Do You Ever See Other People Using Fountain Pens At Work?

[amberleadavis]

Yeah, that makes sense....

[edebill]

The guy with the desk next to mine said "let me try that and see what it is about this fountain pen thing." He very much wasn't sure. A couple days later he said he'd ordered a Lamy Safari. I gave him a Hero 616 a day or two later. I think he's got 4 FPs now. He was all fired up and got a TWSBI Eco when they came out.

 

There's a mini-craze for bullet journal at work, and a few of us are rocking the fountain pens at the same time.

[Portamenti]

Only obce when having a second meeting with an exec who 'borrowed' my Hero 616. I do see a fair amount of MB rollerballs though.

 

Posers. Haha

[Biff]

There's a guy at work who keeps a bottle of Iroshizuku ink on his desk, I don't know the color. I never actually saw him write with it but that must be what he's doing. I never spoke to him. It shocked me as I've never seen another person use a fountain pen.

 

Once in a meeting my boss asked to borrow my pen. When he saw it was a fountain pen he refused it. So now I bring a ballpoint with me too in case he ever needs one from me again.

Edited August 21, 2015 by Chatsworth Osborne Jr.

[PS104]

Several years ago we got a CEO that had a Meisterstuck 144 and kept a bottle of black ink in his desk. He got quite amused when he knew that I was into fountain pens as well.

First he liked the idea, then started to make fun that I had so many pens, then he got annoyed that some were LEs and advised they're too flashy for the work place/customers, then he became such a bugger determined to make my life hell until I resigned.

This seems to be a common thread where the schmuck CEO thinks he's being 'one of the boys' makes buddy-buddy like (thinking he's discovered the weak link. Which he did), joshes boy along (technique for getting his hands into your pockets " I was into fountain pens as well") and the boy wants to be accepted into the 'upper ranks' and starts playing footsie. And guess what? IT DOESN'T PAN OUT.I don't give a flying fig what people think about what instrument I write with as long as the job gets done. And they shouldn't either. Confirms my suspicions about people rising to the level of incompetence. Vindictiveness still there in spades. This guy sounds creepy. Hope you found a better situation.

This thread is one step above (at least not below) asking what kind of socks people are wearing - silk or cotton?

[edebill]

Once in a meeting my boss asked to borrow my pen. When he saw it was a fountain pen he refused it. So now I bring a ballpoint with me too in case he ever needs one from me again.

 

I had something similar with a coworker who picked up the pen on my desk to write something and got a surprise when he pulled the cap off.

 

That might be for the best. I was selling a car (seller financed) and we wrote out a contract. I made the mistake of handing the buyer a fountain pen to sign with and quickly got a course in how some people can't write with a fountain pen without practice. I think it's a learned skill to avoid rotating the nib.

[arcadeflow]

I've never seen one, but sometimes I see a probable rollerball or gel pen in amusing colors. I keep investigating the handwriting to find traces of fountain pen activity, but I never got convinced it was from a fountain pen. People sometimes are amused by my charcoal Safari. The other day some lady told me it looked like those old pens.

[Martini1R]

May be slightly OT...

Designers like to use FPs, but the younger designers I meet are mostly still in school (some are master's, PhD students) and they use LAMY safari or Kaweco sport. Once in a while I see a Porsche design type "designer" FP. People are impressed when I take out my MB 146 signing documents or sketch (actually not a great idea on signatures since I don't have waterproof ink on there LOL. The ink may fade quicker than gel pens too). I see people using "expensive pens" here and there but unfortunately most of the time they are rollerballs...

 

College professors in general like FPs but I don't see flashy ones being used. A few months ago I purposely brought the 146 to a written exam and people are impressed (or thought I am a show off). But I just couldn't pass off the chance of writing like 8 pages of stuff in a 2 1/2 hr exam. At work it is just so difficult find a chance to write that much in a single sitting. I barely have to write anything using a pen (to others).

[jthole]

Interestingly enough I mostly see younger people (below fifty years) use fountain pens in the workplace here. I hardly ever see someone (way) over fifty writing with a fountain pen in the office.

[Trebster]

One of the nobbier VPs I once worked with carried a Waterman Edson, and I give him credit for not carrying the Mont Blanc usually associated with positions of power (real or imagined).

[Manalto]

I work with Philistines armed with ballpoints, presumably a better weapon for stabbing each other in the back.

[gordonhooker]

I am very happy to remain the odd one out.

[Martini1R]

Interestingly enough I mostly see younger people (below fifty years) use fountain pens in the workplace here. I hardly ever see someone (way) over fifty writing with a fountain pen in the office.

It may be because people over 50 used to see fountain pen as the pen of choice. Then the ballpoint and rollerball become popular and it is true that they are much more convenient, or "high tech" at one point. Only the purist remain with the FP. It is kind of similar to younger people listening to LPs. The older ones lived through the LP age and there is no novelty to them. Unless big money is spent on very high end stuff, CDs and high res music are better and more convenient for the middle class's budget.

[YugiRider2]

In my classes (7), no one except one of my teachers use a Lamy. Everyone wants to use my pens but most of my friends think that buying expensive pens is stupid. Some admit the nibs look very 'fancy'.

[clazbill]

I work at a small office. Max of around 20 people in the building.

 

Nobody else here uses a fountain pen. A few people have given me an odd look; one asked about them and accepted it as a hobby. He's into flying drones, so he totally understood having a hobby that costs way more money than most people would think reasonable.

 

My wife uses and enjoys her fountain pens, but I don't think she's quite as much of a fanatic as I am.

[saalipio]

I'm a student, and I see a couple of people using them and get a little excited! But there's only one person who became excited (and became my friend!) when I mentioned it The rest of them looked at me funny for even pointing it out......

[FeuBleu]

I am an academic at university and have never seen another using a fountain pen, nor any students. We have a school staff meeting on Monday though so I will be scanning all notemakers' instruments of choice..

[kpatters5274]

I've had a few international students (usually from France) who use Lamys. Also, the assistant principal at the combined elementary/ middle school where I'm currently teaching has a big box full of Pilot Varsities that she uses-- I was very excited when I saw them, though we've never discussed it. I exclusively use Preppies at work in case the children get a hold of them, so we're pretty much working on the same 'pen level.' Ha, ha.

[uemuraw]

My daughter has started to come to the office to help out because she's curious about what to do now that she's "all growed up" with a college degree and everything.

 

She has liked the pen I got her for graduation, and she still hasn't returned the Safari I loaned her when she forgot her purse.

 

A destitute client recently insisted I take some glass pens as a retainer. Okay, "quasi-pro-bono," I guess.

 

Yesterday, I was walking in my office when I saw my daughter playing with those pens. I stopped and watched for a bit, and she was so engrossed that she didn't notice me standing there. I think she was enjoying playing with many different color inks quickly. I haven't decided yet whether to ask her, or to just keep the moment for myself. Maybe I'll savor it until my birthday and then tell my wife about it, and then we'll save it to share with the kids over the holidays. She crumpled the paper when she was done, so I'll have to cogitate about whether it's a secret I'll have to keep. Daughters. Much more complicated than sons sometimes.

 

Dip. Scribble. Rinse. Wipe. Ooooh, new bottle! Dip. Scribble. Rinse. Wipe. That looks neat. Dip. Scribble. Rinse. Wipe. Just like when she was a little girl.

 

But now, I don't have to worry about figuring out how to get the ink off her hands and face and nice new dress that Mommy got her.

 

And I reckon I'll probably have to now consider the representation "fully retained" at this point.

[fuadhilmy]

When I was a kid (80s-90s) I did find some. But now, people I meet use ballpoint pen.