How often do you see people using fountain pens?

[Jeremiah]

The only other person I've seen who uses/collects fountain pens, other than myself, is my US History/Civics teacher. He got me started, and then I proceeded to infect enrich the rest of the school with fine writing instruments. By the time I was done, I had greatly vexed some parents who demanded to know why their children were suddenly asking for anywhere from $25.00 to $375.00 for new pens (one devoted fellow even stained his parents' white wall with bulletproof Noodler's ink). Although, some of those parents ended up fountain pen fans/users themselves.

Edited July 31, 2012 by Jeremiah

[ravantra]

There are a few of my colleagues on the staff at my secondary school (11 to 18 years) who are FP users. One is dedicated to Safari Fine and ExFine nibs and always has a range of pens with him. When my daughters left school they gave him bottles of unsual coloured inks. He was so happy. As so much work is IT based there is usually only marking students work that provides an opprtunity to write by hand (unless you count notes to parents in student planners).

A member of staff who just does not understand, once uttered the incomprehensible phrase, "How can you have a favourite pen?"

 

A very small number of students use FPs but most have been put off by leakage problems. Being thrown around in school bags is not good for keeping ink in the right part of the pen. This differs from about 20 years ago when I often found parts of broken Parker vectors around school (not durable enough).

 

As for use in public, I was told that I could not use a FP to sign a blood doning form as the forms had to be kept for 15 years. Would a Bic really out last my black Quink?.

 

Good article about pen use.

 

http://www.independe...en-2109252.html

 

Kevin

 

Thanks for posting the article. Good read.

[fountainpenjunkie]

Last night during our Stated Meeting dinner, the Junior Steward from Concord 117 said, "Nice pen"

"It's around a hundred years old", I say, as I hand it over.

"A fountain pen?"

"Yes"

He was very compimentary of my 1921 Waterman 54.

The JS handed over a flat black Lamy Safari. It wrote very nicely.

"I have a yellow one at work", I say.

"Talking about pens?" Another member of 117 asked. "Let's talk guns."

Which we did.

The JS later handed over a BEAUTIFUL blue Pelikan. It wrote exceptionally well.

I didn't want to return it. "You may not get this back."

He just smiled.

I asked, "Are you on FPN?"

"Yep. It's a great resource."

 

That was fun!

[Penne Stilografiche]

I'm 14 and I've never seen anyone who has used a fountain pen besides for myself. Most kids in school are shocked that they are still being used. In a way, I'm happy most of the kids don't use them. I let one kid try out using my Parker custom 51 only to get it back with a broken nib...

[Miadhawk]

A few people in my school do, I've gotten about six people into collecting, some are even on this forum now!

[Sandy Fry]

I haven't seen anyone carry a Fountain Pen since I was a kid. I carry mine everywhere now and folks are fascinated by them and wonder why I write with an "old timey" pen!!!

 

David

Edited February 9, 2013 by Sandy Fry

[fountainpenjunkie]

Collectiblepens,

I was about your age when I bought my first inexpensive fountain pen out of curiosity. No one I knew used them either. A few years ago, my good friend heavily-handled a '59 Mont Blanc. Fortunately he did no damage, but I learned a lesson about handing over a pen!

 

I'm 14 and I've never seen anyone who has used a fountain pen besides for myself. Most kids in school are shocked that they are still being used. In a way, I'm happy most of the kids don't use them. I let one kid try out using my Parker custom 51 only to get it back with a broken nib...

[Tom Aquinas]

I was in the consulting room of my surgeon the other day and I was pleasingly surprised to see him using a silver Caran d'Ache Ecridor. Fountain pens, especially large black ones are excellent to have in one's hand when cross examining a witness...so I'm told.

 

 

Edit; Muggins here had not crossed a "t".

Edited February 9, 2013 by Tom Aquinas

[clb]

I never see people using fountain pens in public, unfortunately. However, I was surprised to see one of my students pull out his great grandfather's dip pen during class the other day... he couldn't find any of his regular pens, so he brought that one, instead. Photo attached for proof. Gotta give it to a high school student who will actually use a dip pen in class! Still works impressively well, too.

 

(it was ski day when I took the picture - hence the heavy jacket...)

[Tom Aquinas]

I never see people using fountain pens in public, unfortunately. However, I was surprised to see one of my students pull out his great grandfather's dip pen during class the other day... he couldn't find any of his regular pens, so he brought that one, instead. Photo attached for proof. Gotta give it to a high school student who will actually use a dip pen in class! Still works impressively well, too.

 

(it was ski day when I took the picture - hence the heavy jacket...)

 

I dips me lid to him. I could never use a dip pen, and have one that dates to 1849. My inability to use a dip pen when I was 9 was a reason I was given my first fountain pen a Shaeffer Cartridge pen in ruby red. It was ultra modern at the time.

[iamchum]

It is rare to see people writing with fountain pens where I work, yet my use can tend to "fascinate" people on occassion, likely due to the variation in both ink colors and pens I choose. Great opportunities for conversation and sharing the simple pleasures of pen, ink, and paper. I usually have a small number of relatively inexpensive pens to give to those who seem truly interested and would like to give it a try.

 

Unfortunately, the only time I have seen someone writing with a fountain pen, was when they were trying mine!

 

Every time I have been around pen stores, people I see come in always end up either buying a ballpoint, or getting a refill changed.

 

I did see a Montblanc bag on the subway the other day though, I would like to think that they just purchased a fountain pen!

 

I'm not sure where I read this but Australia has a much lower penetration rate when it comes to usage of FPs (something like 4x less people per percentage of population than the US), so it comes as no surprise that it is a rare sight to see an FP user in Australia (this is also partly to do with out anachronistic distribution networks, which keep FPs, bar the entry level ones, which have recently surfaced at Officeworks, to a very small network of retailers whose clientele is, generally, the affluent).

 

However, I did see a fellow PhD candidate at my university using one. I have yet to see him again as it was at the induction meeting, and I think he is in a different faculty to me, but he was using a TWSBI micarta 805, from what I could see from across the table I felt a bit stupid (ludicrously vulgar, imagine what he was thinking when i pulled it out of my (not intentional) matching visconti pen case) when I pulled out my visconto homo sapiens (it was the only one I had inked at the time!!! Hard days writing it was). Undone by my own expensive taste.

Edited February 9, 2013 by iamchum

[frenchy82]

Here in Italy it's very hard to see someone using a fountain pen.

I rembember at the college that my teacher of construction used a Aurora 88 for drawings .

My father has a MB 149 but he use it very rarerly. Last year for his birthday i gave him a Lamy Safari and now he writes with it very frequently.

[fernobre]

My wife uses it from time to time.

I know a german colleague that uses a Laban.

At the office, there is a colleague that also uses fountain pens daily and started recently to collect them.

 

Besides that, I wonder where are all those poor unhappy pens? Laying down or standing on closets, boxes, drawers, inked or empty, but not beeing used at is best capabilities: writting down beautifull traces of colorfull ink

[ZachWasniak]

I don't see very many peope carry/using them very often.... Unfortunately.

[adichew]

In my unit office, i do not know of anyone who uses a fountain pen. My colleagues view my ink bottles as curiosities and wonder why I would spend so much on a writing instrument when ballpens are available for free. My warrant officer once commented, when i carried a Hero 330 to work, that he'd used Hero pens in his childhood.

 

When I was still in school, I knew 1 kid who was a regular fountain pen user and 1 who used fountain pens at home but rarely brought them to class. The latter used a Vector flighter, if I remember correctly. One of my schoolmates scammed us by buying cheap Heros from Wuhan and reselling them in Singapore at the RMB price, but in Singapore Dollars. He made what seemed like a small fortune, and only 1/5 of the pens I bought from him worked. He clearly converted few people.

 

I have converted 1 of my friends to fountain pen use, and he proudly clips a Sheaffer 330 Dark Blue in Fine to his naval service dress. I have also loaned out my Triumph Imperial II Deluxe to a school junior, but I'm not sure she's convinced (yet?) The rest of my friends have pen holds that are highly incompatible with FP writing. They mostly bear down on their ballpens at a 90deg angle.

[2GreyCats]

I was delighted to find that one of my colleagues in the adjunct-faculty office (I believe she's Math or Reading; I'm ESL)uses Lamy Safaris. She has several with her, loaded with more-or-less matching ink. I told her about FPN and the Goulets. She told me about Fahrney's.

 

We've swapped ink samples, and are having a marvelous time talking pens instead of grading papers...

Edited February 9, 2013 by 2GreyCats

[Ecriveur]

I very rarely see anyone using a fountain pen and can't recall the last time that happened. Most people rarely need to write at all anymore apart from their signatures so they hardly need pens at all, let alone fountain pens.

[Scritch]

When I had a sudden urge to start using fountain pens, one of my coworkers saw me using it, and immediately declared that it looked the cool thing to do. She then bought one and now we're always talking about FPs to other colleagues, although no one else has taken the plunge yet.

 

The funniest time though was when one of my students needed to sign some paperwork and asked to borrow my pen. When I offered him my capped fp and he tried to twist the point up, I had to tell him to remove the cap. When he saw the nib, he exclaimed, "how do I use it, do I have to do something special?" :roflmho: When I said "just write", that confused him even more :ltcapd:

 

You never knew FPs could be so complicated did you? :ltcapd:

[pmhudepo]

This year, I believe I have only seen one other person use a fountain pen: a teacher whom I met to review an internship at our company. He: "Is that a Pelikan?" Me: "No, I'm using a Parker." And then we continued with our review session.

 

Perhaps being a software engineer doesn't provide the best chances of meeting a fellow fountain pen user.

[sirksael]

Well, I'm in the software business too, and at my island of 6 tables there are 2 other fountain pen users: One uses throwaway Pilot pens, and the other one uses a parker vector.

 

Fountain pens are not really a rare sight in Belgium, although not many people understand why I would spend so much money on them.

 

In fact, my company used to give Mont Blancs to people with 5 years of seniority, but hardly anyone uses them. In fact, one of my colleagues gave hers (a Chopin) to me when she found out I was collecting pens . Now, the pens have been replaced by ballpoints...