Hero 001-360°. Too small, too narrow, too much like a ballpoint. Not a bad pen, just not a good match for me.

Visconti Van Gogh Vanilla Midi. Beautiful pen, but not a good fit for me.

I've had a couple disappointments..

My biggest one is my Parker Sonnet, which looks beautiful and until now was my most expensive pen. It has terrible ink flow problems, skips, and is a dry writer. I got it as a gift and was so excited by it, but after a couple months I just washed it out and stuck it in a drawer. I decided to send it for repair now that I have a couple of nice pens and know that it should write better than it does.

Just last week I bought an Ohto Tasche, which must be the best pocket pen design ever created. It wrote great as soon as I plugged a cartridge in... for 38 words, and then it stopped completely. I got it writing again after several hours of cleaning & soaking but it will cut out in the middle of words, then suddenly gush for a few letters. It looks like the feed is misaligned. The story isn't over; I should be getting a replacement in a few more days. Luckily it was only $15 so it's not a huge disaster! But I really want to like this pen.. it's just such a neat design!

Neill

Sheaffer Balance II. Excellent nib. Joke cap and body: both or either split when you just looked at them. Very poor plastic. Sheaffer replaced both twice. Then, without touching the pen after its second return, I sold it for a third of its price.

Bummer.

My Parker Sonnet is also my biggest disappointment. It was my first expensive pen, too. I got the medium nib, but it writes horribly, is terribly scratchy, and doesn't seem to like any ink I put in it. I finally cleaned it out earlier this week and put it away.

I also bought a Parker Inflection, a discontinued model, for 1/10 the price of the Parker Sonnet. It looks and feels very similar. I got it with a medium nib as well. The nib floats over every paper I've touched it to. Very smooth. Problem here is that the medium nib is laying down way too thick of a line of ink - and I like seeing my ink. So, reverse problem of the Sonnet. I still have it inked, though, and it is on my table here at home as my quick note jotter.

I think I'm done with Parkers for a while.

The other disappointment is the no-brand ornate pen I bought. I love ornate pewter overlay, love the heavy feel of this pen and it feels balanced in my hand, but the nib doth sucketh. It was cheap, but I'd like to find a nib to work in it. I really like the pen itself.

I haven't inked up either my Pelikan M320 or my M200, yet. The M320 had problems right out of the box, and I sent it off to Richard Binder for some love and care and to have the nib wanded as well. I have expectations for this pen. I just got the M200 this week, and haven't had the chance to ink it, yet. Some of you are scaring me, though. Heh.

And I haven't received my VP yet. Another scare going here.

Aside from my hand-turned pens that all work wonderfully well, my very favorite writer also just came earlier this week: My Bexley BX701 Cappuccino. Oh... my... stars! This pen writes like a dream with its medium nib, and it is absolutely gorgeous to look at. It feels light, but it isn't a bad fit at all in my hand. I loaded it with Galileo Manuscript Brown. My Cappuccino is laying down a beautiful caramel-colored line. Yummy!! I found a new journal pen and trophy pen and it wasn't all that expensive. Yes, I'm very, very happy with this one.

My greatest disappointment wasn't a Fountain Pen. It was a Mont Blanc Gold Meisterstuck Classique 163 Roller Ball. Or so a couple of people here on FPN have helped me to identify. It was a gift from a girlfriend in 1992. I knew Mont Blanc's were expensive. (She kept telling me, in case I wasn't aware.) I can't exactly explain why - maybe just how slim and petite (Read: puny) the pen is, or how lousy the roller ball feels to me but I've never liked this pen. I stuffed it into a pen stand and haven't touched it in over 15 years. Wish I'd kept the box and all that came with it - maybe it will be collectible, someday? I really couldn't imagine being so disappointed in anything - especially something that was a gift and didn't cost me a thing.

Hero 100. I was expecting great things from this pen, based on what I had read about it. Indeed, it is an attractive pen, and wrote nicely when first filled. Every day thereafter, however, it was a slow or non-starter. Moreover, ink evaporates from it in a few days. I'm sure there are good ones, but not mine.

The Pelikan M200 with the Binder customized stub nib. The nib skipped and showed nib creep like crazy. As a diffident newcomer back then, I felt disillusioned. Not enough to stop buying pens and inks, just got less starry-eyed and all-believing.

Montblanc. Yes, all of them. I had 5 in my time and never used any of them for more than a few days. The Charles Dicken LE I actually gave away because it was too big, too heavy, graceless and wrote badly. The Boheme is currently sitting somewhere in my drawer, untouched for a few years now. Another one (I forgot the name of the line) is also unused, the gold plating is tarnishing badly... I wanted to love them because I got very good discount from the company but I like my pens to be good writers first and everything else second... MMB never performs for me!

I haven't used one yet, but I believe MB's are horrid.
They only make bad pens now, viewing the FP as a status symbol, not a writing instrument.
But that's just what I've heard.

My most disappointing pen was a beautiful Parker Duofold from the reproduction they made in the '90's. My son worked for Daytons (now Macy's) and I wanted the Centennial in Green. With his discount, I was able to get the pen as a Christmas present. It never wrote well. I sent it back to the company and they said they worked on it but it still didn't write well at all. So it is just sitting in my case looking beautiful - but what a major disappointment it was. I have actually heard similar stories from others who purchased these Parkers. Projectqoe

Wow, I can't believe Richard Binder got your Parker Duofold Centennial working!! What the fix quite expensive? And do you know what he did to it? I have left my Parker sitting in the pen case for years because I thought there was no hope.

Projectqoe

I assume you no longer date this girlfriend, otherwise you wouldn't dare speak so negatively about her gift!

By the way, my biggest disappointment was a MB 144: very poor material quality. I got also terribly disappointed of a Diplomat which was too heavy and had poor ink flow.

Ditto on the Cross Century, and for all the same reasons.

If I remember correctly the charge was $30, but I don't know what Richard did. The pen continues to work flawlessly so don't give up on yours just send it to Richard with a complete description of the problem and how you'd like the pen to write.

Parker 51 bought off the 'net. Looks lovely but has blind cap issues such that sometimes the pen gets locked into the cap. On one occaision I pulled the cap off and the section separated, spilling ink all over my papers in front of guests, prompting them to ask "Why do you bother with those things?"

Every now and then I ink it up but, for the most part, it intimidates me!

Hmmm... I seem to be one of the few here not really currently disappointed at all with any of my pens. Yes, I was disappointed initially with all of them - my Visconti Van Gogh Maxi-M, old Waterman CF-XF, ST Dupont Gold Dust-M and still am with my new Pelikan M800 (but hope a little cleaning/time will sort it out like the others).

My biggest disappointment was my Montblanc 149 - it leaks, it skips and it won't start most of the time. Stored that away and got a 146 (just for a piece of the MB mystique). Guess what? It also leaks, skips and won't start most of the time. Guess I got my fair share of the MB mystique alright.

If I had to do battle, I'd go with a Hero than a Montblanc anytime.

Well, I have to add my name, at the moment to Visconti Wall Street LE.

I say 'atmo' because it is back at Visconti so I'm giving them a chance to put things right.

I am disappointed that the supplier hasn't been more keen to provide 'after-sales' support, that the factory hasn't acknowledged receipt, and that the pen arrived with 4 faults:

1. a small but noticeable crack inthe barrel,
2. the nib was scratchy in the 10 to 2 o'clock arc,
3. the 'flats' on the barrel and cap don't line-up when it's capped, and
4. the filler apears to have been faulty, although I didn't realise it at the time.

It's a beautiful pen, but...... time will tell.

(I should have bought it from Susanna, but at the time she didn't have the blue one I wanted.)

It appears that Visconti have QC problems which need addressing urgently.

(I have been slightly disappointed with all the round-pointed pens I have bought recentl...... I am now sure I really need a cursive italic nib..... that is not the pens' fault!)

You may want to base your opinions on your own experiences. Many here, including myself, consider MB's to perform as well as, if not better than, virtually all of its competitors. To me, only Pilot has proven superior due to their overwhelming range of products. My MB149 has performed superbly for over 15 years.

If you review this thread, you will find that nearly all manufacturers are guilty of producing disappointments. However, they all have a strong fan-base, too.

I would have to say that my Sailor 1911m with the Zoom nib. The nib is what didnt cut it for me. I didnt find it as versatile as I read.

You know, I was thinking about my biggest disappointment, and what cropped up was my Conklin Mark Twain. Because of its poor ink flow. But about six months ago, I found that ink flow problems were caused by the tines being too close. After attacking a couple of cheap pens with a single edged razor blade (just slipped it in between the tines, to increase the spacing) with success I did it to the Conklin... problem solved. I love it now, ample ink flow, no pressure required. I like the pen because it it so sturdily constructed. I throw it in my bike bag or a pack. Anyway, I suppose what I did is not the "right" thing to do, but it worked and fixed the problem.

JD

After my Conklin problem was fixed. I have to admit, my next disappointment was my Salor 1911m with Zoom nib. To me, cheap plastic pen with not a great nib. Very dissappointing pen. I used it one day, and it has been in pen storage, ever since.

JD

I trust you gave it the old college try--using it with different inks, paper, alignments of the stars and planets?

Re the 'cheap plastic,' I find many of these fountain pens, even much more expensive ones, to appear cheap--my Omas Mylord foremost among them. When I first received it, I couldn't believe how insubstantial and um, 'cheap' it felt. If 'scuffing' is a mark of cheapness, nearly all of them seem to suffer from this problem, especially the Pelikans, whereas the Sailor 1911's are actually a bit better in that regard.

Sorry--a server problem contributed to a double posting.
Chibimie

I didn't spend a lot of time with the Sailor. I was so disappointed with the appearance, I wasn't too motivated. I agree about the "cheap plasticness" of a number of pens. I have a bunch of OMAS Paragon, I find them good for work (light and write reasonably well). But in the evenings and weekends, I use my Montgrappa Extra 1930s... pens with no look or feel of "cheap" that write magnificently. I am always struck by how well the write, then while I am reacting to how great they write, I look at them, and am struck what beautiful they are and how well constructed. Somehow, going back to ink up the Sailor doesn't enter my mind. JD

Its not fair judging Mont Blanc without owning one.

My MB 149 is my queen,my favorite pen !!!

As for my MB Virginia Woolf LE-read this review and you will see how wonderful this pen is:

http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=47996

Pelikan 405 which arrived in my mailbox few days ago. It is actually its F nib. It writes good and smooth only under a strict angle; otherwise it is audibly scratchy.
Cursing myself for ordering a modern Pelikan instead of Sailor's rhodium trimmed black 1911 with a medium or a broad nib. A low-cost Phileas by Waterman F nib (at least the one I got in a box) writes a lot smoother.
Edited for spelling.

It's interesting to read everyone's non-faves and faves! And helpful too - I thought maybe I was the only one having problems with my Pelikan 400 and VP. The Pelikan is supposed to be a fine nib but writes a big fat line like a medium and gets ink all over my fingers every time I use it. The VP writes okay but every time I open it to refill, the cartridge unit is coated in ink. (It's off at the place I bought it, and they're trying to figure it out.)

On the other hand, my Omas Milord, Sailor Sagi-Tobi and Namiki Falcon all have worked like dreams since I first got them. They all start right up, don't skip and don't get ink on me. And the Sagi-Tobi makes such a delicate but steady line that it's wonderful. But then I got all three of those pens from John Mottishaw (and he customized the Falcon) - so maybe it's buying pens from people who really love them and stand behind them.
Tom

Sheaffer Balance plunger filler. I got the thing back at Christmas and I still haven't got it working and it has been fighting me every step.

I agree with you that Monteverde pens can be disappointing. Once I bought a green bamboo-shaped pen Monteverde and had the same feelings about it as the Jeweleria incurred in you. I did not return it (probably due to its moderate price) allthough I have not inked it either.

Nevertheless I appreciate Monteverde (Yair Greenberg) for some innovative ideas in pendesign.

Not a huge disappointment, but I had 2 Hero 329's - the ones with the Star Trek symbol on them. I had read some good reviews but these ones were just duds. No big deal since they were only $8. My Duke Crane doesn't post, but it's still a capable writer. I'm surprised to read about the number of VP's that have disappointed people here. I'm sure there are more than a few FPN members that would gladly offer you fair compensation for your misery.

REALLY disappointed: the Burgundy Sailor 1911 with Zoom nib. I couldn't make the Zoom nib 'work' and thought the pen a bit tacky after all the hype I'd read about Sailor quality. It's now living elsewhere.
My first Visconti Wall Street LE...it arrived with several faults and had to be replaced ..... now I love it!

Not up to expectations: Bexley 10th anniversary..looks much cheaper than it was, especially the tinny trim.
Lamy 2000...didn't like its ergonomics(and the 'ears'!)...I find it quite difficult to hold the tapered section.
Aurora Primavera with, allegedly, a Deb Kinney CI nib....I can't believe this is how Deb would send-out a nib.(next on my list for smoothing as I do love the colour).
Pelikan 200...looks small & cheap...which, relatively, it was! Expectations probably unrealistic!

My biggest disappointment was, and still is, a good pen.

There's a lot on FPN about how great the Parker 51 is. A great user, a wonderful nib and so on. I already had a Parker 61 I'd loved, so how much better would the P51 be, given it's amazing reputation (and the comparitively poor reputation of the P61)?
I eagerly awaited my first P51, flushed it,cleaned it and filled it with my reference ink (Pelikan Turquoise) and...

Was very disappointed.

It's a nice pen. Don't get me wrong. It writes well, competently and smoothly. It's just that my expectations were too high, and my baseline pen was at least as good as the P51, so there was no room for it to be significantly improved. My high expectations were the cause of the disappointment rather than any defect with the pen.

Live & Learn

Regards

Richard.

I just wanted to lighten the atmosphere by talking about the opposite - a very standard pen I got today at a market, a Parker 45 Flighter, which I intended simply to restore with some parts I have and sell on. It's something I do a fair bit of, I guess.

When I got home I realised it was a fine left-foot oblique stub nib! I had low expectations (or at least, normal ones, as the vintage 45 flighter is one of the best classics I know) and was happily 'disappointed'! So, this one's a keeper once I've done my thing...

I've been disappointed in my Lamy 2000, Conklin MTS, and Pelikan 200. They always seem to leave ink on my fingers, something my other pens never do. I don't know, in the case of the Conklin and Pelilan if ink is getting trapped in the threads, or what. I want to use them, I just don't want to be covered in ink spots. I imagine the Lamy could use a little silicon grease to get it working right.

Mine was my first step into the vintage with a vacumatic. It gushed and wobbled and gushed somemore - turned out to be a left oblique but finding the sweet spot made it gush even more....

Thankfully the chap I got it from on ebay took it back with apologies...

Not brave enough to do vintage again - not til I find a local place where I can try before I buy.

I had a set of Chinese fully hooded fine nibs - they are too fine for me. Of the 4 - 3 are OK when I in the right mood for small skinny writing although they are incredibly dry, 1 refuses to write at all.

I have a Pilot Pluminix which doesnt like to write - a few lines at a time is all it will give. The other 3 I bought at the same time are all great.

Coincidentally, I have one of these, down to the nib type Don't write with it much, but it has its place in my collection, er, accumulation.

Disappointments:

My then-girlfriend, now-wife gave me a Montblanc several years ago that never wrote well, and turned out to be a headache in a number of ways...neither of us knew much about pens then. Don't even remember the model, it was a skinny burgundy thing that had no feel or soul to it.

Waterman Carene: Lovely to look at (mine's Coral orange, I think that's the actual name), but again, not a lot of personality when it comes to putting nib to paper. I've decided to fill this one with Baystate Blue, figuring that if it's damaged a little, well, I wasn't using it much anyway.

Parker 100: I have one of these in Honey White, and it's just...purty . But I had a lot of trouble with it skipping when I first got it. Oddly enough, I dropped it on a hard-surface floor and bent the nib badly. Took it to the LA Fountain Pen Shop, Fred straightened it out as best he could, and recommended I get it re-nibbed--but although I still intend to get that done, I find it now writes more smoothly than before the drop. (I don't recommend this as a fix--a badly bent nib is sickening to look at, like having one's child get his nose broken. )

All of the disappointing pens above were given to me by the same person, who I hope never reads this.

Alas, same here. I love its looks, but the nib is squeaky, and to be honest, my Pelikano Jrs. make me happier when I write with them.

I also never quite warmed up to my Lamy Safari, even though I've given them as gifts.

Yesterday, a Pilot Silvern arrived - with a big crack in the plastic. Argh! So disappointing that I'm thinking of returning it to the seller rather than getting it fixed.

I really enjoy the Pelikano Jrs. as well, but I find that the caps tend to crack after a while--I think they're just not designed to work with my big adult hands, and I put too much pressure on them.

My first expensive pen purchase was a Cross Apogee. I went into the local pen shop to purchase a Lamy Safari. The owner had me try I few other high-end pens. I fell in love with the Apogee, however I was very new to FP and didn't realize the importance of weight. It's just too heavy for even short journal writing periods and the ink flow was terrible with Noodler's BP Black. I finally put it away.

Mine is no longer a disappointment, but it took some work to get it that way. A Rotring 600 arrived in my mailbox with the nib sitting well away from the feed: you could stick a lump of cardboard between nib and feed, let alone a piece of paper. Needless to say, it didn't write all that well! Google being my friend, I found http://www.penmuseum.co.uk/master%202.htm and followed some of the advice there. After a bit of work steaming the feed, tweaking the nib, and gently polishing the writing surface, it's now a beautiful writer.

The other thing that I found on that search was the FPN :-)

It's an old opinion (in this thread) but one I agree with. I bought two last year as I knew I just had to experience this wonderful pen. Very disappointing, both of them. Poor writers. Perhaps I was just unlucky. Put me off hooded nibs for good.....

My scratchy Sheaffer Javelin....

You might want to consider corresponding w/ Rob Rosenberg of Conklin Pen. He has corrected the minimal problems I've experienced and the result is some terrific writers which bring a lot of writing pleasure.

My biggest let-down was probably the Van Gogh; the nib was a little finicky to start with (although once I got fed up with it and tore it apart to fix it, it got much better), and it was too heavy for me to use comfortably all day long. If Visconti would make that one with titanium for the section (preferably with a matte finish with some texture - imagine the finish on something that's powder-coated), it'd be a winner with me.

Easily a Stipula Vedo has been my most disappointing pen but then I've may have been spoiled by my Pilots and Sailors.

I tried hard, but I couldn't get on with the nib on my Lamy Vista, so I gave it to a colleague who loves it. I'm glad it's gone to a good home.

I've had a few:

Lamy Safari: bad writer when I didn't have a lot of money to spend on pens.

Most of the others just bored me.