Brands You Will Never Buy From

[SharkOnWheels456]

I wouldn't buy a modern Montblanc, with the exception of some of the Writer's Editions.

[Vendome]

Hero. Tried a couple but they were complete tosh!

[fpconverted]

Not sure what the brand was but it was a company that makes popular celluloid, lacquer, plastic fountain pens in weird swirly colors.

The pen was white with silver and baby blue swirls going thru the color design of the pen and it really looked supremely ugly to me and I think it was like a 400$ pen as well. That would be one fountain pen I would never buy. I wouldn't say company perse as companies vary in their designs and styles. I just narrow it down to the pens I don't like in that particular collection or series.

[leeowens337]

In the past year and a half or so that I've been coming up to speed in the fountain pen world, I'd say that almost every pen manufacturer I've looked at has had at least one or more pens that I've thought I wouldn't mind adding to the collection. Almost, that is...

 

So for me right now (can't truly say never) I don't see ever buying anything from Waterford. Don't really understand the crossover from crystal/china into fountain pens. Maybe I just don't get it...

 

Oh, and there's nothing from Cross that is even remotely interesting to me...

 

-Lee

[akustyk]

Parker, Sheaffer, Waterman, as others have said, make mostly awful pens, in general. The non-awful pens are way overpriced. Noodler's pens are terrible as writers, out-of-the-box. I've wasted a lot of money on those pens, and will never buy one again. Montegrappa, David Oscarson, and other fancy brands are just way too expensive.

[bobaroo]

Parker, Waterman, Sheaffer, and most of all.... Cross. Cross pens are utter rubbish! The aforementioned 'wouldn't go near them with a broom' Hero pens are much higher quality. They're probably made in the same factory.

[fpconverted]

Its great to get a perspective from fellow fountain pen users as I am curious as well and like anything preferences vary with personalities as much as pen design and variation.

 

Certain pens or brands I may not like of prefer and may never buy may be the preferred for another person.

 

I cannot recall at this moment a certain style, brand or make but I tend to prefer chrome, silver or matt shiny or flat finishes. Most of my collection is silver metalled, colored or chrome.

[Blade Runner]

I'm an Anglophile, but I will never buy a Conway Stewart. It's a glorified kit pen company with little pen know how or pedigree ( they bought the brand name and have no connection with the original company), a small staff of assemblers, huge pretensions and prices to match. It's a company that rides the coat tales of bona fide pen makers in the luxury niche market.

[bobaroo]

I'm an Anglophile, but I will never buy a Conway Stewart. It's a glorified kit pen company with little pen know how or pedigree ( they bought the brand name and have no connection with the original company), a small staff of assemblers, huge pretensions and prices to match. It's a company that rides the coat tales of bona fide pen makers in the luxury niche market.

 

Rip off Britain strikes again!

[brunico]

Well, "a small staff of assemblers, huge pretensions and prices to match" is pretty much the definition of the "luxury niche market."

[mhphoto]

I think I'd pass on any modern Waterman pens, but I have quite a few modern Sheaffers and I've never been disappointed. The Sheaffer Intensity is actually one of my favorite modern pens. I have one with fine nib and one with a medium nib. The 100 is also pretty nice in terms of the smoothness you get for the money.

[Ego Id Veto]

Monteverde. Bought one, it writes very dry, and I've heard of others writing very wet. This leads me to think they don't really invest much in quality control. Any brand that skimps out on quality control is a no-go for me (except noodler's, as I like to use their flex nibs for calligraphy).

[jaysongo]

I thought of starting a thread like this, but I discovered that one already exists.

I'm done with Monteverde. I've purchased two Monteverde Primas from different vendors, and returned both because they simply wouldn't write. My Monteverde Invincia, as you can see from the picture, has major issues with the black coating on both the nib and the front section coming off. You can see exactly how I grip the pen by where the black has worn away to the bare metal on the section. On top of that I've had to replace the converter because the original started to leak. It's a threaded converter so I couldn't just stick a spare one on the pen. All this is just from moderate use and regular cleaning with water and dish soap.

 

I've done some tests and I'm pretty sure that the feed is identical to the one used on on the Jinhao 159, X450 and X750, so if it's a matter of having the same writing experience I could always use those pens instead. I can't say that I've had any issues with any other brand with regards to getting pens to write or with cosmetic deterioration, and I've tried a lot of different brands.

I could live with the black coming off the nib, but once the section coating started wearing away it was the last straw for me, and the Invincia is the "last straw pen" that put me off the brand for good.

[dogpoet]

After some of the issues I've had with Noodlers pens, I doubt I'll be buying any more of those. It's doesn't look like he wants any Europeans buying them anyway, and they are just not worth the aggravation involved in getting hold of them if you live outside of the 'States. The flex I have more or less works. None of the three Konrads I've wasted money on do.

[Dhruv_Sood]

I am really going to be hammered for this:

 

MontBlanc

Waterman

Sheaffer

Parker

Any Indian pen except fosfor.

 

I really want to try a fosfor. But with the amount I pay for a gold nib alone, I can get a Japanese pen with a gold nib.

 

These are the brand I have tried.

 

Now for the ones I haven't:

Hakase: why pay $1500 for a pen when you can get the same nib in a $200 pen? Spend another $50-100 and get it tuned to your liking by a nibmeister. I'd rather buy an emperor.

Plus, he wasn't exactly polite when I forgot to make a part of the payment and asked him to make a new invoice. This when hadn't even started the work.

Edited September 26, 2015 by Dhruv_Sood

[Algester]

despite being a Japanese otaku

Platinum's mid end... let's just say I dont like cigar shape pens :3

Pelikan... (I'm not sure... I think I could like them but I just dont like very wet pens... ironic as Faber-castell is known for being on that side) and I'm a lefty :<

because cigar shape... MB?

Visconti... err... there can be duds there can be good ones but no matter how interesting their filler mechanisms are if its hard to clean ITS HARD TO CLEAN (I'M LOOKING AT YOU LAVA HOMO SAPIENS)

Conway-Stewart... honestly there could be better makers?

ST Dupont... their other... extravagant designs... I say are niche...

Montegrappa

Sailor (I want to retrust the company back but... their pens dont trust me I like their inks though)

Nakaya (Take it what you will lads)

Modern day... Esterbrook... the hate probably runs deeper than the mariana's trench

Cross

ohh and HEUG PENS... people like a lot of pen so they don't feel inadequate but I like edgy thinking so its something I must be uncomfortable with but without the price of extravagant design...

 

Companies I havent decided yet

Franklin-Cristoph

Omas

Stipula

Aurora

Waterman

Parker

Sheaffer

 

brands I would like tends to be the niche brands maybe... brands with little documentation on what they do I guess...

Edited September 26, 2015 by Algester

[Mastiff]

I'm in agreement with most of you, and I don't want to play an extremist and state that I'll never buy XXX.

For example, I have several MB's and not one of them wrote well out of the box. Despite that I will still consider buying more MBs, especially those pretty special editions.

On the other hand, I could say that I am unlikely to buy from those Chinese companies, who, in my humble opinion, copy without shame. In saying that human stereotype and thought processes are fluid, and I might change my view one day.

[fly_us]

Brands i never buy from? Montegrappa came first on the list with their weird design, follow up with Cross due to quality. So my list is as follow.

 

Montegrappa

Cross

Monteverde

Modern Conklin

Modern Waterman

Modern Parker

Modern Sheaffer

 

Well, i am rusty. In short, i avoid most of modern pens except handmade pens like Nakaya or Hakase.

[Dhruv_Sood]

despite being a Japanese otaku

Platinum's mid end... let's just say I dont like cigar shape pens :3

 

Sailor (I want to retrust the company back but... their pens dont trust me I like their inks though)

Nakaya (Take it what you will lads)

While I don't exactly have a platinum, I have a Nakaya which is more or less the same. Even though I have no issues with the Nakaya, i won't be buying another one.

 

Yet to try a sailor, and I want a piston filler again. Yes, I'm looking at professional Gear Realo. Love their inks.

[mhosea]

I knew I responded to this thread, but I didn't remember what I said. I think there was another thread similar to it as well. At some point, I guess in a different thread, I remember writing that I probably wan't going to buy any more Bexleys, not over any complaints, just on account of having enough. Wherever I wrote that, I was wrong. I've bought a bunch of Bexleys this year. Pretty happy about it, too.

 

I am not likely to buy a Pelikan (too expensive, and my pair of M800s is enough), Sailor (got the ones I'd like already and also some that I don't like as much), Platinum (nibs remind me of paddles--not my thing), or Pilot pen. Actually Pilot is a stretch. I've bought several, and all I have left are a pair of inexpensive Celemos. They just don't seem to stay, but I still think about a Custom 845 once in awhile, possibly Justus. I feel like I should know better, but I'll probably succumb sooner or later on the 845.

 

If the thread comes back alive in a few years, everything I just wrote will probably have proven wrong. But hey, whatcha gonna do? I'm not into fountain pens for rational reasons in the first place, so what good is being consistent?