Brands You Will Never Buy From

[Scrawler]

I can with certainty say that I will never buy anything with the Platignum name on it. I associate it with being at the bottom of the pecking order in my school days.

[amberleadavis]

@Pen Nut.

 

OMG - I have to agree.

I sorta lose it when someone takes my pen...... :embarrassed_smile:

[spotted and speckled]

I'd have to say that every Levenger pen I ever held hurt my hand, poor band placement mostly. A number of companies make ugly pens. Others make pens that are plain tanks, heavy instruments of war that lumber over the page instead of gracefully gliding. I'm not a fan of pens with things embedded in them or things painted on them, but I know lots of folks like that. Names? I think I've described them pretty well.

[JefferyS]

Parker is back on my "okay" list now that they have mailed me a replacement medallion for my Centennial (free of charge!).

[gregamckinney]

I will not buy any new Visconti pens ever* again. Only pens already proven to work well (or worked on by pro's to get them there) by other/ previous owners will be considered.

 

(* until or unless they start to do decent quality work long enough to develop a good reputation in that regard.)

 

 

I am also unlikely to buy any modern Montblanc pens. The few I like the look of (a couple of the LEs are just not worth the cost, IMO. More affordable modern MBs, like the 149 do not interest me.

 

Regards, greg

[donnad333]

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.

 

BTW I love and use all of their inks.

 

Mike

 

+1... My first fountain pen was a Montblanc 146, purchased from a Montblanc boutique in 2000. My experience was almost EXACTLY the same--two, separate exhausting and protracted attempts to bring the nib to working order; both of which failed.) Ten years later, I tried the whole FP experience again, this time with our beloved Classic Fountain Pens... And after SUBLIME experiences with ~10 new pens, I sent my evil 146 to John Mottishaw to bring life to the IMPOSSIBLE nib. (Of course, the magician worked his magic, and the evil 146 is now in my regular rotation.) But NEVER again will I guy a Montblanc! I will stick with a relationship that works.

[Guest iri]

i'd never buy a parker pen for obvious reasons. will barely buy montblanc / waterman because of the bloated price and models boring for my taste.

[PianoMan14]

For me, I will never buy Krone. All of their models (with a very few exceptions) strike me as eyesores. And they're expensive.

Edited January 23, 2012 by PianoMan14

[Scrawler]

For me, I will never buy Krone. All of their models (with a very few exceptions) strike me as eyesores. And they're expensive.

I thought the same until last week when I went to visit FPN member Strang. He showed me a Krone pen that was most beautiful and eminently usable. I do not know what the model is, but it was an iridescent mauve. It was a nice full sized pen, that felt good in the hand and wrote fluently. After trying that pen, if I were able to, it would definitely be something that I would consider as a fine writing instrument.

[WriterJP]

Two brands that I have serious reservations about; Parker and Waterman.

 

I was the owner, just a few short months ago, of a Premier Black Edition FP (retail ~$375USD) until the clip broke off despite my meticulous care. The service center stated that it was a confirmed design flaw. No problem with that, until I heard their fix; send the pen out to France to have the exact same clip type put on. On top of all of that, I was told the turnaround would be approximately 4-5 weeks. I guess putting the same flawed part back on the pen until the warranty expires is great if you like exercises in futility? Returned that pen for a store credit and bought myself a Montblanc 146.

 

My first FP (a Waterman Hemisphere flighter, $70USD) had a small cap at the back of the pen come loose and begin to jiggle around in it's socket. If you saw the pen you would know what I'm referring to, but in essence it is a small metal "button" that covers the back of the pen. I returned this pen to the store to have another one given to me. This one, after just a week of use and careful storage, began to do the same thing but on a much less severe level. I feel as though the designs of these pens, although very handsome, are not durable and equipped to handle normal use.

 

I must say that both these pens have excellent writing characteristics and performance.

 

A shame...especially because I am thoroughly intrigued by the design of the Waterman Carene and would love to own one...but I just don't know if the absolutely sketchy QC I've experienced is worth it.

[ANM]

Only evil deals in absolutes.

 

Is that an absolute?

[write to me often]

I cannot say never never but here is my bad experiences.

 

Retro 1951. I paid about 150 usd. I came home, put the cartridge, tested it and left on the table. Five minutes later when I took the cap off, ink spilled out.

 

Diplomat. Two weeks ago I bought a 30 usd model for a friend and it was the scratciest nib I have ever experienced. (do not remember the model)

 

Lamy. Although I love Lamy their distributor in Turkey does not response to customer relations very well.

 

Platignum. Even though I love their colors, they are too heavy. (At least for me)

 

Transparent fountain pens with transparent caps. I hate when there are ink drops and stains on the cap. I rather not to see it. That's why, even though I am dying to try a TWSBI, I am not sure about buying one.

[inkstainedruth]

The absolute ugliest pen

 

http://www.joonpens.com/db_image/WF_Wedgewood_Blue_fp.jpg

 

Waaaall...

The name *does* match the product. And I suppose that if you collected Wedgewood, and were into fountain pens, you'd want it.

Not sure I'd count it as the *ugliest* pen either; IMO that moniker would go to the Sylvester Stallone Chaos pen with the skulls.

But *I* sure wouldn't want either one....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[inkstainedruth]

The absolute ugliest pen

 

http://www.joonpens.com/db_image/WF_Wedgewood_Blue_fp.jpg

 

Waaaall...

The name *does* match the product. And I suppose that if you collected Wedgewood, and were into fountain pens, you'd want it.

Not sure I'd count it as the *ugliest* pen either; IMO that moniker would go to the Sylvester Stallone Chaos pen with the skulls.

But *I* sure wouldn't want either one....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Chrissy]

The absolute ugliest pen

 

http://www.joonpens.com/db_image/WF_Wedgewood_Blue_fp.jpg

 

Waaaall...

The name *does* match the product. And I suppose that if you collected Wedgewood, and were into fountain pens, you'd want it.

Not sure I'd count it as the *ugliest* pen either; IMO that moniker would go to the Sylvester Stallone Chaos pen with the skulls.

But *I* sure wouldn't want either one....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Why on earth would anyone ever dream of putting that 2 tone nib with that pen body? If ever a pen screamed out for a white gold nib that's the one.

 

I suppose that Wedgwood had it made as a special for some reason.

 

I wouldn't buy one either.

[Chrissy]

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.

Please forgive my ignorance, but should that be Waterman? Or is there a Waterford pen as well as Waterford Crystal?

[Federer]

Lamy - because of how much of a disappointment the Safari was to me! The little finger indents are very unnecessary.

 

Montblanc - just because.

[Scrawler]

The absolute ugliest pen

 

http://www.joonpens.com/db_image/WF_Wedgewood_Blue_fp.jpg

 

Waaaall...

The name *does* match the product. And I suppose that if you collected Wedgewood, and were into fountain pens, you'd want it.

Not sure I'd count it as the *ugliest* pen either; IMO that moniker would go to the Sylvester Stallone Chaos pen with the skulls.

But *I* sure wouldn't want either one....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

If Mr. Stallone sent me one of those Chaos pens, I would not say no, and I would certainly try to write with it. As to whether I would buy one, that is now and forevermore academic.

[eilu]

Montblanc and Cross. I just don't like their designs. Also, I find Cross pens in general too thin for my hand to grip comforatbly.

[Spector]

I generally avoid Noodler's inks now.

 

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

 

Same, I use noodlers inks but their fp's seem like they have shoddy qc