first!) and this information will be most helpful in knowing what to look for when I try them out in the store. I also appreciate your love and respect for handwriting. It sadly seems to be a lost art in this age of texting and emails!

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

I'm glad you enjoyed this video!

@seandavidson1188

9 жыл бұрын

Lauren, if you have the time, this's a fun way to combine "the best of both worlds". Write (w/your FP) what you have to say, scan it into your email client, send. Voilà!

1 year ago my handwriting was illegible and it was a big problem cause sometimes not even I was able to read it, but then I brought my Lamy, I started to pay more attention and now the people can read what I write, it is not perfect but I could call it an improvement, so yes, a fountain pen can help

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

It can definitely help, because it usually makes you slow down a bit and pay more attention, as you say.

Did you go to a steiner school? that order of learning is the way i was taught how to write. Pencil, school supplied fountain pen, eventually other styles of pen.

@sbrebrown

6 жыл бұрын

Luke Ster No, I didn't

does anyone think french-ruled or paper from primary school would be beneficial?

I have a question on how important "neat" handwriting. All of my letters are distinguishable from each other but they have idiosyncrasies like some e's are closed and some open and other stuff when I write slow it actually looks nice and consistent but when I write at a moderate pace it's not chicken scratch but not like super pretty it's like meh. Even with the finest pilot g2 roller ball I have barely any loops in my letters

Hi! Will you suggest which ink is the closest to the color Orange. A rich, vibrant and deep orange that can be read easily. Nothing like an orange/brown. Just a simple orange. Thank you!!

Very good video Mr Brown, wise words.

Nicely done, Stephen. Thanks to Markos' comment below I actually remembered to hit the like button for once. I'm temperamentally inclined to go along with the old penman's adage "Study as much as you practice". It's good advice, but just means a hell of a lot of studying on top of a hell of a lot of writing. I'm way ahead on the former. :-/ Letter writing, especially to people with notably good handwriting, is an effective motivator. It gives the whole exercise a point, and every now and then you get a tangible reward on your doormat.

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

Yes indeed, and it can be a lot of fun to write letters!

I loved the parts where you said write till your fingers hurt. I had a similar problem at school and now I am trying to improve my writing. I got some medium nib pens and love writing with them . this video really helps.

@sbrebrown

8 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

I love your handwriting and want to emulate a similar style. I wanted an upgrade from a Safari but can't decide whether to get F.C Loom or Pilot Prera. Which would be more suitable for cursive writing and for using on cheap paper?. I like Medium nibs but find the Lamy width to be more than what I would like.

Stephen B.R.E. Brown has some very useful tips on how to improve your handwriting. Practice being the most important one ofcourse. A lot of these tips will sound familiar to anyone who enjoys drawing, because writing is a form of drawing after all.

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Do you understand that there was once a 27th letter to our alphabet? It was '&'. I think we should bring it back. What do you think?

Which pen r using I can't understand.I'm try to write better but my pen nib dout write like that

my fountain pen is a mix of broad and medium/fine nib idk what size exactly plz help also the only info i got for u about pen is that it is an iridium point german fountain pen (iridium point germany is engraved on nib)

Great video, interesting and quite to the point. I watched it with my husband and we both found very useful information. I can relate to being scolded for your handwriting, it happened to me too in primary school (the teacher would always set me as a negative example for my classmates) but now I have a pretty neat and legible handwriting. Oh, and before I go, I must say that I love your handwriting. I find it has a lot of character..

@sbrebrown

10 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much! I'm glad you survived your teacher too. In the end, we have to learn to be satisfied with our handwriting, I think, because it's uniquely ours.

@rajeevkumar-mw3jx

9 жыл бұрын

you people were scolded in primary schools but I am in the final year of my graduation and still I am laughed at for my poor handwriting which is out of rhythm..

@sbrebrown

9 жыл бұрын

rajeev kumar Don't give up.