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

[bluemagister]

I can't stand when retailers, especially eBay ones, sell pens and won't take them back if defective. I can't stand any pen from China or SE asia, not since I got burned on a Hero9001 and a Pilot Demonstrator steel nib (none of the markings were "Japan" and this pen was retail in Thailand). Buying pens like 616s means that you can get a few good pens for the price of one very good pen, but 40% of the pens are going to be trash and not even worth adjusting.

 

I LOATHE fat lines and B nibs and nibs that say "XF" and write a 1.0mm line. Is it so bad that my handwriting requires me to use an XF or F pen to be legible? You'd think I was committing a crime by the way US and European manufacturers insist on carrying their product lines in 60/30/9/1 B/M/F/XF ratios...

 

And, yes, gel pens DO write just as well as most fountain pens and with inks that are also permanent and pigmented. They're cheap, easy to use and the better brands are reliable. THAT'S why I need my FPs to not cost $500 and use $40 converters and ink that dissolves with fog from my exhale...

Edited March 13, 2010 by bluemagister

[cuza]

  On 3/12/2010 at 9:35 PM, Scrawler said:

  On 3/12/2010 at 7:18 PM, cuza said:

Hey,

 

Now that we're on a roll. Why would anyone pay more than $1.50 for a fountain pen that doesn't have a screw-on cap?

 

And what's wrong with Pelikan? Some of us like our pens plain. Fancy doesn't make them put ink on paper any better or efficiently.

 

There ought to be a law (1) concerning highly polished, metal sections, (2) against converters that fill counter-clockwise and (3) ink that doesn't taste good.

 

So there.

 

-- cuza

 

 

 

PS: I don't like my P51 any more.

 

 

Are you trying to tell me that there are such pens? :roflmho:

 

 

 

 

Yup.

 

-- cuza

[joelchan]

A sales man that has a Mont Blanc on his shirt pocket, but when he needed to write something, he asked me for a pen.

 

"My Mont Blanc roller ball has no ink. It's on my shirt pocket as most sales man carry one"

 

- I don't buy MONT BLANC, it's over rated, all time!

[bushido]

  On 3/13/2010 at 12:54 AM, joelchan said:

A sales man that has a Mont Blanc on his shirt pocket, but when he needed to write something, he asked me for a pen.

 

"My Mont Blanc roller ball has no ink. It's on my shirt pocket as most sales man carry one"

 

- I don't buy MONT BLANC, it's over rated, all time!

 

and how is this a strike against mb? the guy ran out of ink.

[bushido]

  On 3/13/2010 at 12:36 AM, bluemagister said:

I can't stand when retailers, especially eBay ones, sell pens and won't take them back if defective. I can't stand any pen from China or SE asia, not since I got burned on a Hero9001 and a Pilot Demonstrator steel nib (none of the markings were "Japan" and this pen was retail in Thailand). Buying pens like 616s means that you can get a few good pens for the price of one very good pen, but 40% of the pens are going to be trash and not even worth adjusting.

 

I LOATHE fat lines and B nibs and nibs that say "XF" and write a 1.0mm line. Is it so bad that my handwriting requires me to use an XF or F pen to be legible? You'd think I was committing a crime by the way US and European manufacturers insist on carrying their product lines in 60/30/9/1 B/M/F/XF ratios...

 

And, yes, gel pens DO write just as well as most fountain pens and with inks that are also permanent and pigmented. They're cheap, easy to use and the better brands are reliable. THAT'S why I need my FPs to not cost $500 and use $40 converters and ink that dissolves with fog from my exhale...

 

stop buying inferior pens and invest in a quality one. saves you tylenol.

[johnptc]

the box thing is all about giving gifts to others.........for the hardcore there should be plain paper wrapping at 10 percent off.

 

lot of hate out there for MB...... however for those with larger hands the choices are few mb149 , m1000, king of pens and emperor....... did i miss any

 

ps i hate translucent ink

[WendyNC]

  On 3/13/2010 at 1:35 AM, johnptc said:

the box thing is all about giving gifts to others.........for the hardcore there should be plain paper wrapping at 10 percent off.

 

:clap1:

 

 

I like metal sections because they add weight down at the business end and help keep the nib steady on the paper without having to use pressure. I also like pens which are as big as carrots because because holding them takes less finger pressure. Hooded nibs are ugly. Lamy has some okay stuff going, but their pens write too darned dry. Speaking of Lamy, the Joy looks silly with that long, tapered body and the big, horking paperclip cap. C/c pens are a darned nuisance in a part of the world (mine) where the barometric pressure frequently fluctuates many points.

 

While I'm being the odd duck here, I like pens with "sides" because they don't try to roll away.

Edited March 13, 2010 by WendyNC

[dimitri_livitz]

I'm gonna speak up for hooded nibs.

 

I think they are wonderful, because they don't attract attention, and they don't make you seem like you're showing off.

 

I use the pen because I like the way it writes, and not because I want to show everyone that I'm rich/can afford it.

[joelchan]

  On 3/13/2010 at 1:12 AM, bushido said:

  On 3/13/2010 at 12:54 AM, joelchan said:

A sales man that has a Mont Blanc on his shirt pocket, but when he needed to write something, he asked me for a pen.

 

"My Mont Blanc roller ball has no ink. It's on my shirt pocket as most sales man carry one"

 

- I don't buy MONT BLANC, it's over rated, all time!

 

and how is this a strike against mb? the guy ran out of ink.

 

 

this is how I felt about MB, it's in someone pocket because of it's branding...only

 

My impression is that the pen in the pocket is used as a 'accessory' than a writing instrutment ..

 

my 2 cents of thoughts

[Bill]

  On 3/13/2010 at 1:35 AM, johnptc said:

... however for those with larger hands the choices are few mb149 , m1000, king of pens and emperor....... did i miss any

 

Yep, you missed the Bexley Poseidon and Poseidon Magnum. Same width as the M1000 but sweet writers that you can actually carry in nearly any pocket...at least any pocket I have.

 

Pen........................Barrel Width................Section Width

 

Poseidon.................0.54...........................0.467

 

Poseidon Magnum...0.56 (or 0.58?)...........0.46

 

M1000....................0.56...........................0.46

 

MB 149...................0.59...........................0.51

Edited March 13, 2010 by Bill

[Sailor Kenshin]

  On 3/12/2010 at 10:59 PM, TheHOINK said:

Point might be not to worry about them being clogged or worn down with extensive use and complex inks for drawing, scribbling and calligraphy.

 

Ever clogged a 10 Euros Pen? Yes, indeed, bought new ones.

Ever clogged a 100 or 500 euros Pen?

THEN you would know about buying cheap pens.

 

And by the way... a 10 euros Pen writes, maybe 70 Percent of quality with steel nib.

A 50 euros pen maybe 85%,

A 100 Euros Pen with golb nib maybe 90%... so,where is the point, for each percent the prize curve raises exponentially.

When a cheap pen suits your tastes well, why pay more?

 

Think, SailorKenshin will say the same ^_^

 

Cordialement

TheHOINK

 

 

I'd have to do the math for the exchange rate. ;-]

 

But basically, yup. I just switched a cart out of my TWELVE DOLLAR Duke Jade Girl---and two pages later, it's still writing just on fumes. A wonderful wet writer straight out of the box.

[niksch]

  On 3/13/2010 at 12:12 AM, Kabe said:

Ok, maybe ripoff is not he correct word, but marketing one product under three different in the same market names is dishonest.

 

 

Montblanc does the same thing with different models of the LeGrand.

[niksch]

  On 3/13/2010 at 12:54 AM, joelchan said:

- I don't buy MONT BLANC, it's over rated, all time!

 

 

Great. More for me.

[J English Smith]

I just don't get the whole concept of Limited Editions. I like regular old regular production, daily user grade pens.

[seasterl]

Complaints:

 

I dislike caps that slip on/off. It's too easy to damage the nib while trying to remove. Screw on/off caps are far better.

 

I dislike FP that hold less than 2mL of ink. Having to refill in the middle of the day is a drag, esp. when you're at work and the ink is at home and you just filled it the night before. So IMO, there's no reason why more pens cannot hold a lot more ink.

 

For the record, I have also have a couple of Pelikan rollerballs and I absolutely love them. They write better than any non-FP I've ever used. I have blue and black, and in F and M tips, and I've gotten many, many pages written on a single refill and still going strong.

 

Taboos:

 

I don't post my caps, but a no-no I'm learning is to never leave your pen unattended or somewhere it can roll off the desk. (I've had some close calls but no serious accidents yet.)

Edited March 13, 2010 by seasterl

[sombrueil]

  On 3/12/2010 at 10:38 PM, riff raff said:

  On 3/12/2010 at 8:32 PM, sombrueil said:

• 
   
  
• black pens (bhr excused)... why get a pen you can't tell from any other pen?
  
• loud-colored pens
   
  

 

Uh, what?

Bright pink. Bright yellow. Bright yellow AND pink. Like that. It's a, y'know, metaphor.

[niksch]

  On 3/13/2010 at 3:17 AM, seasterl said:

I dislike FP that hold less than 2mL of ink.

 

 

2 mL is actually quite a bit of ink. What are your preferences?

[seasterl]

  On 3/13/2010 at 3:31 AM, niksch said:

  On 3/13/2010 at 3:17 AM, seasterl said:

I dislike FP that hold less than 2mL of ink.

 

 

2 mL is actually quite a bit of ink. What are your preferences?

 

2mL is good, but it's some of my other FP that hold much less that irritate me.

[TheHOINK]

Even the Montblanc 149 and The Pelikan M1000 can only hold around 1.2 to 1.8ml, said in another thrad. So, the only pen I know which can hod more is th Pilot Custom 823... any other sugestions? (I know, this is OT)

[PigRatAndGoat]

  On 3/13/2010 at 4:56 AM, TheHOINK said:

Even the Montblanc 149 and The Pelikan M1000 can only hold around 1.2 to 1.8ml, said in another thrad. So, the only pen I know which can hod more is th Pilot Custom 823... any other sugestions? (I know, this is OT)

 

An eyedropper should be able to do this easily. However, EDs aren't for everyone.