h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

54. Is that some kind of joke? or is it serious?

(please don't feel offended if it's serious, it's just that it's the funniest questionnaire I've ever read)

Question 31 is so, kind of, you know...

OK:

1. Do you have an interest in calligraphy? NO

2. Are you left-handed? NO

3. Different people look at pens in different ways. It would be helpful if you could indicate below whether you are male or female. MALE

4. Which of these types of pens have you used?
CALLIGRAPHY PEN / FOUNTAIN PEN / BALLPOINT PEN / FELT-PEN / FINE-LINER / HIGHLIGHTER / ROLLER BALL

5. For every pen that you have used, what are the advantages and/or disadvantages to writing with it?
Er...I'll get back to you on that one.

6. If you have used a pen with a metal nib, do you prefer it to be made from gold or stainless steel? STAINLESS STEEL

7. Why?
Not sure really, I'll think about why.

8. What size of nib do you normally use? FINE

9. Why? Doesn't seem to smudge as much when i accidentaly put my hand or arm across my notes.

10. Which of these types of nibs have you used?
OBLIQUE / REVERSE / OBLIQUE / ITALIC / STUB
I have no idea, sorry

11. Does using a nib give you any problems? NO

12. If so, what type of problems does the nib present?

13. Have you ever broken a pen? YES

14. How did the pen break? It was one of those cartridge pins, and the nib fell off.

15. Is it important to you that you can write fast? YES

16. Would you say that you had a small size of hand or large size of hand? LARGE-ISH (hand itself big but not huge, fingers very long)

17. Does the pen that you use suit the size of your hand? YES

18. If not, what would you do to improve it?

19. How would you describe the shape of your pen, e.g. thick, thin, long, short, etc.? If you prefer, you could draw it.
long, thin.

20. Is the pen the right shape for your hand? YES

21. If not, why not?

22. Which weight of pen do you prefer? LIGHTWEIGHT

23. Is the pen the right length and width for your hand? YES

24. If not, how would you improve it?

25. Is your hand, finger or thumb under any strain when you write with the pen? NO

26. What would you do to the pen to make it more comfortable to hold and write with?
perfectly comfortable already, no need to make it more so, I don't think.

27. Do you need to use a lot of force to write with your pen? NO, unless it's low on ink

28. If yes, why?

29. Do you prefer the pen to have a grip? YES

30. Why? I suppose because it's les slikely to slip when i'm writing.

31. Is your pen safe to use? YES (er, how exactly could a pen be unsafe?)

32. If not, why not?

33. Has your pen ever not worked properly? NO< only when low on ink

34. How?

35. Can you refill your pen? NO

36. If not, do you think this is a disadvantage? NO, not especially

37. Which of these materials would you prefer the pen casing to be made from?
PLASTIC

38. Why? Feels more comfortable in the hand. Especially the kind of softer molded ones, or whatever the technical term is when they feel softer than the hardness of biros and the like.

39. Are you allergic to nickel, which is found in stainless steel? NO, I don't think so

40. Of these materials, which would you least prefer to use?
GLASS

41. Why? Well, i tend to treat my pens with a bit of disrespect, and wouldn't like smashed glass in my briefcase.

42. What colour(s) of pen would appeal to you and why?- do you mean the colour of the ink, or the colour of the pen itself?

43. Should the pen have decoration or patterns on it? NO

44. Does your pen have a cap? YES

45. Does it need a lot of force to pull/push the cap into position? NO

46. Do you ever need to carry your pen with you ? YES

47. If yes, where do you carry your pen? I keep it in my briefcase for a) university lectures, exams etc. b) I have a prt-time job as alegal; clerk, where having a pen is pretty necesary

48. Does your pen have a clip? YES

49. Are you worried that the clip may break off? NO

50. Would you use a pen that could be hung around your neck? NO

51. Would the cord get in the way when you write? YES

52. Would you buy a calligraphy pen? NO

53. How much would you pay for it? I wouldn't.

What's the purpose of this anyway?

31: if your pen is covered with cyanide and you tend to gnaw at it, it is unsafe.

Well, i did a year of A-Level chemistry so, although we never used cyanide, i may have dropped my pen in some pretty toxic stuff..

Ok, yes, the questions are a bit .

Why are you being so kind and wonderful and answering questions?

My brother is doing a tec project (yes, there are a number of you who have been subjected to things like this before, but it is the last one, there are no more after this), and what he has to do is redesign a calligraphy pen - but to make it harder, he's designing it for left handed people. But for the research, he has to find out what sort of things people like and dislike, and how pens break so he can incorporate design features and stuff like that.

Wording questions for questionnaires isnt the easiest thing to do in life, and at 17 I think hes done not too bad. At least, I think you all got the point of the questions, which is all that is required!

So once again, thank you all who answered this mammoth list of questions. If there are any more, I'll be more than greatful to get them!

1. Do you have an interest in calligraphy? YES
2. Are you left-handed? NO

3. Different people look at pens in different ways. It would be helpful if you could indicate below whether you are male or female. FEMALE

4. Which of these types of pens have you used?
QUILL / CALLIGRAPHY PEN / FOUNTAIN PEN / BALLPOINT PEN / HIGHLIGHTER

5. For every pen that you have used, what are the advantages and/or disadvantages to writing with it?
QUILL-good fun, though slow. Only ever used it for fun, it was quite messy and hard to write properly with, though I was getting a lot better by the time it finally wore out.
CALLIGRAPHY PEN-mine writes evenly, (cartridge fed), and allows me to write calligraphy with ease. I also have a choice of three nibs.
FOUNTAIN PEN-Easy to write with. Occasionally played up a bit but easitly rectified. I'd say my handwriting is at it's best with fountain pen. However I have ended up with biros as they are easier to keep in a bag and not in a pencil case.
BALLPOINT PEN- I tend to use them these day out of convinience. They don't leak, they last a reasonably long time, they're cheap. I don't the ink so much, but that is a secondary consideration,
HIGHLIGHTER- does the job. Obvioulsly it could only be used for that purpose, as writing with it means it being difficult to see.

6. If you have used a pen with a metal nib, do you prefer it to be made from gold or stainless steel? No preference.

7. Why? I don't know the difference.

8. What size of nib do you normally use? FINE-for normal work.

9. Why? It makes my writing smaller and neater.

10. Which of these types of nibs have you used?ITALIC

11. Does using a nib give you any problems? NO

12. If so, what type of problems does the nib present? Occasionally the tip wears and i have to write at a spacific angle. Solution- get a new nib!

13. Have you ever broken a pen? NO

14. How did the pen break?

15. Is it important to you that you can write fast? YES

16. Would you say that you had a small size of hand or large size of hand? SMALL

17. Does the pen that you use suit the size of your hand? NO

18. If not, what would you do to improve it? Make it thicker in circumference.

19. How would you describe the shape of your pen, e.g. thick, thin, long, short, etc.? If you prefer, you could draw it. It is a biro, thin, with ridges. The ridges are good, but the overall circimference is too small.

20. Is the pen the right shape for your hand? YES if thicker.

21. If not, why not?

22. Which weight of pen do you prefer? MEDIUM

23. Is the pen the right length and width for your hand? YES-length / NO-width

24. If not, how would you improve it?

25. Is your hand, finger or thumb under any strain when you write with the pen? YES

26. What would you do to the pen to make it more comfortable to hold and write with? ake ot thicker (oh, the repitition of my answers!)

27. Do you need to use a lot of force to write with your pen? NO, but I tend to anyway,

28. If yes, why?

29. Do you prefer the pen to have a grip? YES

30. Why? More comfortable and less slippy.

31. Is your pen safe to use? YES

32. If not, why not?

33. Has your pen ever not worked properly? NO

34. How?

35. Can you refill your pen? NO

36. If not, do you think this is a disadvantage? NO, throwaway society and all that.

37. Which of these materials would you prefer the pen casing to be made from? PLASTIC

38. Why? It's the most comfortable. Metal is cold and slippy, wood is nice, actually, glass is too fragile and I'd be afraid of it!

39. Are you allergic to nickel, which is found in stainless steel? YES

40. Of these materials, which would you least prefer to use?
METAL

41. Why? Cold, clammy, slippy, heavy.

42. What colour(s) of pen would appeal to you and why? Fairly netural.

43. Should the pen have decoration or patterns on it? Not bothered, but nothing too fancy.

44. Does your pen have a cap? YES

45. Does it need a lot of force to pull/push the cap into position? NO

46. Do you ever need to carry your pen with you ? YES

47. If yes, where do you carry your pen? To lectures and in a bag generally.

48. Does your pen have a clip? YES

49. Are you worried that the clip may break off? NO (unless I chewed it).

50. Would you use a pen that could be hung around your neck? NO

51. Would the cord get in the way when you write? YES

52. Would you buy a calligraphy pen? YES

53. How much would you pay for it? Not a huge amount, less that £15.

THANK YOU FOR COMPLETING THIS QUESTIONNAIRE.

FC-"Why are you being so kind and wonderful and answering questions?" well, because we're all such kind and wonderful people, of course.

1. Yes (slight)
2. No
3. Female
4. Calligraphy, fountain,ballpoint, felt-tip, highlighter, rollerball
5. Calligraphy - only suits given purpose, for style rather than speed. Fountain - flows pleasantly but can be messy, ink fades, nuisance to refill. Felt-tip - specific types good for specific purposes, point & ink don't seem to last well. Highlighter - good for highlighting but not much else. Rollerball - lovely & smooth, may smudge.
6. No preference
7. N/A
8. Medium
9. Fine can be too scratchy, broad too messy
10. None
11. Tend to get inky fingers.
12. If press too hard, get ink splodges.
13. No
14. N/a
15. Yes
16. Large
17. Yes
18. N/a
19. Thin, long
20. Yes
21. N/a
22. Medium
23. Yes
24. N/a
25. Sometimes
26. Spongier grip for fingertips
27. No
28. N/a
29. No
30. Can vary position of hold better.
31. Yes
32. N/a (But have used some with rather sharp ends which can poke you in the face)
33. Yes
34. Run out of ink
35. Yes
36. N/a
37. Plastic/ metal
38. Smooth & warm
39. No
40. Wood
41. Might splinter
42. Black/ deep, dark colours
43. No
44. No
45. No
46. Yes
47. In a handbag
48. Yes
49. No
50. No
51. Yes
52. Unlikely
53. Less than £10

Is your brother lefthanded?

I use a medium black pen for sketches. It is usually a roller ball gel of some sort, with a fast-drying pigment type archival ink.

When I ink my cartoons, I use an old fashioned plastic holder with a Speedball C-4 in it. I use any light-resistant ink I can afford and I use matte Bristol board.

I also use a fine paint brush, a Windsor and Newton #2, series 239 for lettering and lines.

On a daily basis I use a Pilot fine Better Retractable BBP24. It is a highly dependable ball point that almost never cracks or blots. My spousal unit and I get upset when we lose these.

In my belt tool kit I keep a Bic Clic gimme pen from a medical supply house. It is a medium. These have proven to be mostly dependable over the years and I don't get upset when I lose them.

I've used a Sheaffer medium cartridge fountain pen on and off over the years, but the ink isn't water proof and the lines are inconsistent.

Can you answer some questions for my brother? He will be most appreciative! Happy to, but what will he do with this info?


1. Do you have an interest in calligraphy? YES

2. Are you left-handed? Ambidexterous!

3. Different people look at pens in different ways. It would be helpful if you could indicate below whether you are male or female. MALE

4. Which of these types of pens have you used?
BRUSH PEN / STYLUS / QUILL / CALLIGRAPHY PEN / FOUNTAIN PEN / BALLPOINT PEN / FELT-PEN / FINE-LINER / HIGHLIGHTER / ROLLER BALL / ERASABLE PEN / DIGITAL PEN. All. But I like fountain pens the best and ballpoints the least. I've also used RAPIDOGRAPHS and GRAPHOS pens intended for architectural and engineering drawings.

5. For every pen that you have used, what are the advantages and/or disadvantages to writing with it? I'll limit it to fountain pens. These I appreciate because of the heft and balance of the instrument and the fineness and precision of line.

6. If you have used a pen with a metal nib, do you prefer it to be made from gold or stainless steel? GOLD

7. Why? A certain flex in the nib and its resistence to corrosion.

8. What size of nib do you normally use? FINE

9. Why? I enjoy precision

10. Which of these types of nibs have you used?
OBLIQUE / REVERSE / OBLIQUE / ITALIC / STUB (ALL)

11. Does using a nib give you any problems? NO

12. If so, what type of problems does the nib present?

13. Have you ever broken a pen? NO

14. How did the pen break?

15. Is it important to you that you can write fast? YES

16. Would you say that you had a small size of hand or large size of hand? LARGE

17. Does the pen that you use suit the size of your hand? YES and this is absolutely essential for comfort over the long run!

18. If not, what would you do to improve it?

19. How would you describe the shape of your pen, e.g. thick, thin, long, short, etc.? If you prefer, you could draw it. A thin, long pen with perfect balance and a shape where I grip it that does not allow it to slip or wriggle.

20. Is the pen the right shape for your hand? YES

21. If not, why not?

22. Which weight of pen do you prefer? LIGHTWEIGHT

23. Is the pen the right length and width for your hand? YES

24. If not, how would you improve it?

25. Is your hand, finger or thumb under any strain when you write with the pen? NO

26. What would you do to the pen to make it more comfortable to hold and write with? see #19.

27. Do you need to use a lot of force to write with your pen? NO and it is important that you not need to. It is also important to write firmly while holding the sheet steady with the other hand.

28. If yes, why?

29. Do you prefer the pen to have a grip? NO

30. Why? The area where you hold it needs to be shaped to fit your hand. It is important to try many pens until you find one that fits, does not slop about, has a comfortable balance and does not cause your hand to be strained.

31. Is your pen safe to use? YES

32. If not, why not? Only be careful to not poke anyone's eye out with the nib!

33. Has your pen ever not worked properly? NO

34. How?

35. Can you refill your pen? YES

36. If not, do you think this is a disadvantage? YES

37. Which of these materials would you prefer the pen casing to be made from?
WOOD / METAL

38. Why? A fine pen is an investment and a how it allows you to write says a lot about yourself, therefore durable materials are essential.

39. Are you allergic to nickel, which is found in stainless steel? NO

40. Of these materials, which would you least prefer to use?
GLASS

41. Why? I would not like to have deal with shards of glass in my fingers or hands or anywhere on my person.

42. What colour(s) of pen would appeal to you and why? Dark. To be subtle and understated.

43. Should the pen have decoration or patterns on it? Not important.

44. Does your pen have a cap? YES

45. Does it need a lot of force to pull/push the cap into position? NO

46. Do you ever need to carry your pen with you ? YES, always!

47. If yes, where do you carry your pen? breast pocket or jacket

48. Does your pen have a clip? YES

49. Are you worried that the clip may break off? NO

50. Would you use a pen that could be hung around your neck? NO, certainly not!

51. Would the cord get in the way when you write? YES

52. Would you buy a calligraphy pen? YES

53. How much would you pay for it? $100 +

Do tell how you intend to use this info!

she did actually explain it elsewhere in the thread- something to do with a design project.

From posting 26:

"My brother is doing a tec project (yes, there are a number of you who have been subjected to things like this before, but it is the last one, there are no more after this), and what he has to do is redesign a calligraphy pen - but to make it harder, he's designing it for left handed people. But for the research, he has to find out what sort of things people like and dislike, and how pens break so he can incorporate design features and stuff like that. "

1. Do you have an interest in calligraphy? YES

2. Are you left-handed? YES

3. Different people look at pens in different ways. It would be helpful if you could indicate below whether you are male or female. FEMALE

4. Which of these types of pens have you used?
BRUSH PEN / STYLUS / QUILL / CALLIGRAPHY PEN / FOUNTAIN PEN / BALLPOINT PEN / FELT-PEN / FINE-LINER / HIGHLIGHTER / ROLLER BALL / ERASABLE PEN / DIGITAL PEN - All accept digital

5. For every pen that you have used, what are the advantages and/or disadvantages to writing with it?

brush pen for detail, but doesn't make a good standard pen. Quill's good for calligraphy but awkward to use and painfully slow. Fountain pens are easy to use but I sometimes forget to refill it before going out to lectures, thus being forced to resort to biro . Ballpoints are good but sometimes the ball gets stuck and the run out too quickly. Felt tip pens bleed through the paper but are nice and bold. Highlighters highlight well but sometimes the nib gets grubby from the text and I end up smudging instead. Fine liners are good for outlining drawings, but I find them a bit slow for writing and they don't stay fine for very long. Writing over erased ink genraly goes splodgy.

6. If you have used a pen with a metal nib, do you prefer it to be made from gold or stainless steel? STAINLESS STEEL

7. Doen't bend as easily and is a much nicer colour (and cheaper)

8. What size of nib do you normally use? FINE

9. Why? My handwriting's quite compact, so makes it clearer.

10. Which of these types of nibs have you used?
OBLIQUE / REVERSE / OBLIQUE / ITALIC / STUB Probably all, but only italic and stub on a regular basis

11. Does using a nib give you any problems? NO

12. If so, what type of problems does the nib present?

13. Have you ever broken a pen? YES

14. How did the pen break? Pressed to hard when using gold nib and it bent. Also worn pens away due to over usage.

15. Is it important to you that you can write fast? YES

16. Would you say that you had a small size of hand or large size of hand? LARGE

17. Does the pen that you use suit the size of your hand? YES

18. If not, what would you do to improve it?

19. How would you describe the shape of your pen, e.g. thick, thin, long, short, etc.? If you prefer, you could draw it. Long and thinish.

20. Is the pen the right shape for your hand? YES

21. If not, why not?

22. Which weight of pen do you prefer? LIGHTWEIGHT for general writing, heavyweight for drawing, medium weight for calliraphy

23. Is the pen the right length and width for your hand? YES

24. If not, how would you improve it?

25. Is your hand, finger or thumb under any strain when you write with the pen? NO

26. What would you do to the pen to make it more comfortable to hold and write with?

27. Do you need to use a lot of force to write with your pen? NO

28. If yes, why?

29. Do you prefer the pen to have a grip? NO

30. Why? Prefer the pen to be thin

31. Is your pen safe to use? YES

32. If not, why not?

33. Has your pen ever not worked properly? NO

34. How?

35. Can you refill your pen? YES

36. If not, do you think this is a disadvantage? YES / NO

37. Which of these materials would you prefer the pen casing to be made from?
PLASTIC

38. Why? Plastic's light, metal for the nib

39. Are you allergic to nickel, which is found in stainless steel? NO

40. Of these materials, which would you least prefer to use?
GLASS

41. Why? A glass pen? Wouldn't last 5 minutes

42. What colour(s) of pen would appeal to you and why? Blue - it's a great colour

43. Should the pen have decoration or patterns on it? NO

44. Does your pen have a cap? YES

45. Does it need a lot of force to pull/push the cap into position? NO

46. Do you ever need to carry your pen with you ? YES

47. If yes, where do you carry your pen? In a pencil case, or labcoat pocket if it's a practical session

48. Does your pen have a clip? YES

49. Are you worried that the clip may break off? NO

50. Would you use a pen that could be hung around your neck? NO

51. Would the cord get in the way when you write? YES

52. Would you buy a calligraphy pen? YES

53. How much would you pay for it? I genraly by a pen and then get inter-changable nibs, but about £10.

1. YES
2. BOTH - I'm ambidextrous
3. FEMALE
4. All except stylus

5. Brush - flowing, good for drawing, but needs reloaded frequently and the ink takes a long time to dry.
Calligraphy - same, plus the fact that you have to assemble the thing and clean all the component parts thoroughly afetr you're finished.
Traditional Fountain pen - too delicate.
For a fountain-style cartridge pen, I always buy the wrong size cartridges.
Ballpoint - cheap, convenient, easily replaced, good for 'scratchy' drawing work, but very flimsy, tend to get stolen by colleagues.
Felt - convenient, but variable quality, leak too easily, plastic casing not very sturdy.
Fine Liner - good for close work, smooth line, but they run out too quickly.
Highlighter - bright ink, nice variable width (I have actually used one for drawing before) but fades and saturates paper too much.
Rollerball - as above.
Erasable - diabolical quality ink, doesn't erase properly, changes the colour of your paper.
Digital - used only for digital art, and it depends on what program you're using.

6. GOLD
7. Why? I'm allergic to nickel.
8. Depends on what I'm doing, but generally FINE
9. Why? Easier to bulk up a thin line than slim a fat one.
10. Never heard of any of them.
11. Does using a nib give you any problems? YES
12. Have to be careful when freshly loaded with ink and they can break if you mistreat them.
13. YES
14. I leaned on it too heavily!
15. YES
16. LARGE
17. NO
18. shape it to fit the hand - fatter grip and 'lip' before the nib.
19. Tapered, slim.
20. NO
21. see 18.
22. HEAVY
23. NO
24. see 18.
25. YES
26.see 18.
27. NO
28. If yes, why? N/A
29. YES
30. Less chance of slipping
31.YES, unless I take a mad turn and decide to stab myself in the neck
32. N/A
33. YES
34. Cold ink on frosty mornings reduces flow.
35. NO
36. YES
37. WOOD
38. Tactile natural material
39. YES
40. GLASS
41. Dangerous when dropped!!
42. Black, Red, Indigo.
43. NO
44. YES
45. NO
46. YES
47. Pencil-case
48. YES
49. NO
50. NO, although I was given a fancy silver ballpoint pen on a chain when I graduated, which I have been know to write with on the occasions that I couldn't be bothered to search for another one.
51. NO, not if you loop it round your wrist, but it looks flamin' silly
52. YES
53. How much would you pay for it? Eh... up to about twelve quid, but only if it was really good quality.

Hope that helps

1. YES
2. NO
3. MALE
4. BRUSH PEN/STYLUS/CALLIGRAPHY PEN/FOUNTAIN PEN/BALLPOINT PEN/FELT-PEN/FINE-LINER/HIGHLIGHTER/ROLLER BALL
5. The first 3 are used for specific purposes, as are the fine liner & highlighter, as for the rest my preference is a fountain pen for general writing but sometimes you just settle for whats in the stationary cupboard.
6. GOLD
7. Its softer, and flows more smoothly over the paper
8. MEDIUM
9. Because I find it aesthetically most pleasing
10. OBLIQUE/ITALIC
11. NO
12. n/a
13. YES
14. sat on, stood on, nib snapped, etc.
15. YES
16. SMALL
17. YES
18. n/a
19. thinnish & longish
20. YES
21. n/a
22. MEDIUM
23. YES
24. n/a
25. NO
26. n/a
27. NO
28. n/a
29. NO
30. n/a
31. YES of course
32. n/a
33. YES
34. when niot used for some time and the nib/ink reserve has dried out
35. Yes
36. n/a
37. WOOD / METAL / PLASTIC
38. weight - feel - aesthetics
39. NO
40. GLASS
41. safety
42. Dark colours - particularly green as its my favourite colour
43. NO
44. YES
45. NO
46. YES
47. jacket pocket
48. YES
49. YES
50. NO
51. YES
52. YES
53. £5 - £10 for the pen itself and between £1 & £2.50 per nib depending on size style etc.

thanks egon.

1. Yes

2. No

3. Male

4. STYLUS / QUILL / CALLIGRAPHY PEN / FOUNTAIN PEN / BALLPOINT PEN / FELT-PEN / FINE-LINER / HIGHLIGHTER / ROLLER BALL / ERASABLE PEN

5. Stylus - my mom used it for her work, so it's good memories for me, yet I found it difficult to hold it vertical enough when I tried it.
Quill - On the whole, not very practical but massive style.
Calligraphy pen - Nice to begin with when you want to improve your writing, but paradoxically I prefer to do calligraphy with a fine pen, and fill myself the thick places of the letter.
Fountain pen - Has no match for everyday use.
Ballpoint pen - Only if that's all I have.
Felt-pen - Has to be fine enough so that it won't pour too much ink and endanger your poor paper.
Fine-liner - Quite cool, perhaps the pen of the future.
Highlighter - Hate it. Gets dirty if used on manuscript, and makes printed stuff look like you can't afford to read entire sentences but only a few words here and there
Rollerball - Seems Ok at first, nut then you'll notice that it tends to make greasy inky spots if you stop writing for a moment while still keeping it on the sheet.
Eraser pen - Still usefull when I write in blue, but of course it's awkward to rewrite and it smells a little.

6. Stainless steel

7. Because a gold nib will bend if it falls on the unlucky side.

8. Medium

9. Fine makes my letters sort of dry and scratchy, and broad ends up overloading the sheet, making the reading tiring.

10. I think I don't get those names

11. Yes

12. As I said, it may bend and then the ink stops flowing, or flows irregularly, so you have to press it out from the cartridge from time to time. But the major problem is that the nib can break loose from the plastic structure it's embedded in, and will then start to move or even fall off.


13. Yes, often.

14. Apart from the various problems I encountered with the nibs (see answer 12), I have also had caps that didn't hold anymore, screws that got screwed, etc.

15. Yes

16. Seems average...

17. Yes

18. -

19. Medium width, rather longish.

20. Yes.

21. -

22. Medium

23. Yes

24. Usually I don't like it when they're too thick, but mine isn't

25. Not anymore, but I remember than in early school years my index and the palm of my hand could ache a bit.

26. I used to have one with carved concavities for the thumb and the index, but they weren't exactly where my fingers laid. I think a simple round shape is more likely to fit every grip. Perhaps some rubber around it can make it more pleasant to hold.
27. No.

28. -

29. No
30. see 26

31. Yes, unless you mean 'unsafe' not in a harmful way but, say, like having my fingers stained with ink. In the latter case, no, it isn't perfectly safe.

32. -

33. Yes

34. Nib falling out. Writing becoming scratchy.

35. Yes, cartridges.

36. It wouldn't be a disadvantage if the unrefillable ones were really cheaper. But it isn't always so, that's why I prefer a pen I can refill.

37. Plastic

38. Wood can get dirty or kind of brownish quite fast, metal can harm your teeth if, like me, you happen to hold your pen between them on a regular basis. Plastic is cheaper, less pretentious and allows a larger scope of colours and decorations when manufactured. Glass?

39. No.

40. Glass.

41. Because it breaks?

42. Plum, beige, green. I like it to have a colour rather than, say, silver or black, but it mustn't be flashy.

43. Depends on the patterns. I like them if they're not overdone.

44. Yes

45. No, you have to screw it.

46. Yes

47. Almost everywhere. University, metro, library, holidays. I never use it in cinemas, though

48. No

49. It already *did* break off. But I don't really mind, actually.

50. Why not? Might be a good way to keep it at hand

51. Depends how it's done.

52. Yes

53. Around 20€

THANK YOU FOR COMPLETING THIS QUESTIONNAIRE

guys.

Any more for any more?