Pens and Pencils for Writing

Japanese Language
1

Hi All,

I have been looking at the real brush pens and mechanical pencils on Jlist/Amazon.

Was just interested in what people buy when practicing writing Kana and Kanji or if they just use normal pens and pencils.

Thanks!

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I use a Kuru Toga mechanical pencil but it really doesnā€™t matter that much

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I donā€™t know where it came from, but I suddenly had a Papermate felt-tip pen of some kind. I use that for my grammar notes specifically, as writing kanji with it gives it just a bit of a brush feel. Just slightly.
But I also use regular ballpoint pens and pencils, if Iā€™m out or lazy - whateverā€™s handy.

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I use a Uni Jetstream 0.38mm ballpoint. Itā€™s great for writing tiny kana. I like to write in tiny writing. A leftover habit from having only one page of notes allowed during finals.

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If you need to write small kanji, I recommend a 0.3mm mechanical pencil. Otherwise any good-quality mechanical pencil will do it. I personally like the ones from ē„”印č‰Æ品. :slight_smile:

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Iā€™d say this depends on both your personal preference and also on how much money youā€™re willing to spend. Japan makes some really nice small millimeter pens and pencils (smaller than are available in the US), but they can get pretty costly.

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Iā€™ve tried many, and found these to be the best (so far):

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I need this! Iā€™ve never seen 0.28mm before!

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@JawaOwl , might I also recommend you take a look at this thread about Japanese Stationary?

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10

They like to stay still a lot? (Iā€™m sure they actually meant stationery)

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Itā€™s spelled with an ā€œaā€. That ā€œeā€ just looks really wrong.

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No,Gaidheal is correct. ā€œStationaryā€ is an adjective and refers to the state of not moving or immobility. ā€œStationeryā€ is a collective noun used for writing materials.

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13

Really is up to your preference.

I use a Staedtler 925 05 as a pencil, for both Japanese and any other writing. I originally picked it up in college and stuck with it since. Solid mechanical pencil, but a bit pricey. For lead, I use Staedtler Mars micro carbon 2b 0.5 mm, which is a higher quality type of lead and just feels good to write with. When I donā€™t have that, I usually any mid to high quality HB or 2B lead. For eraser, the one on the Staedtler naturally is okay, but not great, so I use Faber-Castell 7086-30, which works fantastically for most types of paper and lead. As for paper, I use whatever Costco has in itā€™s better quality printer paper and I print my own lines as necessary. Otherwise, I use the notebooks provided by Moleskin or Diaso. If I am writing on something finer, I usually order from French Paper Co.

For pens, I havenā€™t put as much thought into it since I didnā€™t use a lot of pens in college. For regular writing I use a Slicci Ultra Fine 0.25 mm pen. For nicer writing, I have another pilot pen that I use, but I donā€™t remember the number for it.

Anyways, it doesnā€™t really matter in the end what pen or pencil you use, unless your real particular. The only common agreement from people I talk to on the subject is that the preference is towards things that write with a size less then .5 mm.

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I picked up a couple of these at Kinokuniya in Seattle when I was there. Love the brush tip for writing Japanese. By Kuretake.
brushpen

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Err, no. Itā€™s not. Reading the thread you referred had me laughing, with things like stationary shops (as opposed to all those mobile ones, I assume :wink: ).

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Iā€™ve seen many people talk about what theyā€™re writing with, but what about what theyā€™re writing on?

Do people just use plain paper, or do they go for something else?

(I figured this was relevant enough to this topic to avoid starting a new one)

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I donā€™t write much Japanese, but I got these and use them every day for my notes at work. I did get them with Japanese in mind and while it isnā€™t thin (so writing small kanji may be difficult), I liked the look of the strokes overall.

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i think tools doesnā€™t matterļ½ž use cheap pencil and normal pen is far enough (at least for me)ļ½ž

tools doesnt make artistļ½žā™Ŗ

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Holding this pencil in my hands right now. I love it.

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20

Best pencil; stopped using my computer to take notes in college as a result of using it for Japanese.

Iā€™ve never been one of those people who cares about what they use for writing (unless itā€™s one of those scratchy ballpoint pens) but everyone should own a Kuru Toga

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