Is The Fountain Pen Industry It's Own Worst Enemy?

[Paddler]

Many products are shipped from the factory needing to be "set up". If you go to a reputable music store to buy a stringed instrument, you try the ones on the rack, pick out the one you like and then talk to the resident luthier and tell him how you want it set up. He will tweak the intonation to match the strings you want. He will set the action the way you want it, etc. Wind instruments need setup too.

 

New cars have to be set up by the dealer before you can drive one away. They don't come with enough oil in them, for one thing. Tires need air. Radiators need coolant.

 

Manufacturers don't ship finished products; they ship kits.

 

If you think fountain pens are bad, try buying a gun sometime. You nearly always have to return those for warranty repair with a list.

 

[Gloucesterman]

The fountain pen industry is not its own worst enemy, nor is it its own best friend either.

 

For most of the the people in the industry it is simply a business. Perhaps a family business or one for which they have some additional interest. But still just a business!

 

One way I would support that perception is a simple question - with the exception of Syd at the "new" Eversharp company (okay, and maybe someone from TWSBI who seems to deal with complaints), how many posts have you seen directly from companies who derive their income primarily from the pen, paper and even the ink industry (exception in the area of inks may be Nathan at Noodler)? As another example, you might note that some retailers and nibmiesters, do read and participate here. My suspicion is that as much as it is their business it is also their passion, their love. their appreciation of the many facets and aspects of "pens" AND written communication which brings them here and stimulates their responses.

 

It would seem to me that the manufacturers would monitor the content of sites like FPN, the same way an eastern physician monitors all of the pulses of the human body to ascertain various aspects of health and well being.

 

Now I may be wrong in my assessment of industry awareness of the content of FPN and other sites which address the interest of their client. If so, more information and or participation form and on the part or the industries we support and promote would be very welcome.

 

Sid

Edited June 7, 2013 by brgmarketing

[jar]

I can't think of a single fountain pen I've purchased new that did not come with instructions. You might think that people buying fountain pens would know how to read?

[GabrielleDuVent]

Another thing I am astounded with is the fact that people buy their main everyday-use pens online, without ever testing them. Don't get me wrong, I do love me convenience, especially since I hate going outside (and always have). But it's something you use everyday, and even with finest quality control each nib is different. Even my varsities are different.

 

I suppose this comings from my upbringing; to me, buying your (main) pen online is akin to buying your musical instrument online. You have to test them out, see how it feels in your hands, what the nib feels like (every company has different nib standards). Would you buy a MB LeGrand, Classique, or Mozart? You have to test out the pens to decide; Mozart's teeny tiny in my hands, Classique is too thick. What about the nibs? Do you write more, or draw more? Maybe write lots of equations?

 

If you've tested out the pens in the shops, then you should know whether the nib is scratchy or not. If it is and it wasn't in the shop, then it's either the ink or the paper.

 

Mary Burke from Conway forum is a Conway representative, I believe.

 

We have to admit it: FPs are not the main target of income for these manufacturers. Otherwise we'd be seeing J Herbin fountain pens. That company makes dip pens and rollerballs only.

[proton007]

I forgot the obvious.

 

We just don't write anymore. A single ball point pen worth $0.50 can last years for many of us. All we do with pens is sign on stuff.

 

I could give the same argument for a lot of other industries. Fax. Landlines. TVs. Radio. Music. Movies. Sewing. Craftsmanship.

Our world is changing. Things that are redundant will wither out.

Edited June 7, 2013 by proton007

[Strombomboli]

Fountain pens don't work well held like pencil.

 

That's interesting. I don't write much with pencils, but I was under the impression that I hold them like I hold my fountain pens. Could you explain that a little?

 

Another thing I am astounded with is the fact that people buy their main everyday-use pens online, without ever testing them.

 

The problem is that there are no TWSBI or Noodler's shops around. I also wouldn't know where to find a store that sells Viscontis or Stipulas, and I am living in the capital city of the most beloved country in the world (Germany, according to a BBC survey). Then there are these Indian pens which are not only very good writers, but also very cheap; importing them would make them expensive, I guess, and who would pay much money for a pen that clearly looks cheap and was made to be a mass product. And recently, I discovered the Franklin-Christoph company; I had never heard of them before. If I want one of their pens, I have to pay before I can give it a try.

 

I'd much prefer to test the pens before buying them, but it is not really possible. So I had to send my Stipula Passaporto back to Florence; I waited a few weeks, and now I have a perfect writer. I also had to send back my Visconti; it should come back every day now, and I am sure, it will be perfect, too. I would have preferred to not send it back, but, alas, if they don't control them before selling them, they have more work later on; I only pay the postage.

Edited June 7, 2013 by Strombomboli

[pompa]

Another thing I am astounded with is the fact that people buy their main everyday-use pens online, without ever testing them.

 

You're astounded that people live in places where there is no demand to support pen shops, and thus do not have the option of testing pens, however much they would like to?

I buy my pens online because I have to.

[BT-7274]

Many products are shipped from the factory needing to be "set up". If you go to a reputable music store to buy a stringed instrument, you try the ones on the rack, pick out the one you like and then talk to the resident luthier and tell him how you want it set up. He will tweak the intonation to match the strings you want. He will set the action the way you want it, etc. Wind instruments need setup too.

 

New cars have to be set up by the dealer before you can drive one away. They don't come with enough oil in them, for one thing. Tires need air. Radiators need coolant.

 

Manufacturers don't ship finished products; they ship kits.

 

If you think fountain pens are bad, try buying a gun sometime. You nearly always have to return those for warranty repair with a list.

 

A +1 to the stringed instrument analogy. I'm a violinist myself(have been for a decade) and, just like taking care and using fountain pens is, maintaining and playing a violin is a labor of love.

 

I'd say it's more of the problem of modern expectations for just about everything now though; people expect everything to literally work out of the box, without any setup, help, or excessive cost. It's the same idea that saddens me whenever I see someone (child or adult) playing on a "Violin-Shaped-Object"(think eBayed, sub-$100 'violin'). Too much expectation for something that will work out of the box and for cheap. It's the idea of wanting things "now!".

 

People don't take joy in a simple act like refilling ink like we do, but that's what makes all of us special, I'd say.

[Ernst Bitterman]

I can't think of a single fountain pen I've purchased new that did not come with instructions. You might think that people buying fountain pens would know how to read?

 

This is mostly true (see below), but frequently those instructions are limited to a set of pictographs of the Ikea style, and for the same reason as Ikea goes that way; pictures don't need translation. Sometimes these are well above adequate (TWBSI and the Conid Bulk Filler sheets fall into this category), but some are rather impressionistic (the last Parker sheet I saw). I think that companies that focus mainly on FPs do the best job, because they're not also showing how to replace BP and RB cartridges and put new leads in pencils on the same piece of paper, plus a warranty statement in ten major languages' legal dialects.

 

Being of that age of person who had an FP in hand from earliest opportunity, I will say that my cheap Sheaffer blister-pack pens never had any more instructions on them than "stick a cartridge in it", which is why they kept strangling on ink build-up. Clean a pen? Who ever heard of that?

[Blade Runner]

Some brands manufacture the whole pen and test, and many do not. Best to try before u buy or have an assurance to return or xchange if u buy without testing.

[usk15]

1. if you can not figure out how to refill a fountain pen, probably you deserve a 50 cent ballpoint.

2. economically is not worth for this industry to invest in testing/showing/nib-meistering to individuals how is every pen. it would be nice, nut is not going to happened.

[cybaea]

Another thing I am astounded with is the fact that people buy their main everyday-use pens online, without ever testing them. Don't get me wrong, I do love me convenience, especially since I hate going outside (and always have). But it's something you use everyday, and even with finest quality control each nib is different. Even my varsities are different.

 

I suppose this comings from my upbringing; to me, buying your (main) pen online is akin to buying your musical instrument online. You have to test them out, see how it feels in your hands, what the nib feels like (every company has different nib standards). Would you buy a MB LeGrand, Classique, or Mozart? You have to test out the pens to decide; Mozart's teeny tiny in my hands, Classique is too thick. What about the nibs? Do you write more, or draw more? Maybe write lots of equations?

 

If you've tested out the pens in the shops, then you should know whether the nib is scratchy or not. If it is and it wasn't in the shop, then it's either the ink or the paper.

 

At least here in the UK the joy of distance selling means that you have some time (9 days? I forget) to return (essentially) any online purchase. So don't buy one pen online, buy a hundred, test them at home, and return the 99 you don't like.

 

OK, the 98 you don't like. 97? 90? The ones you can't afford to keep

[CoolFool]

2- Test the pen before selling it. Make the pen enjoyable right out of the box. A few days ago, I posted that the Lamy EF nibs that I've tried were scratchy. Someone said they didn't agree with me, they said that after they tuned their EF nib using an online video for guidance, it worked great. Hello? That's like a car dealer selling you a car with the wheels out of alignment--"Don't worry buddy, there are You-Tube videos that will walk you right through it." I think the nibs should be tuned by either the manufacturer, or the dealer. I know that HisNibs.com and Richard Binder both do this. Maybe there are others. It's part of their customer service.

 

Given that fountain pens are currently on the periphery of the writing instrument industry, I think they would do a lot better if they helped people make the transition painlessly. Get rid of the barriers to entry.

 

Do you agree?

 

 

I absolutely agree. When I started using fountain pens in high school, with the old beloved Sheaffer school pens, it seemed that the only filling mechanism available was the cartridge, and that made it pretty easy. And - they wrote well right out of the package. I filled pens that way for years until boxes of ink cartridges started becoming hard to find in drug and even stationery stores. I thought I'd better keep some bottles of ink on hand in case I ran out of cartridges. (By then I'd graduated to Cross and Parker pens.) Then I got hooked on bottles.

 

Say what you will about cartridges, but without them, and without a cheap, but properly adjusted nib and feed, I would have never gotten into fountain pens.

 

So, maybe pen companies would do well to imitate the Sheaffers of old - a reliable, cheap pen in a blister pack with a supply of cartridges. Perhaps they could also include a convertor?

[Nashten]

It almost seems to be. But when I think about it, it seems a majority of the FP using community are well-educated about how they work and what they are. I also almost want to think that the makers rely on FP users to pass along the knowledge on how to use them and what they are. (How many people have you showed your fountain pens, what they are and how they work?)

 

And sites like the FPN. Social media. Lots of people come here to ask what they are because they were driven to improve their penmanship due to need/curiosity/want, or they caught wind of them via sight/sound or whatever else. The internet and such old traditions of writing almost go hand-in-hand too. Regardless of how old a thing is, there will be people around to spread it. There will be people to help others improve. And there will always be people passionate about it because it interests them.

 

While it would potentially be beneficial to include instructions, the additional costs and time to package would subtract from it and drive the price up higher than it already is. Nib Meistering is a timely and costly process too. Not only would there be a backup of pens waiting to be shipped, but the costs would be even higher.

 

It is a unique thing to ask and think of. There isn't a true answer for it so it is down to how each one of us sees the industry as.

[queenofpens]

you are so right. I had someone say to me that the Mont Blanc he bought was a total waste of money because it ran out of ink in a matter of a couple of weeks. Little did he know that he had to refill the ink reservoir each time. He thought it would last as long as his cheap ball point. I had to roll my eyes.

 

 

 

I am just astounded...

 

I'm not - I first ran into this attitude working in the college bookstore 45 years ago. Three or four of us were fountain pen lovers and raved so much about our inexpensive fountain pens that a young woman right of high school was inspired to try it - maybe in an attempt to fit in with the older clerks, who were college age or recently graduated and not yet moved on.

 

Anyway, she tried it for a few days, then complained that it was out of ink, and she would have to be constantly putting more in. So she gave it to one of the ones that already liked fountain pens and went back to her Bic stick.

 

She never seemed to notice that the Bics frequently stopped writing even when they still had ink in them that you could see.

 

Granted, it was a Shaeffer cartridge pen, and a lot cheaper than a Mont Blanc. But the same attitude.

 

I did think it was unkind of one of the older clerks to make fun of her behind her back about her decision, though -

[queenofpens]

Many products are shipped from the factory needing to be "set up". If you go to a reputable music store to buy a stringed instrument, you try the ones on the rack, pick out the one you like and then talk to the resident luthier and tell him how you want it set up. He will tweak the intonation to match the strings you want. He will set the action the way you want it, etc. Wind instruments need setup too.

 

New cars have to be set up by the dealer before you can drive one away. They don't come with enough oil in them, for one thing. Tires need air. Radiators need coolant.

 

Manufacturers don't ship finished products; they ship kits.

 

If you think fountain pens are bad, try buying a gun sometime. You nearly always have to return those for warranty repair with a list.

 

 

Interesting points. I am a pianist and my husband is a marksman. It's not just initial set-up - the piano man comes every six months on schedule, and in fact, came last night. As for my husband's guns, he knows a fair amount he can do himself after many decades of experience, and is still on intimate terms with every dealer/gunsmith in a 50-mile radius.

 

Still, there is some truth to the original observation that most people converting as adults are not going to appreciate the intricacies without help and guidance. I've been playing the piano since childhood and my husband has been competing at target-shooting since childhood.

 

I'm going to introduce the grandchildren to fountain pens when I visit in July. I'm tactfully not going to mention that my son and my daughter-in-law might profit from learning to hold a pen correctly - no excuse for my son, he grew up watching me hold a fountain pen.

 

But for most adults, there needs to be something in-between for to ease the transition to good pens.

 

I agree with somebody's point earlier that we here can do a lot talking to one newbie at a time.

[Gloucesterman]

My interpretation for the "need for instructions" comment is that the information is there IF you need it. If someone is new to FPs and has decided on their own to purchase one, it seems logical that they would benefit from some assistance in learning how to use it to its optimum capability.

 

One of the reasons, I suspect, the FPN has almost 80,000 " members, many of whom take an active interest in the many aspects of pen/ink/paper world, is because we are constantly learning for so many others who share their lack of knowledge more openly in order to learn more, know more and have more fun (each of us defines that word for our self) as a result.

 

All of are smarter than any of us. And that will always be accurate! - imho of course :closedeyes:

Sid

[queenofpens]

 

This is mostly true (see below), but frequently those instructions are limited to a set of pictographs of the Ikea style, and for the same reason as Ikea goes that way; pictures don't need translation. Sometimes these are well above adequate (TWBSI and the Conid Bulk Filler sheets fall into this category), but some are rather impressionistic (the last Parker sheet I saw). I think that companies that focus mainly on FPs do the best job, because they're not also showing how to replace BP and RB cartridges and put new leads in pencils on the same piece of paper, plus a warranty statement in ten major languages' legal dialects.

 

Being of that age of person who had an FP in hand from earliest opportunity, I will say that my cheap Sheaffer blister-pack pens never had any more instructions on them than "stick a cartridge in it", which is why they kept strangling on ink build-up. Clean a pen? Who ever heard of that?

 

You've enlightened me on a mystery that is been puzzling me for years! Why my pens - even my remaining Shaeffer cartridge pens - write so much better than they did when I was young.

 

I thought they wrote better when retrofitted with converters.

 

But you're absolutely right. All through school and grad school, it never occurred to me to clean them. So I just bought a new one when they started writing badly.

 

Now of course, I change ink colors often enough that I clean them accidentally - so to speak - and of course, now I know to clean my more expensive pens.

[GabrielleDuVent]

 

You're astounded that people live in places where there is no demand to support pen shops, and thus do not have the option of testing pens, however much they would like to?

I buy my pens online because I have to.

 

I've never actually seen a major city without at least one pen shop, and I've lived on three continents. I suppose there might be major cities without one pen shop, but I've just never been in one. I currently reside in Chicago - certainly not the epitome of sophistication in writing instruments, and certainly not New York - but I know at least three or four fountain pen dealers, plus Mont Blanc boutiques and Levengers. Are they getting as rare as shoe repairs?

 

A +1 to the stringed instrument analogy. I'm a violinist myself(have been for a decade) and, just like taking care and using fountain pens is, maintaining and playing a violin is a labor of love.

 

I'd say it's more of the problem of modern expectations for just about everything now though; people expect everything to literally work out of the box, without any setup, help, or excessive cost. It's the same idea that saddens me whenever I see someone (child or adult) playing on a "Violin-Shaped-Object"(think eBayed, sub-$100 'violin'). Too much expectation for something that will work out of the box and for cheap. It's the idea of wanting things "now!".

 

People don't take joy in a simple act like refilling ink like we do, but that's what makes all of us special, I'd say.

 

Well, the thing is, just like a sub-$100 violin, a cheapie pen would write properly in good hands. The reason why some violins are priced so highly is because when playing major works (think Brahms or Sibelius), it's really tiring to stand up on stage and play for a good 40 minutes without breaking concentration. More expensive violins are generally lighter and have better projection. This, I suspect, is why quite a few people can write with pens like Varsities or Preppys; if money and quality were directly correlated that strongly, then Preppys would be tossed.

 

The difference between upper-scale and lower-scale, in good hands, is the difference of "excellent" and "good". I'm not sure about newbie hands, because there are no Strads for children. (For what it's worth, blind tests between a good, new violin and Strads have proven that the difference is nil in terms of quality. And I've heard a student play on Strad, and the said student was doing a great disservice to the instrument).

 

 

That's interesting. I don't write much with pencils, but I was under the impression that I hold them like I hold my fountain pens. Could you explain that a little?

 

 

The problem is that there are no TWSBI or Noodler's shops around. I also wouldn't know where to find a store that sells Viscontis or Stipulas, and I am living in the capital city of the most beloved country in the world (Germany, according to a BBC survey). Then there are these Indian pens which are not only very good writers, but also very cheap; importing them would make them expensive, I guess, and who would pay much money for a pen that clearly looks cheap and was made to be a mass product. And recently, I discovered the Franklin-Christoph company; I had never heard of them before. If I want one of their pens, I have to pay before I can give it a try.

 

I'd much prefer to test the pens before buying them, but it is not really possible. So I had to send my Stipula Passaporto back to Florence; I waited a few weeks, and now I have a perfect writer. I also had to send back my Visconti; it should come back every day now, and I am sure, it will be perfect, too. I would have preferred to not send it back, but, alas, if they don't control them before selling them, they have more work later on; I only pay the postage.

 

There are a several grips I've seen, but Asians seem to hold them the same way (probably because it's really hard to write kanji and similar scripts with tense hands). You can google the grips to see what they are like.

 

To me, buying the pen you'd be using for the rest of your life (the go-to pen, the pen you'd end up writing your novel with, e.t.c.) online is a bit like buying a Strad online (and yes, they do sell them online; I saw an e-mail backstage offering a Strad. Pictures attached). Yes, it's a Strad, and it's well made, but is it well made for you? Good pens are good pens, but I'm rather picky about the size and the width of the barrel, since I have very long, thin fingers (they look like hands of someone with Marfan Syndrome). If you are an "accumulator", you can get more varieties online and that's a good way to add to your accumulation, but my MB and my Lamy are my default pens, and they do see exponentially more use from me than my other ones. They fit my hand the best; that's why I selected them.

 

For small-handed violinists, Strad is a killer, because Strads are slightly larger. For large-handed violinists, Guarneriuses are cramped (they're slightly smaller). I think it's the same with pens. My father's Pelikan is an extremely good pen, but I can't write with it for prolonged hours even if I wanted to, because it's a very small pen. My mother can't write with my MB because it's a relatively large pen. Similarly, I'd want to test out my pen to see if it fits to my hand before spending anything what I paid for my Lamy.

 

Back to the original question: the fountain pen is an artefact of the age when you went to a brick-and-mortar shop to purchase goods. Online shopping and standardisation has made things more convenient, certainly, but it has also made things uniform and impersonal. As someone who likes personal customisations, I think there aren't options but "go to a shop and get instructions" or "buy online and make do with what's given".

[queenofpens]

There is a Paradise Pen in the mall in Austin - but I don't actually live in Austin, I live in a rural area that is a 45-minute commute to work, and further to the mall with the pen store.

 

And Paradise in the mall is somewhat limited.

 

To get to the Mont Blanc boutique in San Antonio or the old-fashioned family-owned pen store in Houston is a drive of 2 hours.

 

And in Texas, we consider these to be reasonable commuting distances. Many people have to drive that far to get to a pen store or many other types of specialty stores.

 

But it's still true that I'm not going to get to go to a real pen store very often. So, if I want to try something new from a wide selection, it has to be an online purchase.

 

I'm looking forward very much to the trip to visit my daughter in New Orleans later this month. We will stop at Dromgoole's in Houston on the way and at PapierPlume in the French Quarter while we're in New Orleans. My long-suffering husband and daughter will put up with this and indulge me.