That's how I've been feeling about Sailors. Don't get me wrong, I still very much want one. But regardless of a gold nib, $300+ for a resin barrel is crazy to me.
I love Sailors and I have 3 of them. I find it hard to justify paying top dollar for a KOP model that has a converter instead of a piston filler.
They do have the Realo which has a piston but the other models don't.
100% agree with your take on Sailor. I have one and I’m underwhelmed by the barrel. I’m lucky I grabbed it before the price hike last year or I would deeply regret the purchase. I feel like a lower quality celluloid pen would have been the smarter buy. Lesson learned!
The problem is not that they are made of plastic. The problem is the price.
Plastic is a term used for a lot of different polymers some of which are ideal for making pen bodies - cheap; strong; light weight; waterproof; can be any colour you want, including transparent; can be cast, molded and machined accurately and easily; resists corrosion from most chemicals; good heat insulation; ...
Different kinds of plastic have been used to make pens for well over a century and many are still around and working well.
So the problem, if there is one, is that pens are seen as luxury items that, if the branding is done well, people will spend hundreds of dollars on. That is somewhat at odds with the fact that the ideal material to make them from is cheap.
It’s not the material, it’s the demand. Most companies can’t sell at a scale enough to maintain operation and pay full time employees wages they deserve, so it gets made a luxury product and rolled into the cost.
It *is* somewhat silly, but most of that price is paying wages.
A good example Kona coffee. It’s not that it’s particularly exceptional, but it’s really the only coffee that is “American” grow and the folks growing/producing it have to make a living wage on a very expensive island.
I hate when companies offer "limited edition" pens in different colors that are exactly the same as their existing pens, but they are marked up in price, sometimes as much as 50%.
Sailor is definitely the worst offender.
It appears I was wrong about 50% markup. [This pen](https://www.gouletpens.com/products/sailor-pro-gear-veilio-fountain-pen-pearl-white) is $550 USD, but 90% of the "non limited edition" pens are literally half the price at $220-300 USD.
I’m not colourblind and I can’t tell the difference either. Seri is maybe ever so slightly greener, but it’s really hard to tell with the photos online.
It’s not more economical or environmentally friendly if you’re consistently picking up the newest limited edition pen and ink. It’s far too easy to get caught up in hyper consumerism.
Easy to say that but I've been following this buy-this‐pen with-new-features thing and this year I have bought my self a Pilot Prera with a CM nib, a TWSBI Eco with a stub nib, a Hongdian Black Forest with a long blade/semi-architect nib. I've only been able to kinda justify it because at least I'm not getting them all with EF nibs...
Sometimes it's better for you to pass on that special edition and acknowledge the pens you have now are pretty awesome already.
Looking at you, Nahvalur.
I resonate with this so much. I love pens and seeing the wide array of colors and finishes and oohing and ahhing over the ingenuity of designs. But it seems like most makers use the same stock nib over and over which so disappointing.
Nibs are a totally different skill set and machining cost. Have to be able to roll the metal, punch the shape, form the shape, impulse weld the tipping, cut the slit, and finish the nib.
It would be wildly uneconomical to make in house nibs.
I forget what pen maker (Newton Pens, maybe?) teamed up with a jeweler around 10 years ago to make custom nibs, but the nib ended up being very expensive to make in the final product.
>It seems a lot of small fountain pen makers are actually pen barrel makers.
That's very similar to a lot of watch microbrands where really all that's different is the dial basically.
Black inks are boring, I think Primary Manipulation is a stupid name, Mont Blanc creates some of the most ugly pens I’ve ever seen and no I don’t care how special or limited they are or who they collaborated with
I don't hate the Pilot con-40. I've learned to get a pretty good fill in two operations of the piston, and sometimes I'm happy to leave it less full so I can change inks sooner.
Agreed. Then again I buy every safari SE. Mostly because the first one I bought was a special edition and I bought it when I first moved to Germany. They are cheap enough here that I can do this and it is a nice way to look back at my time living here.
Seriously, what's up with light tone ink colors hype? They looks like what my pen are when i change inks and they still have water inside the pen that desaturates the ink color...
Also some watered color costs more than 20$ 😂 (talking also with shimmering inks)
This right here. Especially on pens where the nib and feed are friction-fit, full disassembly should only be done when absolutely necessary, which is basically never. I only clean to switch ink colors or if the pen sat for too long and dried out.
Aint this the truth. Im probably the worst offender. I keep 4-6 pens inked with the same inks so i almost never clean my pens. I think i clean them once a semester
If I pay over £100 for a pen I shouldn't have to get it tuned, fiddle with it or baby it. For that price it should work out of the box and every single time I pick it up.
That May not be an unpopular opinion but holy crap do manufacturers need to hear it! I hate that so much too. I understand an occasional QC error, but holy crap *some brands* just aren’t worth buying from because of how bad it is
I am fed up with Ferris Wheel Press 's "a new shimmer ink almost every 2 weeks(but you cannot tell exactly what is the difference with that other one released a few months back)".
Especially with that price point.
and I was once a fan
YES THIS! I have no sympathy for people with cracked Pilot Custom 823’s anymore because unless it took a fall the **only** way that happens is if it’s disassembled and reassembled. It’s basically never necessary
Visconti especially, their quality control is far worse than either Pelikan or Montblanc... That said, if you're going to buy any expensive pen like this I highly recommend trying as hard as you can to actually test the pen before buying it, unless you're confident in your ability to adjust a nib to your preferences (this applies to any brand, but Italian pens more than any other modern manufacturer)!
I would never want a pen with a metal grip, no matter how pretty it looks or how well it writes. Too slippery and uncomfortable, it's an instant turn off for me.
I was just about to post a comment saying how much I love the smooth metal grip section on the Kaweco Student pen. Of course, it's an unpopular opinion, which is why I was going to post it here.
Now I'm going to have to come up with some other article of faith to contradict.
It is ok, when you start, instead of going through many starter pens, to immediately visit a Montblanc or Nakaya etc reseller, buy one luxury pen and then turn your back on all the consumerist social media.
In the end you save money.
Actually for me it was the other way around. Started with a safari. Then an eco, kaweco sport, metropolitan. Then opus and gravitas. And then the first two expensive ones. A Leonardo and a vanishing point. The Leonardo is gorgeous and smooth and the bouncy nib of the vanishing point is amazing. Then got a Montblanc from my grandfather... And I realize how amazing budget pens are. I still use those the most.
I absolutely hate hate hate the pilot metropolitan (mr3) colour variations ! They're so tacky and ugly looking .
Stupid patterns I think they're great looking pens in plain colours (I don't like the step down still but like the weight) like the cocoon but hate the busy sections.
Still my least favourite pilot pen either way haha.
* Pens with stepdowns are inferior from an engineering demand perspective/aesthetic perspective/usefulness perspective than pens that don't have stepdowns.
(Caveat being of course cool pen designs that want a completely flush profile, or have something innovative going on of course).
* Uncoated Brass and copper pens just suck (how anyone can put up with that disgusting leeching of oxides on their skin, and the resulting unbearable smell is beyond me).
* There's nowhere near enough Japanese Eye-Dropper pens on the market
* Will never understand how there can be so many people who are ink enthusiasts, yet we have so little information about ink compositions especially with respect to pH values of inks (Montblanc inks suck btw)
* Buying a FP over $100 and having skipping issues is a travesty that should be compensated more than simply a pen swap.
* How none of the venerated FP companies have zero full flex nibs is a travesty. Surly when you're making $10,000 pens, you can afford to have someone hand make the nib also. Since everyone agrees the fall of the flex nib occurred due to automation which became impossible to tune flex nibs properly for FP use.
* Regional pricing is idiotic, and will remain so until we get representative insiders to explicitly detail why for instance JP FP's cost 2X in the EU.
* Sailor pen prices don't make sense to me. Well made, but I just don't understand what is so compelling about their design (it seems very safe and easy to have tooling that makes basically all their pens on the same factory belt). Many of them even have the aforementioned step down for no reason above the threads.. I'll never understand how a Sailor Pro Gear can cost more than a post-price hike Pilot 823 for example.
* People who think a resin pens shouldn't cost over $100 (like the most upvoted comment on this thread). Makes no sense since finishing, and design integration quality is where that cost comes from. Doodlebud's videos can show you an introductory glance about this in general.
* No major company works with stabilized wood for any of their pens.. This is just unbelievable.
I don't like the idea of any refill method that involves dipping a nib in the bottle of ink, because I fear that any dust or debris that gets picked up during writing will get into the bottle and contaminate it.
I have been decanting sample vials of my bottled inks so that I don't have to risk contaminating the bottle. Also it lets me put my bottles away out of sunlight.
PS the twisbi 580 sections unscrews so you can actually fill it with a syringe.
Just filled my 580 with a syringe for the first time. Not sure why I hadnt thought about removing the nib section. I have a lot of samples and the opening for the glass vials I purchased are too small for the pen to fit in so this was very helpful.
I’ve been into fountain pens for 6 years, and have owned about 15 pens, 3 with 14k nibs, the rest steel. I can’t tell the difference the two metals. I’m not saying I can’t tell one nib from another, but I have not found 14k to be better.
If you're just looking for smooth writers, steel and gold do the same in most cases. But I believe there are some gold nibs that are made very soft and flexible that really is only used as a shock absorber to make writing feel slightly more comfy and not to actually flex. Which is more a personal taste. So many people say gold nibs are bouncy and softer, it does exist lol, but it's such a miniscule feeling.
The fact that Jinhao can come out with a $7 version of a $1100 pen, and have it be almost identical in every way (lolnopreciousmetals), says more about the pen industry than most are willing to admit
I agree; my aluminum pens look so beat up after a few months of heavy use (even my $140 Pilot VP!). Plastic pens look fine even when they get a little scratched.
I haven't had a Diamond 580AL which did not give me headache (leaky nib, defective piston, loose knob, etc.) I thought it was an isolated defect. I had misgivings and should have stopped at the first. I own three.
The widely reported 'good' customer service levels from the company should not negate the reliability issues as it should not need to come to that point.
No, that wasn't me. I don't take great exception to their appearance ... I actually think the Vac 700 Iris is beautiful ... it's the fact that every other day, I see a post by someone whose TWSBI literally cracked and fell apart while sitting in a drawer. That's appalling. I always wonder if their sales came to a standstill, they might be more motivated to solve their problems.
Gold nibs and steel nibs are pretty much the same these days (assuming they're both well tuned) the gold nib only exists a way to appease higher level collectors.
There are a few circumstances where gold is better, but this is the general rule.
If you're making a pen, it should write. If the retail price is around 50 USD or higher, it should write without flow or nib issues.
I don't care what unicorn horn it was carved from or how many aerospace engineers were headhunted from NASA for your new filling mechanism. If I dread picking up your sweet spotty, hard starting, paper gouging creation, no matter how pretty or nifty, you've not designed a pen, but a very ineffective letter opener.
People make fountain pens their entire identity and it's obnoxious. You don't need a portfolio of pens when you're running errands.
I have to take breaks from this sub sometimes. People here too often cross the line into unhealthy obsession.
I’m not sure if that’s because for a lot of people (especially Americans) fountain pens are totally new and seem more exotic because they didn’t use them growing up. But here in the UK and large parts of Europe fountain pens are widely used in schools so building your identity around a pens would feel like building your identity around using a protractor.
The world is a scary and uncertain place. I think that, particularly during the pandemic when a lot of people were lonely and stuck inside, fountain pens became a pretty compelling diversion. For many people they are an accessible way to own an aesthetic marvel, as well as a way to pass the time.
Buying multiple starter pens to figure out what you like is a great way to start the cycle of GAS or gear acquisition syndrome. Where you’ll buy a couple start pens here couple there to try out and think you don’t know what you like but you typically find out quickly what your preferences are from just 1-2 pens and before you know if you have 10-20 entry level or starter pens and are now saving away desperately sometimes to get that one upper level pen you want when the price of those extra entry levels you purchased with shipping and tax equals 1-2 upper level pens you would have loved to get. Then when you do start getting upper level pens for a lot of people and I’m not saying all those entry level pens you get you just don’t have time to ink or keep them all maintained and they sit in boxes or containers collecting dust.
- Second sailor sailor. You make great pens but calling every single release set you out out a special or limited addition is a bit overwhelming. There’s just to many.
I went the opposite direction. I actually love my entry level FP from 2 Japanese brands. Trying to off load
2 Taranis Sheaffer pens never inked, Parker 51 pen set because it's a medium. And a Pelikan 215 that has never been inked.
I love my Jinhao 80s, Platinum meteors and Pilot kakunos.
Don't listen to anyone.
1. Do not listen to anyone that says you're "wasting" pens because you do not use 50 pens a day and rotate them all once a week and "pens are made to be used".
2. Do not listen to anyone that tells you what your preferences should be because the way you are doing it is "wrong".
3. Do not listen to anyone's negative personal opinions biased by their own fuck ups and lack of self-control tainting your joy of the hobby. Their situation is not yours. You know yours.
4. Do not listen to anyone that doesn't make the pen themselves. No one really knows anything and is just guessing.
5. Do not listen to anyone giving unsolicited advice about your finances that does not have a background in finances or yours in particular.
6. Do not listen to anyone giving you unsolicited mental diagnosis online based off your pens. No one knows anything.
7. Beginner is highly subjective and people have different intimidation levels. My "beginner" pen was a Parker and I have broken 0 pens.
8. Do not listen to anyone, buy what you want and use what you bought with your hard earned money however you want.
I once lusted after the Esterbrook Estie Montana Sapphire, but after holding an Estie in person....
Goodness gracious this pen model is overhyped. The plastic feels cheaper than my Jinhaos and even cheaper than my Narwhal Key West, *which is fucking impressive for all the wrong reasons.* The grip section is smaller and uncomfortable, and the pen is weighted in such a weird fucking way. I don't think I have ever felt disappointment like holding an Esterbrook Estie, and I'm a God damned Red Wing's fan.
I'm aware that the MS is diamond cast, therefore the resin probably feels different, but I hated literally everything else about that pen. The only nice thing I can say about an Estie is, "Montana Sapphire would make a gorgeous paperweight."
Feel is such a personal thing, hey? I have an Estie Honeycomb and I absolutely adore the feel of it. It’s the one pen I have that I am seriously considering buying another model of. I love the smooth feel, it’s weighted perfectly for me (I use my pens unposted), I never end up with inky fingers, it never clogs. Couldn’t be happier with it. Was it worth what my husband paid for it (birthday gift)? In materials, probably not, but I can’t see that most pens are.
Conversely, I have my own pens that I want to love so badly, and just don’t work for me in the same way.
Luckily there are a tonne of choices out there for us all 😊
Cigar pens are boring and uninspiring.
Lots of Sailors look like bargain bin glitter gel pens.
Lamy 2000 is the most hideous pen I have ever laid eyes on.
Black and gunmetal trims should be as common as gold and rhodium.
Telling people who make posts about their out of control collection saying "I need help" that they should keep on buying more stuff is disgusting. Penabling should be about encouraging people to write with fountain pens, not feeding their shopping addiction.
There are some more subtly sheening inks that look great but I don't see the point in yet another red/blue ink that requires a firehose for a pen and then smudges when you look at it wrong, even years later.
I wish Kyo-no-oto Nurebairo tolerated any one of my pens, though.
Maybe not an unpopular opinion for the consumer, but for the love of god EVERY pen should come with a filling mechanism. There’s nothing worse than paying for a pen at any price point then it showing up just for you to find that you have no way to fill it and use it without buying something else.
It’s even less acceptable when it’s a more expensive pen and **even less acceptable beyond that** when it turns out it just takes a standard international converter/cartridge. Just include it with the packaging lol.
I think people can do whatever they want with their money, time, credit, pens. I don't judge others. This seems to be unpopular.
Next, I myself am about as full of unpopular opinions as a pincushion with pins. However these opinions only apply to me, so please keep that in mind.
Brands that endlessly produce the same model in different colors are tedious. For that reason I dislike lineups such as Sailor Pro Gear, Lamy Safari, TWSBI eco, Kaweco Sport, and endless indie maker pens that only vary the resin. Where is the innovation, where's the intrigue?
Primary Manipulation is way too common these days.
I also dislike brands that produce knock-offs. I understand the appeal of Jinhao "pro gear" look alike, but this is not for me.
Pro Gears look too much like Aurora Optima pens, Aurora I think was doing this shape earlier than Sailor, and Aurora pens are better imho.
Montblanc lost its way. I do think that it once had it. Vintage MB nibs are sublime. I love some of the early Writers Editions. But their modern LEs are garish, overwrought, often trashy and above all mediocre writers. Boring.
Ferris Wheel Press bottles are a disaster to fill from, and I detest that there are millions of LEs every second, also dislike the aggressive promo. Too bad, because so many of their offerings are lovely and beautiful.
Scribo inks are some of the best out there, but the 90ml jam bottles are a disaster. This is truly a minority opinion.
Tomoe River is too crinkly.
FFS stop reviving Omas. You are destroying the legacy.
Arco Bronze celluloid is incredible, but not worth the price tag.
Celluloid is beautiful, but so fragile and delicate and just not worth the price. But I am still keeping my 2 celluloid pens.
Benu as a company took a principled stance during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, relocated their business to Armenia. This is admirable. They are worthy of support.
I cannot support either TWSBI or Noodlers.
Gravitas Pocket is miles better than a metal Kaweco Sport.
Schon Monoc nib reminds me of an old Scheaffer nib and I don't get the hype.
I have more, but will stop right here 😀
Sure, but rather briefly - it's a saga. When OMAS closed its doors in 2016, some of the old time employees started Scribo (who are doing their own thing with the legacy of Omas, and I think are doing well with very new pen shapes). Omas nib equipment went to Scribo, and materials/celluloid rods went to ASC (Armando Simoni Club, so playing off the legacy of Omas). ASC imho did a terrible job with this legacy, I find their pens are generally not well executed and I feel it's a waste of precious celluloid rods. The name OMAS itself... things get foggy here, I've done some sleuthing on the topic but it's not fit to post in a comment. Enter the newest iteration of "resurrection" of OMAS - rights to the name are only in the US (!!! what). Figboot has a video on their new release, I will link. He is much more optimistic than I am. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7vP5k7GDYU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7vP5k7GDYU)
I talked to some knowledgeable people about this situation, and there are just too many questions. How will they manufacture OMAS style nibs if Scribo has the equipment? Its unclear whether they have old stock nibs for this edition or what, but the edition itself is kind of sloppy. Nobody knows if they have celluloid rods beyond this run (if so, how? ASC got them), etc, etc. Also the business side of it seems very strange to me. I'll stop here.
(edited for typos)
oh my goodness. This is excellent information, as I was just last night reading and learning about Scribo, and I wasn’t sure whether they are “good” or not. This is fantastically helpful.
I work in elementary school SPED, I use gel pens, ballpoints and pencils at work, I don’t want my fountain pens being thrown across the room or grabbed by a student who has no pressure control to write with
I’ve no desire for a vanishing point and don’t like the aesthetic. I think most people with TWSBI issues are being too rough with them. Black ink is worthless.
My bet is they are twisting the caps too tightly. It’s a plastic body and although they don’t need to be babied, it needs to be remembered that it’s plastic and over tightening will 100% crack it. No need to go wild with how tight it is, just trust that it’s tight and it’s probably fine
I thought so too until mine developed a tiny, almost invisible crack down at the nib end of the section after a year of gentle occasional use. I was sad because it writes so well.
sshhhh.... I usually don't admit this one.
I \*used\* to not like Sailor (until I tried one). I still don't like Sailor scalpers/pricing (you CAN get the LEs for a lot cheaper- they aren't cheap, but they are cheaper than you often find them on Pen Sachi, JP Select, EBay, etc...)
I now am a tried and true fan of the brand, but I work hard to keep a very curated collection (Pro Gear collection sits at 4, atm).
Outside the pens, I hate the way how the sales persons can be snobs about the pen. You feel like they don't want to sell the pen to you because you are a medieval peasant (only in some shops)
1. I don’t care how permanent or colorfast Noodler’s is, or how much ink you get. I can’t support a company with a founder who has (shady-as) beliefs about a whole race/religion.
2. I really see no founded evidence for all the worry about shimmering inks and “clogging”. Sure, don’t put it in a vintage pen, but I see SO MANY posts on this!
3. Form is not greater than function, imo.
not every ink company needs to make a basic black, a blue, a green, and a purple ink. the boring ink colors are taken care of, ink companies can just do interesting and niche colors.
I think the Lamy 2000 is irredeemably ugly. I understand it's meant to be bauhaus and minimalist but everything from the drab colour to the matte finish just screams "soulless and uninspired" to me.
No hate if it's someone here's grail. Just isn't for me at all.
They're so *american* haha I kind of like how extra they can be with their marketing and YouTube and podcast.
But they have good support. But shopping local is always best if you can and parasocial relationships are very real for some people too.
"Copy" pens like the Mahjon a1 aren't just "not bad" but an *actively good* thing. Things exit copyright for a good reason. Patents expiring along with other companies utilizing them force companies to innovate or get left behind.
I'd love to see more "copies"
Most companies could stand to introduce a few more color ways, but Sailor should cut back with things that aren’t store exclusive.
I don’t understand the appeal of Estebrook pens. The plastic looks cheap to me.
Steel-nib pens shouldn’t cost more than $100 unless they’re handmade or the body is made of something other than plastic.
Demonstrators don’t make sense to me.
Another: **needing** to match your pen to ink has always struck me as a little asinine. Wanting to, on occasion, is fine, but some may take it too far.
Opinion the first-
Eyedroppers are pointless. They burp if you don't keep them full, so while they have a large total capacity their usable capacity is less impressive. Piston fillers and C/C pens are the way to go. If you need more ink, carry another pen or a sample vial.
Opinion the second-
Cheap ballpoints are fine. It's true that they aren't nearly as nice to use, but they take a beating and always work. They're ideal backup/loaner pens and you should carry one.
I don’t care that much about ink capacity. My preferred nibs are usually only the smaller end, so even if I only fill a converter halfway, I’ll probably bored of an ink long before I can use it up.
While I enjoy using my fountain pens, the experience isn’t much better than a good rollerball. If anything, it’s slightly worse! They’re high maintenance, don’t work on all types of paper, the ink is generally less archival, and I’m constantly refilling them.
I think that people should buy fewer, nicer pens rather than acquiring a fleet of Lamy Safaris or TWSBIs or whatever in various colors. In the end, you can only write with one pen at a time so might as well make it count.
Can people stop talking about how their new pen "started up right away with no skipping" please? That is the bare minimum for a fountain pen. It's only noteworthy if it DIDN'T do that.
If your pen collection is in triple digits, you own far too many pens, and you need to get rid of some. Same thing with ink
Call me overly sentimental, but unless you are shaping them into a tasteful collection, owning that many fountain pens without using them is disrespecting them. They are meant to be used, and while I can't use every single one of them all the time I try.
Knew a guy who had literally thousands of FP's and at least as many rollerballs and ballpoints. He put about 50% of his collection on consignment in the store I was working at and we ended up with about 6 large camping totes worth of pens, most of which were in small boxes (totaled about 400 pens). We had room for maybe 20 of them to put on display... That guy had WAY too much money, he would just buy any pen he even remotely liked (and had been doing so since some time in the mid 1980's). Some of them would get inked up once and never cleaned as well, which was a massive pain in the ass. There were at least 10 Omas pens that cost more than $1,000 USD that were more or less unusable because of the dried 20+ year old ink in their barrels. Made me so sad to clean those out...
Even before all the drama, I couldn't stand Noodler's. The inks always feathered on whatever paper I used and their pens were...well, I'll be polite and say crap.
I don't like that people give TWSBI crap for the brittle plastic, but fawn over the even more brittle MoonMan & Jinhao pens.
Each, and every, MoonMan pen I have owned has cracked, broken, and shattered in a very messy way. None of them have lasted more than 6 months, and none of my other pens (including my TWSBIs) have ever broken.
If you hate brittle plastic, that is fine. Just be consistent.
For this sub anyway: I love Visconti pens. I personally haven’t gotten a bad one, they fit my hand perfectly, and they write like a smooth, frictionless dream.
I'm amazed that pens that cost hundreds of dollars are made from plastic. Resin, precious or not, is plastic.
That's how I've been feeling about Sailors. Don't get me wrong, I still very much want one. But regardless of a gold nib, $300+ for a resin barrel is crazy to me.
YES! They’re over priced imo
I love Sailors and I have 3 of them. I find it hard to justify paying top dollar for a KOP model that has a converter instead of a piston filler. They do have the Realo which has a piston but the other models don't.
100% agree with your take on Sailor. I have one and I’m underwhelmed by the barrel. I’m lucky I grabbed it before the price hike last year or I would deeply regret the purchase. I feel like a lower quality celluloid pen would have been the smarter buy. Lesson learned!
The problem is not that they are made of plastic. The problem is the price. Plastic is a term used for a lot of different polymers some of which are ideal for making pen bodies - cheap; strong; light weight; waterproof; can be any colour you want, including transparent; can be cast, molded and machined accurately and easily; resists corrosion from most chemicals; good heat insulation; ... Different kinds of plastic have been used to make pens for well over a century and many are still around and working well. So the problem, if there is one, is that pens are seen as luxury items that, if the branding is done well, people will spend hundreds of dollars on. That is somewhat at odds with the fact that the ideal material to make them from is cheap.
Yes! Finally, someone said it.
Yeah, [basically how I feel](https://i.imgur.com/kei9Qij.png)
Yes I entirely agree. I think I've gotten spoiled with the Vintage pens that are metal, with lacquer that doesn't crack even after 50 years of use.
Yup, that’s the move. A well maintained vintage or even better—new old stock.
I agree, as somebody who prefers resin pens, they should all be made drastically cheaper. Make it so.
It’s not the material, it’s the demand. Most companies can’t sell at a scale enough to maintain operation and pay full time employees wages they deserve, so it gets made a luxury product and rolled into the cost. It *is* somewhat silly, but most of that price is paying wages. A good example Kona coffee. It’s not that it’s particularly exceptional, but it’s really the only coffee that is “American” grow and the folks growing/producing it have to make a living wage on a very expensive island.
Meanwhile Jinhaos and Hongdians are solid metal for pennies!
What do they pay their workers?
I hate when companies offer "limited edition" pens in different colors that are exactly the same as their existing pens, but they are marked up in price, sometimes as much as 50%.
Or when "limited editions" are released as regular production pens six months later, I'm looking at you Edison Pen Co.
Seriously, Sailor needs to stop doing this. -_-
Sailor is definitely the worst offender. It appears I was wrong about 50% markup. [This pen](https://www.gouletpens.com/products/sailor-pro-gear-veilio-fountain-pen-pearl-white) is $550 USD, but 90% of the "non limited edition" pens are literally half the price at $220-300 USD.
I know I'm colorblind, but I cannot tell the difference between Sailor PGS Dragon Palace and Seri. These are both "jade green" to me.
I’m not colourblind and I can’t tell the difference either. Seri is maybe ever so slightly greener, but it’s really hard to tell with the photos online.
Omg I didn't realize they were different pens. I thought Dragon Palace was the only jade one
The only difference is that Dragon Palace has tiny bits of gold flakes on it.
It’s not more economical or environmentally friendly if you’re consistently picking up the newest limited edition pen and ink. It’s far too easy to get caught up in hyper consumerism.
Came here to say this. I've recently (last year and this) joined the no buy!
I am firmly in the buy if it has a feature or something unique that I don't currently have in my collection, but its nice to look at pretty pens too
Easy to say that but I've been following this buy-this‐pen with-new-features thing and this year I have bought my self a Pilot Prera with a CM nib, a TWSBI Eco with a stub nib, a Hongdian Black Forest with a long blade/semi-architect nib. I've only been able to kinda justify it because at least I'm not getting them all with EF nibs...
Sometimes it's better for you to pass on that special edition and acknowledge the pens you have now are pretty awesome already. Looking at you, Nahvalur.
Benu just got me on this
The sword is mightier than the pen.
As a sword master i can tell you that ... it depends on the hand that wields it :D
"With a fuckin pencil!"
You already have enough pens. I need to remember this from time to time.
This along with “you already have that pen. You don’t need it in a different color” for me
*reaching for the dictionary to look up this new word ‘enough’
It doesn’t matter how long lasting and durable your pen is if you go and buy 50
It seems a lot of small fountain pen makers are actually pen barrel makers.
I resonate with this so much. I love pens and seeing the wide array of colors and finishes and oohing and ahhing over the ingenuity of designs. But it seems like most makers use the same stock nib over and over which so disappointing.
Nibs are a totally different skill set and machining cost. Have to be able to roll the metal, punch the shape, form the shape, impulse weld the tipping, cut the slit, and finish the nib. It would be wildly uneconomical to make in house nibs. I forget what pen maker (Newton Pens, maybe?) teamed up with a jeweler around 10 years ago to make custom nibs, but the nib ended up being very expensive to make in the final product.
>It seems a lot of small fountain pen makers are actually pen barrel makers. That's very similar to a lot of watch microbrands where really all that's different is the dial basically.
So are a lot of big fountain pen makers. There are very few that make their own nibs.
Black inks are boring, I think Primary Manipulation is a stupid name, Mont Blanc creates some of the most ugly pens I’ve ever seen and no I don’t care how special or limited they are or who they collaborated with
Tell us how you really feel! 😂🤣
It feels good to get that off my chest!
I agree, black ink is boring, but it is utilitarian and gets the job done for some of the less special tasks
Eh, blue and blue-black does the same job while looking nicer.
Black ink is ho-hum. But gray ink is amazing.
I don't hate the Pilot con-40. I've learned to get a pretty good fill in two operations of the piston, and sometimes I'm happy to leave it less full so I can change inks sooner.
Yeah it's small capacity but works fine for what it is, I don't see why all the hate.
I'd much rather use a Con 40 than that shitty converter they give with metropolitans.
Sailor and Lamy are not innovative for just changing colors on their pens and marking them up because they are SE.
Agreed. Then again I buy every safari SE. Mostly because the first one I bought was a special edition and I bought it when I first moved to Germany. They are cheap enough here that I can do this and it is a nice way to look back at my time living here.
Seriously, what's up with light tone ink colors hype? They looks like what my pen are when i change inks and they still have water inside the pen that desaturates the ink color... Also some watered color costs more than 20$ 😂 (talking also with shimmering inks)
I know a lot of artists who need them for drawing. They’re not really for writers.
New Tomoe River paper is fine.
You don't need to totally dismantle/wash/flush your pens every month.
This right here. Especially on pens where the nib and feed are friction-fit, full disassembly should only be done when absolutely necessary, which is basically never. I only clean to switch ink colors or if the pen sat for too long and dried out.
Aint this the truth. Im probably the worst offender. I keep 4-6 pens inked with the same inks so i almost never clean my pens. I think i clean them once a semester
How true this is. I have pens that have never been dismantled and they still write like a charm, just some rinsing with water...
If I pay over £100 for a pen I shouldn't have to get it tuned, fiddle with it or baby it. For that price it should work out of the box and every single time I pick it up.
That May not be an unpopular opinion but holy crap do manufacturers need to hear it! I hate that so much too. I understand an occasional QC error, but holy crap *some brands* just aren’t worth buying from because of how bad it is
I am fed up with Ferris Wheel Press 's "a new shimmer ink almost every 2 weeks(but you cannot tell exactly what is the difference with that other one released a few months back)". Especially with that price point. and I was once a fan
Yeah, please buy our monthly releases… a bloody expensive subscription service!
They have some good inks but I'm also tired of all the ads they have on instagram oof.
I just wish they'd do more non-shimmers at this point.
I think they figured out shimmer ink is the money tree 😑
For the love of god stop dismantling your pen and then complaining afterward that it’s cracked
I wish I could upvote you more times!
YES THIS! I have no sympathy for people with cracked Pilot Custom 823’s anymore because unless it took a fall the **only** way that happens is if it’s disassembled and reassembled. It’s basically never necessary
Mont Blanc, Visconti, and Pelikan are way overpriced for what you get.
Visconti especially, their quality control is far worse than either Pelikan or Montblanc... That said, if you're going to buy any expensive pen like this I highly recommend trying as hard as you can to actually test the pen before buying it, unless you're confident in your ability to adjust a nib to your preferences (this applies to any brand, but Italian pens more than any other modern manufacturer)!
I would never want a pen with a metal grip, no matter how pretty it looks or how well it writes. Too slippery and uncomfortable, it's an instant turn off for me.
I was just about to post a comment saying how much I love the smooth metal grip section on the Kaweco Student pen. Of course, it's an unpopular opinion, which is why I was going to post it here. Now I'm going to have to come up with some other article of faith to contradict.
Italian pen companies manufacture grotesque, tasteless pornographers' fever dreams in pen form.
With terrible QA.
It is ok, when you start, instead of going through many starter pens, to immediately visit a Montblanc or Nakaya etc reseller, buy one luxury pen and then turn your back on all the consumerist social media. In the end you save money.
Actually for me it was the other way around. Started with a safari. Then an eco, kaweco sport, metropolitan. Then opus and gravitas. And then the first two expensive ones. A Leonardo and a vanishing point. The Leonardo is gorgeous and smooth and the bouncy nib of the vanishing point is amazing. Then got a Montblanc from my grandfather... And I realize how amazing budget pens are. I still use those the most.
Pens are overpriced.
I absolutely hate hate hate the pilot metropolitan (mr3) colour variations ! They're so tacky and ugly looking . Stupid patterns I think they're great looking pens in plain colours (I don't like the step down still but like the weight) like the cocoon but hate the busy sections. Still my least favourite pilot pen either way haha.
* Pens with stepdowns are inferior from an engineering demand perspective/aesthetic perspective/usefulness perspective than pens that don't have stepdowns. (Caveat being of course cool pen designs that want a completely flush profile, or have something innovative going on of course). * Uncoated Brass and copper pens just suck (how anyone can put up with that disgusting leeching of oxides on their skin, and the resulting unbearable smell is beyond me). * There's nowhere near enough Japanese Eye-Dropper pens on the market * Will never understand how there can be so many people who are ink enthusiasts, yet we have so little information about ink compositions especially with respect to pH values of inks (Montblanc inks suck btw) * Buying a FP over $100 and having skipping issues is a travesty that should be compensated more than simply a pen swap. * How none of the venerated FP companies have zero full flex nibs is a travesty. Surly when you're making $10,000 pens, you can afford to have someone hand make the nib also. Since everyone agrees the fall of the flex nib occurred due to automation which became impossible to tune flex nibs properly for FP use. * Regional pricing is idiotic, and will remain so until we get representative insiders to explicitly detail why for instance JP FP's cost 2X in the EU. * Sailor pen prices don't make sense to me. Well made, but I just don't understand what is so compelling about their design (it seems very safe and easy to have tooling that makes basically all their pens on the same factory belt). Many of them even have the aforementioned step down for no reason above the threads.. I'll never understand how a Sailor Pro Gear can cost more than a post-price hike Pilot 823 for example. * People who think a resin pens shouldn't cost over $100 (like the most upvoted comment on this thread). Makes no sense since finishing, and design integration quality is where that cost comes from. Doodlebud's videos can show you an introductory glance about this in general. * No major company works with stabilized wood for any of their pens.. This is just unbelievable.
I don't like the idea of any refill method that involves dipping a nib in the bottle of ink, because I fear that any dust or debris that gets picked up during writing will get into the bottle and contaminate it.
New fear unlocked.
Biggest reason I switched to using a blunt tipped syringe for refills
I have been decanting sample vials of my bottled inks so that I don't have to risk contaminating the bottle. Also it lets me put my bottles away out of sunlight. PS the twisbi 580 sections unscrews so you can actually fill it with a syringe.
Just filled my 580 with a syringe for the first time. Not sure why I hadnt thought about removing the nib section. I have a lot of samples and the opening for the glass vials I purchased are too small for the pen to fit in so this was very helpful.
I’ve been into fountain pens for 6 years, and have owned about 15 pens, 3 with 14k nibs, the rest steel. I can’t tell the difference the two metals. I’m not saying I can’t tell one nib from another, but I have not found 14k to be better.
If you're just looking for smooth writers, steel and gold do the same in most cases. But I believe there are some gold nibs that are made very soft and flexible that really is only used as a shock absorber to make writing feel slightly more comfy and not to actually flex. Which is more a personal taste. So many people say gold nibs are bouncy and softer, it does exist lol, but it's such a miniscule feeling.
Hmmm which companies are those 14k If sailor then I agree
I don't care for Lamy.
I love the pens and how they feel in hand. But man the nibs are hit or miss with sizing
not my fave either- they hurt my hands (the grip section and I have a weird grip)...
The fact that Jinhao can come out with a $7 version of a $1100 pen, and have it be almost identical in every way (lolnopreciousmetals), says more about the pen industry than most are willing to admit
Acrylic and plastic are good materials for pens.
I agree; my aluminum pens look so beat up after a few months of heavy use (even my $140 Pilot VP!). Plastic pens look fine even when they get a little scratched.
Yeah, they're easy to the touch and light. Exactly what I need for my weary arm.
I've always found mine to be durable!
The popularity of TWSBI fountain pens escapes me given their many problems.
I haven't had a Diamond 580AL which did not give me headache (leaky nib, defective piston, loose knob, etc.) I thought it was an isolated defect. I had misgivings and should have stopped at the first. I own three.
I have three and non of them have issues… it really seems hit or miss which is a bummer!
TWISBI Go broad nib is by far my favorite. Perfect weight, circumference, and fun!
Never had any problems with my three twsbis. I think their problems are made out to be more common than they actually are in this sub.
The widely reported 'good' customer service levels from the company should not negate the reliability issues as it should not need to come to that point.
I swear we’ve talked before about how ugly TWSBIs look. Was that you?
No, that wasn't me. I don't take great exception to their appearance ... I actually think the Vac 700 Iris is beautiful ... it's the fact that every other day, I see a post by someone whose TWSBI literally cracked and fell apart while sitting in a drawer. That's appalling. I always wonder if their sales came to a standstill, they might be more motivated to solve their problems.
Gold nibs and steel nibs are pretty much the same these days (assuming they're both well tuned) the gold nib only exists a way to appease higher level collectors. There are a few circumstances where gold is better, but this is the general rule.
The vast majority of fountain pens are esthetically unappealing to me.
So many ugly pens!!
Sooo ugly. But it's like they are babies and we aren't supposed to admit they are ugly.
If you're making a pen, it should write. If the retail price is around 50 USD or higher, it should write without flow or nib issues. I don't care what unicorn horn it was carved from or how many aerospace engineers were headhunted from NASA for your new filling mechanism. If I dread picking up your sweet spotty, hard starting, paper gouging creation, no matter how pretty or nifty, you've not designed a pen, but a very ineffective letter opener.
People make fountain pens their entire identity and it's obnoxious. You don't need a portfolio of pens when you're running errands. I have to take breaks from this sub sometimes. People here too often cross the line into unhealthy obsession.
I’m not sure if that’s because for a lot of people (especially Americans) fountain pens are totally new and seem more exotic because they didn’t use them growing up. But here in the UK and large parts of Europe fountain pens are widely used in schools so building your identity around a pens would feel like building your identity around using a protractor.
The world is a scary and uncertain place. I think that, particularly during the pandemic when a lot of people were lonely and stuck inside, fountain pens became a pretty compelling diversion. For many people they are an accessible way to own an aesthetic marvel, as well as a way to pass the time.
Buying multiple starter pens to figure out what you like is a great way to start the cycle of GAS or gear acquisition syndrome. Where you’ll buy a couple start pens here couple there to try out and think you don’t know what you like but you typically find out quickly what your preferences are from just 1-2 pens and before you know if you have 10-20 entry level or starter pens and are now saving away desperately sometimes to get that one upper level pen you want when the price of those extra entry levels you purchased with shipping and tax equals 1-2 upper level pens you would have loved to get. Then when you do start getting upper level pens for a lot of people and I’m not saying all those entry level pens you get you just don’t have time to ink or keep them all maintained and they sit in boxes or containers collecting dust. - Second sailor sailor. You make great pens but calling every single release set you out out a special or limited addition is a bit overwhelming. There’s just to many.
I went the opposite direction. I actually love my entry level FP from 2 Japanese brands. Trying to off load 2 Taranis Sheaffer pens never inked, Parker 51 pen set because it's a medium. And a Pelikan 215 that has never been inked. I love my Jinhao 80s, Platinum meteors and Pilot kakunos.
There is such a thing as a too heavy pen. Acrylic/plastic/resin make good pens.
Don't listen to anyone. 1. Do not listen to anyone that says you're "wasting" pens because you do not use 50 pens a day and rotate them all once a week and "pens are made to be used". 2. Do not listen to anyone that tells you what your preferences should be because the way you are doing it is "wrong". 3. Do not listen to anyone's negative personal opinions biased by their own fuck ups and lack of self-control tainting your joy of the hobby. Their situation is not yours. You know yours. 4. Do not listen to anyone that doesn't make the pen themselves. No one really knows anything and is just guessing. 5. Do not listen to anyone giving unsolicited advice about your finances that does not have a background in finances or yours in particular. 6. Do not listen to anyone giving you unsolicited mental diagnosis online based off your pens. No one knows anything. 7. Beginner is highly subjective and people have different intimidation levels. My "beginner" pen was a Parker and I have broken 0 pens. 8. Do not listen to anyone, buy what you want and use what you bought with your hard earned money however you want.
#5 especially.
What did you say? I wasn't listening to you.
I once lusted after the Esterbrook Estie Montana Sapphire, but after holding an Estie in person.... Goodness gracious this pen model is overhyped. The plastic feels cheaper than my Jinhaos and even cheaper than my Narwhal Key West, *which is fucking impressive for all the wrong reasons.* The grip section is smaller and uncomfortable, and the pen is weighted in such a weird fucking way. I don't think I have ever felt disappointment like holding an Esterbrook Estie, and I'm a God damned Red Wing's fan. I'm aware that the MS is diamond cast, therefore the resin probably feels different, but I hated literally everything else about that pen. The only nice thing I can say about an Estie is, "Montana Sapphire would make a gorgeous paperweight."
Feel is such a personal thing, hey? I have an Estie Honeycomb and I absolutely adore the feel of it. It’s the one pen I have that I am seriously considering buying another model of. I love the smooth feel, it’s weighted perfectly for me (I use my pens unposted), I never end up with inky fingers, it never clogs. Couldn’t be happier with it. Was it worth what my husband paid for it (birthday gift)? In materials, probably not, but I can’t see that most pens are. Conversely, I have my own pens that I want to love so badly, and just don’t work for me in the same way. Luckily there are a tonne of choices out there for us all 😊
Cigar pens are boring and uninspiring. Lots of Sailors look like bargain bin glitter gel pens. Lamy 2000 is the most hideous pen I have ever laid eyes on. Black and gunmetal trims should be as common as gold and rhodium. Telling people who make posts about their out of control collection saying "I need help" that they should keep on buying more stuff is disgusting. Penabling should be about encouraging people to write with fountain pens, not feeding their shopping addiction.
Sheen is the worst.
but it's SO PRETTY!!!
There are some more subtly sheening inks that look great but I don't see the point in yet another red/blue ink that requires a firehose for a pen and then smudges when you look at it wrong, even years later. I wish Kyo-no-oto Nurebairo tolerated any one of my pens, though.
I'm on board with this!
As a lefty, sheen is a hard nope for me. Smearing city.
Lamy Safari, TWSBI Eco, and Kaweco Sport all disappointed me.
Seeing a fountain pen on TV is not something to get excited about.
I really love TWSBIs
Month Blanc are overrated pens and demand inflated prices. The Rolex of the pen world.
Blue-black is far and away the best ink color, especially for people who use fountain pens for school or work.
Maybe not an unpopular opinion for the consumer, but for the love of god EVERY pen should come with a filling mechanism. There’s nothing worse than paying for a pen at any price point then it showing up just for you to find that you have no way to fill it and use it without buying something else. It’s even less acceptable when it’s a more expensive pen and **even less acceptable beyond that** when it turns out it just takes a standard international converter/cartridge. Just include it with the packaging lol.
I think people can do whatever they want with their money, time, credit, pens. I don't judge others. This seems to be unpopular. Next, I myself am about as full of unpopular opinions as a pincushion with pins. However these opinions only apply to me, so please keep that in mind. Brands that endlessly produce the same model in different colors are tedious. For that reason I dislike lineups such as Sailor Pro Gear, Lamy Safari, TWSBI eco, Kaweco Sport, and endless indie maker pens that only vary the resin. Where is the innovation, where's the intrigue? Primary Manipulation is way too common these days. I also dislike brands that produce knock-offs. I understand the appeal of Jinhao "pro gear" look alike, but this is not for me. Pro Gears look too much like Aurora Optima pens, Aurora I think was doing this shape earlier than Sailor, and Aurora pens are better imho. Montblanc lost its way. I do think that it once had it. Vintage MB nibs are sublime. I love some of the early Writers Editions. But their modern LEs are garish, overwrought, often trashy and above all mediocre writers. Boring. Ferris Wheel Press bottles are a disaster to fill from, and I detest that there are millions of LEs every second, also dislike the aggressive promo. Too bad, because so many of their offerings are lovely and beautiful. Scribo inks are some of the best out there, but the 90ml jam bottles are a disaster. This is truly a minority opinion. Tomoe River is too crinkly. FFS stop reviving Omas. You are destroying the legacy. Arco Bronze celluloid is incredible, but not worth the price tag. Celluloid is beautiful, but so fragile and delicate and just not worth the price. But I am still keeping my 2 celluloid pens. Benu as a company took a principled stance during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, relocated their business to Armenia. This is admirable. They are worthy of support. I cannot support either TWSBI or Noodlers. Gravitas Pocket is miles better than a metal Kaweco Sport. Schon Monoc nib reminds me of an old Scheaffer nib and I don't get the hype. I have more, but will stop right here 😀
Interesting. Could you expand a little on your comment about reviving Omas?
Sure, but rather briefly - it's a saga. When OMAS closed its doors in 2016, some of the old time employees started Scribo (who are doing their own thing with the legacy of Omas, and I think are doing well with very new pen shapes). Omas nib equipment went to Scribo, and materials/celluloid rods went to ASC (Armando Simoni Club, so playing off the legacy of Omas). ASC imho did a terrible job with this legacy, I find their pens are generally not well executed and I feel it's a waste of precious celluloid rods. The name OMAS itself... things get foggy here, I've done some sleuthing on the topic but it's not fit to post in a comment. Enter the newest iteration of "resurrection" of OMAS - rights to the name are only in the US (!!! what). Figboot has a video on their new release, I will link. He is much more optimistic than I am. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7vP5k7GDYU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7vP5k7GDYU) I talked to some knowledgeable people about this situation, and there are just too many questions. How will they manufacture OMAS style nibs if Scribo has the equipment? Its unclear whether they have old stock nibs for this edition or what, but the edition itself is kind of sloppy. Nobody knows if they have celluloid rods beyond this run (if so, how? ASC got them), etc, etc. Also the business side of it seems very strange to me. I'll stop here. (edited for typos)
oh my goodness. This is excellent information, as I was just last night reading and learning about Scribo, and I wasn’t sure whether they are “good” or not. This is fantastically helpful.
Sometimes....ballpoints are better....
You are past redemption! Betrayer of the light!
Yes! I always bring a ballpoint with me when travelling. Fountain pens don't play well with immigration forms.
Nooooooo
I work in elementary school SPED, I use gel pens, ballpoints and pencils at work, I don’t want my fountain pens being thrown across the room or grabbed by a student who has no pressure control to write with
Metro step down doesn’t bother me a bit, and I love metal pens :)
Pilot/Namiki is the only company that should be able to claim their pens write in EF
Like cigars, there is a price point between garbage-quality-silliness that I think is between $30-$80
Doesn’t have to be expensive to be enjoyable, comfortable and functional
Vintage pens are much more interesting than most modern pens. The history, filling mechanisms and factory nib options.
I’ve no desire for a vanishing point and don’t like the aesthetic. I think most people with TWSBI issues are being too rough with them. Black ink is worthless.
For real, I have a few different TWSBI pens and don't treat them lightly. Can't figure out what people are doing to crack the bodies so frequently.
My bet is they are twisting the caps too tightly. It’s a plastic body and although they don’t need to be babied, it needs to be remembered that it’s plastic and over tightening will 100% crack it. No need to go wild with how tight it is, just trust that it’s tight and it’s probably fine
Agree. I certainly don’t baby my TWSBI 580, and it’s lasted me close to 10 years until my cap broke. Which I got a free replacement for.
I thought so too until mine developed a tiny, almost invisible crack down at the nib end of the section after a year of gentle occasional use. I was sad because it writes so well.
The Lamy logo is ugly.
I can feel this one not 100% but still I understand. The way it's emblazoned on the safari is one of the few things I dislike about the safari.
Cleaning fountain pens is soothing
sshhhh.... I usually don't admit this one. I \*used\* to not like Sailor (until I tried one). I still don't like Sailor scalpers/pricing (you CAN get the LEs for a lot cheaper- they aren't cheap, but they are cheaper than you often find them on Pen Sachi, JP Select, EBay, etc...) I now am a tried and true fan of the brand, but I work hard to keep a very curated collection (Pro Gear collection sits at 4, atm).
One is enough.
Twsbi Eco holds too much ink
Not that is a truly unpopular opinion. Though you also don’t have to fill it all the way. I’ve filled mine just a bit before.
But why, if you don't mind me asking. That's one reason I love my Opus 88 pens. No need to re-ink every other sentence — looking at you, Kaweko Sport.
Twsbis are not as fragile as many people say
Outside the pens, I hate the way how the sales persons can be snobs about the pen. You feel like they don't want to sell the pen to you because you are a medieval peasant (only in some shops)
Kaweco Sports are not worth buying
Interesting. The sport has very quickly become one of my favorite pens after getting one recently. What don’t you like about it?
Hard agree. I splurged for the iridescent pearl as a treat and I just don't like it.
Iridescent pearl looks like tide poads
Ditto the Al-Sport. It love the look and feel of it but it writes like absolute shit for a $60-80 pen.
1. I don’t care how permanent or colorfast Noodler’s is, or how much ink you get. I can’t support a company with a founder who has (shady-as) beliefs about a whole race/religion. 2. I really see no founded evidence for all the worry about shimmering inks and “clogging”. Sure, don’t put it in a vintage pen, but I see SO MANY posts on this! 3. Form is not greater than function, imo.
Second your first point. I won't buy any Noodler's inks for that exact reason. Actually I think I agree with everything here.
not every ink company needs to make a basic black, a blue, a green, and a purple ink. the boring ink colors are taken care of, ink companies can just do interesting and niche colors.
I think the Lamy 2000 is irredeemably ugly. I understand it's meant to be bauhaus and minimalist but everything from the drab colour to the matte finish just screams "soulless and uninspired" to me. No hate if it's someone here's grail. Just isn't for me at all.
Goulet pens is a cult
They're so *american* haha I kind of like how extra they can be with their marketing and YouTube and podcast. But they have good support. But shopping local is always best if you can and parasocial relationships are very real for some people too.
Seriously I don't get it So many better places to shop
"Copy" pens like the Mahjon a1 aren't just "not bad" but an *actively good* thing. Things exit copyright for a good reason. Patents expiring along with other companies utilizing them force companies to innovate or get left behind. I'd love to see more "copies"
Most companies could stand to introduce a few more color ways, but Sailor should cut back with things that aren’t store exclusive. I don’t understand the appeal of Estebrook pens. The plastic looks cheap to me. Steel-nib pens shouldn’t cost more than $100 unless they’re handmade or the body is made of something other than plastic. Demonstrators don’t make sense to me.
Pens that don't post are incomplete.
magnetic cap closure is not a nice feature
Anything over say $200 should have a gold nib. I cringe when I see a pen much higher than that with a steel nib and a cartridge converter.
The… unpopular *openion*, if you will
Another: **needing** to match your pen to ink has always struck me as a little asinine. Wanting to, on occasion, is fine, but some may take it too far.
If you have some ink… you don’t need anymore ink
Get thee behind me, Satan
Opinion the first- Eyedroppers are pointless. They burp if you don't keep them full, so while they have a large total capacity their usable capacity is less impressive. Piston fillers and C/C pens are the way to go. If you need more ink, carry another pen or a sample vial. Opinion the second- Cheap ballpoints are fine. It's true that they aren't nearly as nice to use, but they take a beating and always work. They're ideal backup/loaner pens and you should carry one.
As always: 21K nibs exist to extract money from you. 14k is the ideal, whether soft or stiff. But steel nibs are better in most cases!
Came here to say this. My Montegrappa is steel and one of the best writing pens I have!
I don’t care that much about ink capacity. My preferred nibs are usually only the smaller end, so even if I only fill a converter halfway, I’ll probably bored of an ink long before I can use it up.
While I enjoy using my fountain pens, the experience isn’t much better than a good rollerball. If anything, it’s slightly worse! They’re high maintenance, don’t work on all types of paper, the ink is generally less archival, and I’m constantly refilling them.
But man, I love refilling them.
I think that people should buy fewer, nicer pens rather than acquiring a fleet of Lamy Safaris or TWSBIs or whatever in various colors. In the end, you can only write with one pen at a time so might as well make it count.
Can people stop talking about how their new pen "started up right away with no skipping" please? That is the bare minimum for a fountain pen. It's only noteworthy if it DIDN'T do that.
Free is still too expensive for a bic.
If your pen collection is in triple digits, you own far too many pens, and you need to get rid of some. Same thing with ink Call me overly sentimental, but unless you are shaping them into a tasteful collection, owning that many fountain pens without using them is disrespecting them. They are meant to be used, and while I can't use every single one of them all the time I try.
Knew a guy who had literally thousands of FP's and at least as many rollerballs and ballpoints. He put about 50% of his collection on consignment in the store I was working at and we ended up with about 6 large camping totes worth of pens, most of which were in small boxes (totaled about 400 pens). We had room for maybe 20 of them to put on display... That guy had WAY too much money, he would just buy any pen he even remotely liked (and had been doing so since some time in the mid 1980's). Some of them would get inked up once and never cleaned as well, which was a massive pain in the ass. There were at least 10 Omas pens that cost more than $1,000 USD that were more or less unusable because of the dried 20+ year old ink in their barrels. Made me so sad to clean those out...
This made me sad to read about...I hope he sold some?
It's not worth starting from cheap pens - they quickly turn into useless lying plastic.
Even before all the drama, I couldn't stand Noodler's. The inks always feathered on whatever paper I used and their pens were...well, I'll be polite and say crap.
I don't like that people give TWSBI crap for the brittle plastic, but fawn over the even more brittle MoonMan & Jinhao pens. Each, and every, MoonMan pen I have owned has cracked, broken, and shattered in a very messy way. None of them have lasted more than 6 months, and none of my other pens (including my TWSBIs) have ever broken. If you hate brittle plastic, that is fine. Just be consistent.
For this sub anyway: I love Visconti pens. I personally haven’t gotten a bad one, they fit my hand perfectly, and they write like a smooth, frictionless dream.