I have found a few older posts on the topic of pens and steno pads, but thought I'd start this new thread to see what folks are using and perhaps renew some recommendations for newbies like myself.
Although I am a fountain pen aficionado, I have found that there are some ballpoints and gel pens that seem to work best for my practice. These include the Uniball Signo Ultra Micro 207 (.38 mm), the Uniball Jetstream .38 mm ballpoint, and the Morning Glory Mach 3 roller ball, again in .38 mm. All of these pens are very smooth writers and fit my taste for extra fine tips/nibs. For fountain pens, I have some old Esterbrooks with the 1555, 2555, and 9555 nibs that work well and are pretty easy to come by. These nibs are all "Gregg" nibs, but the 1550 and 9550 nibs also work well. I also have an old Wahl "Gregg" pen and, honestly, it was that pen and not knowing what the Gregg cap meant that led me to discover Gregg shorthand in the first place. So, that pen is special to me in my journey to learn shorthand.
What I am looking for is recommendations on steno pads and any advice would be appreciated. I have picked up a bundle at my local Sam's Club, but the quality isn't that good. They're fine for practice, I guess, but the paper tends to bleed pretty badly, especially with fountain pens. I also found a Rediform pad at my office that has light green paper that I really like and it tends to do much better with the fountain pen ink. I'll probably chase down some more of these for use as I progress.
Anyway, I thought I would share these thoughts and, again, would appreciate any other recommendations, especially on pads.
Thank you.
TimLabels: anythinggoes, notebooks, writinginstruments