I can write faster, for longer periods and getting less tired with a fountain pen.
When I was a student I always took notes with a fountain pen, and I was the only one in the class who could log pretty much everything that was said, and with relatively good handwriting for the speed. A lot of people photocopied my notes!
Maintenance depends on the pen. Some require frequent cleaning, but for example, I have a Platinum Century #3776 that can sit unused for a month and will still write perfectly with no fuss (it has a sealing mechanism that prevents the ink from drying). I use it with Platinum's blue-black ink, which is one of the mythical iron gall inks, but since the nib is gold and the pen is designed so that no other metal parts are in contact with the ink, it's not going to eat my pen any time soon. I think you could give that pen+cartridges combination to anyone and it will probably run for years without maintenance (although I do clean it every few months just in case).
Hey, I would be interested in knowing about pens that do not need regular service and caring especially when not used for longer periods. Could you please suggest some good resources on it (preferably not very costly, if at all) or suggest such fountain pens?
From this list, I can personally vouch for the Platinum Preppy and Pilot Metropolitan. Though the Preppy is a disposable, the catridges from the non-disposable Platinum pens fit it. You could could even get an eyedropper and refill the cartridge from a bottle of ink.
Most of my collection is in the under $20 range, most under $2.50 and the worst I've had is the ink had dried, which took some soaking in water for a bit to get out, but this was from letting a pen sit unused for months.
The best one I know in this regard is the Platinum #3776 Century, mentioned above. It has a special sealing mechanism so that it can go for months without drying as long as you close the cap. On Amazon you can find Japanese sellers that sell it for around €60/€70. That probably doesn't quite fit "not very costly" in absolute terms, although it's actually quite a bargain for a pen with a gold nib (and a good one, IMO!) that would cost twice as much at a shop, and can last for many years.
I have heard that some Sailor pens also have a similar sealing mechanism, but I don't really know which. I have tried maybe a dozen fountain pens a bunch of inks, but I'm far from being an expert. However, if you go to the forums at http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/ you will find real experts. You can ask for what you need and you will get answers for sure, it's an awesome community.
Platinum 3776 are good and designed for this use case - the inner cap is supposed to keep inks from drying out even with long periods of no usage.
If you buy a restored Parker 51, they're nearly indestructible. Just dip it in a little water to get it flowing again.
As another commenter mentioned - when writing something meaningful, doing it with a fountain pen adds an air of magic about it. I've just returned from a 'bucket list' overseas trip, and every day, I wrote in a journal about my experiences. Somehow, doing it with a cheap ballpoint doesn't seem as special as sitting down and getting my deepest emotions and thoughts down on paper with a nice fountain pen.
To re-frame your analogy to suit a more HN centric view: Why would most developers bother with the hassle and maintenance of Linux when they could just slap Windows 10 on a PC and code away in an IDE easily?
I don't like your analogy much because Windows makes me much less efficient, not more. Everything is more hassle, getting the right tools is a pain, etc. I code primarily on OSX and even though I have PyCharm, I find I go much faster with vim. Yes I am old.
In any case, I love my fountain pen. Not expensive, just a Pilot Metropolitan. I don't have the hand stamina that I did back when I had to handwrite practically everything, so I really appreciate the effortless experience of using a fountain pen.
There is something timeless about writing with a fountain pen that a crappy gel pen can never capture. I rarely have to write by hand these days, but when I must write something beyond a few scribbled notes, I find the fountain pen encourages me to write with intent, and to savor every stroke.
Savor every stroke? Timeless? See that's what I'm talking about. Fountain pens and gel pens are both tools but somehow people associate fountain pens with class. It's great that you like fountain pens but you must admit, you like the image more than the actual pen.
I think gel pens are more practical tools, but I like the image better as well. To me, fountain pens are like fedoras... people think wearing a fedora makes you classy like some noir detective. Except to everyone else, it makes you look sily.
Ballpoint pens tend to have muchly less consistent lines. You could get much better looking lines just with a rollerball though. I do write mostly with fountain pens but love a week priced Uniball Vision. The lines are as consistent as with a fountain pen without any of the maintenance issues. However, it feels less nice and you don't get to use nice inks.
There is joy in writing. If you want pure efficiency: use a computer, why are you still using pens at all. But if you want to enjoy writing, use whatever makes you enjoy writing, be that the perfect mechanical pencil, gel pens, that parker ballpoint you've been using for 20 years, or a nice fountain pen.
When I was a student I always took notes with a fountain pen, and I was the only one in the class who could log pretty much everything that was said, and with relatively good handwriting for the speed. A lot of people photocopied my notes!
Maintenance depends on the pen. Some require frequent cleaning, but for example, I have a Platinum Century #3776 that can sit unused for a month and will still write perfectly with no fuss (it has a sealing mechanism that prevents the ink from drying). I use it with Platinum's blue-black ink, which is one of the mythical iron gall inks, but since the nib is gold and the pen is designed so that no other metal parts are in contact with the ink, it's not going to eat my pen any time soon. I think you could give that pen+cartridges combination to anyone and it will probably run for years without maintenance (although I do clean it every few months just in case).