How often do you see people using fountain pens?

[PAKMAN]

Constantly! Of course since I've retired I don't get out much. My wife, daughter and son-in-law all use FP's (due to me infecting them). The guy that usually sits in front of me at church uses one and my big trip out of town each month is to the pen posse meeting where everyone is using one!

[alkman]

I see a good number of folks around Philadelphia using them...including one person who abandoned an Art Brown catalogue at a local coffee shop as he left.

[Dioxazine]

Yesterday the young kid in my Russian class saw me taking vials out of my pocket and asked me if I had fountain pens, I said yes and brandished my 2 Noodler's pens. I said I've seen him using a blue f-pen (which he hadn't been carrying lately), and he said he didn't know what model it was. It was a Christmas present.

[fojeremiad]

I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen a fountain pen out in the wild.

[Sandy Fry]

Other than myself ( old new user...used a FP n the early 70's ) have not seen another FP user in 35 years!

 

I do have some folks ask about my pens when I use them but no converts so far.

 

David

[Tom Aquinas]

My physician was using a limited edition sterling silver YOL and had a limited edition wooden barreled Graf von Faber Castell on his desk when I consulted him today .

Edited February 21, 2013 by Tom Aquinas

[dmalhi1]

To be completely honest, I've never EVER seen anyone else using a fountain pen aside from my wife who only really uses one because I gave one as a gift to her a few months ago. The other person is my co-worker who only really got a FP after watching me use my selection of pens (plus asking to borrow mine) daily for the past 6 months and even then he is selective of when he uses his. Today I caught him using a really cheap Hero Doctor that I had tossed in a desk at work that I never use, apparently he loves it.

[CoolFool]

 

 

True, living in Sacramento, (the LA Laker touted 'cow-town'), one may expect a rarity of use, I suppose. The other was at school as well. Discovered an instructor using a Pilot Varsity to initial our lab work.

 

So, I am curious if you folks see a lot of others using or carrying fountain pens?

 

 

I too live in the Sacramento area, and work in Sacramento. Recently someone where I work noticed I was carrying a fountain pen and remarked on it. Then she pulled out a "Platinum." As we looked over each other's pens, it seemed to me as though we were giving each other a kind of secret handshake acknowledging membership in a clandestine order of pen users. After a moment or two of geeking out, I think we each realized that if a normal person were to witness our conversation, they would think us very odd indeed. So we sobered up and went back to being our usual dignified selves.

 

So apparently there are at least a few of us here in Sacramento.

 

Funnily enough, in a coincidental sort of way, my name is also David with a last initial of M., and the incident described above took place in an institution of higher learning. You aren't by any chance me in alternate universe, are you?

Edited February 22, 2013 by CoolFool

[msnovtue]

Here at home in Indiana? You're kidding, right? The only reason I don't think I'm the only in the state using FPs is because I've seen other Hoosiers here on FPN.

 

On my trips to Germany? Not super common, but not unusual. In fact, I surprised a few locals by using one--but only because I'm from the US.

 

In defense of my fellow locals, however, I will point out that during my time in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism), I knew quite a few people who did stunning calligraphy and illumination with dip pens. Absolutley beautiful stuff.

[UK Mike]

There are a few sure ways of seeing a fountain pen in use in the UK

 

1. Get married - a fountain pen is always used to sign the register

2. Be born - as above but the kid doesn't get to sign in person!

3. Die - as above

4. Commit a major crime - all the High Court Judges record the trial using fountain pen. From what I've seen (from the Jury box I might add), they use Montblancs a lot and for some reason dip the pens rather than use the tank. Seems almost OCD behaviour but you wouldn't want to argue with a High Court Judge.

5. Come round to my house.

 

(P.S. It was great to see the young man with the dip pen. Gives you hope for the future)

Edited March 16, 2013 by UK Mike

[bcbg]

Spotted one in the wild this week: A lady sitting next to me on the tube was making notes with a Vista, filled with a vibrant fuchsia ink. It was all I could do not to comment.

[UK Mike]

Spotted one in the wild this week: A lady sitting next to me on the tube was making notes with a Vista, filled with a vibrant fuchsia ink. It was all I could do not to comment.

 

Good spot! On the TV programme "The Fixer" a couple of weeks ago, Alex the presenter was using a Lime Green Lamy Safari to make some notes.

 

The Truth is out There, it seems.

[Shutterbug57]

One of my clients uses a fountain pen. He has it in a desk stand on his desk. It is an old Sheaffer desk pen.

 

My wife uses fountain pens and has a nice part of our collection.

 

An old boss uses Pelikan fountain pens and matching pencils, we are CPAs, so pencils are a must. I turned him on to nice pens/pencils. I have matching pencils for many of my FPs.

 

Overall, I have to admit, I don't see them in the wild much, but I have never had anyone wonder what I was writing with when I pull out a FP to take notes in a meeting. They may ask a few questions about the specific pen, but they know basicaly what it is, so they can't be that rare.

[dsolmei]

In the hospital where I work I've encountered a few administrators or department chairs with Mont Blancs in their shirt pockets. Additionally, there's one resident that uses a Preppy with purple ink cartridges. In the broader geographic area of San Francisco, I probably see a fountain pen user once a month when studying in the coffee shops.

[Penne Stilografiche]

Being that I'm only 14, all of the other kids in school are amazed that anyone uses a fountain pen when they see me write with one, but one of my friends was so intrigued that he actually bought on off eBay and now uses it quite often. Most kids also want to use mine, but being that it is a MB 149, I usually say no.

Edited March 16, 2013 by collectiblepens.com

[stevekolt]

At my hospital I have seen only one person using a fountain pen, one of our physicians. I guess that now makes me one of two people here with taste

[inotrym]

Where I live, you must be a real weirdo to use a fountain pen. We don't use them at school and in fact they are kind of forbidden as they are thought to create a mess.

 

That's the main reason why I bought some of those fp/rollerball things. So that I can use my pretty inks in public while avoiding the "WT*F!" looks... :embarrassed_smile:

[Pen2009]

At my current company, my fellow manager and country managing director (defacto company president in the country) use fountain pens. Also, my company's regional managing director and product specialist use fountain pens (I saw them using Lamy Safari with cartridges while they were in my branch office for meetings). This is the first company I have seen several fountain pen users to date. The company is in the construction engineering field.

[loudkenny]

I very rarely see anyone around here with a FP, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

It just means there are just that many more pens for me.

 

The closest I got to another pen user in awhile was at an estate sale yesterday morning, where a young

'artsy' lady in front of me in line passed over an orange flat top Duofold and a green estie while looking

for calligraphy nibs. I got them (and a worn wartime blue 51) instead.

 

Ken

Edited March 17, 2013 by loudkenny

[Huntsman]

A lot of folks here in the Silicon Valley use them. However, even more folks carry them around in a pocket and NEVER use them... Ever.

 

Guess the brand that predominantly never gets used... :roflmho: Kidding aside, sometimes I wonder if those pocket status symbols even have ink in them.

 

It's nice to see a vintage one now and again, but it's pretty rare. Most of the time it's a Pelican, Lamy or an MB. I haven't seen many of the ultra low cost pens in use - perhaps at the local colleges one might see more of them applying ink to paper.