Do You Sometimes Feel Certain Pens That You Have Are Slightly Useless?

[Icywolfe]

As for me it's my Namiki Falcon/Pilot Elabo. And no it's not because I expect super flex blah... blah... blah.... It's just that I bought the Justus95 first and that pen does everything that the Elabo can do and more, like do finer lines. The SF on the J95 is lie it seems more of a SEF. It's like if I bought it the other way around it would had seen more use in it. But I bought it the opposite way around and Elabo just ended up being in the shadow of the J95. Only plus or a minus is that its soo wet. On cheap paper it's minus but on good paper flip the nib and it's paintbrush.

 

I sort of have the same issue with the VP and the Elite. Both are fast pens. If one day I get the Stargazer I'll have a issue of Elite vs Stargazer.

 

 

So do you have certain pens that are sort of useless because another pen that you use does that job better.

 

 

[The Blue Knight]

I wouldn't say certain pens are useless rather you or I am incomparable with certain the pen. The truth is many of these pens have been around for many years and if they weren't relatively successful they would have been discontinued.

 

I realize your focusing on the fact pen X is more suitable for a purpose then pen pen Y however you have only found this out buying a fair few similar pilot pens I have been trying to focus on a wide range of brands and models so it is rare the motivation behind buying two pens is the same so I don't often find that one pen makes another completely redundant.

 

If your finding this a lot it maybe worth considering branching out a bit?

[Lou Erickson]

I haven't had this happen, but I haven't been buying pens with very specific uses. I just write with them.

[KBeezie]

Useless? not particularly. Unappealing certainly.

 

For me, to be useless it either has to give me severe hand cramps or a nearly unusable nib in the sense that I can't write on anything.

 

I somewhat felt the same way with the Falcon, not because it was 'useless' but because the exact nature of how the soft fine nib works to imitate asian brush strokes wasn't all that appealing to me. Especially given how it is naturally wetter to accommodate the flow needed.

[Icywolfe]

For the Falcon is that it's so soft that I feel the tines on my side strokes and up strokes. Sort of like the J95 but I can adjust that.

 

The Elabo might be the wettest pen I own more wet than the Ahab. The wettness does bring out the color though.

Edited September 19, 2014 by Icywolfe

[BrandonA]

No as I only buy quality and don't buy random pens on a whim

[KBeezie]

No as I only buy quality and don't buy random pens on a whim

I don't think anyone ever really said random, and some of those pens may be quality depending on the user. Unless you've tried a specific one before or knew what the expectation was, there's still a chance where you might come across one that just didn't meet your expectation. (course as montblanc heavy as you are, you already had an expectation in mind and stayed with it).

Edited September 19, 2014 by KBeezie

[lahlahlaw]

The Zebra 301 is pretty much useless.

Some day when I win the lottery I'll buy all the ones out there and I'll pay Zebra to stop making them.

Then, I'll send the Zebras into outer space for aliens to use them, and think to themselves: " humans are idiots, scratch the invasion."

[Montblanc owner and lover]

Got some that i bought for the fun of it or because i wanted to try something special about them (like the justus 95 or a Carene with a stub nib) but after some funny time playing with them i just get back to my more usual pens and the others are getting cleaned and stored in theyr box. Sometime i take them when i want it. It last 2 or 3 weeks then....you see the point

[legume]

Well I have this one pen that doesn't work and can't be repaired, so it's kind of useless. But it was a gift so I'd feel bad if I threw it away.

 

If you were expecting one thing from a pen and got something else, then I understand how it might feel useless. You can try putting it away for several months and try using it again with no expectations rather than try to force yourself to like it.

 

I try not to get more than one pen from what I consider the same category, and since my categories are very broad and I'm a very slow accumulator (three in the past five years), I've been lucky enough not to have any redundant pens.

 

More similar to your case, if I ever got a pen with a disgustingly smooth medium+ or stub nib, then I'd definitely feel like it was useless since I prefer fines and extra fines with lots of crispness. I'd simply never get any use out of it.

[Christi0469]

No as I only buy quality and don't buy random pens on a whim

I somehow doubt the original poster had a whim to buy a new pen and somehow randomly landed on the Falcon/Elabo. While someone may throw a dart at a dartboard or spin a wheel of fortune when it's time for a new pen purchase I doubt many of us approach pen purchases randomly.

 

Although I admit it is amusing tk imagine such an oddball pen aficionado.

 

Sometimes even well thought-out purchases don't suit.

[Icywolfe]

I just have a list of pens to buy the top spots are all Pilots. Except one Platinum Music Nib pen 3776.

 

And I reread my list and noticed there are some pens that does the same job just different body.

 

But on my must have list I have a few vintage Pilots and few Waterman's and Sheaffer and Parkers. And to get any snorkel pen

Edited September 19, 2014 by Icywolfe

[WaskiSquirrel]

A useless pen is one that doesn't write.

 

But, I have found that some pens just don't get inked. These are in my set of pens to give away. (I'm working on a PIF some time when I get all my pen reviews done.)

 

Not too long ago, I posted my review of the Monteverde Regatta Sport. It's a very nice pen, comfortable in the hand, writes well, looks good, and all the rest. I even love the magnetic cap. But, to be honest, the only reason I would keep it is the unique magnetic cap. The pen is so heavy in my pocket that I don't actually use it because I hate taking it with me. I have too many Noodler's Konrads, so they are redundant, making them useless, though I absolutely love the pen. I don't seem to use my Jinhao pens at all. I liked the looks of my Monteverde Intima, but don't use it.

 

I could go on listing, but the closest to a "useless" pen is one that I don't use.

[Icywolfe]

I sort of found a job for my Elabo. Be a portable Ahab. My Ahab has leaking issues during some hot weather or when it gets bumped a tiny bit. A few days ago my ahab emptied it's own ink supply from the piston to the cap. All 2ml of ink and I had the nib up.

 

The Elabo doesn't do that.

[tinysnail]

Any pen I've had and felt was useless I've given to a friend or family member. They're always super happy about the gift, even when it's just a Hero 329 or something, and it feels good to keep being a user instead of an accumulator or collector. Not to say any of these pens were bad, they just didn't fit my standards or didn't draw me in as much as the pens I love do. Sometimes you can't even quantify this. I'm glad that I've been able to see how much joy my decluttering brings people, too

 

Now, I'm thinking about the pens I have and am wondering if I'll always intend on holding onto them. Who knows! Needs change, preferences change.

[nogoodnamesleft]

Now that you ask, yeah i do have a pen that's useless and it just so happen to be the very first pen that I bought, it fell of my table an onto the floor and now the body doesn't fit/thread securely to the section.

[georges zaslavsky]

nah, never happened

[orfew]

I have given away most of my useless pens. This reminds me that I still have a couple to dispose of.

[ushref]

Not useless, because it writes, but.....Rotring 600, "full-metal-jacket", B,....heavy as a brick, only for signatures. My mistake was to purchase it, many years ago.

[Algester]

a Pilot pen with a FA Falcon nib... but I want it... <_< >_> and not probably it's because I hunger for a flex pen when I already have my only vintage flex... but I could say I might try to make something out of it...

Edited September 22, 2014 by Algester