What Pen Won't You Buy?

[Freddy]

Ah! Yes..the mythical Nazi pen....Niagara Falls..Slowly I turned

 

step by step inch by inch...Wrong bit....

 

Fascinatin' ain't it.....Haven't heard this one in awhile.....

 

Me

 

Fred

 

who never met a pen I didn't like

[max dog]

I learned long ago to avoid saying I won't do something; history shows that is almost always a lie.

 

There are some pens I'm very unlikely to buy though but even there, I did recently trade for one that should be on the No Fly list.

 

I cannot imagine buying any eyedropper pens, any pens that have a shut-off valve, pens without clips or butt fugly ones. I can't see myself buying a pen where the nib will need adjustment after I get it. I can't envision buying any of the pens marketed as demonstrators. I really would be shocked if I bought anything from Lamy, Noodler's, Visconti or any of the Indian makers I've seen so far.

 

But as I said, reality says I'm likely lying.

+1 never say never, as the universe has a way of making you see the other side of the coin.

I said I would never want a clipless pen, but if I came across a good deal on a superflex restored/mint Waterman 52 with a clipless cap for example, I might make an exception.

Edited January 3, 2017 by max dog

[BillH]

not a big fan of turned wood pens, so probably would not buy one...

and I'm with Mike on the clear demonstrators...

and 99% of the very high end Pelikan LE's just seem rather silly to me.

[Manalto]

The original question "What Pen Won't You Buy?" is more interesting without the addition of "never" anyway.

[langere]

I hope pen company reps are reading this thread! They could learn a lot and avoid some common mistakes.

 

Erick

[inkstainedruth]

Clear Demonstrators. I just don't get it.

 

I mostly don't either. But I have a Dollar 717i that someone sent me in trade for some ink and I must say that if I'm going to have a clear plastic pen, it might as well be a piston filler....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[FarmBoy]

I hope pen company reps are reading this thread! They could learn a lot and avoid some common mistakes.

 

Erick

New Esterbrook

Doesn't matter if he is reading. A few of us are already on the no sale list

[inkstainedruth]

New Esterbrook

Doesn't matter if he is reading. A few of us are already on the no sale list

 

I solved that problem -- I handled one at DCSS a couple of summers ago and it violated my rule 1 -- it was too heavy. 'Nuff said....

Oh, that and the first ones were *obscenely* expensive -- thus violating one of my other rules.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[FarmBoy]

I solved that problem -- I handled one at DCSS a couple of summers ago and it violated my rule 1 -- it was too heavy. 'Nuff said....

Oh, that and the first ones were *obscenely* expensive -- thus violating one of my other rules.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

BUT...the box is another story.

[crescent2]

Never say never, but I probably won't ever buy a really expensive pen, or of course, a pen I just don't like. I don't see myself ever buying an eyedropper, a Noodler's, or another Lamy. My only Noodler's pen is a free Charlie, but even after tweaking it as NT directed, I can't trust it to not put out a big blob of ink, and it's an eyedropper as well. According to what I've read, many Noodler's pens commonly have to be tweaked to get them to work. I'm a contrarian when it comes to Lamy; maybe I got a lemon. Even after purchasing another nib, I'm not pleased with the way it writes. Those are the only two pens I own (ranging from a free Jinhao 250 to $3 Varsity to Anniversary Van Gogh) that i don't especially like. I also like to use bottled inks, so I probably won't buy another cartridge-only pen, although I really like my little SS Liliput. I just refill the cartridge on that one.

[flipper_gv]

I learned long ago to avoid saying I won't do something; history shows that is almost always a lie.

 

There are some pens I'm very unlikely to buy though but even there, I did recently trade for one that should be on the No Fly list.

 

I cannot imagine buying any eyedropper pens, any pens that have a shut-off valve, pens without clips or butt fugly ones. I can't see myself buying a pen where the nib will need adjustment after I get it. I can't envision buying any of the pens marketed as demonstrators. I really would be shocked if I bought anything from Lamy, Noodler's, Visconti or any of the Indian makers I've seen so far.

 

But as I said, reality says I'm likely lying.

 

Haven't you just ordered a Nakaya without a clip? I thought I've seen that in another thread.

[Leonil]

For me, I will never buy another Parker - Ever.

 

After having to send back 2 Stainless Steel Sonnets and then using the "store credit" to upgrade to a Gold Nib Sonnet called "Great Expectations: Big Red" I also had to return that one soon after. Every time, the store told me the wait time was about 3 months to get it repaired because it had to be sent back to France for warranty.

 

The problem: Extremely hard starting. I mean REALLY hard. When I returned the Big Red pen, the lady suggested I replace it with something they had in store so they dipped another fancy Sonnet (The Pearl white) and it hard started... after a dip. The stainless steel ones scratched the paper and sometimes put holes in cheap paper when writing in one direction and with the gold nib pens, I had to scribble for about 2 seconds to get it to write (Almost as if I was colouring in to see the wetness of a pen in a YouTube review)

 

The only pen that came close to useable was the Big Red where it would skip on the first letter of every word I wrote. It would skip say, every 5-8 vertical lines I drew to test (and always skipped on the first line... ALWAYS) and most of all, there was no way to contact the distributer for Parker in Australia and the line I got was that the repair process was only in France.

[vicpen123]

Fancy, over priced, over decorated, exotically described barrels and caps fitted with standard off the shelf converters, sections and steel nibs.

 

A fountain pen for me has to be the whole package - barrel, cap, clip, filling system, section, feed and nib - unique to that pen although I will accept standard C/C throughout a manufacturer's range eg Parker.

[jar]

 

Haven't you just ordered a Nakaya without a clip? I thought I've seen that in another thread.

Didn't buy that one but rather traded a couple of my Maki-e pens for it. It is a learning experience and who knows, if it works out I may have to consider other clipless pens.

[MuddyWaters]

Clear Demonstrators. I just don't get it.

 

For some reason the clear plastic (more than the coloured ones of the same models) makes me think, I'm paying $30-80 for a plastic pen? What is the mark-up on these things?

[deepak23]

Metal Sections,

(Am probably going to get some flak for this)

Modern Pelikans, specifically m600, 800 & 1000,

Chinese pens

[dadbar]

I'm done buying new pens. They give me more trouble than the vintage ones.

[Studio97]

I find that the threads in the Cross don't come together smoothly, as if they are not lined up well or out of round. Cheap cross or traditional line of cross should all have at least a decent level of quality. I assumed that with the Cross name at least acceptable quality should be consistent

[redbike]

Another Ahab. After messing for months with the one I did buy, and never liking how it wrote, and really not liking the messes it created, I PIF'd it here.

[matteob]

I don't really like clipless pens either. I would never spend thousands of pounds on a pen either. Sure I like nice craftsmanship and materials but would not want a pen that is so valuable that I would be scared to use it. I am not keen on Parker pens now either. They shut down their pioneering Newhaven UK factory with the loss of hundreds of jobs and the place stands empty. I am not sure about their top end pens but their current French made standard pens are of inferior quality compared to the old British (and US and Canadian models). A current Vector is now cheap and tacky compared to any Jinhao or a Lamy Safari and it no longer punctures the cartridge on screwing down the barrel: smacks of cost cutting over quality. Luckily I have some 25s and 45s from Newhaven from chilhood which are atill excellent.

 

http://www.abandoned-derelict.co.uk/parker-pen-factory/