I write a lot of things on paper for notes. I found that when I write with a cheap ballpoint, I’m pressing down hard to get the ink to work right, and it cramps up my hand in short order.

With a fountain pen, you can’t press down hard. You’d ruin the nib if you did that. You need to learn to slow down a bit and glide over the paper. Your notes will tend to be more readable as a result.

The main issue becomes weight balance. I find I don’t want to put the cap on the other end, because that puts a lot of weight on that side and my hand will get tired from holding it up.

It all works very nice when it comes together. You do want to wait for the ink to dry so it doesn’t smudge. That’s the one real cost.

If you don’t want to do all the cleaning and ink maintenance of a fountain pen, then I’ve found Ohto ballpoints to be a good alternative. Still have to wait for the ink to dry, but they glide across the page with minimal pressure. When someone borrows one of mine, I warn them not to press down too hard, and they’re surprised when that works very well.