As my handwriting has grown increasingly smaller during my years at high school, I have found that regular .7 lead pencils or even pens hardly make the cut anymore, instead they turn my page into undecipherable scribbles similar to that of a six-year-old. This, evidently becomes a problem as not only does my writing become drastically appaling to the eye, but reading critical class notes also becomes impossible and (if it were possible) more of a displeasure.
Obviously then, I believe that thinner lead, or pen tips are better, because not only are they easier to use but they also make one’s handwriting look much more professional without any extra care from the writer. Yes, .5 is great, especially on pencils that have a harder lead, but on pens because they have the habit of bleeding into the paper, .5 again will fail you.
For pens I would go nowhere else but to a .35 or lower. True, one could write for their entire life using only a sharpie, but if you have a choice, why would you? Yes, the horridness might just start with the pens, but who knows where it will go? One’s writing is the presentation of ideas and in a sense, identity, which is why it must not be written with a sharpie, for then it has the presence of a six year old’s drawing on the refrigerator: cute, but juvenile and sloppy.
So where should one get such magnificent writing utensils? Honestly, you can get .5 lead pretty much anywhere where they have more than a couple boxes of pencils, though it is harder to find than the massively consumed basic .7 lead. However, for the pens you might have to go out of your way, I would suggest any local arts and crafts stores or the internet; Target won’t have them.
My favorite is the Sakura Pigma Micron pen which comes in sizes .5-.2 mm. Although you may not see the problem now, you will when you start using these.