What Is The Longest You’Ve Ever Used A Pen?

[scratchofapen]

That is one of the Great Unanswered Questions and/or Eternal, Never-Ending Quests here on FPN, and its discussion has prompted many, many threads in the past.

 

One such is to be found here.

 

Good luck!

Well, i have found me a blue, I have found me a red, green is still pending...there will also be a black. What is the worst that can happen? More bottles on the shelf? At least the ink thing is less expensive than the pen part of the hobby. :0). Luckily there are samples available. Edited June 1, 2020 by scratchofapen

[Mercian]

Warning: temporary detour ahead!

Well, i have found me a blue, I have found me a red, green is still pending...there will also be a black.

 

You have managed to settle on just one blue ink?

I, alas, have yet to develop such self-control.

Will you tell us which one has won your crown?

And which red?

[scratchofapen]

No, it is not that i settled with one blue..heck, half of my inks are blue...its more that if i were forced to use only one from now on i would not have to think about any more which one to choose. I found my to go blue i compare any other with so to say.

 

And, to answer that question, it is Visconti blue.

Edited June 1, 2020 by scratchofapen

[Larry Barrieau]

Forty-six hours. The EMT's had to use the handle of a toothbrush to pry my fingers off of it. I was dishelved and hurting, but I finished my name tag.

[markofp]

A Parker ballpoint that my brother gave me in 1972 for being an usher at his wedding. Still in use, still gets refills.

[NumberSix]

A Parker ballpoint that my brother gave me in 1972 for being an usher at his wedding. Still in use, still gets refills.

 

Silver Jotter? So deliciously-clicky.

[txomsy]

In real, normal use:

 

Montblanc Slimline (30 years)

 

Other than that, a very old pen I got from my grand parent in the early 80's but I stopped using it in the 2000's, a skinny super-slim pen that lasted from mid 80's till late 2000's when the section ring broke.

 

All other daily use pens broke earlier or were lost.

[Azuniga]

Montblanc L 139 (using it for 25 years) with Aurora Black

 

Astoria 6 –Safety Red Ripple– (using it for 12 years) with Chocolate Brown Private Reserve

[Beechwood]

As a student my father had a Parker Vacumatic in 1947, he bought a Parker 51, He went to a huge Trade Show and on the way he had dropped the Vac damaging the nib. Parker had a stand at the show and changed the Vacumatic nib for a Duofold nib, no charge. Whilst he waited for the repair he tried out a 51, liked it and then put the Vacumatic away. After that, he had a new Parker 51 set every year for his birthday for the rest of his life.

 

 

I was nothing more than an itch at that time but I remember the Vacumatic as I grew up and he allowed me to use the Vac at home but I was never allowed to take the pen to school.

 

I still have the pen today, the the Duofold nib remains in place.

Edited June 2, 2020 by Beechwood

[Wolverine1]

I saw this thread and I looked at my current rotation of pens. I have a black Parker Duofold Centennial pen, which I bought new in 1995, it was my first "expensive and good" pen. This pen has been in my rotation ever since, I write with it daily. I have other nice pens, but, the Parker pen gets used every day.

[stephanos]

The question was, "What is the longest you've ever used a pen?"

 

I make a distinction between two kinds of pen:

 

a) A pen that is in rotation, but which is not necessarily always inked up.

This is at least partly a function of age. For me, the pen I've had for the longest and whcih I continue to use is an old Parker that my mother gave to my father and which was (because he never used it) was passed on to me about 25 years ago. I think it's a Parker 61, with a rolled-gold finish. I've used it sporadically since getting it, even before I 'fell down the rabbit hole'.

 

b ) A pen that is always inked.

For me, this is my Pelikan Level 5, which has been constantly inked since I got it in early 2014. It has a huge ink capacity, sits on its own ink bottle, is extremey reliable, and is an excellent backup desk pen for taking short notes. It is not my favourite pen, but it is simply always there and gets used at least once a week.

 

[edited to prevent autoformatting turning my "b )" into a smiley face.]

Edited June 7, 2020 by stephanos

[TSherbs]

30 years: 1980-2010, Sheaffer school pen. The only fp I owned for 30 years.

[OCArt]

I agree, the Level 5 is a wonderful writing pen! It never fails to immediately start, holds a ton of ink and sits pleasantly in the hand. I'm not in love with the looks but as a writer it's great. I have mine filled with Noodler's 54th Massachusetts so that I can make waterproof addresses on envelopes and the like.

[much snipped]

b ) A pen that is always inked.

For me, this is my Pelikan Level 5, which has been constantly inked since I got it in early 2014. It has a huge ink capacity, sits on its own ink bottle, is extremey reliable, and is an excellent backup desk pen for taking short notes. It is not my favourite pen, but it is simply always there and gets used at least once a week.

 

[edited to prevent autoformatting turning my "b )" into a smiley face.]

[pajaro]

Midnight blue Parker 51 bought in 1970 and still in use, fifty years.

 

Montblanc 144R Bordeaux medium bought in 1983 and still used today.

 

Montblanc 144R Bordeaux bought in 1990 and in use today.

 

A few Sheaffer Imperial desk pens bought in the late 1970s.

 

A few others.

[jchch1950]

I agree, the Level 5 is a wonderful writing pen! It never fails to immediately start, holds a ton of ink and sits pleasantly in the hand. I'm not in love with the looks but as a writer it's great. I have mine filled with Noodler's 54th Massachusetts so that I can make waterproof addresses on envelopes and the like.

The only problem with the Pelikan L5 is the unconventional filling system and the need for a special ink bottle. To wash the pen is also not easy especially if you change ink colours often.

[Time-Traveller]

A Montblanc Junior which was given to me as a gift when I was in high school, some 50 years ago, is still functioning well, but is more or less retired, not for any fault of the pen. Slightly younger are my Montblanc Noblesse fountain pen and ballpoint, about 47 years old.

The pen I use most frequently is a Waterman Expert II, almost without interruption since 2012 (in other words, continuously for just the past eight years).

[Wahl]

I have a Parker 21 black, which has been with me for the last 59 years !

[Mangrove Jack]

A Parker 45 for 45 years.

My grandmother gave it to me when I was about 13 years old. I am now 58. It has not been in continuous use though. It's put away for some years and taken out and used for a while and put away again. I dropped it once and had to replace the nib, which was very easy since they are readily available and a breeze to replace.

[ParramattaPaul]

I think my dad used the same pen for multiple decades. I on the other hand would usually lose a pen in two years or so in the past. Now, I have pens that I've had and used for the past 7 or 8 years.

[shostakovich]

Parker 51 since 1956 but not always used and periods of non use. (I had it new at school). That's 64 years ...