The Write Stuff

Especially in this e-mail age, a note handwritten with a proper pen spells gravitas.

By Elizabeth Razzi

From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, May 2003

Especially in this e-mail age, a note handwritten with a proper pen spells gravitas.

During her 35-year career as a calligrapher, Margaret Shepherd's work has graced art galleries and churches around her hometown of Boston. Lately, though, she's wielding her pen to dispense advice to those seeking a business edge. "Real guys write notes with pen and ink," she says. "Something handwritten is the equivalent of face time. It helps people get ahead." For example, a thank-you note after a job interview should always be handwritten.

But you need the right tools and materials for the job, a subject that Shepherd explores in her latest book, The Art of the Handwritten Note: A Guide to Reclaiming Civilized Communication (Broadway Books, $16). She recommends buying high-quality stationery designed for pens rather than printers (you can't go wrong with Crane's) and, above all, using a proper writing instrument.

To Shepherd, the proper pen means a rollerball, at a minimum, although she thinks a fountain pen is best. Never write a letter with a ballpoint, not even if it's a pricey Cartier or Montblanc that looks like a million peeking over a vest pocket. Ballpoints, she says, are "dreadful" because a writer's style is cramped by the need to push the pen hard to make the gummy, oil-based ink flow. Worse, the ink doesn't create an even line. A ballpoint tells readers "they weren't worth dressing up for," Shepherd says.

Her pick for a basic fountain pen that is capable of stylish script is a $20 Rotring ArtPen. The refillable pen is available at art-supply stores and some pen shops. It comes with a 1.1-millimeter calligraphy nib.

Picking a proper nib -- you usually get several choices when the pen costs more than $100 -- is an important step. A calligraphy nib has a square tip rather than a pointed one, so it leaves a line that varies in width as you stroke different parts of a letter. It will make your John Hancock look more like that of John Hancock (who used a quill to the same effect). "A calligraphy nib makes everyone's handwriting look better," says Shepherd. But she cautions not to choose one wider than 1.1 mm for handwriting, or the line will be too thick. Standard nibs are 0.5 to 1 mm.

If the pen is a gift, try to match the nib's width to the writer's penmanship by taking an example of the recipient's handwriting with you to the shop. "Don't give a big, bold writer a teeny-weeny pen point," says Shepherd.

Lefties, beware: "Don't even try to write with a calligraphy nib, because the angle is wrong," warns Shepherd. You should choose a small nib that will deposit less ink on the page or go with a rollerball to minimize smearing.

If you want the best performance from a fountain pen, spring for a gold nib. Gold allows the nib to flex as you write, yielding a more comfortable feel. A 14-carat gold nib is cheaper and will give the same performance as an 18- or 24-carat one, although you can still expect to pay $100 or more for the pen.

Prices for good-quality fountain pens range from $100 to well over $1,000. Better pens offer more nib choices, but most of the difference is in the materials, such as precious metals and gems, that make up the body. The prestige brands of fountain pens usually offer rollerball and ballpoint versions as well.

Reporter: Erin Burt

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