fountain pen taboos - don't enter if you're easily offended

[Garageboy]

 

 

Don't like most old pens i've seen - generally they look tatty and worn which I find very unattractive and I don't like the idea of someone else using them before me. There are a few exceptions.

 

That's a weird one

[bushido]

 

 

Don't like most old pens i've seen - generally they look tatty and worn which I find very unattractive and I don't like the idea of someone else using them before me. There are a few exceptions.

 

That's a weird one

 

how is it weird? i rather spend more for a new pen than get a used one, not knowing exactly its condition until later. in my opinion modern pens are more attractive but again that's just my opinion.

[ethernautrix]

WRONG!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just wanted to say that. Carry on.

[jar]

WRONG!

 

 

Nuh-Uh!

[Syzacha]

Taboos?

 

 

When shopkeepers try to sell an antique pen with the nib visibly bent up. If I'm not buying online I really don't want to spend money to send it halfway around the world for a restoration job.

 

When people who don't use fountain pens ask to borrow and just push the tip into the paper.

 

Also when the posted cap points directly to a full moon it's the sign of a bad omen.

[David V]

Dragging this one back up for something I just remembered.

 

Cartridge-converter "demonstrator" pens. What's the point? What are you demonstrating, penmakers? That you either don't trust or won't fund your engineering department? That you can't be bothered? That you don't know how to make a filling system? That's about as much a demonstrator as a Bic.

Hilarious, there! I think they are demonstrating that they will ride a gimmick into the ground to try to charge more for something. I see it as exactly the same as when the toy makers produce clear or all black versions of their normal products. There is no point other than to trick rubes into paying more for a novelty item. Modern business practices are the super-fertilizer to the gardens of cynicism...

 

 

Demonstrators don't always cost more. And some people just think they look cool. But, hey, if you're happy to call us rubes for having different tastes....

Wasn't what I was trying to say. I was referring to the people who will pay twice as much and more for the same item (toys in my analogy) just to have it in an oddball color or lack thereof. If they don't cost any different, where is the harm? And in any case, my phrasing was a bit too clumsy because I was trying to indicate my belief of what the manufacturers behind those products think of their customers, that they are rubes to be fooled out of their money. I see now that my sometimes harsh delivery caused for some misunderstanding. You have my apologies.

[PeterL]

Hi,

 

I'm off on a mission with a thread like this.

 

Pelikan and Parker are for boring old people with no money.

Mont Blanc is for boring old people with too much money.

 

Cheap pens rock. My Graf von Faber Castell writes about as good as the Pelikano I bought for about 1/30th of the price. If the Graf von finish had been around the Pelikano writing bits, it could've made the best combination of both worlds. Writing with the Pelikano was cool because people would think I was a first grader who stuck with his trusty old pen. Until they saw the Graf von FP+pencil combo laying next to it. The Pelikano broke really quickly. The money clearly was in the finish of the Graf von. I still don't dare to use iron gall ink in it, but I happily used it in the Pelikano.

 

Fine nibs are for etching and nibs like nails are for braille. Real writers use flex and broadness to show off their lack of writing skills.

 

The Conway Stewart Harlequin is the sexiest pen ever.

 

 

Peter.

[David V]

 

 

Don't like most old pens i've seen - generally they look tatty and worn which I find very unattractive and I don't like the idea of someone else using them before me. There are a few exceptions.

 

That's a weird one

 

how is it weird? i rather spend more for a new pen than get a used one, not knowing exactly its condition until later. in my opinion modern pens are more attractive but again that's just my opinion.

Some people really like using an item that they feel gives them a connection to the past. Considering that we use pens that are a bit anachronistic in design and function, a person might think that the two would go hand-in-hand. Really it just depends on what brings you to fountain pens. Since I'm a history enthusiast, I have little interest in new pens and would rather focus on vintage- the older the better. Even if they aren't functional, they have a story to tell about the times they were made in and the company they came from, maybe even the people who've used them. On the other side of the coin, I think most people wouldn't want to buy used shoes. They also can tell you the same things that I just listed, but there is something very personal about where you put your foot for hours a day, and you don't want it to be shared by a previous owner... There are valid reasons for wanting new things, pens included. They just aren't where I and quite a few others are coming from when we think of and seek them out.

 

And just to weigh in on the subject, I actually rather like the black and gold design of the MB's. Of course, the other manufacturers were doing that long before there was a 149, so who is "copying" who? Simply put, the black with gold trim is like a black evening suit, it is timeless and elegant. Its beauty is in its subtlety and refinement. That doesn't mean that I can't also appreciate flashy colored pens, but dignified and reserved is still beautiful.

[ethernautrix]

WRONG!

 

 

Nuh-Uh!

 

 

 

Way.

[jar]

WRONG!

 

 

Nuh-Uh!

 

 

 

Way.

 

nuhh uhh, totally not!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Dragging this one back up for something I just remembered.

 

Cartridge-converter "demonstrator" pens. What's the point? What are you demonstrating, penmakers? That you either don't trust or won't fund your engineering department? That you can't be bothered? That you don't know how to make a filling system? That's about as much a demonstrator as a Bic.

Hilarious, there! I think they are demonstrating that they will ride a gimmick into the ground to try to charge more for something. I see it as exactly the same as when the toy makers produce clear or all black versions of their normal products. There is no point other than to trick rubes into paying more for a novelty item. Modern business practices are the super-fertilizer to the gardens of cynicism...

 

 

Demonstrators don't always cost more. And some people just think they look cool. But, hey, if you're happy to call us rubes for having different tastes....

Wasn't what I was trying to say. I was referring to the people who will pay twice as much and more for the same item (toys in my analogy) just to have it in an oddball color or lack thereof. If they don't cost any different, where is the harm? And in any case, my phrasing was a bit too clumsy because I was trying to indicate my belief of what the manufacturers behind those products think of their customers, that they are rubes to be fooled out of their money. I see now that my sometimes harsh delivery caused for some misunderstanding. You have my apologies.

 

 

[eric47]

WRONG!

 

Nuh-Uh!

 

Way.

 

nuhh uhh, totally not!

 

Yes and no....

[riff raff]

[...] I am NOT going to change my "car" avatar [...]

But, how come it's all squished-looking?

[Vladimir]

WRONG!

 

Nuh-Uh!

 

Way.

 

nuhh uhh, totally not!

 

Yes and no....

 

 

 

by far the most childish series of posts I have seen here on FPN...

[riff raff]

1) I see no point collecting lots of cheap pens. Instead of owning x10 $50 pens you could get yourself one very nice pen.

 

 

For what price is a fountain pen considered cheap?

 

+1

 

anything under $100 isn't worth bothering. it's synonymous with photographers; you will never see them carrying cheap cameras or equipment if they call themselves photographers.

Nonsense. A photographer can create with any camera. Many prefer older, cheaper cameras. Conversely, just because one can afford to purchase a EOS-1Ds doesn't make one a photographer. In my experience, most of those guys are taking snapshots, not creating art.

[Vladimir]

1) I see no point collecting lots of cheap pens. Instead of owning x10 $50 pens you could get yourself one very nice pen.

 

 

For what price is a fountain pen considered cheap?

 

+1

 

anything under $100 isn't worth bothering. it's synonymous with photographers; you will never see them carrying cheap cameras or equipment if they call themselves photographers.

Nonsense. A photographer can create with any camera. Many prefer older, cheaper cameras. Conversely, just because one can afford to purchase a EOS-1Ds doesn't make one a photographer. In my experience, most of those guys are taking snapshots, not creating art.

 

DEFINITELY

[David V]

1) I see no point collecting lots of cheap pens. Instead of owning x10 $50 pens you could get yourself one very nice pen.

 

 

For what price is a fountain pen considered cheap?

 

+1

 

anything under $100 isn't worth bothering. it's synonymous with photographers; you will never see them carrying cheap cameras or equipment if they call themselves photographers.

Nonsense. A photographer can create with any camera. Many prefer older, cheaper cameras. Conversely, just because one can afford to purchase a EOS-1Ds doesn't make one a photographer. In my experience, most of those guys are taking snapshots, not creating art.

 

DEFINITELY

Agreed. For some photographers, part of the art is in using very basic (or antiquated) equipment in new or different ways. The same applies for any form of art, it isn't what you use, it's what you create.

[Breck]

 

Pelikan and Parker are for boring old people with no money.

Mont Blanc is for boring old people with too much money.

 

 

These crack me up, and I'm a fan of all three brands. Guess I'm old and boring with too much/no money, but I"m happy that I can laugh about it!

[ethernautrix]

WRONG!

 

Nuh-Uh!

 

Way.

 

nuhh uhh, totally not!

 

Yes and no....

 

 

 

by far the most childish series of posts I have seen here on FPN...

 

 

WRONG!

 

 

 

Oh, that you've seen here on FPN. Then you're probably right.

 

I, however, have seen childisher series.

[Garageboy]

Think this thread has ran outta steam