Do You Let Others Borrow Or Use Your Fps?

[Vgimlet]

I would let my husband use one if he asked, but I would pick which one...

 

I have let co-workers try them, but I only take inexpensive pens to work with me in case they disappear.

 

I might let my sibling, or nieces, or a few friends borrow one to try it out.

[ac12]

Do a search here on "office pens."

[AustinMalone1999]

I keep the cap, and never loan the Vanishing Point. Anyone who puts an uncapped FP in their pocket will regret it especially if wearing stark white hipster pants.

 

Also a Parker 51 is nearly impossible to destroy.

[ScienceChick]

I keep a couple of Varsitys on my desk for students to try; if they like them enough to ask to use them and do use them in class, I give them one. I have no problem letting them try any of my pens at that point but none of them cost more than $150 and my students are very careful because they know the pens are important to me. They are, after all, just things and most can be replaced. I wouldn't be happy if one were ruined but at least it would happen in the process of broadening my students experiences.

[KBeezie]

Mainly on two occasions, and only when they're something that would be actively used.

 

For example, my younger brother who is currently a Teacher's Assistant (and will be starting as a Student Teacher next year before he becomes fully certified to be a teacher and completes his bachelors in secondary education) is currently using a Pilot Petit1 with Blue-Black cartridges, it was borrowed at first for several days, but because of the cost and because he's using it actively, I went ahead and ordered another few Petit's plus some refills and gave him a couple three packs.

 

Will probably get him hooked up with a nicer 'commemorative' one when he starts teaching by himself ( Probably a Pilot Metro, cheap enough not to be scared of, but large enough to use for longer sessions, and not too heavy given the lack of tendon strength in his hands ).

 

But yea, if he ever wants to borrow one of mine, he just has to ask, same with my mom. My dad on the other hand... I wouldn't trust him with a rollerball.

[Diderot]

No

[georges zaslavsky]

No, I never lend/borrow nor let use my fountain pens. I only borrow them to fp collectors or to people who are long time fp users

[RNHC]

Heck no.

[Runnin_Ute]

I will sometimes loan for a quick note to a co-worker or someone who would like to try one. With a brief "light touch" admonition.

 

Have given Varsitys to a couple of co-workers before. But unless the person is experienced extended sessions don't happen. None of my pens is very expensive. The M205's are probably the most expensiveI have and since I got them pre-owned, all were under $100 USD my cost.

[Baric]

I answered no, but that's because no one has ever asked to borrow my fountain pens before. I have offered on occasion if someone needs a pen but they always back off when then find out it's got a nib. Nibaphobia? The only time someone has used my pen was funny and a little stressful. My doctor needed to write something down and snitched my Levenger Argento out of my shirt pocket and then proceeded to start pulling on the cap to get it off. After a 1/2 second of panic I told her to just unscrew it. She was startled to see a nib, but used it readily. But she's never done that since .

 

I'd be happy to let someone use my pen briefly as long as I was watching. But I wouldn't let someone borrow it for an extended period unless I knew and trusted them. None of my pens are exactly inexpensive, and far too many people treat a pen like a disposable item and leave them lying around. Oh, the horror if that happened to one of my Pelikans or Conway Stewarts!

 

I have gotten the odd comment and even more strange looks, but that's about it.

[Anne Louise Bannon]

Huh. Some years ago, I was told not to let others use my FPs, even those familiar with how to use them, since the differing pressure of their unique hand would mess up how I conformed my nib. My husband will sometimes use mine and I'm okay with that. No one else does because I keep my fountain pens at home (where I work) and so no one else really has access.

 

Got lots and lots of cheap ballpoints that I let people have. If I haven't already walked off with one of theirs.

[loudkenny]

I don´t loan my pens because I might not get them back.

 

ken

[Icywolfe]

I don´t loan my pens because I might not get them back.

 

ken

What do you mean by that?

 

Got only rares?

[Baric]

Huh. Some years ago, I was told not to let others use my FPs, even those familiar with how to use them, since the differing pressure of their unique hand would mess up how I conformed my nib.

For the most part, that's pretty bogus. Nibs are tipped with a very hard metal, usually some form of iridium alloy. It would take months of continuous heavy use to make even the slightest change. Now certain specialty nibs or vintage nibs lack tipping and if the nib is gold (a relatively soft alloy) it can be changed faster, but we're still talking days of pretty heavy use. A few minutes or an afternoon is not going to change anything unless they are writing on some kind of abrasive surface. The real killer is letting a newbie use your pen and they start treating it like a ballpoint or pressing really hard just to see the tines separate. Such a person can kill your nib in very short order.

Edited September 15, 2014 by Baric

[Mezzie]

Now that I only take steel-nibbed pens to work, I don't mind loaning the pens out for a quick signature or test run. I do hover a bit until I get them back, though.

[Evelyn]

Hahaha! Not no, but HELL NO. No way would I let anyone use my Mont Blanc Fountain pens. I collect the MB Writer's Edition pens, and they are more expensive than the Meisterstuck fountain pens. I have an old Meisterstuck that I carry in an Aspin case inside my purse, and while I'd be more generous as far as allowing someone to use it, it would have to be someone I knew well, someone to whom I could say, "Don't press too hard on the paper because you could hurt my nib which would result in your instantaneous death ," which of course is a threat one can only say to a loved one.

[dgreenwood116]

I want to hear more about this bacon stuff.

I came here for the bacon!

[cancoi]

A coworker always asks to try my pens. However, she always tries to write with the nib upside-down, then becomes slightly upset when I correct her. I now say "no".

[XiaoMG]

One question I ask when I buy a new pen is whether I'd lend it out for a minute. Personally, that is the line I draw between geeky and profligate.

[luigilevin]

I was taught that you never ever lend: your car , your wife , and your FP.