Brands You Will Never Buy From

[Apollo]

I can't say there's a particular brand I would never buy from. Saying that I won't but any pens from "P---" or "W---" or "M---" just seems silly to me. I mean, there are certain pens I might be reluctant to buy based on aesthetics/construction, etc.. But, if I like a particular pen and it writes well, I'll buy it regardless of the brand name. As for bad experiences... I've only had 2 quality control issues with a couple of fountain pens I owned in the past and both companies did right to correct the issue.

[raging.dragon]

Sadly the two brands I would never consider buying new pens from (i.e. modern) are the two biggest brands from years gone by - Sheaffer and Parker. Both have been reduced to selling stuff which must surely cause the illustrious founders of those companies to spin in their graves, squandering years of experience and goodwill to become (in my opinion) merely a brand applied to tat. Sad.

 

I agree, largely, with this....although I 'Never say "Never"' in this context!

I had some superb service from the UK HQs of both companies, in the 70s, but am also sad to see their current ranges of products.

 

With such large companies as MB, one has to wonder how much they care, nowadays, about losing a customer due to poor service, and I might decide to take my custom elsewhere.

OTOH, if I had a problem with a small company, I would make an effort to give them a chance to 'put things right'.

 

The modern Parker Duofolds and the Sheaffer Legacy Heritage (inlaid nib) line are (in my opinion) still nice pens. However, aside from these top of the line models, their current products don't appeal to me.

[raging.dragon]

I can't think of any brands where I could honestly say "I'll never buy one of their pens" but there are many where I can say "So far they have produced nothing I want."

 

Many such marques are among those others prize, so it is certainly a matter of personal taste.

 

That pretty much sums up my feelings on this as well.

 

Only evil deals in absolutes.

 

Agreed.

[mathguy]

Krone . . . I do not think I can write comfortably with those pens.

 

 

I noticed a number of people condemning Krones. The high end line is made up of hideous pens (with the possible exception of the Amelia Earhart pen, which is fairly attractive), but some of the production pens are terrific. I have a Moderne that is a great writer and not terribly expensive ($180). I don't think I could honestly answer this question with something definitive, because even my least favorite (Mont Blanc) has a couple of pens I admire.

Edited January 9, 2012 by mathguy

[JefferyS]

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I'm willing to say never with respect to Parker and MontBlanc based on their poor customer service. I won't say that about the Waterman pens inasmuch as they were relatively inexpensive and could be salvaged with nib tweaking.

But with the excellent pens available from Pelikan, Bexley, Gate City, Edison, Aurora, Visconti, Sailor, Platinum, Delta, and Conway Stewart, I have no problem cutting MontBlanc and Parker loose.

[aarjoh]

+1 Parker

[humsin]

Parker

Krone

Sheaffer

Rotring (I'll stick to their pencils)

Cross

All disposable fountain pens

[sheehmi]

Parker

Krone

Sheaffer

Rotring (I'll stick to their pencils)

Cross

All disposable fountain pens

I find the Pilot Varsity disposables to be great writers--do you consider those to be off-limits?

[Joshua J.]

Onoto, Montegrappa, Omas, Montblanc and anyone else who won't sell a piston filler (or similar) for less than $200.

[cobaltace]

I am really disappointed with Parker since Sanford bought them out. In the '80's, I sent a FP that my grandfather gave me and while they could not fix it, they did send me a free FP along with my grandfathers pen for sentimental reasons. Now that the pen they sent needs service, they just say that that model is no longer in production and can't help. So now, Parker is off my list. I am interested in TWsBI piston filler but $60 USD?

[Strang]

Krone . . . I do not think I can write comfortably with those pens.

I noticed a number of people condemning Krones. The high end line is made up of hideous pens (with the possible exception of the Amelia Earhart pen, which is fairly attractive), but some of the production pens are terrific. I have a Moderne that is a great writer and not terribly expensive ($180). I don't think I could honestly answer this question with something definitive, because even my least favorite (Mont Blanc) has a couple of pens I admire.

 

+1 on the Krone bashing. I have a Krone Knowledge which is wonderful and one of my favourite pens.

[orfew]

Only evil deals in absolutes.

Absolutely :roflmho:

[raging.dragon]

Krone . . . I do not think I can write comfortably with those pens.

I noticed a number of people condemning Krones. The high end line is made up of hideous pens (with the possible exception of the Amelia Earhart pen, which is fairly attractive), but some of the production pens are terrific. I have a Moderne that is a great writer and not terribly expensive ($180). I don't think I could honestly answer this question with something definitive, because even my least favorite (Mont Blanc) has a couple of pens I admire.

 

+1 on the Krone bashing. I have a Krone Knowledge which is wonderful and one of my favourite pens.

 

I guess alot of people see the big press releases for the over the top LE's, and are unaware that the regular production Krone's exist.

[humsin]

Parker

Krone

Sheaffer

Rotring (I'll stick to their pencils)

Cross

All disposable fountain pens

I find the Pilot Varsity disposables to be great writers--do you consider those to be off-limits?

 

Yes, they are good writers. I just feel that they defeat the purpose of a fountain pen. For me, a fountain pen is something special to keep and use continuously, not disposably. Also, I still feel that the only thing that should be used up is the ink itself. So actually, I don't like ink cartridges. Cartridge-only pens are pretty much off-limits for me also.

[Pen2009]

Parker & Cross. I had a few Parker fountain pens when I was in junior high and I recall they broke (the section got loose or something). For Cross, all of my cross ballpoint pens broke within a year.

[Redbarchettayyz]

I am really disappointed with Parker since Sanford bought them out. In the '80's, I sent a FP that my grandfather gave me and while they could not fix it, they did send me a free FP along with my grandfathers pen for sentimental reasons. Now that the pen they sent needs service, they just say that that model is no longer in production and can't help. So now, Parker is off my list. I am interested in TWsBI piston filler but $60 USD?

 

I would go for it, if only so you can see how a company should offer service in case of an issue. TWSBI aftersales service is absolutely stunning!

 

Answering the OP's question, I would personally never buy a modern Parker, Sheaffer, or Cartier. Parker and Sheaffer seem to only offer bland offerings that are a far cry from what they sold decades ago. For Cartier, if I'm going to buy a "snob name" pen, I'd at least like to buy it from a company that actually makes it's business on pens, like Montblanc, instead of from a jewelry maker who sells them as "accessories".

[SHK]

TWSBI

[apatel]

Visconti- the nib is not nearly as smooth as my other pens and the convertor has a tiny capacity. Plus, its picky as to what inks it likes.

[pajaro]

It appears that most pen manufacturers are represented here.

[PatientType]

There are brands I tend to fancy (Pilot, Pelikan, Conway Stewart, Nakaya, Sheaffer, Visconti, Delta). There are brands that I've not found as engaging (Montblanc, Rotrig, Lamy, Cross, Krone). I'd not preclude the possibility of EVER buying a fountain pen made by a company in the latter group. However, with many desirable pens already in my collection or available from fountain pen makers with whom I've enjoyed good experiences, I'm unlikely to buy from those other companies.

 

Pens I'll never buy? Ballpoints. I rarely use the ones I have and there is a lifetime supply of unused, giveaway ballpoints in various drawers.