Pens Everyone Seems To Love That You Hate

[atomic_doug]

Nakaya. I don't hate them, but I am underwhelmed by them. Sure, they look cool, but I never got the "sublimeness" in how they write. They write just like a tuned 3776, to me. Now, if Nakaya used the President nib...

[flipper_gv]

Nakaya. I don't hate them, but I am underwhelmed by them. Sure, they look cool, but I never got the "sublimeness" in how they write. They write just like a tuned 3776, to me. Now, if Nakaya used the President nib...

 

They're similar but I think the nibs get their final polish by Nakaya guys.

 

But I agree, they don't write that good.

[tinta]

In addition to hooded pens that have tapered, conical grips, I have trouble writing with regular ball-tipped nibs. The nib grade does not matter. For me these nibs are almost unusable.

 

This eliminates most pens sold today (both modern & vintage), unless they come with an edged nib or a nib that can be modified to an italic style.

[owend]

Lamy and their steel nibs. I have a Logo, which is usable for short periods but too slippery and uncomfortable for any time; it has a very dry, scratchy EF nib which is only good for crosswords on poor paper. I also have a F and a 1.1mm nib for it, both also scratchy and dry. I can't see the appeal of Safari/Alstar with a section that would force you to hold the pen in the way they want you to (although I've only tried one briefly in a shop). However, I also have an Accent Briarwood with the gold nib (F): the pen feels comfortable for long sessions and the nib is lovely, smooth with a touch of feedback. So not all Lamys.

 

Pelikan M200. It does everything ..... OK. It has an OK smooth nib, OK moist line, OK comfortable, and very reliable, it's just lacking in character. And like BMWs and Bosch and lots of other German things it seems overpriced for what you get.

 

Parker P45/P51/P61, I just don't get the appeal, aesthetically or writing experience (they keep rotating in my grip).

 

(Puts helmet on and crouches behind sandbags ).

[nhuocdong]

TWSBI Mini in white finish and rose gold - it's not as smooth as the Kaweco Sport and are way heavy.

[Tasmith]

Franklin Christoph. Really wanted to like them but after testing every model at a pen show, found the shape of the sections very uncomfortable for me.

Edited November 24, 2015 by Tasmith

[pajaro]

This thread is reminiscient of Facebook.

 

Blahblah pen "is uninspiring." Objects are to be used. Leaders are inspiring. Do you need to be inspired by your tools?

 

All the best pens are here listed as hated. Big surprise.

[Manalto]

This thread is reminiscient of Facebook.

 

Blahblah pen "is uninspiring." Objects are to be used. Leaders are inspiring. Do you need to be inspired by your tools?

 

All the best pens are here listed as hated. Big surprise.

 

Excuse me sir, I believe you've stepped into the wrong forum. The rally is down the hall to the right.

[AAAndrew]

 

Excuse me sir, I believe you've stepped into the wrong forum. The rally is down the hall to the right.

 

"If you've come to have an argument, I believe you want Mr. Jenkins, next door. This is abuse."

[Tasmith]

 

"If you've come to have an argument, I believe you want Mr. Jenkins, next door. This is abuse."

Love Monty Python!

Edited November 24, 2015 by Tasmith

[jabberwock11]

To get back on topic: I really dislike the Platinum Preppy. It writes well enough, but if you want to use it you either have to buy a proprietary converter that is not widely available and costs more than twice the price of the pen, or you have to use proprietary cartridges that have the same problems.

 

I may be a little bit biased because I had a Preppy converted to an eyedropper (so as to avoid the aforementioned problem) and it twisted open in my pocket, ruining a nice pair of khaki pants. In spite of my obvious bias, I still maintain that an inexpensive pen that requires relatively expensive parts for continued use defeats the purpose of the pen. This practice is how printer companies operate...

Edited November 25, 2015 by jabberwock11

[lacie]

I may be a little bit biased because I had a Preppy converted to an eyedropper (so as to avoid the aforementioned problem) and it twisted open in my pocket, ruining a nice pair of khaki pants. In spite of my obvious bias, I still maintain that an inexpensive pen that requires relatively expensive parts for continued use defeats the purpose of the pen. This practice is how printer companies operate...

 

I have a few Preppys and have avoided turning them into eyedroppers so far because I find them loosely screwed together often in my pencil case. I also have a habit of unscrewing pens as a nervous fiddle kind of thing and can imagine ink getting everywhere.

[dogpoet]

Isn't there an adaptor which lets you use standard international cartridges in the Preppy that's a lot cheaper than the converter?

[jar]

Isn't there an adaptor which lets you use standard international cartridges in the Preppy that's a lot cheaper than the converter?

 

Yes. Sells for $5.00. I buy them often to use in my old Aurora cartridge pens.

[amk]

This is actually quite a useful thread. Anyone tempted to buy one of the much loved and often mentioned pens, like the Safari, Preppy, etc, should readit!

 

True, some of the posts just say "I can't get on with", but issues like lack of converters that fit, problems with quality or nib scratchiness, sharp section steps, weight, and the fact that some people don't like writing with hooded nibs, are all good things to know before you jump in and buy a pen.

 

I know that the key issue I identified from similar threads when I was thinking about a Lamy 2000 was the 'ears'. That meant I could test the pen knowing exactly what the deal breaker was. And it wasn't :-)

[jabberwock11]

I have about a dozen converters of various designs, none of which cost me anything. Some came with a pen, some were thrown into orders as a nice little give away. Most folks with at least a few fountain pens have converters lying around because they are not thought of as an expensive commodity by anyone. So why design a $2 pen that requires either a $5 adapter or a $6-$9 converter to continue using? You may say, what about cartridges? Well, at around $7/10 cartridges Platinum cartridges are actually pretty competitve...but that is still about $7 for only 7-10 ml of ink. Cartridges are a special kind of rip off, not exclusive to Platinum.

 

If a company designs a $2 pen that uses a proprietary cartridge and then sells that pen with only one or two cartridges, then they know exactly what they are doing. This is excellent bottom line thinking, but poor customer service thinking. It is why I see the Preppy as a poor choice for someone looking to get an inexpensive knock around pen. The Varsity comes with way more ink and doesn't pretend to be anything other than disposable, the Metro costs much more, but is infinitely more versatile (and comes with a converter), any Jinhao is going to blow away a Preppy in terms of value (and comes with a converter), even the Sheaffer VFM, which is designed to only use cartridges, was purposely designed to use standard cartridges rather than proprietary Sheaffer cartridges.

 

I just can not get behind the Preppy, and its obvious use as a cheap money generator sours the Platinum brand in general for me.

Edited November 25, 2015 by jabberwock11

[dogpoet]

Right. The adaptor thing is down on Cultpens* as £1.50, which is a bit over a couple of dollars, and over a quid less than the Preppy itself (which goes for £2.70 on there). That's quite a bit less than five dollars, so perhaps it could be found for less in the 'States with some shopping around?

 

It just strikes me as a little strange that Platinum are being given a hard time over the whole propriety cartridge thing, when other firms (Lamy and Sheaffer both spring to mind for a start) get a free pass on that one. Okay, I can understand the argument that it's a hidden extra cost for a "cheap" pen, but even so I really wouldn't expect to get a free adaptor with a pen that cheap myself. Hell, you don't get one with the much pricier (and somewhat dissed in this very thread, in fact) Safari, so...

 

 

*Not affiliated or anything, obviously)

[jar]

Right. The adaptor thing is down on Cultpens* as £1.50, which is a bit over a couple of dollars, and over a quid less than the Preppy itself (which goes for £2.70 on there). That's quite a bit less than five dollars, so perhaps it could be found for less in the 'States with some shopping around?

 

It just strikes me as a little strange that Platinum are being given a hard time over the whole propriety cartridge thing, when other firms (Lamy and Sheaffer both spring to mind for a start) get a free pass on that one. Okay, I can understand the argument that it's a hidden extra cost for a "cheap" pen, but even so I really wouldn't expect to get a free adaptor with a pen that cheap myself. Hell, you don't get one with the much pricier (and somewhat dissed in this very thread, in fact) Safari, so...

 

 

*Not affiliated or anything, obviously)

Sheaffer, Parker, Platinum, Cross, Pilot, Lamy ...

 

In fact I use them as mentioned with my 50s Aurora cartridge pens that also used a proprietary cartridge.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I have about a dozen converters of various designs, none of which cost me anything. Some came with a pen, some were thrown into orders as a nice little give away. Most folks with at least a few fountain pens have converters lying around because they are not thought of as an expensive commodity by anyone. So why design a $2 pen that requires either a $5 adapter or a $6-$9 converter to continue using? You may say, what about cartridges? Well, at around $7/10 cartridges Platinum cartridges are actually pretty competitve...but that is still about $7 for only 7-10 ml of ink. Cartridges are a special kind of rip off, not exclusive to Platinum.

If a company designs a $2 pen that uses a proprietary cartridge and then sells that pen with only one or two cartridges, then they know exactly what they are doing. This is excellent bottom line thinking, but poor customer service thinking. It is why I see the Preppy as a poor choice for someone looking to get an inexpensive knock around pen. The Varsity comes with way more ink and doesn't pretend to be anything other than disposable, the Metro costs much more, but is infinitely more versatile (and comes with a converter), any Jinhao is going to blow away a Preppy in terms of value (and comes with a converter), even the Sheaffer VFM, which is designed to only use cartridges, was purposely designed to use standard cartridges rather than proprietary Sheaffer cartridges.

I just can not get behind the Preppy, and its obvious use as a cheap money generator sours the Platinum brand in general for me.

Wow...you got a deal on those Platinum converters!

 

...which are also used in the Century, possibly even Nakaya?

[jabberwock11]

It just strikes me as a little strange that Platinum are being given a hard time over the whole propriety cartridge thing, when other firms (Lamy and Sheaffer both spring to mind for a start) get a free pass on that one. Okay, I can understand the argument that it's a hidden extra cost for a "cheap" pen, but even so I really wouldn't expect to get a free adaptor with a pen that cheap myself. Hell, you don't get one with the much pricier (and somewhat dissed in this very thread, in fact) Safari, so...

 

 

Keep in mind that this is not a bunch of people ganging up on the Preppy, this is one person (me) expressing his reasons for why he dislikes a pen that most other folks enjoy. You do not have to agree with it, I am not asking you to, I am just expressing an opinion and the reasons behind that opinion. In my opinion, a pen marketed as a reasonably priced reusable $2 pen should either be reusable at a reasonable price relative to the initial cost, or it should be marketed as something other than a $2 pen. In the US the converter for the Preppy averages at about $7, or more than three times the cost of the pen, so for a Preppy to really be a reusable it will cost $9+, not $2. I could spend a few dollars more and get a Pilot Metro (which also uses a proprietary converter, but is also metal rather than disposable quality plastic, and supplied with the converter tight off the bat).

 

The Preppy could have gone one of three different ways and I would have had zero problems with it. 1) It could go the Varsity route and be a truly disposable pen by filling a sealed barrel with ink. This would be less convenient, but no one would expect to reuse the pen and everyone would understand that the cheapness was largely due to its disposable nature. 2) It could have been able to use international cartridges/converters and thereby allowed just about anyone to pop in any cartridge or converter and continue to use the pen without any real additional cost. They could then market the pen as an inexpensive, student friendly pen without a peep from anyone. This is what Sheaffer did with the Sheaffer VFM. 3) It could be marketed as what it really is: a $9 pen of questionable quality.

 

If I see a cheap $2 disposable fountain pen, I think, 'Neat, a disposable fountain pen. It comes with a bunch of ink, so I can use it like a Bic with a nice nib.' I know what I am getting for my $2 and I am fine with that. If, on the other hand, I see a $2 pen that is of disposable quality materials being marketed as a cheap, but reusable, pen then I expect it to be just that. If the Preppy was marketed as a $9 pen, then I would never have looked twice at it, because in my opinion it is not worth $9. Yes, other pens use proprietary converters/cartridges, but they are also not marketed as super cheap pens, many of them come with the converters that are necessary for continued use, and their converters do not cost three times the price of the pen.

 

These are my opinions and I do wish to force them on anyone else, but I do want my reasons to be clear and reasonably understood. If you think that the Preppy is a good deal, then great, more power to you. I do not agree, and I know that I am probably in the minority...hence the posting to a thread in which folks discuss pens that they dislike, but that most other people enjoy.

Edited November 26, 2015 by jabberwock11