Brands You Will Never Buy From

[seoulseeker]

Any pen that costs several hundred $ and up. Somehow I can kind of justify treating myself to a luxury item for my accomplishments and hard work. But I have a hard time justifying paying hundreds of dollars for a plastic fountain pen. My Sailor 1911 costs $230. That's my personal limit. The nib is a dream and that's what I really paid for...the nib. And even then, I find myself reaching mostly for the little vintage Conway Stewart 84 ($40 on ebay)while asking: why do I need any other pen????? :roflmho:

 

Not all higher end pens are plastic! I personally haven't bought a montblanc yet for this reason, and instead went to ST Dupont. For the same price as a 149 (plastic body) you get the Olympio line, which is a beautiful chinese lacquer. For that much money in a pen, it better do more than write well. I better be able to feel where my money has gone

[Trillium]

"Bic"...... I'm too obsessed with FPs now. Or did you mean FPs?

[sheehmi]

Any pen that costs several hundred $ and up. Somehow I can kind of justify treating myself to a luxury item for my accomplishments and hard work. But I have a hard time justifying paying hundreds of dollars for a plastic fountain pen. My Sailor 1911 costs $230. That's my personal limit. The nib is a dream and that's what I really paid for...the nib. And even then, I find myself reaching mostly for the little vintage Conway Stewart 84 ($40 on ebay)while asking: why do I need any other pen????? :roflmho:

 

Not all higher end pens are plastic! I personally haven't bought a montblanc yet for this reason, and instead went to ST Dupont. For the same price as a 149 (plastic body) you get the Olympio line, which is a beautiful chinese lacquer. For that much money in a pen, it better do more than write well. I better be able to feel where my money has gone

According to my sources it's not Chinese lacquer any more

[seoulseeker]

Any pen that costs several hundred $ and up. Somehow I can kind of justify treating myself to a luxury item for my accomplishments and hard work. But I have a hard time justifying paying hundreds of dollars for a plastic fountain pen. My Sailor 1911 costs $230. That's my personal limit. The nib is a dream and that's what I really paid for...the nib. And even then, I find myself reaching mostly for the little vintage Conway Stewart 84 ($40 on ebay)while asking: why do I need any other pen????? :roflmho:

 

Not all higher end pens are plastic! I personally haven't bought a montblanc yet for this reason, and instead went to ST Dupont. For the same price as a 149 (plastic body) you get the Olympio line, which is a beautiful chinese lacquer. For that much money in a pen, it better do more than write well. I better be able to feel where my money has gone

According to my sources it's not Chinese lacquer any more

 

Which sources? I'd be curious to read it - I know that the smaller sized, and subsequently cheaper version of the Olympio (the Fidelio) uses normal lacquer instead of Chinese, and they accurately represent this on their site, but the large and X-large Olympios are still advertised as Chinese, and still engraved accordingly.

 

Fidelio models have no lacquer leaf engraving, which is still present on the larger models.

 

Of course, I have no idea how to tell the difference in hand, if they were just using normal lacquer and marking it as Chinese, I'd be none the wiser, but I doubt that is the case.

Edited January 13, 2012 by seoulseeker

[sumgaikid]

With respect to brands,I would have to say Krone. I have yet to see a pen they

have made that is attractive.

 

 

John

[cuza]

Conklin, Conklin and Conklin.

 

cuza

[rockspyder]

....

 

 

OK. An your point is?

 

Nevermind...

[VillersCotterets]

"Bic"...... I'm too obsessed with FPs now. Or did you mean FPs?

 

BIC is the parent company of the Sheaffer company. So, unknowingly you might have already bought a BIC fountain pen...

 

I love Noodler's inks, but I've read about so many shortcomings (stinky plastic, dirty oily feeds, nib not installed properly, leaks, total lack of quality control, ...) about Nathan's pens, I don't intend buying one soon. Besides, take for instance his latest flex pen, the colours are awful and I've never seen someone able to obtain a beautiful writing with it. They are cheap gadgets.

[empyrean]

Any pen that costs several hundred $ and up. Somehow I can kind of justify treating myself to a luxury item for my accomplishments and hard work. But I have a hard time justifying paying hundreds of dollars for a plastic fountain pen. My Sailor 1911 costs $230. That's my personal limit. The nib is a dream and that's what I really paid for...the nib. And even then, I find myself reaching mostly for the little vintage Conway Stewart 84 ($40 on ebay)while asking: why do I need any other pen????? :roflmho:

 

Not all higher end pens are plastic! I personally haven't bought a montblanc yet for this reason, and instead went to ST Dupont. For the same price as a 149 (plastic body) you get the Olympio line, which is a beautiful chinese lacquer. For that much money in a pen, it better do more than write well. I better be able to feel where my money has gone

Yeppers, I know Loved the Edgar Allen Poe pen awhile back, it was plastic, but still would get the chills if I were to purchase a pen for several several hundreds of $.

Edited January 13, 2012 by empyrean

[stuartk]

 

I love Noodler's inks, but I've read about so many shortcomings (stinky plastic, dirty oily feeds, nib not installed properly, leaks, total lack of quality control, ...) about Nathan's pens, I don't intend buying one soon. Besides, take for instance his latest flex pen, the colours are awful and I've never seen someone able to obtain a beautiful writing with it. They are cheap gadgets.

 

This is one of the drawbacks of basing decisions on what you read on the Internet. It often isn't possible to get a balanced view of things because the people who have issues with something are normally far more vocal than the people who are pleased with it.

[sumgaikid]

Conklin, Conklin and Conklin.

 

cuza

 

The new ones I wouldn't buy. The vintage ones........yes.

 

John

[Trillium]

Trillium, on 13 January 2012 - 01:17 AM, said:

 

"Bic"...... I'm too obsessed with FPs now. Or did you mean FPs?

 

 

 

BIC is the parent company of the Sheaffer company. So, unknowingly you might have already bought a BIC fountain pen...

 

I love Noodler's inks, but I've read about so many shortcomings (stinky plastic, dirty oily feeds, nib not installed properly, leaks, total lack of quality control, ...) about Nathan's pens, I don't intend buying one soon. Besides, take for instance his latest flex pen, the colours are awful and I've never seen someone able to obtain a beautiful writing with it. They are cheap gadgets.

 

The future belongs to the few of us still willing to get our hands fingers dirty with ink

 

 

Arrrrrg.... I really dont have anything against a Bic other than the disposable nature ....anybody wanna trade an old scarred nasty looking Pelikan for a Bi..... Sheaffer??

Edited January 13, 2012 by Trillium

[brunico]

There are brands I can't afford, so that's a lot of them out. Of the rest, only a handful bother to make italic nibs. This makes at least fifty brands I won't buy from, including some I'm otherwise interested in.

 

This doesn't mean, though, that I can't agonise over choice...!

 

If pushed, I'd have to say Platignum. The current company is a recent reinvention of the old one, but I stubbornly associate the new company (no doubt unfairly) with the scratchy, leaky pens the old company sold me during my schooldays.

[Brian K]

 

Not all higher end pens are plastic! I personally haven't bought a montblanc yet for this reason, and instead went to ST Dupont. For the same price as a 149 (plastic body) you get the Olympio line, which is a beautiful chinese lacquer. For that much money in a pen, it better do more than write well. I better be able to feel where my money has gone

 

Anybody can make a shiny heavy pen, but it is no guarantee that it's actually worth owning and writing with.

 

There are a lot of people who own those plastic pens and are very happy with them (me, for example ). If you don't want a plastic pen, that's fine, but I have never found anything that writes as well as the 149 I bought nearly 25 years ago. For all I know I might not like the way the Duponts you mention write...although, I do like the look of the Defi line...carbon fibre anyone?

 

YMMV,

 

Brian

[Toolattack]

With respect to brands,I would have to say Krone. I have yet to see a pen they

have made that is attractive.

 

 

John

I agree with John!

[Pen Nut]

Each to their own people and I will NEVER fall out with anyone over their choice of pen type, ink choice or maker. Bigger things going on in this world of ours and life truly is just too damn short.

[Brian K]

Each to their own people and I will NEVER fall out with anyone over their choice of pen type, ink choice or maker. Bigger things going on in this world of ours and life truly is just too damn short.

 

+1, Pen Nut. As much fun as a thread like this is intellectually and emotionally, the fact remains that I do not care what pen you use as long as you don't take mine!

[amberleadavis]

Yafa and Lamy because the customer service was so terrible.

[hazcat]

"What i do not love is the way MB has expanded its accessory line to the point where they have begun to overshadow the writing implements. There is no shame in being a quality pen company and I wish they'd stick to it. "

 

It is a bit crass, isn't it? I'm miffed at BMW, Porsche, and Mercedes for jumping on the SUV bandwagon, but folks buy them like crazy. And that Coach logo fabric on their purses and such is uncouth.

 

Hey, Rockspyder, I see what you mean, but on this board there is so much positive criticism, and the opinions are opinions that are discussed very civilly. At least it's not a bunch of mindless condemnation.

 

I can't read the whole forum or even a decent fraction of the forum every day, but I don't see much manufacturer input here except from our friend at Noodlers. On other message boards, a flashlight forum for example, manufacturers are in there often looking to see what their customers are saying about their products and offering advice and great follow up service.

 

 

I do not think I will buy a new Cross again after getting two pens serviced under the lifetime warranty. I sent two fountain pens in for nib attention, one of which would not keep the cap posted. After $20 and almost three months, the cap problem was fixed, but the nibs were the same. One of our fellow members adjusted one nib to perfection in just a couple of minutes.

 

I still want a Parker Sonnet. Perhaps I will see one at a pen meeting and decide if it is worth it. Otherwise, I think I'll stick to what I have, 21s, a 51, a couple of Frontiers, a Latitude. I have some broken Vectors and Reflexes I wish had lasted longer for what I paid. The feeds on the Frontiers and Latitude seem cheap, but they work. I won't condemn Parker, but I'm not feeling that any of the modern ones are going to still be writing well after 60 years like the old 21s and 51.

 

I detested the two Sheaffers I bought from eBay and resolved never to buy one again, but the inset "dunce cap" nib intrigued me, so I got a super deal on one and love that pen. I would definitely buy one of those again, especially a broad nib.

 

So, no more new Cross pens, maybe one more new Parker, but I'm not going embrace these brands like I used to.

[hazcat]

I forgot to mention that I am very disappointed in a Waterford pen that I have. It's a rollerball whose clip loosened annoyingly. I wrote them and was told I have to contact the real manufacturer, some marketing company. The clip is not under warranty. Okay, that's fine. They offer a replacement cap. Cool, I wrote back to ask how much it is. No response. I wrote again a week later and got no response. I still have not heard back.

 

Hmph. No Waterford fountain pen for me.