Re: Ball Point Pens
Started school at age 5. At 7 was introduced to the 'dip pen', which was a length of timber you fitted a nib to, and you had a porcelain/china bulb thing that sat in a hole in your desk called an "ink well", because it was filled with ink, and you dipped your nib in to it every word or so.
Well, I am rather left handed and wrote with a inward curving wrist, so the cuff of my jersey always smudged my writing (plus it was stained black).
Teacher decided I should be right handed so he belted me over the knuckles with one of those rulers with the steel edge inserted in them. Could never get the hang of being right handed.
Next yr along comes a teacher called Tui and says,back to the left hand Phillip. Turn your book sideways and write down hill. Done so ever since.
We got fountain pens in grade 6....I think they became affordable.
My old man was a young station-master and he used indelible pensils....the centre of his tounge was purple for years.
Today, the standard of my 14yr olds writing is terrible....really hard to read....his teachers is in same style and little better....apparently it is no longer a necessity to write neatly.
I buy pens for my customers each yr.
I now have a sample that has a cap, not unlike the fountain pen caps.
Very sensible.
Cheers
Phillip
and to this day I take apart every pen I have owned! I guess us older people can claim it was part of our mechanical training.
