Fountain Pens As Gifts.

[zal]

as we all know, in the good old days a fountain pen received as a gift from someone was something special to be treasured over years and years.

 

gifting fountain pens was an art in itself which included the person gifting, friends, relatives and fp shop owners and carefully and secretly observing the recipient. it was not unusual to see a gentleman or a lady to walk into a store and spend hours discussing with the salesmen and trying out different models, before making the treasured purchase.

 

i have myself gifted expensive fountain pens to some very few special people, people whom i know will cherish them and the memory and it will remain a symbol of the warmth and relationship that we share. it was one of my most memorable gifting experiences in my life when they opened the boxes. i have received only two fps as a gift, though i have received a lot of expensive ball pens / roller balls which are occupying space in my closet.

 

nowadays, leave alone gifting fps, the practice of gifting pens of any kind has reduced a lot i suppose. not even students are gifted pens anymore and even if gifted one they will look at it as a child stares at an anaconda in zoo. gifting watches are still in vogue, i think.

 

would you all pls. care to share your own gifting / receiving experiences here?

 

rgds.

 

krishna.

 

edited to add the receipt of two fps as gifts, forgot in the earlier post, getting old.

Edited May 2, 2011 by akrishna59

[hari317]

Over the years I have received many fountain pens as gifts. I treasure each of them. I still gift pens but mostly Ballpoints or rollerballs, a fountain pen gift to a non pen person mostly means that the pen will be passed down but never used by the recipient.

 

Good Topic!

[corniche]

Greetings Krishna,

 

The closest I've ever been to receiving a fountain pen as a gift is when a friend or relative makes a gift of cash to me and I run out and spend it on a pen. It is difficult for family and friends to give the gift of a pen to the likes of us; because it will either not reflect our laser like focus of interest... or, it will be a pen we already have. This is generally true of ALL avocational gifts; not just us fp collectors.

 

From the other side of the coin; I have given the gift of fountain pens to many family members and it has always proven to be a big flop. A few Christmases ago, I gave nice pens to my dad, mom, two brothers, sister in law and my best friend- the only one that saw anything near regular use, was the one I gave to my dad. The rest were used once or twice and then shelved.

 

You really have to have a love for fp's to appreciate them- to anyone else- they are really just a big pain in the butt. It is no small wonder why the ball point and roller ball so deftly replaced them; just as the horse was quickly replaced by the motor car. To the common, everyday, pen user; fp's are a cumbersome, high maintenance item. It is only daft collectors such as us, who can really appreciate them for the hidden gems that they are.

 

This is why I do not give them as gifts anymore, unless I know the person is already using a fountain pen... AND they haven't been using them long enough to have developed any discerning tastes or preferences yet.

 

Just my 2 cents of personal experience.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

[lewis]

Good topic. I think gifting pens is still a wonderful experience for the 'gifter' and 'giftee'. Gifting a fountain pen usually goes one of two ways, it helps people realise the beauty of a fp and encourages them to write with one, or like hari317 suggested, it sits in a draw, only to be passsed to someone else.

 

I know people who have received them and use them, and also those that have received them, and don't use them.

 

I guess it's down to people like ourselves, to choose the right pen to help spread the word!

 

Great topic.

 

Lewis

[Lorna Reed]

I have gifted fountain pens to people, but only those that I know will know how to use them, and have used fountain pens in the past. I doubt they are used on a regular basis though. Probably after a short period they were deemed to be too much trouble and put back in the box and stored in the back of a drawer

The only fountain pen I have ever received as a gift was a Parker given to me by my sister for my twenty-first birthday Unfortunately I did not appreciate and treasure it as I should, and I no longer have it.

[Dibdib]

I've only ever been given one fountain pen as a gift, by an old girlfriend. This was before I considered them an "interest" but she'd seen me writing with a cheap Parker a few times and bought me a stainless steel Waterman Hemisphere as a bit of an upgrade.

 

As others have posted, I probably wouldn't give a fountain pen as a gift unless I knew the recipient would use it regularly.

[Albus]

Maybe Op can gift a pen to me, I will appreciate it!

 

On the serious note, I find most modern pens like those from the heavy weights Parker, sheaffer, waterman, cross, etc to be gift pens, heavy lacquer(some) pens that is too heavy to be used everyday. They are also too expensive, for the same price of a Matt sonnet 2, steel nib one could get a really, really nice vacumatic, modern Pelikan M400, or a Nice sheaffer triumph! Plus the nib would already be fine tuned by an expert.

 

Once, my friend (not very close) told me that he wants to give someone a fountain pen as a 21st birthday gift but find them too expensive for a quality one (gold nib) 500 SGD onwards. I told him a nice vintage one would cost 120 SGD or 100 USD onwards and he was surprised! Then again, I asked him who would use a fountain pen? Other gifts like watches or a meal would perhaps be more practical. Fountain pens are for quaint ppl like me, I suppose. Interestingly, my friend does not write with a fountain pen and I believe have never written with one before.

Edited May 1, 2011 by Albus

[Koyote]

My grandfather liked expensive little trinkets -- Swiss watches, pens, Lincoln Continentals(!). He gave me a nice Sheaffer Targa set (FP & BP) for college graduation over 25 yrs ago, and I use those pens daily.

 

I would not gift an FP since most people would rather have a BP or RP - and let's face it, those pens are more practical than FPs.

 

My Grandfather did also give me some of HIS old pens - BPs and RBs, cool stuff like Sheaffers, Parker 75s. I have used them for years and am now passing them on to the next generation in my family, who seem baffled that anyone would have bought a Sterling Silver pen.

[JefferyS]

I gave two fountain pens as gifts, a Waterman Expert II and a Waterman Opera. I'm sure that neither were ever used by the recipient. I won't do it in the future. I later saw the Waterman Opera FP stuck upside down in a coffee mug with a bunch of half-sharpened pencils near the phone.

[cchan]

The only fountain pen I was ever gifted was by my aunt for my high school graduation. it was a Waterman 94 in "Mahogany" celluloid, lever filler with a firm Accountant's extra fine nib.

 

She had probably paid way too much for it in an antique shop.

 

It had the original box and leaflet, and the barrel and cap were in good condition, but the pen was in kinda sorry shape, The lever box was cracked and not seatedproperly in the barrel, and the tipping was missing off one tine. the pen is still in a closet waiting for me to send to a restorer and for me to find a nice flexible #4 nib.

[Moppeh]

I have been gifted fountain pens by my parents who make sure to ask me exactly what one I want (for instance, they gave me a pelikan m320 for my 18th birthday). When it comes to giving gifts, I only give them to my friends who have expressed interest in fountain pens, and then I show them mine, let them try them out, etc. so I know exactly what to get.

 

It's fun to get gifts that people don't know about, but for something like a fountain pen I'd rather have them pick it out and actually enjoy it.

[Glenn-SC]

I have given many fountain pens to my daughter and son.

I had an old college friend who was going through a bad time so I gave her a Pelikan M600 Blue Demo.

It gave her something else to think about.

[handwriter]

Sure is stil done, at least over here, so when FPs start to populate the stores windows one knows that Christmas is around the corner. When I was a child, FPs were already very rarely used to write, but they still were a favorite gift given to children for First Comunion.

[Inka]

Gift fountain pens are the most treasured pens I have.

If not for the gift of a fountain pen I'd not even be here @ FPN.

The Avatar I use currently is a Photoshop rendering from an actual photograph-turned-sketch, of me holding my very first gift fountain pen.

That gift pen also made me realize just how much nicer using a fountain pen is compared to any other kind of pen, it doesn't cramp my hand.

Of any pens I have now, the ones received as gifts are the ones I'd never part with or sell, regardless of monetary value they are priceless to me.

I've given fountain pens as gifts too, they've been treasured by those that received them and only one that I'm aware of was damaged due to user neglect, unknowing ignorance.

That one person was delighted to get the fountain pen, made me believe he knew how to use it, but a few days later he'd asked me if I knew how to straighten the tip [he didn't even recall it was called a nib], I had to restrain myself not to show disappointment or ask how bad it was, and answered "Yes, bring it by next time and I'll take a look at the nib. I can probably fix it for you."

He went on to tell me he couldn't get the ink to start, so he'd proceeded to keep pressing harder and harder like using a stubborn ball pen, then the tips folded over and in his words "It's really pretty messed up, I messed up I'm sorry. Do you think you can fix it?" at least he was honest.

Now whenever I gift anyone a fountain pen, regardless of their age, I don't just ask if they know how to use one, I'll show them if they're here and also give them a print-out I'll make of how to use/ fill/ clean/ maintain them.

Taking a persons' word that they've used fountain pens, or know how to use one, hasn't paid off for me at that time, so now I believe it's a good idea to either watch the person in question using one or giving them instructions on how-to along with the gifted pen.

[nxn96]

I've received a few as gifts, but primarily due to the fact that the "giver" knew I was a fountain pen user. I've also been the recipient of fountain pens that belonged to family that passed away- again, much having to do with the fact that I'm the family pen person.

 

Having two children now in college and many nieces & nephews who have graduated college in the last 5-10 years, I can say that a nice pen set as a graduation gift isn't something you see very often these days. I did give both of our sons a Parker Classic bp/mp set when they started college, and am 99% sure neither set has left the Parker gift box. Those were also the only writing instrument gifts either received for their high school graduation/college beginning period.

 

I've given a few vintage fountain pens as gifts over the years- Parker "51"s or 45's, typically; and only to people who I thought might have more than a passing interest in using such a pen. I think most of them tend to go unused.

[DonLeone]

I get asked for birthday dinners and parties a lot because at least I don't show up with stupid gifts. I'm known as the pen-guy and was known as such long before I got into fountain pens.

 

I gift birthday and other gifts with careful preparation. That way the gift is meaningful.

 

Pens last a lifetime.

That says that you'd like the person to live a long life, to be able to use that pen for a very long time. Preferably for ever. I don't want you to ever die, that's how much I like you.

 

Compare this to beer baskets or other gifts that last for a short while. A beer basket is a commonly given gift for men. He's a guy, he must like beer, let's give him that. It's especially a failure when the person doesn't drink alcohol out of principle or worse, religion.

 

Shampoo, bath stuff, that just says "you smell, take a shower with this" and after it is used up, it is gone.

 

The joy of a good pen is everlasting.

 

Gifts that last for ever/long time can be an anchor to a time in your life, a happy memory of that time or the person who gave it.

Every pen or pencil I was given automatically reminds me of the person who gave it to me. I don't know if others remember me when they pick up their pen and I don't ask. I probably should ask.

It makes it a relationship gift. Relationship with a wife/husband/brother/sister/good friend/respected colleague/respected teacher or mentor...

 

The pens I gift are always a mirror of that person.

With this I mean that the pen has the personality of that person. A black parker sonnet with metal rings looks dark and actually quite mysterious. When you open it up it reveals a heart of gold. Here's hoping it actually writes though...

 

Gifted a green thinking person an apple green lamy al star with converter and told her that cartridges kill nature and converters are nature-friendly.

 

Gifted an efficient workhorse guy an efficient workhorse cross ballpoint over a year ago and he's still showing it off to his friends.

 

Gifted a beautiful radiant red slim/slender black with crimson red fountain pen with fine juicy nib and complicated looking interior (converter screws in) with delicate ornamentation to a person who is beautiful with dark hair, slender and a bit complicated, whose favourite colours are crimson red and black and loves writing with fountain pens and needs the juicy yet fine nib to write down her thoughts and feel good.

Her entire being is contained in that pen and her thoughts flow out of that pen every single day.

 

The pens I gift are a technical mirror of that person.

I don't gift fountain pens to solid ballpoint users. I'm wary of gifting fountain pens to left-handers since I'm not a left-hander and don't know how left-handers write. I now have to advise someone on how to gift one...

If I know the person uses fountain pens already, I'll try to find out what type of user he or she is.

If he or she has only one or two fountain pens and they're the Parker vector or cheapo waterman variety, or the person is german and uses a safari already, then they kind of know fountain pens but they never went past the first one. They're safe to gift FP's to.

 

If the person is a heavy fountain pen user with several pens then I have no idea what to do because I'm the only one I know. There is one person though. Should I ever have to gift that person something, it will probably be something weird or I'd have to ask.

Gifting ink comes to mind but inks don't last for ever, so no.

 

The blessing and the curse of being the pen guy/girl.

Everybody knows you're going to gift a pen and they also know they're going to like it. So I need to make sure I follow all of the above. I do it automatically already so that's ok, no problem for me.

 

 

Other things to consider:

Don't gift to convert.

Gifting a solid ballpoint user a fountain pen in order to try and convert him is a bad idea. The first impression may be "What the Word am I supposed to do with that X.x??" If you've never seen the person use one or never mentioned using one when the person sees you use one, then go for ballpoint. They're cheaper anyway.

Gifting to convert CAN be done as a side-gift. A spontaneous gift. Do it with cheap good workhorse pens that write when you ask them to. Lamy and Cross come to mind. I stick with lamy. THey work and they're a good impression of what fountain pens can do. Go for F or EF. I noticed ballpoint users are pleasantly surprised when they noticed that a FP CAN write thin lines. They think FP only does broad.

 

Gifting to convert does work with younger kids in early high-school, especially girls. Don't know why, just an observation.

 

You are the only person in the entire world who uses bottled ink.

Keep that in mind.

You can convert a cartridge user to a bottle but it needs to be prepped a bit. Walking around with 11 fountain pens, like I do, and then playing with them, fiddling, showing the converter... it sparks the question "what's that thing?". Works best if you're good at filling with bottles and doing it in front of them without having to wipe much and without getting inky fingers.

 

 

A fountain pen, besides a wedding ring, is the best gift anyone could ever give you.

(yes I'm biased)

[Theodorable]

I gave away a bunch of preppys to kids in my school, but charged them 5 bucks every time they wanted to fill them up. I still do this, although I think they are beginning to catch on.

[waterman1924]

Yes, In fact will be giving my Nephew a Waterman Phileas with a Fine Nib as a collage graduation gift at his party on the 14th... Don't believe he has ever had owned a fountain pen... Hopefully he will use and enjoy it and realize that doing so makes him unique.... Because he is and I'm proud of him.

Edited May 1, 2011 by waterman1924

[Lovesink]

So many recognizable answers. Don Zardeone, your reply made me smile.

 

So here's my answer:

 

Pens that were given to me: only once. Twenty years ago, when I finished university, I was given a fountain pen by my brother and sister. With inscription. Back then I was not aware of model names, but from the pictures I have seen recently it was most likely a Waterman Laureat. I carried the pen around with me all the time, and it wrote wonderfully. But one bad day, on a trip to Asia a few years later, I lost it, due to a small hole in my bag that I wasn't aware of. :sick: This was a pen I didn't want to loose.

 

Pens that I have given as a gift: I do give FPs as a gift, as Don mentioned I am the FP-person in the family and among friends... I recently gifted a FP to a fellow FP addicted friend who confessed that in case of Chinese pens he would go for the kitchiest pen he could find. So for his birthday we gave him a very provocative Jinhao 1200 with golden dragon clip and fake ruby dragon eyes. He loved it and assured us he was going to use it....

 

I have four nieces and nephews who are all in the age of learning how to write. I let them try my FPs carefully, and let them comment on them: do they like a FP, if so, which one(s)? (Yes, I am completely guilty of converting!!!)

For Easter I had some new proper fountain pens and offered each one to choose a pen which they all gladly did. I explained how to use a FP, how to remove the cap, clean them, put ink in them etcetera. And of course I let them choose their own ink color(s) out of my own stock.

I'd accept the possibility that the pens will eventually disappear in some drawer, and I would love it if one or two of them will enjoy FPs in the future. But the looks on their faces that day are enough for me anyway.

[Shangas]

I've been given at least two pens as gifts over the years, both from my father (and chief enabler).

 

I gave one pen as a gift to a friend when he expressed an interest in pens, but I don't think he used it that much.