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Co-Worker Borrowed My Pen


Jared

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Since I have multiple fountain pens, I reorganized my desk.I have a cup of "normal" pens right in front of where people sit. And there are notepads right near by.

My fountain pens are either in my pocket, next to my computer keyboard, or in a tray that guests can't reach (but I can very easily).

Tom

Waterman Ideal - blue ink; Esterbrook 2048 - brown ink; Waterman Carene - black ink

http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/uu204/CrazyVacationer/Pens/collection_sm.jpg

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At work, as a detective, my uniform shirt is a Polo with two pen-holder pockets in the left arm. One of them houses my fountain pen. The other houses what we call a "perp pen," which is a ordinary plastic bic ballpoint pen.

 

I love it. http://pics3.city-data.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif

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Given his behavior, I wonder what he would have done if he knew about about the ink splatter...

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I wouldn't feel bad - he showed no respect for your pen, which is unforgivable (to not show respect for anything belonging to someone else)

Please visit my new pen and ink/pen box site at www.boxesandpens.co.uk

Hand made boxes to store and display your favourite pens.

10% discount for FPN members

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I usually don't mind letting someone borrow a FP (ESPECIALLY a P-51) with just a "don't press down and keep the nib straight to the paper" admonition.

 

However, in this instance with Jared's cow orker, I would hope that my OBEY glasses would have superimposed "ASSCLOWN" on the cow orkers forehead and I would have known better.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

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In my culture, is special for man who throw any fountain pen. If he throw vintage fountain pen, he immediately get this special name for rest of his life. We call him "Putz." Very nice!

Edited by iRabb
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One of my colleagues is a lovely woman, and she asked to try out my pens. I handed her my favourite - Parker Vacumatic, Canadian flexible nib, and forgot to say the cap unscrews... she gently pulled the cap, then TUGGED, and at that point I clocked what was happening & yelped to unscrew the cap.

No thread was stripped, but man, I learned to hand pens to people ready uncapped, or hand over a ballpoint from then on. I'm happy to share the FP joy, but I don't want a vintage beauty mangled in either ignorance or carelessness!

Instagram @inkysloth

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  • 2 weeks later...

One of my colleagues is a lovely woman, and she asked to try out my pens. I handed her my favourite - Parker Vacumatic, Canadian flexible nib, and forgot to say the cap unscrews... she gently pulled the cap, then TUGGED, and at that point I clocked what was happening & yelped to unscrew the cap.

No thread was stripped, but man, I learned to hand pens to people ready uncapped, or hand over a ballpoint from then on. I'm happy to share the FP joy, but I don't want a vintage beauty mangled in either ignorance or carelessness!

That is why you should always have a bunch of bics on your table and give them to people who are unable to master a fountain pen.

Pens are like watches , once you start a collection, you can hardly go back. And pens like all fine luxury items do improve with time

 

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For borrowing I have some nice looking chinese ballpoint pens standing in a cup upon my desk. To enhance the comfort in writing they are filled with gel refills. I never give a fountain pen into the hands of a ballpoint-only user. Did this once and got a broken pen (bent nib, cracked threads) back.

Yet another hobby that is completely out of control...

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This has the potential of self inflicted injury. I woke up grumpy today so I have no sympathy.

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I have instituted the "FP Etiquette" rule of advising whether it is a screw off or a pull off top when handing my pens over to anyone [regular FP user or no] unfamiliar with the pen.

 

Time for a hand-written pamphlet by the Emliy Post of FP users outling the proper manners of Fountain Pen use!

"Ravens play with lost time."

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  • 4 weeks later...

Happened to me yesterday at work. It was during a meeting of directors and managers - one of them asked for my Caréne. I told him it was a FP. He said something like "You think I don't know how to write with a fountain pen?". Well, he may know, but I would not let him try - I'm sure he would not respect my beautiful pen.

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  • 4 months later...

Although I carry a Fisher bullet Space Pen for "really should lend him a pen" situations like this, I wouldn't appreciate having that tossed at me either.

 

Just got my own Parker 51 Vacumatic, by the way. It's at work with me today, but nobody has asked to borrow it. cool.gif

 

 

LOL, I do the exact same thing. I carry either a Pelikan M400 or MB 146 all the time clipped to my shirt and nobody but nobody touches my fountain pens.

 

I carry a Fisher bullet space pen in my pants pocket next to my keys for the exact same reason - as a loaner. (Well and if I need to write on something that is carbonless duplicate form as well.)

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I wonder if you could turn a bic into a FP ? A nice winter project.....

I tell co workers [ management ] get a FP and they say well I just lose the pens [ bic's , cheap china pens, whatever ]

If they had a quality FP you think they would lose it ? Probability.

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I wonder if you could turn a bic into a FP ? A nice winter project.....

I tell co workers [ management ] get a FP and they say well I just lose the pens [ bic's , cheap china pens, whatever ]

If they had a quality FP you think they would lose it ? Probability.

 

Once they get that "I don't care about loosing it, it is a cheap pen" attitude, like breaking any habit, it is a hard uphill climb to get the brain retrained.

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

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I can see both sides of the OPs situation. Yes it may be unconscionable behavior to a lot of the audience here; however, I can definitely see someone not realizing the value and difference of the pen.

 

All my pens are cheap enough I am not really risking much with them at work so i would let someone use one if asked.

 

My supervisor at work is an older lady originally from Norway. She had used on of my FP before and remarked something along the lines of "oh, is was one of those" and commented about using the kind of pen in school. The next time she asked to use a pen I had an even cheaper on on me and when she uncapped it and saw it was a fountain pen she decided not to use it because she wouldn't want to ruin my pen. It was a Pilot Varsity.

 

More recently a co-worker though my stuff was someone else's and wanted to leave that person a note. I had 4 pens out, only one of which was pull cap. After being confused by the note and finding out the source. I learned that she couldn't get the caps of the pens, so she kept trying them until she found one that she could pull off. The one she wrote with was not the pull cap but thankfully it was not damaged. It was an FPR Guru that cost me like $4 during the promotion, but I would not have enjoyed damage. I figured I must not have have it twisted all the way tight which is why it was ultimately able to pull off unscathed. Then looking at the quality of the line on the page, I very much doubt the tip was even at the right angle to the page for writing. In talking with her, it really seemed she hadn't noticed it was not a typical pen.

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After hearing things about people PULLING screw caps, I am rethinking my office pens, to be all pull cap pens.

....just in case, some dits grabs a pen without me seeing and PULLS the cap off.

That knocks off the $12 Pilot 78G from the list.

I'm back to the Chinese Baoer 388 and 801, and the Pilot Metro and Varsity pens.

 

If a screw cap, I would unscrew the cap and hand them the pen (with me holding on to the cap).

In fact I would uncap the pen for the person and hold on to the cap, to make sure that I get the pen back, or they will get a bad ink stain on their shirt or purse.

San Francisco Pen Show - August 28-30, 2020 - Redwood City, California

www.SFPenShow.com

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He held it horizontally in front of him, and jerked the cap off, spraying himself across his white shirt and yellow tie with a small amount of J. Herbin Perle Noire. I saw it, but said nothing. He said, "hmmm...fountain pen," and signed the document, jammed the cap on the pen, and tossed it across the desk to me.

It is due to the behavior of folks like him that I have a hands-off-my-pens rule. Those who grab, twist, turn, and toss never seem to consider how their actions can damage nice writing instruments. Of course, it is for those folks that the disposable ballpoint pens are made.

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