How often do you see people using fountain pens?

[Crazyorange]

I just took a continue education class for my profession. 40 people in the class. Not a single fountain pen...except for me.

[PocketNotebook]

Never. I go to a school with 2800 students. Never.

[jsolares]

I started a masters last year, so far only one teacher out of 15, and none of the students.

[Suareza]

Extremely rare, a customer of mine from Argentina. He told me he has been using FPN since 1st grade and can't get accustomed to something else.

[South Line]

At my School of about 3000 students, there is no one using a fountain pen. I only know me and one of my friends(a Waterman fan) at school that have an interest in fountain pens.

Edited March 1, 2014 by South Line

[00Photo]

I have never seen another person in my entire life use a fountain pen. Weirdos.

[mcc1701]

There is only one other person I know who uses fountain pens regularly, and he used them long before I did (or before I was born, actually). In fact, it was seeing him writing with a fountain pen that piqued my interest and caused me to research some. I know of no one who uses a fountain pen besides him, although I know a couple of others who do calligraphy with Sheaffers.

[butterkeks]

in the school almost everyone had a fountain pen.

in the university i still often see fountain pens (mostly from LAMY, the safaris for example), but not as much.

[Water Ouzel]

Went to pick up an order of a4 paper (working on a documentation project, the final article will be printed on a4 stock, we're not breaking down generally and joining the rest of the world just yet) at the local Staples.

 

The cashier, a young man probably just beginning junior college, dived for the batch of writing implements, and abandoned them for the fountain pen in his pocket when it came time for me to sign the debit slip.

 

It was just a Pilot Varsity, but it's good to see a young person who doesn't "like to write with anything else now".

[Shaun500]

I've never seen a single other person (outside of my FP collector's club) that uses FPs.

 

I have a colleague who was gifted an ST Dupont and MB 144 pen.

That he inked up, used...

 

And then kept. For over 10 years. Without flushing.

[Mrsal]

I happened to get luck one day. I was going in to my local cigar shop to pick up a stick before hanging out with some friends and who do i find sitting there? Paul Erano. We then had a 2 hour discussion on pens. It was absolutely wonderful!

[NomadSteve]

I had an Irish teacher in high school (in the States, which is why it was notable that he was from Ireland) who used them.

 

When I bought my first one two years ago, a friend and fellow student at my graduate school in Budapest noticed it right away ("Lamy?"). Apparently his dad is a user and has gifted a few from his collection to my friend over the years.

 

But actually USING one...sadly, no.

[Cryptos]

As kids we were encouraged to use FPs - back in the 70s - but that didn't last long. The meteoric rise of the ballpoint had already begun. Lately I have turned back to FPs and have rediscovered the joy (and frustration) of using them. Unfortunately I cannot afford much at the moment and so am reduced to the cheapest options available - typically stuff like Chinese pens - and I am not sure how embarassed I would be if anyone asked about them.

 

On the other hand, in my work at a University I have yet to see another FP. Additionally I just started some classes and none of the students are using them. Mind you, looking at the illegible scrawls that some of them call writing I would be surprised if any of them have ever had any actual penmanship lessons.

 

My father had a Sheaffer pen. It has been many years since I saw it, and he has been gone for many years also. I do not know what model it was except that I recall it was black with gold furniture, had a white dot on it, had a nib that seemed to be part of the section (not sure how to describe it - a bit like the Taranis I guess) and if you turned part of it this tube thing came out of the nib for sucking up ink. The ends of the pen and cap were rounded too. Asked my mother about it recently but she doesn't remember ever seeing it, which is odd because if I recall correctly they had a his and hers version. Oh well, it may turn up.

 

Beyond all that. No. I don't see other people using them.

Edited March 27, 2014 by Cryptos

[Penny_P]

I like that they aren't so mainstream. It adds to the greatness of FPs. A bog-standard Biro may well be used a real lot but they get no true affection!

[fledermaus89]

Apart from myself and my family, I only saw one person using a fountain pen, who was sitting in front me in one of my college classes. That was the only one. ever.

[hypnostene]

In my field (history), I meet quite a few people with fountain pens (including one who never touches ballpoints, as they „can ruin your handwriting"). Still, the vast majority doesn't care. When I was a student, perhaps 5% of us used fountain pens, almost invariably Parker Vectors.

 

Perhaps most tellingly, I was the only person with a fountain pen, when I worked in business. I was known for this - and one day the owner of the company called me to show his new, rather tasteless Think Limited Edition Johnny Cash (if I remember correctly). He played around it for a few weeks and and went back to ballpoints. To make this story sound less judgemental, he got the pen as a present, and is a rather modest person. When I left the company, my workmates bought me a pen as a parting gift ; )

[Royvdbb]

Interestingly, in my office there are now another four people that use fountain pens. I've been spreading the word and now even my 19 year old apprentice has a 1980's Montblanc 146!

 

Roy

[Joe in Seattle]

Never, except for my wife at home.

[abritdownunder]

I spotted a friend using a Lamy Safari at work this week.

[Stehlo]

My mom used a fountain pen when I was a kid. I destroyed it one afternoon when she wasn't home. I don't think she ever got another one.

 

Yesterday I thought I spotted what looked to be a likely candidate in somebody's shirt pocket at work, but I didn't have a chance to find out.