I wrote a sentence in ballpoint and then with a 1.5mm nib, one above the other to compare. The ballpoint is a sprawl by drunken spiders - but fast. The fountain pen is clearly the same hand but somehow transformed into legibility - but is still awful. I'm having great fun trying the fountain pen and am inpatient to receive the few 1.9mm pens I've ordered - hoping they are as easy to write with as the I.5mm but making me slower, thus forming letters more carefully.
So far I've stuck with cheaper pens - but have the hots for a Parker at £500. I mean, 10p for a Bic or £500 for a proper pen? Makes shaving look cheap!