i learned kurrent out of interest but also to improve my handwriting. the straight lines and sharp corners are a lot easier to write than the round lines of regular hand writing so i got good results with less effort than with regular handwriting which eventually motivated me to improve my regular hand writing too. i also had access to a collection of old dip pens with various types of nibs allowing me to really duplicate the writing style of the time, if only at primary school level. eventually i adapted my signature too, but unlike you i never got any backslash for that.