Ruth,

Thanks for your response. :-D

I was shocked when I found out that they were not only around, but common. In the United States they began dwindling after ballpoints were invented. In other countries they are still a preferred writing utensil.

In Germany, most schoolchildren are given a fountain pen to use in class. In Japan, fountain pens are (to my knowledge) extraordinarily common.

For my part I've found that they are so much better than ballpoint pens and mechanical pencils that the moment I started using them it made no sense to go back. My writer's cramp vanished completely; I can write about 5000 words in a day (I know because I tried this once--but only once) and my hand feels only a little tired. If I had used a pencil I wouldn't have made it half as far before having to stop due to nerve and muscle pain.

If you're interested I highly recommend looking up the Pilot brand. They have two pens in particular that I recommend to everyone; the Metropolitan for someone looking for a starter pen, and the Cavalier for someone looking for an elegant pen that's about the size of a ballpoint.

J