How often do you see people using fountain pens?

[andybiotic]

A few of my students every year are from Europe, and some of these have used FPs in class.

 

Most of my students are from east and southeast Asia, and they think I'm an individualistic (still usually not a good label in those cultures), stubborn anacrhonist with my FPs. They've seen or maybe even used FPs in their childhoods, scratchy fine points that dripped, leaked and required too much attention during handling and filling, and want nothing to do with them now. One non-FP-er said her mother is a calligrapher who still uses good FPs as well as traditional brushes. Another told me she has a Waterman FP she likes, but at home in her country.

 

A few students headed for design school used Rhodia paper in class (ahhhhhhh), but they were east Asians who didn't like FPs.

 

(edited for grammar)

 

 

Just trying to clear things out, I am a south-east Asian and a student, (although I have been in New Zealand for eons and I am practically a kiwi) I love using fountain pens... I dont think its a race thing...

[rcmirani]

Whenever I travel to Gulf countries like Doha, Qatar, or Muscat or Dubai. I have seen local Arabs use fountain pens. The arabic script is so curvacious that they like to use fountain pens. But in USA, except for pens shows I have not seen anyone.

[fountainpenjunkie]

I am planning to submit a petition to receive degrees (in Masonry) and a few months ago, met with the Worshipful

Master of the nearest Lodge. When I mentioned fountain pens, he brought over about a dozen pens I didn't recognize. My eyes are so bad, I couldn't even see the manufacturer. I didn't want to COMPLETELY derail our conversation, so I just said, "Wow, I've never seen pens like those. Do you know who made them?" He didn't and I let it go. But I was amazed he produced them at the mere mention!

[saketb]

Not very often, but yesterday at the doctor's clinic. He was writing the prescriptions with a fountain pen. And when I inquired with him regarding the make and other details, he said "No Idea".

[professionaldilettante]

Besides me? no one...

[Chevalier]

I think I don't have to speak much about my time in Europe and Germany, many Businesspeople still use fountain pens here, especially for signing stuff. There are still people who simply prefer the fountain pen and never stopped using them. Sure, computers made a lot of the handwriting obsolete, but personal letters are often written with fountain pens.

 

The situation in the US is different, I knew some Pennsylvania Dutch people using fountain pens and some business people carrying a fountain pen at least- I am not sure if they used them for anything but signing (if) though. I might have seen more people using them, but a fountain pen in a writer's hand wasn't that much of an unusual sight to me after I've attended German schools.

Edited December 2, 2011 by Chevalier

[Curious G]

Besides me, nobody. A few years ago I had a former co-worker, who after seeing me use fountain pens, wanted to try them and bought a cheap disposable one for a couple of dollars. I don't work with them anymore though, and while people on occassion like to use mine if I let them, I've yet to see anybody else actually using them. Its too bad...they're all missing out.

[Clancy]

I can't remember that last time I saw someone else (besides my wife) use a fountain pen other than in movies. However, when I'm spotted using one I often get comments and questions. People say things like, "Gee, I didn't know they even made those anymore." I do make an effort to be a fountain pen diplomat and encourage others to try one. That's how I got my wife into it. I bought her one and she loves it.

[fabrimedeiros]

I had some professors at medical school - about 5 years ago - who use them, but few people. Nowadays I just met another doctor who likes FP. When I met him, he was using a Lamy Safari Brown (I don't know the correct name of that color, but very beautiful Safari, by the way) and Quink (Parker Ink). He said he was a FP user since childhood and never gave them up . I showed him 3 or 4 pens that I was carring in that occasion and a Noodler's Bulletproof bottle. He was amazed with the bulletproof ink that he didn't know.

 

 

[stedders]

I see FP users (in and around London, England) much more frequently than most of the posters in this thread.

 

Many of the senior people at work use an FP - always a MontBlanc. Perhaps they are given one when they get that final promotion to the top grade.

 

I have noticed several people in the creative team using Lamy Nexx FPs.

 

I also noticed a colleague with a cheapish Parker FP branded with our company's logo - so I guess someone in Marketing is an FP fan.

 

My sightings of other Vintage FP users are far rarer - I have only ever seen one other user: earlier this year my senior client was using a Teal Parker '51' Aero.

 

I also see FPs amongst a younger generation, which I find especially pleasing:

 

* My son, aged 19, only uses FPs, as do several of his friends at University. My niece is the same.

 

* My daughter, aged 15, uses FPs at times - always bright-coloured Lamy safaris - and at least three girls in her class also use Safari FPs.

 

Of these, only my daughter has been influenced by my love of FPs - the others came to FPs independently of me.

[dezzick3]

I'm doing my A levels at the moment, and it seems that about a quarter of people in every class use FP's. (usually Lamy Safari's)

[reval]

In my office 4 of the nine ppl are using FPs most of the time.

[olivier78860]

In a former job, I was always carrying my "favorite fountain pen of the day" to write my reports. My colleague, who was very carefull, tried the 149, the M1000, the Edson, the Fidélio.

One day, he came to work with a S.T. Dupont Olympio. I thought... Mission complete. Was quite a good day.

[XiaoMG]

Before I got into fountain pens, a student of mine had one (a Lamy Safari) in class. She turned in an essay to me that she wrote with it, and working back from the letter size, I'm pretty sure it was an EF.

 

More recently, I told a very small class that I was a stationery geek, and the following week one of them decided to bring a Muji fountain pen, which she said was her mother's. She handed it to me and I played with it a little bit, and handed her my TWSBI in exchange.

 

Beyond that, I don't recall anyone I know ever having or using fountain pens "in the wild".

[Anthony P]

Never talked to anyone IRL about fountain pens, but I found out that a guy at my university who is doing the same course combination as me and who sat behind me every day for one of my units uses Pilot 78Gs and TWSBIs (my first two pens) and is a member of FPN. Funnily enough, I talked to this guy about a test but never realized that he was a "user" until recently.

[Pendragon]

I have seen one coworker use a fountain pen. Other than that, I have never, ever seen anyone use a fountain pen except on TV or in the movies.

 

I work with people from all over the world, especially the Pacific Rim, and their views seem to vary somewhat. This appears to correlate to their country of origin to some degree, and may reflect different cultural traditions and national histories. All of them use the term "ink pen" rather than "fountain pen".

 

The Vietnamese see fountain pens as the standard writing instrument because it is more affordable than a disposable ballpoints. Disposable things are apparently seen as a luxury because they are more expensive in the long run. Buying an endless series of ballpoints winds up being more costly than buying a fountain pen and bottles of ink. El cheapo ballpoints as a luxury... I must admit it was quite surprising to hear. Fountain pens being the standard, there are no negative

 

The East Indians and Pakistanis are split somewhat over fountain pens. Some think is is great that people still use them and fondly recall using them back home. These individuals also seem to be the ones who place particular value on good handwriting. The rest of the folks from South Asia think I have a screw loose for using an "old, leaky ink pen".

 

The Chinese, most of who are from the mainland, are all very surprised that I use a fountain pen and think I must be nuts for doing so. They tell me I should stop using a fountain pen and use a ballpoint instead. The old things = bad notion seems to be very much at play here.

 

Outside of work, my friend Tokyo Girl holds fountain pens in very high regard, as she sees them as luxury items. She has a great appreciation for the finer things in life, so a pen appreciation is not unexpected. She said that in Japan, Parker pens are seen as the very best, with Sheaffer and Cross pens also of particularly high quality. Japanese pens are seen as good quality, but not as good as the three aforementioned brands. She said Pelikan pens are seen as poor quality and can't understand why anyone would buy one. When I mentioned Chinese pens, she made a face and didn't say anything. I should have known better.

 

I have never seen my mother use anything but a ballpoint for the last 40 years, although she had a Parker P51. She said that in the 1950s, the government department where she worked mandated that all writing be done with a fountain pen and black ink. The workers there all hated fountain pens and wanted to use ballpoints, but the government regulations said it was fountain pens only.

 

In all the above cases, the negative views of fountain pens, always strongly held, were because they are seen as old, outdated, messy, they leak ink, they skip and they have to be refilled on a regular basis. My own experiences is that the opposite is true - the ballpoints leak, skip and refuse to write.

[AloofObserver]

My Godfather. He is the person who introduced me to fountain pens. He gave me a Lamy Safari around 2003 along with a nice notebook.

 

I think that one of my professors used a FP however I only suspect this because of the markings on the papers/ exams that he returned. I've never saw him actually use one and I neglected to ask him about it.

 

Otherwise, I have never seen anyone use a fountain pen. People seem to be OK with their cheap disposables and don't bother looking for anything better.

Edited December 3, 2011 by AloofObserver

[negirl]

I saw a gentleman at a meeting yesterday using the exact same pen I pullled out to take notes -- an Aquamarine Lamy Safari!

[Pen Nut]

Dont forget one of our FPN Roles people : "tho shalt convert the Bic using dimwits"

[majorworks]

I don't see anyone using them but myself. Not even my wife and daughter, both of whom have FPs (somewhere).