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

[N2theBreach]

Gabrielle- thanks for posting. I don't think of an MB type as a disorder, it just helps us understand each other.

 

People who share my type also make up a very small % of the population. And...when it comes to organizing we're at the opposite end of the continuum. If we tried to do a website like that, it would take years because we would want to consider all possible options, and invent a few, to be sure. Organized? Maybe.

 

I do think an organized informational site would be great. What about keeping it updated? I would think that would be a chore based on my past experience with such things.

Edited June 9, 2013 by N2theBreach

[storyteller]

 

It is not the pen industry that is its own worst enemy; the enemy is the customer who lets the manufacturer off his own warranty hook.

 

Alas, I fear that you are right on target with this comment.

 

The current business/economic situation (in all markets) could not continue if customers realised their power and put their foot down..... i.e. they voted in the marketplace with their wallets and warranty rights.

 

As a customer, everybody wants your money, why give it away?

[BT-7274]

 

The Strad I saw was in the backstage of Chicago Symphony Center, when I was visiting the backstage to say hello to my sister student (same teacher, she's a violist, gave me a few instructions back when I was a pre-teen). It was tacked up on the message board, along with things like "whose keys are these?".

 

I actually use a custom-made Inokuchi violin, and a very cheap one from Suzuki made in the 70s (about $500 back then, it's my mother's hand-me-down). To be honest, I've never seen an unplayable violin, including the $60 ones from China. I currently teach in a music seminar in Paris as an assistant instructor to my teacher (former instructor at Conservatoire and a former member of Orchestre de Paris), and she picked up one plywood violin one day to the students to demonstrate that it's the violinist who makes the sound, not the violin.

 

The point was made.

 

My point about 40 minute performance was not about borrowing others' violins, it was playing for 40 minutes with a very cheap violin that requires double effort to project sound. I actually played Tchaikovsky with a student orchestra and my E string snapped mid-1st movement, right before the cadenza. I had to borrow a violin because I couldn't re-string it. It was a heavy one, and the muscle fatigue was far more than what I was used to, because I had to work harder to project the sound in the hall. If it was Brahms concerto, I may have called it quits (insert obvious reason here). Similarly, I don't expect a novelist to write without fatigue for 10 hours with a cheap Bic FP.

 

And 40 minutes on stage is a HELL of a long time. That's why solo recitals have intermissions and concerts with soloists usually have one concerto and the rest are symphonies.

Wait, seriously? The fact you use an Inokuchi violin as well is really cool; his violins are absolutely lovely. Never mind my comment about the Strad though, since it was at CSC. Excuse me if I came off as harsh there, and same with the comment of at least 40 minutes on-stage. It was more in reference to styles such as Mahler, where it isn't a straight, non-stop marathon of playing(leave it to Glinka to do something like that). That said, do excuse this high school student which just graduated as well.

[proton007]

Because they are infinitely better. You can customize your pen by receiving it into a stub or oblique if you want, which is equivalent to a kernel mod, therefore pens are clearly more like android than they are like iPhone. Also, they have a text entry system that's even faster than Google predictive typing, which is worlds faster than Apple's system.

 

I agree. That was my original point. You can't simplify everything to make it popular, otherwise its appeal will go away. Oh, and thats why I use Android.

[Tom Aquinas]

The dismal service to what we used to receive is legion. It is not the companies per se , it is the bean counters who want to screw the last grout from us. We are seeing the "ordinary" from the previously top shelf major names where previously we saw pens that became market benchmarks.

[georges zaslavsky]

Exception made of my vintage pens, for most of my recent pens who were bought in second hand, all were having clear and precise instructions. The pen handling or grip is generally taught at school by teachers during the earliest years of penmanship.

 

Some brands have a higher quality control than others but it doesn't mean that you won't encounter a problem or that lemons over the long run won't happen. A preventive maintenance and regular care avoid such mishaps. My best EF nibs are my vintage sheaffer, man 100, vintage parker and mb 146s and 149s because they write true to their size and are smooth as silk. Regarding the car, if one is a bad driver, he will still be a bad one same if he neglects the maintenance of the car.

[Tom Aquinas]

. My best EF nibs are my vintage sheaffer, man 100, vintage parker and mb 146s and 149s because they write true to their size and are smooth as silk. Regarding the car, if one is a bad driver, he will still be a bad one same if he neglects the maintenance of the car.

 

The sound advice of a penmanship sage. My best EF nib is on a post war UK Duofold. The other pens you mention are my best all around. I always have two P51s loaded, and my favorite Man 100 is always ready. Good pens and good maintenance is always crucial to keep a collection going. Pity we cannot get it for a token price from the pen companies like we used to, we might see more users ?

[Anitropius]

Well, that depends on what you would consider a major city. The largest city here in Sweden is Stockholm with a population of about a million. This is a country the size of California but with a population of only 9.5 million; in Chicago metropolitan area you have about the same population as our entire country!

 

I have found three places that I know sell fountain pens, one of wich sells only Pilot V-pen.

The second is an expensive tobacconist that also sells bling accessories (the price for a Meisterstück 149 is $1000).

The third is actually a real pen shop, but I can't say that I fancy any of the pens they sell (Lamy 2k $200, Pilot VP $285).

None of these stores sell the pens I am interested in. I repeat: I have to buy my pens online, I just don't have any choice.

From a Swede to another Swede; if you ever happen to be in Stockholm, do check out NK's stationary department. They have a pretty good selection with everything from Kaweco to Aurora, Porche Design and whatever you might fancy. Sadly they don't sell online though.

[DriedUpBob]

I've never bought a pen that didn't write at all out of the box. I have bought many inexpensive pens and some write better than others in my opinion. I'm sure all of them could write better with some tuning. My issue is similar to many hear. My recent purchase of a Pelikan M100. An expensive pen in my eyes. Should have written better, much better out of the box. I'm a 2 year fountain pen newb so I don't believe my standards were too lofty. A trip back to Chartpak and now I really enjoy but I will never buy another one. Now it just writes OK, not great or what I feel is worth the $.

 

Bob

[Blade Runner]

In the golden age of fps, you had more opportunity to try pens, people who sold pens could often perform adjustments, and brands had better service departments that were in your own country. Now having a service center in the US for instance is the exception, not the rule. So the odds against a noobie with an issue can be significant. The internet can help, but many folks don't have the time or patience to find a solution. In contrast the ballpoint is relatively foolproof and carefree. Consequently fps will most likely remain a niche market.

[rwilsonedn]

Wow: what a wonderful conversation. I'm coming in very late, but I do agree with the OP's two points.

First, people new to FPs do, I think, need instruction from the vendor. That is because they have already been taught to use pens by teachers who had never used an FP, or worse, teachers who believed there was only one correct way to hold an FP, and by lots of experience with disposable BPs. New users need to know that they have things to unlearn and relearn, and most of them would have a better experience if they were told that, right along with being told how to ink their new pen. (Most cheap calligraphy sets actually do come with basic instructions on how to write, by the way, so I don't see this as a ground-breaking concept.)

Second, I'm fine with pens that won't work well (or in some cases that will go uncited here, won't work at all) out of the box--IF the instructions clearly say that this pen will require cleaning, tinkering, or major remanufacturing before you can enjoy it. But for new users, pens should not only be able to make sporadic marks on paper, they should give a good writing experience out of the box if you follow the instructions. Most don't, because, frankly, most manufacturers don't care. They know that if you are a new user, odds are you won't use the pen for long anyway, and if you are an enthusiast, you will figure out some way to get the thing working, even if it means reshaping the feed and remachining the nib. So there is no benefit to their quarterly earnings in giving their customers an initially pleasurable experience.

ron

[pajaro]

The OPs point is true, but, if the companies continue as is, then only those new users with their head out of their a double scribble will persist, and the helpless who cannot walk and chew gum will fall by the wayside, badmouthing fountain pens. Those without driving curiousity will be deterred.

 

Whether this is good or bad, I don't know. Keeps the market competition down, but you need a market infused with new users and buyers to sell your own pens.

 

Life is full of Boll Weevils and Palmetto bugs.

[storyteller]

The OPs point is true, but, if the companies continue as is, then only those new users with their head out of their a double scribble will persist, and the helpless who cannot walk and chew gum will fall by the wayside, badmouthing fountain pens. Those without driving curiousity will be deterred.

 

Whether this is good or bad, I don't know. Keeps the market competition down, but you need a market infused with new users and buyers to sell your own pens.

 

Life is full of Boll Weevils and Palmetto bugs.

 

Very astute.

 

"The lesser of two weevils"

 

(from Master and commander)