The Best Fountain Pen Ever Made?

[pajaro]

So.... Whats the worst pen ever made?

 

The Wearever sold in five and dime stores in the 1950s for twenty-nine cents? Sacs failed for me in under a month. I tried several before getting smarter.

 

There are many who would say Parker Sonnet. I am not so sure.

 

Probably some cheaply made pen from back in the day, or maybe the Sheaffer Snorkel, based on the effort needed to refurb one, or the process of filling one. Give me a simple Touchdown.

[FredRydr]

What do you consider the best pen ever made?

 

Fisher Space Pen because it writes under water. Try THAT with a fountain pen!

 

Fred

[robert1962]

Which breed is the smartest dog ?

What color is the cutest baby ?

Nine posts and you want to start a fight in the family !

Shame, shame, shame !

Hey, administrator ! Is there a probationary status for trouble makers ?

 

(BTW : It's the Parker 51 Areo.)

What color is the cutest baby?!?

 

I'm still struggling with the best pen controversy.

[Ron Z]

So.... Whats the worst pen ever made?

 

There are many candidates for this category. My vote is for Wearevers, though that gets me in trouble with Richard Binder's son-in-law who collects them. Robyn and I call them "Whatevers." Many years ago now, there was a poll on Pentrace for what was the worst pen. The winner was the Montblanc 144, which tends to break if you sneeze in the same room. But the Parker 21 does that too. I suppose I could as they do say in Chicago, vote early, and vote often on this one.

[PenHero]

Hey! I collect Wearevers!

[drjmb]

The best pen is the one that fits one's hand and lays down a nice line of ink. Other than that my favorite affordable fountain pens include the Sheaffer Snorkel (and Targa), Connaisseur (esp. the Shaeffer/Levenger), the Wearever Pacemaker, and the Waterman's Hundred Year Pen. Haven't found a knock me down Parker, though. I can't afford to collect the next level.

[EMQG]

Forget I asked the question.

I posted something in a general forum last time and I got yelled at. So I posted somewhere more specific this time and I still get yelled at. What a bunch of uptight people we have here. That will teach me to post again.

I am merely interested in other opinions. No agenda here.

 

No one's yelling at you. They were just wondering why you posted here, and saying that you asked a rather vague question. No need to get upset

[pajaro]

 

There are many candidates for this category. My vote is for Wearevers, though that gets me in trouble with Richard Binder's son-in-law who collects them. Robyn and I call them "Whatevers." Many years ago now, there was a poll on Pentrace for what was the worst pen. The winner was the Montblanc 144, which tends to break if you sneeze in the same room. But the Parker 21 does that too. I suppose I could as they do say in Chicago, vote early, and vote often on this one.

 

I agree with the choice of Wearever. I bought several when I was about nine or ten years old. Every one had ink leaking within a month and would not fill. I do know Wearever made some better pens than the five-and-dime pens. I hate the very name.

 

The Montblanc 144 was a pen I used extensively from 1983 until 2014, when I stopped working. The trim ting on the section failed, and Montblanc replaced it. Not really a bad record. I like smaller pens, and this one I thought was simple and beautiful.

 

The Parker 21? Whatever. I never used them much, but I have several Supers. Junktiques.

[Ron Z]

 

I bought several when I was about nine or ten years old.

 

I had two C/C fillers in 1966. Almost 10 in 4th grade, and bought them myself. Both leaked all over my hands and I finally tossed them. I've hated Wearevers ever since. The sections on the lever fillers crack. I needed one for a clients pen and bought 5 at a pen show late in the day on Sunday, figuring it didn't hurt to have spares. All but one ended up being cracked.

[pajaro]

 

 

 

I had two C/C fillers in 1966. Almost 10 in 4th grade, and bought them myself. Both leaked all over my hands and I finally tossed them. I've hated Wearevers ever since. The sections on the lever fillers crack. I needed one for a clients pen and bought 5 at a pen show late in the day on Sunday, figuring it didn't hurt to have spares. All but one ended up being cracked.

 

I'm sorry you had even worse luck Than I had. Maybe I just gave up on them sooner. I have always since regarded Wearever as a synonym for several terms that we may not mention here. After college the recollection of Wearevers made me curse them in a few other languages. I liked German the best.

[virgilio]

The Wearever is just a reworked Waltham, made by the same people. The Waltham was the el cheapo pen of the 30s, but it writes very well indeed. I have two Wearevers from the 40s/50s and both write like a dream. Nice hard plastic, no cracks, no leaks, and a very expressive , slightly toothy line. Also, their bladders hold more ink than any other bladder pen I have ever used. I wish I had a hundred of 'em.

[pajaro]

The Wearever is just a reworked Waltham, made by the same people. The Waltham was the el cheapo pen of the 30s, but it writes very well indeed. I have two Wearevers from the 40s/50s and both write like a dream. Nice hard plastic, no cracks, no leaks, and a very expressive , slightly toothy line. Also, their bladders hold more ink than any other bladder pen I have ever used. I wish I had a hundred of 'em.

 

Wearever made some better models. The cheaper ones I bought were so poor that they put me off of that make of pen forever. So, you have to think it's not such a good marketing strategy to make the entry level pen too cheap and put people off of your products forever.

[virgilio]

Waltham was put out of business by the US gov during the early 40s for hoarding metal. They went back into business under the name Wearever after the war. I wonder if they bought out the original Wearever firm... Waltham was the biggest US maker of fountain pens for a while in the 30s and early 40s, and they made the Wearever line the most popular US fountain pen brand for a decade or so in the late 40s and early 50s.

 

For the record, I HAVE found some Wearevers that had bad nibs, but they were not in general junk, just cheap but well-designed school pens. Certainly not inferior to the Sheaffer school pen, in its successive incarnations. They are not quite on a level with some of the European school pens of the period, however, such as the Universal.

[pajaro]

This: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Weareve-Button-Filler-Fountain-Pen-Restored-amp-Ready-to-Write-/202079090473?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=ECvKxbv88JaSD7cUsq0Z%252B5tED6I%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

 

Surprising final price for a Leak-o-matic.

[penrivers]

Forget I asked the question.

I posted something in a general forum last time and I got yelled at. So I posted somewhere more specific this time and I still get yelled at. What a bunch of uptight people we have here. That will teach me to post again.

I am merely interested in other opinions. No agenda here.

 

You should be posting again, I dont find anything offensive in your op, I have a snorkel and I have it in high regard it is a superb pen, look for the Imperials vintage sheaffers, and the pelikan 150 and 215, and of course the parker 51 vacumatic too.

[sanesangowdayya]

I have a pioneer/wearever pen. It's one of those colorful celluloid ones made in the 30's that has a steel frame and a small 14k nib. It's honestly a very good writer and the celluloid feels very sturdy.

[Tweel]

The Wearever is just a reworked Waltham, made by the same people.

 

I don't believe there's any connection between Waltham (made by Starr in Chicago) and Wearever (made by David Kahn in North Bergen, New Jersey). Starr did buy Conklin though, and those Conklins were junk.

Edited October 30, 2017 by Tweel

[inkstainedruth]

I've got a Wearever (no clue as to the model or when it was made) that actually isn't too bad -- it has a decent stub nib on it. Cost me more to get it repaired than to get (which isn't saying much because the pen was given to me by a guy at an antiques fair a couple of years ago, after saying he couldn't sell it (I dunno why not).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[mitto]

I have managed so far to stay away frome Wearevers or 'Whatevers'. But would now acquire one to see what it is.

[tonydent84]

I'm guilty in that I've yet to purchase for myself a Parker 51. I'm more into newer pens that can be serviced or replaced easily if it gets lost or damaged or something. That said, of the vintage pens I've had were some Esterbrooks ("meh"), some Parker 45s ("meh" in terms of writing quality, but the design and builds I like), and I think that's it. Wow. I got a PFM that I never got restored. I ordered another one which is due to be here this week hopefully.

But I have to ask, why do people prefer the aerometric P51 over the vacumatic one? Is there a disadvantage to one over the other or is it simply subjective? And if it's subjective, do you think there's a reason why you lean that way and not the other?

Oh, and I forgot, I have a few other "vintage" Sheaffers from the 1960s and I think one from the 1950s - nice writers, but nothing to write home about. They're not expensive. I got them from a vintage seller for cheap, and they all write just fine, but there's not enough for me to favor them over any other.