Poor Quality Of Expensive Pens

[Simius]

I've recently been on a splurge and have acquired several pens in the not-inexpensive category. All of them were brand new, acquired from authorized dealers. Many of them turned out to be duds out of the box and needed fixing. e.g.,

- MB 146 - bad nib, bad feed

- Danitrio Densho - bad feed

- Lamy 2000 stainless steel - bad nib, bad feed

- Danitrio Takumi - bad feed

- Pelikan M800 Tortoise - bad nib

 

All of them were eventually fixed under warranty - after much back-and-forth, expensive postage (with tracking and insurance) and in my view, needless aggravation.

 

And I'm left to wonder - why do so many new pens turn out to be such lemons? Was I simply the victim of some statistical vagary, or it is that manufacturers feel perfectly able to put pens out without doing QA of the sort that would have caught the problems I describe above? What are your experiences?

[akustyk]

I've had similar experiences with Visconti, Montblanc, Pelikan, Lamy. I never had a problem with any of my Japanese pens. In fact, Sailor pens are so perfect, it's hard to believe

[tonybelding]

The only OMAS that I ever bought had multiple defects when it arrived. Fortunately, I bought it from Classic Fountain Pens (nibs.com) and exchanged it with no problem. Lesson learned: You can get a bad pen from any manufacturer, at any price level. Thus the importance of buying from a seller you trust to take care of you. Buying an expensive pen from Amazon or off eBay is a gamble.

 

 

I do think the best quality control these days is probably from the Japanese companies, but it's still possible for a bad one to slip through.

[Oranges and Apples]

How do you tell if there is a bad feed?

Edited September 5, 2013 by Oranges and Apples

[fprookie]

How do you tell if there is a bad feed?

 

i have the same doubt

[proton007]

I've recently been on a splurge and have acquired several pens in the not-inexpensive category. All of them were brand new, acquired from authorized dealers. Many of them turned out to be duds out of the box and needed fixing. e.g.,

- MB 146 - bad nib, bad feed

- Danitrio Densho - bad feed

- Lamy 2000 stainless steel - bad nib, bad feed

- Danitrio Takumi - bad feed

- Pelikan M800 Tortoise - bad nib

 

All of them were eventually fixed under warranty - after much back-and-forth, expensive postage (with tracking and insurance) and in my view, needless aggravation.

 

And I'm left to wonder - why do so many new pens turn out to be such lemons? Was I simply the victim of some statistical vagary, or it is that manufacturers feel perfectly able to put pens out without doing QA of the sort that would have caught the problems I describe above? What are your experiences?

 

Its happened to me with the M400. Never happened with any Japanese pen.

AFAIK cheaper parts are generally batch tested to ensure that the current batch is of sufficient quality. For instance, Lamy tests its steel nibs in machines that 'listen' to the scratchiness. Those that are too scratchy are then smoothed by a person. This leaves the door open for outliers to pass through, and certainly doesn't factor variations in nib width and flow.

 

In the case of premium pens, I don't see any reason for a 'hand tuned' nib to be bad. Maybe companies are cutting costs? Or they deliberately set a low standard for performance, for instance, only check if a nib needs to be smoothed, while ignoring flow and width.

Hard to say.

Edited September 5, 2013 by proton007

[Brian C]

What does bad feed mean? Not questioning that there was an issue, would just like some clarity on that point.

[corniche]

Greetings all,

 

I fear it may be because we are living in an era of mediocrity. Companies sell garbage because people have come to accept it and put up with it, or even expect it. If we all stopped buying their pens, maybe then they'd get the idea and put a little more effort (and money) into QC.

 

I read posts here everyday about members buying $50, $100, $150 and up pens and having to adjust or repair the nib/feed... or the capband fell off... or this or that. I cannot get my mind around this. Maybe it is because I come from a generation prior to the DIY generation. When I buy a brand new item, I expect it to work perfectly. I remember buying $6 Sheaffer Student Pens and $6 Parker Vectors and they worked beautifully right out of the box. A $6 pen!!! Now, it seems, you cannot expect a $700 pen to function properly anymore.

 

There does seem to be a small niche of pen makers who still repeatedly turn out good products, but these companies are getting harder to find. I can't believe this post with the MB 149! I thought every one of them was tested and adjusted before it left the factory,

 

I prefer buying new pens myself, but it seems the arguments in favor of buying vintage pens get stronger everyday. Oh well, perhaps if we stop buying these pens, the companies will wake up.

 

End of curmudgeonly diatribe.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

Edited September 5, 2013 by corniche

[inBOIL]

As far as Japanese pens: The Pilot Custom Heritage 92 i got last week totally sucked. (For lack of a better word.) Thing doesn't write--like, at all--on the upstoke, and doesn't write to the left. i was actually pretty amazed (what's the retail? $280?), and wondered how anyone could test that pen at the factory (assuming they did) and consider it worthy for shipping. So amazed that i've decided Pilot is just not the company for me, and (as extreme and knee-jerk as it all probably sounds) will not buy another Pilot pen costing more than $2. (Because the Petit1 i bought the week before that actually writes much, much better.) i don't get it either, honestly.

(All the Sailors i own are excellent, tho--and my Platinum #3776 is also quite nice. Maybe i just got lucky with those ones?...)

[lightless]

They're drinking that kool-aid about a customer's opinion being higher of a company if they have to send in the product and have a positive service experience.

 

Or maybe they skimp on the QC because they think no one writes with fountain pens anymore and they're just gifts and ornaments?

[proton007]

Is it because pens are considered to be a luxury item? I get the feeling companies assume people who buy FPs have money to throw around, and will be willing to spend more to get it tuned.

 

You know, like how Porsche sells the car and then puts some of the basic items as accessories.

[proton007]

Or maybe they skimp on the QC because they think no one writes with fountain pens anymore and they're just gifts and ornaments?

 

This one's pretty likely.

[Keyless Works]

This is a really interesting question. A pen has one job, to write, and a luxury pen should write very well.

 

I have had problems with every OMAS I have purchased. I have had problems with modern Montblancs, Pelikans, and one Visconti. Once they go to a nibmeister they are all fine but I dont see why they can't come out of the factory in good writing order. A gold nib is presumably hand made. Testing a product before it goes out the door is standard with high end watches, speakers, automobiles, etc...

[TimGirdler]

Greetings all,

 

I fear it may be because we are living in an era of mediocrity. Companies sell garbage because people have come to accept it and put up with it, or even expect it. If we all stopped buying their pens, maybe then they'd get the idea and put a little more effort (and money) into QC.

 

I read posts here everyday about members buying $50, $100, $150 and up pens and having to adjust or repair the nib/feed... or the capband fell off... or this or that. I cannot get my mind around this. Maybe it is because I come from a generation prior to the DIY generation. When I buy a brand new item, I expect it to work perfectly. I remember buying $6 Sheaffer Student Pens and $6 Parker Vectors and they worked beautifully right out of the box. A $6 pen!!! Now, it seems, you cannot expect a $700 pen to function properly anymore.

 

There does seem to be a small niche of pen makers who still repeatedly turn out good products, but these companies are getting harder to find. I can't believe this post with the MB 149! I thought every one of them was tested and adjusted before it left the factory,

 

I prefer buying new pens myself, but it seems the arguments in favor of buying vintage pens get stronger everyday. Oh well, perhaps if we stop buying these pens, the companies will wake up.

 

End of curmudgeonly diatribe.

 

All the best,

 

Sean

 

I think your "diatribe" is well-said. Many, perhaps all, of the big-name, modern manufacturers don't employ nib tuners.

 

Even making sure a nib is aligned would be something. Employing nib tuners would be best. There simply isn't enough people who know what they're doing and there aren't enough dollars to employ nib tuners to tune every pen that comes off the manufacturing line. On top of that, one nib tuner isn't likely to be able to keep up with a 500-pen-per-day production run.

 

In the old days, when you went to buy a fountain pen from a stationary store or a department store, your pen was tuned by a technician before you left the store.

 

There is a reason why people who are known for their nib work (Richard Binder and John Mottishaw) tune every nib that leaves their shop. There is a reason why I will tune every new pen I sell--even in a fledgeling pen shop.

 

It is an unfortunate side-effect of the popularity of these pens--high production numbers and spot-testing of 1-in-5 pens or 1-in-10 pens. That's not tuning; it's just testing to make sure it's adequate, not spectacular.

 

Really, the key is to find a shop with a good nib worker who will make sure your pen is great when you unbox it for the first time. Richard Binder and John Mottishaw are not the only ones any longer. Richard has trained me and Linda Kennedy of "Indy-Pen-Dance." Of course, you have Pendleton Brown who is very good at what he does. Mike Masuyama is another great nib worker (though I don't know that he sells new pens).

 

So, there are options. But, yes...it is annoying that a Montblanc or a Pelikan out of the box isn't expected to be perfect. Then again...every time I hit a pot-hole while driving I get frustrated that we can put a man on the moon, but can't make pavement that doesn't fall apart. Ponder that!

 

Blessings,

 

Tim

[proton007]

 

So, there are options. But, yes...it is annoying that a Montblanc or a Pelikan out of the box isn't expected to be perfect. Then again...every time I hit a pot-hole while driving I get frustrated that we can put a man on the moon, but can't make pavement that doesn't fall apart. Ponder that!

 

 

Thanks for the insightful comment. I think the answer to this question lies in our deepest motivations.

As put by Neil-Degrasse Tyson, there are three things that have motivated humanity:

-- War/Power

-- Money

-- Serving a divine purpose

 

I guess making pothole free roads doesn't fall under either of them.

Edited September 5, 2013 by proton007

[hari317]

I've recently been on a splurge and have acquired several pens in the not-inexpensive category. All of them were brand new, acquired from authorized dealers. Many of them turned out to be duds out of the box and needed fixing. e.g.,

- MB 146 - bad nib, bad feed

- Danitrio Densho - bad feed

- Lamy 2000 stainless steel - bad nib, bad feed

- Danitrio Takumi - bad feed

- Pelikan M800 Tortoise - bad nib

 

All of them were eventually fixed under warranty - after much back-and-forth, expensive postage (with tracking and insurance) and in my view, needless aggravation.

 

And I'm left to wonder - why do so many new pens turn out to be such lemons? Was I simply the victim of some statistical vagary, or it is that manufacturers feel perfectly able to put pens out without doing QA of the sort that would have caught the problems I describe above? What are your experiences?

perhaps just a streak of very bad luck?

[Paul80]

Hi

 

I know we mainly only ever hear about the bad ones but the comment that the nib needs work out of the box is quite often written about new Pelikan pens, don't know why though, unless modern Pelikan owners are more discerning that there older customer base was.

 

Paul

[The Blue Knight]

The worst offender is Lamy. I brought 2 Lamy's Looking for a new brand to get into after mostly buying rotrings and Parker (with good experiences). First my safari nib (M) was not great a little too wet and broad however expectable. Studio nib (M) very fine awful skipping all the time.

 

How are these supposedly checked and why does the writing experience differ so widely?

 

The silly thing is thing is experiences like these on there gate way pens result in you being put off the brand and eventually making you hesitate before purchasing a Lamy 2000 and pushes you to pay far more for a Parker Duofold from a brand which provides quality from the bottom to the top.

[richardandtracy]

I agree with the OP, it happens & it's totally unacceptable.

 

I have bought four luxury pens in the last few years. Only one had no faults, and I wasn't surprised by that at all.

1. Parker Duofold Centennial BI nib. A burr left on the nib that had to be smoothed off.
2. Parker Duofold International, BI nib. Feed does not flow the ink. A recognised problem with the 'Banner' nib style.
3. FPN Stipula Etruria LE, BI nib. No quality control at all, obviously convinced they can shift any old junk and the marks will buy it. The nib failed to write at 37 occasions in the letter I wrote back to get it sorted. The clip overlay is loose, the cap ring spins. I shall never, ever touch this brand again and would encourage others to do the same.
4. Onoto Magna Classic, BI nib. Flawless. Absolutely amazing in every way. This came as no surprise to me as John Sorowka smooth's every nib and Onoto go to enormous lengths to make everything else equally perfect.

Regards,

 

Richard

[proton007]

The more I read the comments here, the more I think lightless got it right.

 

Pen companies don't consider their pens as writers, I think they consider them a gift items.

 

However, it can be the other way round. So many buyers just gift these pens and never use them, so companies probably never receive enough feedback other than a few FPN members screaming about their nibs.