About This "work Horse" For Pens

[dasmart]

I'm just curious what constitutes this? I guess for me i'd never buy a pen in the hopes of selling it for more later, or just for decoration purposes. I'd buy it to use it. N from my experience the nicer pens have given me far more justice in quality.

 

For exampls i bought a spalding and lami, though the 2 are great starting fountain pens, after using a simplicity pen from bexley, i don't find myself ever going back to the 2. I know it's a matter of tastes, but for me the feel and appearance both go to the bexley. N the simplicity is i think bexleys cheapest collection?

 

N though i'm having issues with usps, i just bought one of those monteverde disney fp's at a low price compared to retail of coures(i aint rich lols). But i plan to use it as an everyday writer.

 

So any ways my main question is, is there a risk in using higher end pens as your everyday writer? I mean of coures i understand, the more you use the pen the longer exposure of risk to dropping it.. losing it.... getting it stolen and all teh rest, but i mean can the nibs of these higher end pens take the beating? Esp for those 14k/18k nibs, since i know gold is substantially softer than steel.. would these nibs wear down if given too much work? Just that for me, like i said, if something works good... i'm going to use it.. never to flaunt it...

 

 

Thanks for ANYONES input.

Edited April 24, 2011 by dasmartretard

[dasmart]

sorry if this thread came across as judgemental.... i kinda reread my post, n i wanted to clarify that, i absolutely don't hav any issue with pen collectors at all.. i was just emphasizing the kind of person i am, which means any pen i use, will be heavily written with...

[koa]

Any pen can be a workhorse, as long as you are not embarrassed to pull it out and use it in public! The risks you laid out are probably the main problem, so cheaper pens are more, um, expendable.

 

As for nib wear, gold nibs and steel nibs are usually tipped with a very hard metal (iridium, or related alloy), which means the softness of gold is not an issue.

[omicron]

It's a lot like love: sometimes you find that one pen you never thought you could like that you keep coming back to, even though you have a substantial investment in another pen, and it just feels right in your hand, and you want to spend time with it always, despite it's scratches and the fact that it was made a decade before you were born.

[dasmart]

eh there koa, myself being from hawaii, i know right off the back you're a pacific islander or at leat from the pacific islands haha. Good to know about the alloy things, was a bit worried bout that.

 

omicron i know exactly what you mean lols, like the lami does feel like a good writer, but it just doesn't do it for me in my hand lols

[79spitfire]

A "work horse" pen is just the pen you use every day, your favourite, the one that you always "go to" to get work done. I actually am lucky enough to have several, so I rotate them around to even the wear out. The part that shows most wear is the pen body, the nibs (as long as they are tipped nibs) will likely out last me!

[Lorna Reed]

My workhorse pen is my Twsbi, but it's not by any means my favourite pen. It's my workhorse in that I carry it everywhere in my pocket, wouldn't mind too much if I dropped it or lost it (except for the cost of replacing it) and find it utterley reliable. My favourite pens stay at home.

[voop]

Several of us have a non-trivial number of workhorse pens - for different colors of ink (I need 4 colors for work) and to match what strikes our fancy on a particular day - and then a few (more "fancy") dress-pens, for use for special occasions when dressing up, going out, attending special functions, .....

 

All are being used, regularly - although are the dress-pens "workhorses"? Probably not. Part of a collection? Probably not either....

[CS388]

Work horse:

The pen you don't even think about, you just pick it up automatically and set off on your daily business.

You can take it out and write with it without thinking. It always works. Doesn't matter what it looks like, it's a reliable tool

Feels second nature in your hand.

 

Mine is my 146. Never lets me down.

[pavoni]

Work horse:

The pen you don't even think about, you just pick it up automatically and set off on your daily business.

You can take it out and write with it without thinking. It always works. Doesn't matter what it looks like, it's a reliable tool

Feels second nature in your hand.

 

Mine is my 146. Never lets me down.

 

+1

[macaddicted]

Fountain pens area bit like laptops and smartphones: the cost ensures that you know where it is at all times. Because of this many of us take extra precautions to ensure that we don't lose or harm the pens we are carrying. It is not unusual to read about users carrying as many as a dozen or more pens in a case when they go to work.

 

And, to add briefly, if you've got it, flaunt it. Others have pointed out what makes a workhorse pen. If a pen offers an aesthetic beyond its function why the heck wouldn't you take it with you?

[Parse Error]

my home pen is incidentally my workhorse, but I really would be using a different pen when I'm not at a table. If I am going to be taking notes standing up I would rather be using a Platinum Preppy or something cheap that I would not think twice about replacing.

And at least for me, I do not have enough money to replace my workhorse should it get lost or damaged.

[dasmart]

thansk for the reply guys, i get the idea now. Very relaxing to know that nibs last a life time too.

[Taurean]

Apart from being a comfortable and reliable writer, a workhorse for me also means that it should be rugged and something I have on my person all the time.

I don't mind carrying around my old Parker 51 in my jeans pocket, but I'd treat my Legacy in a more cautious manner.

[snowblink]

I use my Pelikans daily (M910s, M800s, M400s) - that's what I bought them for! However, I keep them in a zipped inner pocket of my bag every since I lost an M400 that dropped out of my jacket pocket. I stopped carrying for about a year after that, but eventually, it came down to why do I have these things if I am not going to use them?

 

The ones that don't leave the house are my father's pens - Pelikan M30 and Parker 75 - for sentimental reasons.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Hang around here a few weeks before buying any thing.

 

There are things you have to learn about nibs, paper and ink. Paper that most people have to use, is of poor quality. You need a Fine nib and a boring glow in the dark ink.

 

For private use much of the regular cheap copy paper is not worth buying except for your copier.

For a can of coke or two, or a couple of cups of starbuck's coffee, you can buy good to better paper, and make your own lines on it, with a free template.

 

That slightly better paper lets the inks dance.

 

To have fun, you can have a medium or broad nib, with two tone fancy shading inks, on a good to better paper.

 

The key is fountain pens are fun.

 

If you don't lock your self down to it's got to be a super narrow nib, you can have more fun, with three or so pens. B, M, F, and EF to start with....and it will be only a start.

 

There are some real beauties out there. Vintage is much cheaper and I've some stunning pens with great nibs at 'cheap'.

 

You don't have to buy them all at once. You don't have to buy an expensive pen, where there are some nice cheap ones.

 

Sooner or later you will buy a more expensive pen. Expensive depends on your wallet. Some think $30 is expensive, others $60 others $100, or $250.

 

The nib is the key. What do you want the nib to do?

 

How much flex do you want. Nail, regular, springy, semi-flex or 'flexi'.

There is no reason not to have at least one of each.

 

Later there are Full Flex and Wet Noodles.

 

What patterns do you wish to have with what inks.

Mono-tone glow in the dark permanent inks have their use.

Two tone shading inks deliver nice patterns...mostly are not permanent.

 

Nibs...there are the modern stiffer, bigger blobs of iridium on them for ball point users.

There are 'vintage' nibs that should be held like a fountain pen, that give a 'sharper' nicer ride.

 

There are springy nibs...modern would be Japanese and expensive pins.

There are semi-flex in modern on Aurura and perhaps an other Italian company. They have many semi-flex in pre-'66 German piston pens.

 

There are slightly flexible/'flexi' nibs mostly on vintage pens that are fun.

Swan vintage English pens are a good set of nibs.

 

I do not recommend modern obliques.

I highly recommend 'vintage' semi-flex and slightly flexible/'flexi' obliques as a lot of fun.

 

There are stub and cursive italic nibs that one has to send off to be ground so....in many cases. Some companies make a modern stub.

Those are a different pattern than vintage obliques.

 

One 'needs' eventually some of them too....for the fun of it.

 

You will find out what all this is...with some reading, so that you have a better idea of what to buy.

[adallak]

eh there koa, myself being from hawaii, i know right off the back you're a pacific islander or at leat from the pacific islands haha. Good to know about the alloy things, was a bit worried bout that.

 

omicron i know exactly what you mean lols, like the lami does feel like a good writer, but it just doesn't do it for me in my hand lols

Check this out if you want to see how a modern pen/nib is made:

[JefferyS]

I have decided that an italic cursive will never be my workhorse. It will have to be a moderately-sized medium or fine nib. For now, it is the Parker Duofold in fine. With Noodler's Eel Blue, because the world is filled with FP unfriendly paper.

[tonybelding]

A workhorse pen is a sort of vague concept. It simply means the pen that you choose to carry around and use often and do a lot of writing with. Dependability is usually part of the formula, and convenience is another part, but at the end of the day it's what you like. It might be plain, or it might be fancy.

 

DRP once wrote an epic review (almost more of a love letter) about his workhorse pen, that I can't resist pointing out: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php?/topic/7649-sheaffer-targa/

[Inka]

Workhorse, by definition, comes from the days gone by of plow horses and originally and literally was a working horse that could be relied upon to get a job done without problems.

Nowadays the term fits machines, basically anything mechanical, be it a machine or a vehicle or a fountain pen, something you can rely upon to work.

Even electrical/ electronic devices can be workhorses, such as a reliable computer or cell phone or power tools or appliances, as examples, for that matter.

It makes little difference what that means to each of us, since our personal views, needs, and experiences vary and that's OK too, it's whatever works for you.

Now I can take it a step further, examples being I use my Rotring 1928 LE and Pelikan pens only at home, that's just my preference, I would not be able to replace them so I write letters and notes using those pens at home to protect them from damage.

They are both workhorses, in that I can rely on them to work for me every time, they are a bit fragile compared to some other pens, one is too rare and the other too costly for me to replace, but they always work.

When I go out and about I carry a Pilot capless, not because I can afford to lose it, I'd probably even break down and cry if something happened to it since it was a gift from a friend, but it's easy to carry and the nib is tough as nails, it's less likely to get damaged and it always works.

If I'm just trying new inks, or letting a non-fountain pen type try one on for size, I pull out the Lamy Safari or Vista or one of my Esterbrook Dip-less pens, they're easier to clean and the nibs are so tough I don't have to worry about them being bent by someone learning how to use one for the first time, they work AND they're tough.

So you see, a workhorse fountain pen can mean different things to different people, it might be a pen you could use as a dart, it might be a pen that would shatter if dropped onto carpeting but always writes nicely, it can even mean different things to the same person as they are to me.

A workhorse fountain pen can be anything that works for you, as long as it's durable enough and dependable enough for the task at hand, having different pens for different tasks that all work as desired is just a bonus.