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

[FarmBoy]

I don’t know yet. I’m still using it. 

[Peter_H]

Just under 20 years.  Like most people, I used fountain pens at school in the 60s and 70s, subsequently moving to biros and then derivatives such as gel pens or fibre tips.  I used fountain pens sporadically after moving into teaching in the 90s, but these pens were very basic and got damaged or lost/lent out quite easily.

 

When I moved schools in 2000, my colleagues kindly bought me a very swish Sheaffer Prelude.  I used this daily, inked with an off-red ink bought in a random shop somewhere.  This was a lovely colour and also wonderfully scented; made from flower petals, I recall.  When the bottle finally ran out, I was unable to replace it, so switched to Diamine Maroon.  After retirement in 2015, I still used this pen regularly for some years, inked mainly with the Diamine.

 

After starting my little pen collection last year, I was reminded that the Prelude F was a little too broad for my normal writing and realised that it dried out far faster than any of my other pens, so I ‘retired’ it.  Although it had sometimes dried out over the Summer, it still contained dried ink, so I’m allowing that as continuous inking!  In the entire 20 years, it was, I think, dropped only twice.  First time, no issues; second time, it trashed the nib.  The replacement F should have been bicolour, like the original, but I was sent a basic plain one.  It wrote so well, I never complained - and it is still on the pen now.

 

[SamChevre]

The second pen I repaired--a 1944 Parker 51 Vacumatic.  It's been on my desk or in my pocket, filled with Waterman Mysterious Blue, since I got into fountain pens 2 years ago.

[vicpen123]

Over 40 years. Bought a Parker 45 in the late 70s, used it exclusively until early 90s when it was superseded by word processing but it has never been out of my rotation for hand written work.

It has been joined by many more fps in recent years so it only gets used sparingly today.

 

[mallymal1]

In continuous use?

 

Amongst pens purchased in 2016 I got myself a Kaweco Brass Sport, and also a Nakaya Cigar Kuro-tamenuri. They've been inked up ever since.

 

In 1980 I bought a Parker 45 Harlequin Grey Shield, this was last in my rotation in May of this year.

[Penguincollector]

I have a ton of Parkers, a Pelikan m800, a Reform piston filler, and an MB 144 that I have had in regular use for over 30 years. My $2 51 Special I found at a barn sale has been working hard for me these last 20 years, not sure how long the previous owner had it.  I had a Berol Fontaine disposable fp last me about 12 years. More recently, I had a purple Varsity last for about 10 years. Mind you, none have been a daily driver because I like to change it up.

[Le Vieux]

A couple of Hero 100's, gifted to me when I was a 6th grader. (late 70s). Those two, together with a Romanian fountain pen, a 61S model, were my only. For the good part of 30 yrs or so, these 3 pens got used quite heavy, and although a good number of vintage Parker, MB, Wahl, Waterman's and other brands are living in my desk drawer and collection, I still have those first 3 cheap pens. And yes, they still write beautifully. 

[Bo Bo Olson]

In @ 1971 as I droo9led over a black and gold Snorkel, I got mugged by the silver P-75 brothers, FP &MP/BP.

 

Having almost lost the FP once in collage, after that it never left the house, the BP which when bought had a MP Jotter style cartridge in it, was taken to work a few time before it joined it's big brother in my wife's jewelry prison. The era of free ball points had arrived.