Please enjoy this drivel about picking a notebook and fountain pen for note taking:
I love writing with my fountain pens so much that I try to use them for anything I'm recording—I only keep a ballpoint for emergencies, basically—so I've landed on sorting them out for different uses. I keep a bullet journal/planner and a hodgepodge of other notebooks, each with a corresponding pen or two.
Above is a Soumkine Universal Planner that I decided will house my miscellaneous academic reading: stuff that I want to take notes on but not necessarily stuff I need to keep in a dedicated project notebook. Today I'm reading a guide to history writing because surprisingly, I have never been taught how to write a history essay.
The paper here is a bit toothier than is ideal, but the grid layout and narrow page are excellent for jotting notes down alongside a book when you need to have both out on a desk. It's also thin enough that I can just slide it under my book and leave a page peeking out to write on.
I typically write in two colours at a time (one neutral, one colour) so I can have some highlighted elements in the text, but not an overwhelming amount. I find having to switch pens or highlight distracts me from actually understanding a substantial amount of information in a text because I'm so distracted by how I should be recording it.
Today I'm accenting with a Stabilo beFab! M nib inked with Sailor Irori (red) and doing the bulk of the writing with a Platinum Prefounte F nib inked with Sheaffer Skrip Black. Both of these are cheap pens geared for everyday writing, and I find both to be great for note taking, so much so, that I think they're going to become my dedicated writers for this purpose.
First, they each have a nib that plays nice with toothy paper—the Prefounte especially. I don't want something extra fine that's going to scratch or skip constantly while I'm trying to take down a lengthy quote, that's endlessly annoying.
Further, they're both made of light plastic and have comfy grips. I have hands that are weak and tiny! I have other heavier pens that feel nice, weighty, and fancy in the hand, but that lengthy quote isn't getting any shorter. Especially in full length pens, I prefer a light body and comfy grip. Bonus points to the beFab! here for having a grip that is long and slightly squishy. I also am left-handed and hold my pen like a gremlin, so I don't want to be muddling around with any grip correctors (seen on the infamous Lamy Safari and Al Star) or cap threading.
Speaking of caps, I don't want to use a screw on cap. This is my primary reason for writing with these two pens; it's so irritating to be unscrewing a cap every time you need to jot something down, or worse, having your nib dry every time you spend a few minutes reading a compelling passage. Both of these pens have a pop on cap that I can easily take on and off with one hand. The Prefounte goes the extra mile with its spring-loaded cap seal that is not only airtight, but also closes with a satisfying click.
So that's that. My best pens for taking notes. While they are the least fancy pens in my collection, they're the best suited for the unique conditions of taking notes on a lengthy piece of text: stop and start writing of wildly varying lengths for potentially an extended period of time. All elements of their construction from nib to body material, to that precious pop on cap lead to a, dare I say, enjoyable reading experience with minimal annoyances and distractions.*
