Brands You Will Never Buy From

[Sailor Kenshin]

I wouldn't buy an Authentic Models Palette for Pens glass pen again. They're pretty and beautifully packaged, but they don't write well.

 

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5297/5432507270_4f19d7bd29_z.jpg

 

Oh, carp! I was going to buy that!

[Bultaco]

That cracks me up... because the only Krone I own is the Amelia Earhart, and you're right - It's the exception, and a truly wonderful daily driver for situations where you know the pen will be safe. The box it comes in is ridiculous, but hey - It's a Krone! One of the most beautiful pens ever made.

[markofp]

Recent Montblanc pens. Absurdly expensive for what you get, and I find the whole "precious resin" thing to be deeply insulting. I would probably throw down for a good vintage classic though, and I would only LOVE to have a Hemingway.

 

Cross. Never ever had a Cross FP that I was happy with, just set them down for a few seconds and they are dry. Frustrating.

[guilhermejf]

Here in Brazil there's a company called Crown. They import bad quality Chinese (or sort of) pens and sell them with prices which vary from $15 to $400. Customer service is non-existent (emails are never available) and a $15 pen which I bought had very bad plating (oxidized after a few days) and did not write properly. The great problem is that they have very beautiful showcases on almost any well-known bookstore, which may lead misinformed people to buy from them and create fountain pen haters.

[rwilsonedn]

Okay, you asked for it... umm... wait a sec until I whip out my steel helmet... Montblanc!

I bought a brand new 146 and it turned out to be a slow starter, get the hiccoughs, write dry after about 10 seconds of non-use. So far, so good. I took it back to MB and they sent it to MB headquarters in Hamburg and it came back marked "restored". But it wasn't. So I repeated this whole affaire after lots of scans, mails, faxes, phone calls. Came back and ditto.

I mean, anything can go on the fritz but if the original company -- even such a "reputable" one like MB -- itself can't fix it after 2 attempts, then I have no faith in any further purchase.

 

...

 

Mike

+1 on that. Bought a 146 new. It leaked at the glued-together section end. Returned it to MB. Twice. They charged me both times. Now I have a 146 that still leaks, but has what appears to be model-airplane cement smeared around the end of the section. Maybe that's how you repair precious resin.

They won't get another chance.

ron

[rwilsonedn]

I generally avoid Noodler's inks now.

 

+1 I use Noodler's inks but will never buy a noodler's FP again.

Another +1, although I don't know that I'd say never ever. I've purchased only a few Noodler's pens and inks, but have had problems with all of them--some minor, some serious.

ron

[rwilsonedn]

Rotring and Lamy. Just too dang ugly!

 

Well, I've never won a beauty contest, so I give ugly fair break.

 

I got a couple of those ugly sticks and they write darn nice for a $25 pen.

Mine do write pretty well, too. I find that the more often I use my Rotring Core, the better I think the Safari looks ...

ron

[AlexandraM]

After buying the V 301, I will never again seriously buy a Zebra fountain pen.For the right price (read, less than $3) I might buy the sequel to see how it compares to the 301.

[Toolattack]

Most of the Tibaldi range is just 'too much' for my taste, so I would not buy anything from them at the moment.

I think that portraits hardly ever work on pens, because of the cylindrical shape of the barrel and lid and Tibaldi seem to use the portrait a lot in their range.

Having said that, some of the Bentley range is much more understated in comparison - so I would never say never!

I guess IMHO they may be great pens to write with, but I don't really want to carry around something that would make even Liberace blush!

Hang on a second, I've just checked out the Krone website - I want to add it to Tibaldi!

[torstar]

Seeing all the high praise for Lamy products on this board makes me wince.

 

It clearly has its place; mentioning it in threads about MB Hemingway's is a bit too much...

[fabrimedeiros]

Modern Parker, Tibaldi, Montegrappa and Bic (for sure). The first has only nasty modern pens, that don't work out of the box. The two italians nowadays only make blingy bizarre pens (and overpriced).

[richardandtracy]

I doubt if I will buy many Italian pens of the current styles, because I don't like their proportions much. However it's not due to any dislike of the manufacturer, just the design.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[CosmicSlop]

TWSBI? Really? My 530 with my third party 14k Pendleton Brown stub nib is my favorite.

 

I don't know that I'd say never to any brand. I own 12 brands among 30+ pens ranging in price from $15 to $1200. I can say that Waterman, Parker, Sheaffer (ugly) don't make anything that has moved me. Yet.

 

Never is a very loooong time!

Edited January 10, 2012 by CosmicSlop

[stuartk]

There are some fountain pen makers, stores, or dealers that I am unlikely to purchase from, but I don't know that I would say "never." What I am sure about is that there would be people that would disagree with me if I named names.

[leod]

I would not say never... you'll never know

[Antoinem]

I shall never buy anything again from Conway Stewart. Not because of the quality of their products but because of their customer support or lack of. After sending several emails to their US contact regarding a purchase I had made and not received as of today, to the person who send me the invoice (who has not worked for the company for 14 month, I was told), and to their customer service out of their UK web site, it took about 10 days for their US contact to finally send me a reply, and only after I mentioned in my last email that I would "spread" the word. Interesting!

 

I lost $120 in that deal and I basically told "too bad so sad".

 

Antoine

 

ps: I have all pertinent emails and invoice to assert my claims.

[ballboy]

I can't say that I will not ever buy a pen from a specific company because I don't know what models they may launch in the future. From current pen models I will never buy a CdA fp.

Any model(s) in particular? I ask, simply, because my Leman is the only pen I honestly need, challenging my wisdom of supplementing the collection with MBs.

 

 

Pen wise I was massively dissapointed with a Yard O Led I owned. Customer service was great but the actual pen, Viceroy Grand, was hopeless so this sort of soured my YOL view BUT that said I would never say I would not own another.

I recently got rid of my Grand Astoria Pearl: great looking pen and excellent service, but the nib was always the problem, writing wise, even coming back a second time looking worse for wear under my loupe's examination.

As you say, this would not put one off with the right pen of theirs...

[fabrimedeiros]

Here in Brazil there's a company called Crown. They import bad quality Chinese (or sort of) pens and sell them with prices which vary from $15 to $400. Customer service is non-existent (emails are never available) and a $15 pen which I bought had very bad plating (oxidized after a few days) and did not write properly. The great problem is that they have very beautiful showcases on almost any well-known bookstore, which may lead misinformed people to buy from them and create fountain pen haters.

I also had a Crown. It's not a serious pen brand. Its a joke!

[Truman]

Parker

Krone

Sheaffer

Rotring (I'll stick to their pencils)

Cross

All disposable fountain pens

I find the Pilot Varsity disposables to be great writers--do you consider those to be off-limits?

 

 

I for one love my Pilot Varsity pens. Nice smooth wet lines. If they were "gussied" up a bit in looks, I'd need no others.

[Bigeddie]

I was very disappointed with my first and only Sheaffer, a 300. I'd have to see / read about / play with a lot of them that I liked before buying another.