Jump to content

What pen was your biggest disapointment ?


goodguy

Recommended Posts

Please tell us what pen has REALLY disapointed you.What pen you were waiting for and once you got it you felt like it was a waist of time and money.

 

I really dont have a pen I was very disapointed of.The closest pen I could say I wasnt happy with was my Pilot VP but thats just because we didnt get along so well and not because the pen was bad in any ways.It just didnt work between us.

Edited by goodguy

Respect to all

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 406
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • goodguy

    8

  • Sailor Kenshin

    7

  • marklavar

    6

  • georges zaslavsky

    6

Conklin Duragraph & Mark Twain Signature pen. Beautiful pens, but were very problematic with poor ink flow. I understand that Conklin has since corrected the issues, but I'm in no hurry to get another Conklin.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p202/Apollo3000/es-canary-islands-flag1s.gif Bendita mi tierra guanche.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A Montegrappa Eleganza. Horrible quality and even worse service. Luckly I bought it from a great seller who offered me a refund without being asked.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The sad truth is the Parker 51. With all the hype, I was ready for a world beater. I've owned a number of them and currently own two, one of each filling variety. They've been professionally cleaned etc and the lot of them have been disappointing. They're cronic problem seems to be waiting for the least opportune moment to gush a bunch of ink on whatever I writing at the time.

 

I want to love the pen but I just can't. Beauty alone just doesn't do it for me.

 

PeteWK

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi htimsffej

 

Oh you just broke my heart.The "Visconti Wall Street LE " is one of my favorite pens that I dream of buying.Why didnt you like the nib ?

 

Oh I guess you can add the Rotring 600.I didnt like the nib at all and thats why I sold it.

Respect to all

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The sad truth is the Parker 51. With all the hype, I was ready for a world beater. I've owned a number of them and currently own two, one of each filling variety. They've been professionally cleaned etc and the lot of them have been disappointing. They're cronic problem seems to be waiting for the least opportune moment to gush a bunch of ink on whatever I writing at the time.

 

I want to love the pen but I just can't. Beauty alone just doesn't do it for me.

 

PeteWK

Its unfortunate - none of my parker 51s have dumped ink - all superb and flawless writers.

 

I recently ground a medium stub on a P51 DJ - my first attempt at grinding & smoothing and its one of the best writers I own - a smooth 3 to 1 variation and lots of personality.

post-4-1164179203_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For me, it has to be my Cross Century II Medalist -- never wrote well, a stingy dry line always on the edge of skipping or hesitant starting, and spidery-thin... granted it is a fine nib, but this is by far the finest line any of my pens have ever put down.

 

Part of the problem is that this was my first fountain pen of any real quality (read: cost), and disappointment in it deterred me from further ventures into fountain pens for some time. Finally I picked up a couple of other pens that actually wrote well, I realized how they were supposed to be, and the Century II is currently back in Cross' hands being worked on. Hopefully when I get it back I will no longer be disappointed. :)

A handwritten blog (mostly)

 

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/606/letterji9.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Waterman Edson. I know lots of people love these, but I hated mine - impossibly heavy and badly balanced for my writing style, with very poor ink flow. It was stolen in a robbery at my home, I collected a big "replacement value" insurance cheque and think that burglar did me a favour.

 

The other would be an MB I owned in the 80s when I was a wannabee yuppie - leaked ink everywhere. It was not a unique example - there were an awful lot of aspiring young professionals walking aqround with perpetual ink splodges on their shirt fronts in the office I worked in at that time.

Vocatus atque non vocatus deus aderit

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The sad truth is the Parker 51. With all the hype, I was ready for a world beater. I've owned a number of them and currently own two, one of each filling variety. They've been professionally cleaned etc and the lot of them have been disappointing. They're cronic problem seems to be waiting for the least opportune moment to gush a bunch of ink on whatever I writing at the time.

 

I want to love the pen but I just can't. Beauty alone just doesn't do it for me.

 

PeteWK

That is not typical of a Parker "51" in good order, something is wrong with those pens as I have never had that from a "51" that is properly serviced and set up. I should get them looked at by another repairer for a second opinion or maybe something else.

 

I know this sounds like a winge defence of the "51", but just consider this point, would they have sold the millions they did if they were as bad as you experience? Therefore the conclusion is that there is something amiss with either your pens or the way you are filling them.

 

Just as a sanity check, you are holding the plunger down on the last stroke when you fill the Vac model, as you withdraw it from the ink? And you do let out a little ink from the Aero or hold it against the side of the ink bottle for a few seconds to let the excess ink in the collector run out? The collectors on "51" hold an ocean of ink, and you have to release a bit when you fill them or you will get a gusher.

 

Jim

Obi Won WD40

Re vera, cara mea, mea nil refert!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I once ordered a Monteverde Jeweleria on the basis of its catalog appearance, and descriptions of "fine Italian resins". When I opened the box and saw what was basically a chromed pipe with some thin plastic sleeves, and generally cheesy construction, I sent it back uninked. My apologies to Monteverde aficionados, but the pen did not appear to be worth its modest price.

Gerry

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Namiki VP; spat everywhere and the position of the clip was unhelpful. The Carbonesque finish was disappointing too considering what is now done with real carbon fibre.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, just about guaranteed to make a whole bunch of people angry, but here goes...

 

My two biggest disappointments are both Parkers: the 75 and the 51.

 

I bought a brand-new sterling 75 back in the 70s. It was my first upscale pen, after a few more-or-less entry-level Sheaffers. Why didn't I buy an equivalent Sheaffer instead? Don't know. My best guess: the great Parker print ads of the day - mostly in the New Yorker, I seem to recall - must have brainwashed me into believing that when one stepped up in class, one naturally bought a Parker.

 

Anyway, that 75 was never a satisfying writer. It wasn't defective; I just didn't connect with it. I must have spent days fiddling with that little plastic nib-adjustment wrench, figuring that there had to be some special writing angle that would turn the pen into the magnificent instrument I had expected. Never found it. A generic, personality-free writing experience. I've had other 75s since, and they've been just about the same.

 

And, sadly, that's been my impression of the 51 as well. I own several, from vac Demis to Flighters, and I find them rather...um...ballpointish. Competent, maybe even bulletproof writers, and brilliantly engineered. But when nib touches paper, there's no magic in the flow of ideas into words.

 

In fairness, I haven't had the opportunity to use any 75s or 51s fitted with "interesting" nibs. But comparing apples to apples - standard-issue firm fines and mediums - they just don't measure up to my Sheaffers, or my Watermans, or my Wahls.

 

Purely personal preference, of course, in the spirit of the question that started the thread.

 

Best,

 

Jon

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Waterman Edson. I know lots of people love these, but I hated mine - impossibly heavy and badly balanced for my writing style, with very poor ink flow. It was stolen in a robbery at my home, I collected a big "replacement value" insurance cheque and think that burglar did me a favour.

 

 

 

I'm glad I could do that favour for you. I was worried you'd be angry :ltcapd: :ltcapd: :roflmho: :roflmho:

Fountain Pen Abundance

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My biggest dissapointment has got to be the Rotring 600. Great writer, to be sure. and I'm pretty surethat if I went to war, this would be the pen to take. My problem lies in the details. With a hefty pen. the section is so small, I feel like I'm writing with a bic stik, which isn't very comfortable with my size hands. My biggest gripe though is how the cap posts. The gasket just doesn't seem big enough. and the cap swivels and wobbles, which completely messes with my handwriting. Unposted the pen is well balanced, but posted, with the wobble...unacceptable to me.

"The older I get, the more I realize I'm getting older".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The first FP that I bought disappointed me very badly. It was a Rotring - I forget the model name, but it was the one that looks like the tiny telescopic ballpoint. (This was a normal size pen though.) It just wouldn't write, never started well at all. I eventually, in my embarrassment, threw it away.

 

Today, I would know what to do with it. Then, I had no clue, and almost decided not to buy anymore pens.

 

Almost. :doh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very interesting.

 

I see many of the pens I own mentioned and the experiences diverge sharply from my own - perhaps isolated instances?

 

I have a few Parker 51s. I agree that they aren't a particularly astounding pen to write with, but mine have been competent at least - except for a desk set that even after repeated ultrasonic cleaning insists on drying and clogging. Maybe it is the ink, but Quink is usually pretty good that way.

 

I really enjoy using my Namiki VP, which has never spat anything anywhere. I am coming to terms with an italic nib I got from RB - not yet sure that the angle one needs to hold it at isn't a conflict with the positioning of the clip on the pen - but I have never had anything but pleasure from the stock F nib.

 

I'd agree that the Edson isn't for everyone. It is on the large side, it is undeniably heavier than many, and the nib is as stiff as ...nope, can't say that in a family group. But it does suit me and I have one sitting on my desk as I type this.

 

And Parker 75s are a big collecting focus for me. The nibs may not be quite as exciting as some more exotic pens, but I have never had any complaint about them and there is a wide variety of different nibs to try if you hunt them down. The section positioning isn't of any concern to me as my normal finger position tends to be higher up the pen.

 

Different strokes, I guess.

Bill Spohn

Vancouver BC

"Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence"

 

Robert Fripp

https://www.rhodoworld.com/fountain-pens.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm glad I could do that favour for you. I was worried you'd be angry :ltcapd: :ltcapd: :roflmho: :roflmho:

Not at all, but it is a shame you didn't manage to include the malfunctioning VCR in your haul - could have got that replaced as well.

 

I recall the insurance company expressing polite surprise that the briefcase stolen from my house contained an Edson, a Pelikan, and an Omas - what kind of a weirdo carries 3 fountain pens around with him? This was pre-FPN - these days I could simply refer them to this site and make them realise that they actually got off quite lightly!

Vocatus atque non vocatus deus aderit

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really enjoy using my Namiki VP, which has never spat anything anywhere. I am coming to terms with an italic nib I got from RB - not yet sure that the angle one needs to hold it at isn't a conflict with the positioning of the clip on the pen - but I have never had anything but pleasure from the stock F nib.

I perhaps should have clarified; the pen spat when the retraction mechanism was operated - perhaps it was collecting on the trap door.

 

The nib was indeed lovely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...