Clip Or Not Clip In Modern Fountain Pen

[riccardodebole]

the adoption of the clip to hook the pen to the waistcoat dates back to the the first decade of the century, the exemplars made before were not provided with it. From being a simple and useful accessory, with the passing of time the clip achieved an increasing importance, so that its shape distinguished one firm from the other. Is it yet useful?

[dragos.mocanu]

Probably depends on the person. I personally always keep my valuable (vintage) fountain pens in a leather pen case...I couldn't bring myself to hook a vintage pen on the outside of a shirt or the inside of a coat (not even robust pens like the "51"), but modern pens (and preferably inexpensive, like the Noodler's pens or a Safari) are ok, in my opinion, to be kept in a pocket.

So, I guess clips are still a 'thing'.

[MBFan]

I very rarely use the clip, but still, I couldn't imagine buying a pen without one. It just looks right. Plus, it stops the pen from rolling around/ off my desk.

 

Long live the clip

[Mesu]

Still very useful.. because all the nice pens have a habit of rolling off the desk and always landing nib side down

[hari317]

the adoption of the clip to hook the pen to the waistcoat dates back to the the first decade of the century, the exemplars made before were not provided with it. From being a simple and useful accessory, with the passing of time the clip achieved an increasing importance, so that its shape distinguished one firm from the other. Is it yet useful?

certainly yes. I would not buy a pen without a clip. YMMV.

[ziptrickhead]

I'm also in the boat that feels a pen would look strange without a clip. I've never had problems with my caps or pens rolling off desks since I keep the cap in my hands as I write.

 

Looks aside, I almost never use pocket clips on my pens. My pens are kept either in a pen sleeve in pocket or a pen case in my bag. On the rare occasion where I wear a shirt with a breast pocket then I'll clip the pen there but it doesn't happen often and when it does I'm usually either sporting a M600 or a 146 and not other pens.

 

I ordered a custom pen a few weeks ago and got that clipless but it was more to try to keep the overall pen dimensions as streamline as possible and less about looks or practicality.

[ethernautrix]

I never thought about the clip - until I started buying Nakayas. The only Nakaya I have with a clip is a black matte Piccolo with a rhodium-trim clip, and it's the only one that looks nice with a clip.

 

Recently, I removed the clip from my Danitrio Komori. It looks much, much more beautiful without the clip, as the clip obscured some of the maki-e and itself was not very attractive. Perhaps a different-looking clip would not have incited me to remove it.

 

Anyway, I like clips in general, don't give them much thought, but I prefer my Nakayas clipless.

[Inkling13]

Still very useful.. because all the nice pens have a habit of rolling off the desk and always landing nib side down

It's only useful in that regard I suppose if you post. I don't, so a clip for me, is only used to clip the capped pen to the inside of a breast pocket. It's handy, as I have had several clipless pens slide out when i bent over to pick something up...

[PAKMAN]

Before I retired, I wouldn't consider a pen without a clip. Wore a dress shirt every day with a pocket and always had my pen clipped there. Now I don't wear a shirt with at pocket but a few times a week and do my writing mostly from my desk at home so am not as concerned about clips. I still like them for keeping pens from rolling off the desk! Currently I only own 3 pens without clips.

[mirosc]

Once I had a pen that was clipless and I thought it would be a nice idea. As it turned out, it was one of the biggest mistakes in my fountain pen life.

 

I hardly used it (despite being expensive) and when I had it with me it was always somewhere else, but not where I thought it would be. Only pens with clips for me, nothing else: I know where they are in my daily routine and they are easy to carry along. Still I have some without clips, but I don't like them very much.

 

Every pen, the young ones and those with 120 years, gets out in the open and they always do so in my shirt/jacket pocket. So I need the clip.

[Drone]

Clips make sense.hence the widespread acceptance. Pens made without a clip sometimes have an ornamental "stop" to stop he pen from rolling away. Welcome to the FPN by the way. David

[bone215]

Since I walk about a bit at work and play I find the clip useful to keep the pen in a shirt pocket. For those occasions I am not carrying expensive pens but my everyday work horses. When using a sport coat, clips again make it easier to pocket and retrieve.

Of course, YMMV.

 

It is all fun.

[tinta]

IMO, Nakayas look beautiful without a clip.

I don't own one,...yet.

Owning an Edison Pearl (sans clip) has made me more mindful of where I lay my pen (open or closed). I ordered it without a clip because I like the simple lines of the clipless Nakayas.

Roll they can,...if you let them.

 

Every fountain pen that I've used since I was in short pants has always had a clip.

But, after a pen unscrewed in my shirt pocket & left me with a big stain, I never clipped a pen into any pocket again.

 

Single or two-pen leather cases have carried my (very few) pens for years. These leather cases have saved a few good pens from destruction.

Now every pen has its own case. Nine cases & eight pens.

Hm..........that means I can still get one more pen!.

Edited February 22, 2014 by tinta

[Guillermo]

I believe the clip it's more practical than the ornamental "stop", not only for shirts, but also for pen loops on planners (Like those Filofax). Besides, I keep mine posted just in case I need to put it on a table. Learned that the hard way when one Parker rolled from the desk and landed nib-down. I was able to service the pen correctly and it's now a Fine, instead of a Medium (which works great for me, because of my rather little handwriting).

[cakibler]

For me it depends on the pen. I recently got an oversized Bernard Bernolet desk pen from Tom Westerich that is a desk pen and it has a half round dot on the cap to keep the pen rolling onto the floor. That is rather nifty. en I go out on the road or just on errand, I carry my VP red retractable fountain pen, a parker jotter and a lamy Dialog 3 retractable. All three have clips and do well in my pcoet as long as I don't lean over to far to pick something up. Then sometimes things have a tendency to slide out!

[Eduardo]

A pen without clip is like a motorcycle without handlebars... I never buy a shirt without pocket... My pens love to stay over my heart

[senzen]

Interesting question. The last time I used a clip was when I put my Pelikan inside my shirt pocket... Somehow managed not to close it well and it leaked, to the laughter of my coworkers. I guess it's useful so it doesn't roll off the desk, but it's something pens could be designed for.

[ethernautrix]

I'd say that a pen with a clip is like a bicycle; a pen without a clip is like a fixie bicycle.

[tinta]

"Pseudo88",... it was also a Pelikan (a 400NN) that unscrewed while clipped into my shirt pocket. That was my last time to use a clip (other than as a roll-stop).

[mikefromsac]

I ordered my first clipless pen this week, a Nakaya Portable Cigar. I've never owned a clipless pen before, but it looks so right on this pen and since I never post pens, they're usually in use without a clip, sometimes setting them down without re-capping. I ordered a single-pen leather case and an extra kimono for when I take it out of the house (work, meetings, etc.), but I'll see how it goes. I figure when out of the house, it will be in my briefcase or on my desk or in a travel note-bag. I don't want to abuse it, but at the end of the day, it's just a pen and I use all my pens. Sometimes a pen's idiosyncrasies are part of the fun.