I have been using fountain pens these days to reduce the pressure on my hand, as I hand-write quite frequently, both for work (for problem solving and work journaling) and for personal (journaling, planning, common-placing, etc.).
But as someone who needs to apply moisturize the hands often due to skin issues, the lotion, cream, or oil on my hand often get in the way of fountain pen inks! The inks would skip or feather on paper, and it can be distracting or frustrating sometimes.
So, in this post I’ll be listing down what inks and papers I found to be least sensitive, or least affected by hand cream or hand oil when writing with fountain pen ink. Just note that what works for me may or may not apply to you because of varying factors, including the type of lotion, cream, or oil we’re dealing with.
Fountain pen ink that hold up well against hand oils:
List of specific inks:
- Platinum Carbon Black
It doesn’t budge as I write on lotion-smeared MD Paper. Based on experience with this ink in a LAMY Safari EF, there’s no skipping or feathering at all. Currently the most reliable fountain pen ink to me when writing with lotiony hands! - Sailor Seiboku
When writing with a Sailor HighAce Neo F or a Sailor Profit Jr. F on a sheet of MD paper, there was barely noticeable skipping of ink, with no observed feathering. - Pilot Iroshizuku – Tsuki Yo
I have observed minimal feathering with no skipping on MD paper as I wrote with this ink using a Pilot Lightive F.
Fountain pen-friendly paper that’s less sensitive to hand oils:
Comparison list:
- Rhodia paper vs MD Paper
Rhodia paper seems to be less susceptible to skipping inks and feathering inks, compared to MD paper.
Bonus: Non-fountain pens that’s not affected by hand oils
When I don’t want to bother with fountain pens, often when problem-solving at work, I reach out for:
- Zebra Sarasa 0.5 in black
