Pens Everyone Seems To Love That You Hate

[AAAndrew]

Interesting how so much is based on limited experience with one or two examples. But that's how we judge.

 

For me, heavy pens, really big ones, and anything with a metal section. The only big pen I love, but still don't use too often, is my TWSBI Micarta. The others I'm selling.

[Manalto]

For me, it's anything Schaeffer. I'm not disparaging the brand, but my first three experiences with Schaeffers were horrific.

 

Try Sheaffers then; you may have better results.

[23Larsen]

I don´t hate visconti pens, but i have a hard time understanding why some many people seem to love that brand. Most of the youtube-reviewers for instance.

 

To me the clip looks stupid and impractical, and i certainly would not want the brandname so prominently displayed on it. Even the otherwise nice-looking homo sapiens is marred by that clip.

Some of Viscontis models have big lumps of metal on them that annoy me to end, and worst of all it seems the QC is not really all that great.

[haruka337]

I don´t hate visconti pens, but i have a hard time understanding why some many people seem to love that brand. Most of the youtube-reviewers for instance.

 

To me the clip looks stupid and impractical, and i certainly would not want the brandname so prominently displayed on it. Even the otherwise nice-looking homo sapiens is marred by that clip.

Some of Viscontis models have big lumps of metal on them that annoy me to end, and worst of all it seems the QC is not really all that great.

 

Ditto.

[deepak23]

 

Try Sheaffers then; you may have better results.

Lol...

But, a quick google search reveals a lot of results for that spelling. Maybe thats how it is spelt in some parts of the word??

[Sailor Kenshin]

Lol...

But, a quick google search reveals a lot of results for that spelling. Maybe thats how it is spelt in some parts of the word??

I think that's how they spell the beer...

[delano]

I think that's how they spell the beer...

 

 

I'd rather have the beer than the pen. Regardless of spelling.

[jmccarty3]

Just as there is no "i" in team, there is no "c" in Sheaffer. Also, don't forget that the "p" is silent, as in swimming.

 

But seriously, folks, Sheaffer is by far the most commonly misspelled brand name in the pen kingdom, though I have seen "Pelican" a few times, and "Loiminchay" would probably give people fits if their pens were more common.

[synerr]

I upgraded to a Safari recently but sadly hate it compared to my Hero 616. I don't like the triangle grip of the Safari. Since it's a product design of the 1980s, I find it ugly, not futuristic at all. Obviously from the 80s. This thing needs a re-design. I'll probably only use it for 1980's "dress up" in the future.

Wow, I was born in 1973. I'm suddenly feeling very old...

[DanceOfLight]

 

I definitely agree. The vanishing point pens offend my sensibilities. It's a fountain pen pretending to be something it's not, and having the clip down by the point is just wrong.

+1

like Veggie sausages that is in vouge now ! IF you want to eat a sausage go for the real one, FFS ! But I do agree that some people find the Vp very convenient, not for me, thanks.

[Manalto]

Feel free to eat all the "real" sausages you want, however be warned that suggesting others do the same may result in a law suit.

[DanceOfLight]

Just as there is no "i" in team, there is no "c" in Sheaffer. Also, don't forget that the "p" is silent, as in swimming.

 

But seriously, folks, Sheaffer is by far the most commonly misspelled brand name in the pen kingdom, though I have seen "Pelican" a few times, and "Loiminchay" would probably give people fits if their pens were more common.

Not sure if this name has its origin in Germany (which is very likely, even if the company might have had it's roots in the US), as it looks to be a very common German last name which is written thus : Schäfer . the little dots (umlaut) on the 'a' translate to 'ae' but I have no clue how another 'f' was introduced in-between.

[DanceOfLight]

Feel free to eat all the "real" sausages you want, however be warned that suggesting others do the same may result in a law suit.

Thanks, I am (mostly) vegetarian , but I get your point ;-)

[AAAndrew]

And as soon as the first Schäfer came to the US, their name gets changed. It happened all the time. From immigration officials just spelling things like they sounded, to immigrants themselves trying to make their name less "foreign." (though pretty much all surnames here are "foreign")

[Manalto]

And as soon as the first Schäfer came to the US, their name gets changed. It happened all the time. From immigration officials just spelling things like they sounded, to immigrants themselves trying to make their name less "foreign." (though pretty much all surnames here are "foreign")

 

Or none of them are.

 

The officials at Ellis Island had a big, confusing task ahead of them, to transcribe (presumably with fountain pens!) the names of immigrants who didn't speak English and were often illiterate in their own languages. My Italian grandparents' surname came into this country beginning with a "Y" - a letter which doesn't even exist in the Italian alphabet.

[inkstainedruth]

Just as there is no "i" in team, there is no "c" in Sheaffer. Also, don't forget that the "p" is silent, as in swimming.

 

But seriously, folks, Sheaffer is by far the most commonly misspelled brand name in the pen kingdom, though I have seen "Pelican" a few times, and "Loiminchay" would probably give people fits if their pens were more common.

I find I have to catch myself on "Pelikan" vs."Pelican" all the time -- depending on context. In the pen world, it's with a "K" because it's the German brand name. In the Society for Creative Anachronism, though, it's with a "C" because that's the Society-wide Peerage order for service. And yes -- the artwork/logo/heraldry is the same for both -- "a Pelican in its Piety" (i.e., a pelican in its nest feeding its chicks with its own blood).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[inkstainedruth]

 

Or none of them are.

 

The officials at Ellis Island had a big, confusing task ahead of them, to transcribe (presumably with fountain pens!) the names of immigrants who didn't speak English and were often illiterate in their own languages. My Italian grandparents' surname came into this country beginning with a "Y" - a letter which doesn't even exist in the Italian alphabet.

At least you (probably) know what the name was pre-Ellis Island. We have no earthly CLUE what my maiden name was originally (and my grandfather was brought to the US when he was a year old, and orphaned at an early age and raised by older siblings). Went to a Renaissance festival once, and there was one of those heraldry/family tree companies there, and their database listed the name as being Spanish. When my ancestors on that side were actually Polish (or Russian) Jews -- my grandfather was born in Warsaw). Go figure. (And if you saw me or many of my relatives it would be pretty clear that there's no Sephardic elements in my bloodlines; just -- mostly -- pure Eastern European/Ashkanazi.)

Interestingly enough, my grandmother, who was German, did NOT go through Ellis Island, apparently. She had a second class ticket (she was brought here by some cousins to be a servant), and her papers were processed on board ship. Only those who were passengers in steerage went through Ellis Island when they got to New York.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[bardharlock]

Wow, I was born in 1973. I'm suddenly feeling very old...

Safari, the Swatch Watch of the Fountain Pen World?

[RPfister]

This is a very interesting topic, because I have a few pens which I bought because everyone else apparently loved them - but which caused disappointment and frustration. And some of them were really expensive:
Pelikan Stresemann: much praise in advance, great reviews, etc. - so I spent a lot of money. What I got was pen that looked not bad, but the nib was a major disappointment. It skipped, had hard starts, and when it wrote it simply was a boring writing experience (a Medium nib it was).
Visconti Michelangelo: Another pen that looks nice, but the nib, a "Dreamtouch" nib, was anything but a dream! Skipping, scratchy, etc. Assuming this was just bad luck, I even invested in a second nib - same experience.
Lamy Dialog 3: I don't know if this is a pen everyone else likes, but I don't. It might be mechanically sophisticated, but ergonomically it is a disaster. Just impossible to hold and write. And the nib in no way is able to compensate. The same complaints in fact apply to the Pilot Vanishing Point: who can actually write with this pen??

Having read all the contributions to this thread, I am tempted to reverse the topic: Pens everyone seems to hate that I love!

For example, Parker 51: I own two, an Aerometric and a Vacumatic, and I love them both!
Lamy Safari: I have several, and a few Al-star; maybe not my favorite pens, but absolutely reliable, they just write, whatever nib is used.
Sheaffer pens in general: My Sheaffer 300 is probably the pen I use most frequently, and my Legacy Heritage is wonderful, a real and true "dreamtouch".

I am surprised how much variability there is concerning the quality of a pen of the same type/brand; pen reviews usually do not take into account how much it depends on pure chance if a pen writes well or not. I wonder - do we find that much variability in quality with, say, cars, or computers, etc.?

[ehemem]

I find I have to catch myself on "Pelikan" vs."Pelican" all the time -- depending on context. In the pen world, it's with a "K" because it's the German brand name. In the Society for Creative Anachronism, though, it's with a "C" because that's the Society-wide Peerage order for service. And yes -- the artwork/logo/heraldry is the same for both -- "a Pelican in its Piety" (i.e., a pelican in its nest feeding its chicks with its own blood).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

I have a Pelikan 100 made for export that has "Pelican" imprinted on the cap...