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

[box_camera]

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.

 

Sorry, but you're totally incorrect. A lot of old school photographers who still shoot film use cameras that are nowhere near expensive. I recently saw a collection at a gallery of prints selling for $850-$1000, and they were all shot with a Holga. I own a Holga and trust me, they are very cheap cameras.

 

I prefer inexpensive fountain pens because I enjoy variety. Only one of them, a Jinhao X450 that cost me less than $5--literally the cheapest pen I own--has ever given me trouble. Sometimes the ink has to be primed into the nib by screwing down the converter a twist or 2. And yet, I still enjoy writing with it!

[MR. PEN MAN]

I had the Montblanc 149 and it never wrote well.

It would skip or be dry or too wet.

 

I got so (bleep) off at it that i broke the nib and threw the pen away.

 

Mind you i have parker 75 fountain pens and they write great,

but my go to pen has been a cheap (Price wise) hero demi 616 and this pen which is a parker 51 copy writes great, no skipping, great ink flow and so on.

 

Now if they ever make a high end material version i would snap it up in a instant.

[Flounder]

Um...

 

There are some pens I'd like in various colours, but won't buy because instead of matching the barrel colour, the section is black. Same story with other pens where the section matches the barrel colour, but the nib unit is black, that's the ugliest. Makes a factory pen look a frankenpen.

 

 

[Mille]

inlaid nibs always look like old ladies hoary fingernails

 

they creep me out.

 

Thank you! NOT! I will never be able to use my until now very masculine pen!

[WendyNC]

inlaid nibs always look like old ladies hoary fingernails

 

I wish my fingernails looked as good as the nib on my Waterman Carene.

 

And I'm not going to quote it again, but I'm so glad to read that I'm not the only one who has that response to hooded nibs.

[Flounder]

inlaid nibs always look like old ladies hoary fingernails

 

they creep me out.

 

Thank you! NOT! I will never be able to use my until now very masculine pen!

 

Bizarrely, I'm fine with the long inlaid nibs, but suffer the same association as you with the short Imperial ones. Especially green with a gold nib, it looks like an effeminate zombie has painted its nails. Bleugh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mille]

I associate P51 cocoa pinkish colour with old ladies, false teeth and clothes with laces. Despite that I cannot help myself wanting to own one, although I will never be able to use it.

[sumgaikid]

Haven't been through all the pages of this complaintfest,but I think my

complaint might be unique. I own several LE pens and only one of them

doesn't have the LE # on the pen(BTW,I have no problem with all that

packing--I think it's ceremonial)--it's only on the OUTER CARDBOARD BOX.

If I like the pen at first glance someplace but know nothing about it,then

buy it from someone that had that pen but threw away the box and pack-

aging,how am I gonna know that 1) It's an LE pen, and 2) which LE # it is???

 

 

John

[Bill Estherson]

 

"Although I have avoided all hooded nibs, for thirty years. They appear uncircumcised, to me."

Just what are you trying to write with?.....Oh, wait, I probably don't want to know the answer to that. :roflmho:

 

 

Well, if you're writing your name in the snow...

[Biber]

- Deciding the merit of a pen based on hand size. I agree ergonomics comes in to play, but really you still need to use those fat pencils that kindergarteners use?

 

- Noodlers Ink: I am YET to get a bottle of ink that works well in any of my pens. But I keep falling for those colors! Maybe the next bottle will be different...

[Bill Broome]

"I had the Montblanc 149 and it never wrote well.

It would skip or be dry or too wet.

 

I got so (bleep) off at it that i broke the nib and threw the pen away."

 

I felt the same about my MB 144 for 20 years, until I sent it to Mike-It-Work and it came back a delightful writer. I've also used Richard Binder, and got an excellent result.

 

Strange as it seems, pens DO come from the factory with poorly aligned or maladjusted nibs.

 

Bill in Fla.

[Mille]

"I had the Montblanc 149 and it never wrote well.

It would skip or be dry or too wet.

 

I got so (bleep) off at it that i broke the nib and threw the pen away."

 

I felt the same about my MB 144 for 20 years, until I sent it to Mike-It-Work and it came back a delightful writer. I've also used Richard Binder, and got an excellent result.

 

Strange as it seems, pens DO come from the factory with poorly aligned or maladjusted nibs.

 

Bill in Fla.

 

You mean you bought a new MB and actually expected to use it for writing?

[crls145]

I need stronger glasses or have a dyslexia problem. I thought this was about fountain pen tatoos.

 

LedZepGirl, another layer to your comment about status pens are the people who hope you think they are cool because they use status symbols.

 

 

FP tatoo! that was so funny thank you for sharing!

[funkypeanut]

We can bash ink too, right?

 

Noodler's Blue Nose Bear is totally blah. It's too blue to be gray and too gray to be blue, and it's got just enough brown and green in it to make it murky, not enough to make it interesting. And the "halo" just looks like feathering to me. I've been trying to use up my Ink Drop sample at work, because I don't want to write letters or in my journal with it.

 

Yes! It looks like it's been sitting out in the sun for too long... or put through the washing machine. I like Noodler's ink in general, so when I first tried BNB, I found myself wondering whether Nathan rushed this to the market. This is the first ink I've ever just dumped out. (Sample, not whole bottle, thankfully.)

[jpdyson]

I can't see myself ever paying significantly more for a gold nib if there's a steel option. I just don't see any tangible benefit.

[Joly]

From a personal point of view:

 

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

 

2) I see no point in people buying multiple copies of the same pen. There are 1,000s of pens out there, no one will own them all. Why restrict the number of different pens you will own by buying duplicates of ones you already have?

 

I think the same way.....but for some reseason i love the Lamy Al star so everytimer there's a new color i like i have to but it.

Waiting for the Ruby one to arrive......if it does i'll have 8 Al Stars (The Lamt Safari army green was my first FP and it still works like a charm)

[79spitfire]

- Deciding the merit of a pen based on hand size. I agree ergonomics comes in to play, but really you still need to use those fat pencils that kindergarteners use?

 

- Noodlers Ink: I am YET to get a bottle of ink that works well in any of my pens. But I keep falling for those colors! Maybe the next bottle will be different...

use a brush!

[inkthefinks]

I think that "Da Book" should be released for free online...

[Ispriluc]

Great thread.

I think Montblanc should have a sale here on FPN, 75% off for members, one pen/ member. All those who consider Montblanc pens to be overrated (hate them because they can`t afford them, just like me) would quickly turn into fans and therefore, active advertisers. I, of course, will accept a free 149 for having this great idea.

As to saying something that would not be acceptable on any other thread (this is what I think the purpose was in the beginning - taboo opinions, not simply taboos), here you go (not necessarily FP related, but FPN related): people posting pictures of the back of their heads in "post your portrait" thread are weird, to say the least.

[lovemy51]

I think that "Da Book" should be released for free online...

hear, hear!!!

Edited October 2, 2011 by lovemy51