What Am I Missing About Expensive Pens?

March 19, 2018

On customer service alone that is a worthy recommendation!

Are there pen companies who won't repair sh*#* nibs out of the box for their luxury pens? The swag is meaningless to me. The swap to the 149 seemed appropriate, not magnanimous at those price points and after so much hassle. But maybe the industry standard is worse than that? I wouldn't know from experience.

March 19, 2018

The swag is meaningless to me...

I love 'swag'!

March 19, 2018

My Danitrios cost more but I don't favor them over the MB. If the MB didn't feel amazing to write with, it would be in a box, in a drawer. In fact, as I explored a wide array of pens, that's just where it spent about 5 years of its life. As I hate to look pretentious, I put it away and focused on brands that non-FPers wouldn't recognize. Many are great; as I said, there's a lot of great pens out there at many price points. However, about two years ago, I re-inked the MB and was amazed at how natural it feels to use. While I only use it at home to reduce the likelihood of appearing pompous at my job, I use it fairly often as it feels amazing to use. I wish it were more under the radar, though.

There are users, collectors, and posers that buy MBs (like Rolex, another brand which is viewed with love and scorn). Why you uniformly bash all buyers of MB as posers is beyond logic. A few years ago, Steve Light (FPN member and childrens book animator who uses MB) posted a picture of a very famous French cartoonist (I don't recall who) that used MB exclusively. He had a full set of 149s (not the "fancy" LE/WE models) which were his primary tools. Also, many here that can, and do, own a huge amount of pens at all price points still prefer their MBs.

no business person with an IQ greater than a fly will ever waste time, resources, and especially money on making a product with a great nib when their target market are not people who write with them day in day out.

Many, many MB FP owners write with them. IMHO, non-FP MBs are more likely to be posers.

If you like thick lines, try a Danitrio soft stub nib. Ain't no basic Bock gonna be modified to write like it.

March 19, 2018

please, don't include expensive junk Montblanc or other similar nibs. I'm referring to nibs that have a valid reason to cost that much.

My opinion is any FP that writes in monoline is an expensive Bic.

Edited March 19, 2018 by Nail-Bender

March 20, 2018

My Danitrios cost more but I don't favor them over the MB. If the MB didn't feel amazing to write with, it would be in a box, in a drawer. In fact, as I explored a wide array of pens, that's just where it spent about 5 years of its life. As I hate to look pretentious, I put it away and focused on brands that non-FPers wouldn't recognize. Why would you want to care about what other people think?

Many are great; as I said, there's a lot of great pens out there at many price points. However, about two years ago, I re-inked the MB and was amazed at how natural it feels to use. Due to natural variation, there are bound to be many MB users who consider that their MB is the best thing since sliced bread, but it doesn't mean that they're any good. Quality in such a product should be judged on consistency. MB don't appear to have that. The number of issues with them is nothing short of scary at any price point. Then having to send them away to be repaired is enough to put me off whatever they're like.
While I only use it at home to reduce the likelihood of appearing pompous at my job, I use it fairly often as it feels amazing to use. I wish it were more under the radar, though.

There are users, collectors, and posers that buy MBs (like Rolex, another brand which is viewed with love and scorn). Why you uniformly bash all buyers of MB as posers is beyond logic. I don't recall saying that they are all posers. A few years ago, Steve Light (FPN member and childrens book animator who uses MB) posted a picture of a very famous French cartoonist (I don't recall who) that used MB exclusively. He had a full set of 149s (not the "fancy" LE/WE models) which were his primary tools. Also, many here that can, and do, own a huge amount of pens at all price points still prefer their MBs. Without hearing the reasons why, this is meaningless. Like I said, when people pay a lot for something, psychologically, they have to like it more than they would if it cost a lot less.

Many, many MB FP owners write with them. Lloyd, users on this and other fountain pen forums represent less than an atom in a universe of the total population. Be rest assured that the majority of Montblanc buyers do not use them as a writing tool - even the CEO of MB acknowledged that (max_dog and others have highlighted a few excerpts of the business thoughts of one of their big cheeses from a few decades ago when MB were forced to change direction. It was posted in one of the mega-threads about MB recently). IMHO, non-FP MBs are more likely to be posers.

If you like thick lines, try a Danitrio soft stub nib. Ain't no basic Bock gonna be modified to write like it. I like all different types of lines - I don't favour any in particular as different nib widths have different uses for different moods. I won't be buying any more Bocks at any price though. Approximately twelve times bitten, thirteen times shy.

My opinion is any FP that writes in monoline is an expensive Bic.

In a way, it is.

Edited March 20, 2018 by Bluey

March 20, 2018

1.What milkshakes do you like?

2. I like banana milkshakes.

3. Strawberry milkshakes are the only milkshakes worth having.

2. Strawberry milkshakes are good too, but I also like banana.

3. People who buy banana milkshakes are stupid and easily dupped.

2. Erm....ok

3. And people who buy banana milkshakes only buy them for show. They never drink them.

2. Eh....ok, but I just drank mine. Should I not have done that?

3. And folks that buy banana milkshakes only buy them for showing off the fact that they have a banana milkshake and not a strawberry one.

2. Yeah, but I've also bought strawberry ones too.

3. And banana milkshakes are always made with bad bananas and they are only codding themselves that it's good banana.

2. Well it looks like a good banana...

3. And I will never ever ever buy your banana milkshake

2. Em, I wasn't trying to sell you one.

3. You cannot possibly enjoy your banana milkshake, it is entirely in your head.

2. But I do like banana flavour, can you at least give me that?

3. No, not ever.

2. What was the question again?

...And so the playground argument goes endlessly on on every blessed thread about banana milkshakes.

Edited March 20, 2018 by Uncial

March 20, 2018

Sounds like the Monty Python argument sketch.

March 20, 2018

I like chocolate shakes. I just got one with my Barney Burger at Triple XXX!

March 20, 2018

When I was a child all my milkshakes had banana in them as a base, especially strawberry.....

Can we move on to expensive inks?

I’m sure we can get 15 pages off that topic....

March 20, 2018

Sounds like the Monty Python argument sketch.

Yeah, especially the bit where the one guy says, "I just came here for an argument! And the other guy says. "Oh, I'm sorry -- this is Abuse!"

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

ETA: No, I didn't click on the link -- I didn't really have to.... Before I knew there was a TV show, I was hearing stuff on the radio from their various albums (the first skit I ever heard was "The Cheese Shop...).

Edited March 20, 2018 by inkstainedruth

March 20, 2018

It would seem that this topic has been fully savored down to the last drop ...

March 20, 2018

Maybe stop trying to sell mb's to the person who hates mb's if you want him to shut up about mb's?

I (probably with most people) knew where it was going as soon as I saw Lloyd's unfortunate query. There's the block, start running, see you soon .....

eta:pausing for a milkshake. They're healthier.

Edited March 20, 2018 by praxim

March 20, 2018

To infinity and beyond!

March 20, 2018

Where can I get a good Chocolate Malted Milkshake?

All others are abominations. Especially Banana.

As for inks, there is One Ink To Rule Them All - Parker Penman Sapphire. Thou shalt have no other inks before thee...

March 20, 2018

1.What milkshakes do you like?
2. I like banana milkshakes.
3. Strawberry milkshakes are the only milkshakes worth having.
2. Strawberry milkshakes are good too, but I also like banana.
3. People who buy banana milkshakes are stupid and easily dupped.
2. Erm....ok
3. And people who buy banana milkshakes only buy them for show. They never drink them.
2. Eh....ok, but I just drank mine. Should I not have done that?
3. And folks that buy banana milkshakes only buy them for showing off the fact that they have a banana milkshake and not a strawberry one.
2. Yeah, but I've also bought strawberry ones too.
3. And banana milkshakes are always made with bad bananas and they are only codding themselves that it's good banana.
2. Well it looks like a good banana...
3. And I will never ever ever buy your banana milkshake
2. Em, I wasn't trying to sell you one.
3. You cannot possibly enjoy your banana milkshake, it is entirely in your head.
2. But I do like banana flavour, can you at least give me that?
3. No, not ever.
2. What was the question again?

...And so the playground argument goes endlessly on on every blessed thread about banana milkshakes.

March 20, 2018

To be honest, I love threads like this. Sure, after a couple of pages, it veers off topic and crashes down the side of a hill, but the replies are often interesting and gives you insight into how other people think of (and enjoy) the hobby.

I think people (including me) tend to forget that in every hobby, the combinations of people's preferences are infinite and no one is right or wrong (maybe just a little too passionate to a fault though 😅). There will always be "fanboys" and "haters" and "trolls". To me, this is actually a good thing because if it weren't for them, there wouldn't be so many pen/ink/paper companies that strive to satisfy their varied wants/needs (more options for the rest of us 😉).

No one has to be "right" to enjoy something, and just because an opinion is in the minority also doesn't make it "wrong" (that's why there are soooo many pens/paper/inks/nibs in the market...preference is subjective). 😊

~ hinky:

I like your comment.

Thank you for posting it.

Tom K.

March 20, 2018

Oh c'mon, don't tell me that or I'll feel like Mary Cooper from Big Bang Theory "-Oh, I thought the one we couldn't say was Ching-Chong -Yeah, that too".

Now, seriously, does "Oriental" bear any negative connotation -in all English spoken countries, only in USA...? In Spanish "oriental" just means "from far east" (orient just being the side where the sun rises; the opposite being occidental, as occident means the side where the sun sets).

Sorry for the bait trolled and the hook set. A person espousing that position would tell you that the problem is that the term is _____-centric: why is someone defined by where they are in relation to your location?