Fountain Pens/ European, Asian And American

[Bklyn]

I am wondering if folks can, or do categorize pens in terms of the fact that most pens either come from Europe, the US or Asia and if you had to live with only one group, could you choose?

 

I for one, am struggling with Asian pens. I just can't seem to get excited about them. Pilot is a PERFECT example. It seems to be a great pen but is lacks the passion of an Omas or a Mont Blanc or even some Parkers. Is the Pilot brand equal to the Toyota brand? Flawless execution that is devoid of a soul or a passion?

 

Love to know how people see this concept.

[Betweenthelines]

Yes, I organize my pen case by region.

 

If I had to choose one region it would be Japan, no contest. I know what you mean about some Asian pens feeling like Asian cars, and I would say it is true the culture / region can be felt in all industries. The Italian pens are flashy, the German pens are well engineered and solid, the Japanese pens work well, every time. Yup, just like the cars.

 

HOWEVER, I would NOT say Japanese pens lack passion or soul. Please check out Nakaya, or any of the Maki-E pens out there. It's just that often in order to move beyond pure utility and access the real "passion and soul" in Japanese pens, you have to shell out some major $$.

 

Photo credit to karlotatad.wordpress.com

 

 

 

Yup, plenty of passion and soul to be had in Japan.

[httpmom]

Yes, I organize my pen case by region.

 

If I had to choose one region it would be Japan, no contest. I know what you mean about some Asian pens feeling like Asian cars, and I would say it is true the culture / region can be felt in all industries. The Italian pens are flashy, the German pens are well engineered and solid, the Japanese pens work well, every time. Yup, just like the cars.

 

HOWEVER, I would NOT say Japanese pens lack passion or soul. Please check out Nakaya, or any of the -E pens out there. It's just that often in order to move beyond pure utility and access the real "passion and soul" in Japanese pens, you have to shell out some major $$

 

Yup, plenty of passion and soul to be had in Japan.

Must agree...love the Art pens from Japan...my absolute favorites. There is not one Monte Blanc in my future. However, I am very fond of Diplomats. I woul add that I have some beloved Pilots in my reliable everyday workhorse group because they are so very trust worthy period.

[Tryek25]

Look at Sailor pens. Another great example of great form and function from a Japanese pen maker.

[Dragonmaster Lou]

Indeed... If money was no object, I'd be really tempted to get a Sailor King of Pen.

[jar]

Looking at what I own and use seems to show that I tend to use US and European pens about equally but own far more American made pens than any other country of origin. French pens come next or maybe Italian, then German, then British, then Swiss and then all the fountain pens from all the other countries like Japan, China, Taiwan, Australia lumped together. French and Italian pens are so close in numbers I'd have to really break stuff down to decide precedence.

[Buzz_130]

I do categorize my pens from region of origin. In fact, I have three pen cases for each of the major regions. My largest case is my US pen collection, and the newest pen is a Parker 75 and the oldest is a Waterman 52 1/2. I love vintage pens from the World War II era and into the 50s. One drawer is just filled with Parker "51"s, aero and vac.

 

But if I had to pick only modern pens, then I'd stick with Japanese ones. As others have already pointed out, there's something amazing about the craftsmanship of a Nakaya. I appreciate the functionality of Platinum #3776 Century pens and the Pilot Vanishing Point. The Sailor nibs are simply amazing. Each one has their place in my pen wrap and a proper function when they come up in rotation.

 

Buzz

[Elana]

I admit, I was a little miffed at the original post.

 

I think there is a lot of soul put in to making utilitarian objects very, very well. Both Pilot and Toyota are brands that have my heart. On the other hand, I find Mont Blancs to be empty and pompous. The world is a marvelously diverse place. Cultural difference is a magical thing. Japan has the spirit of "ganbaru" (doing one's best), and that appeals to me very much.

[oneopentrail]

Most of my new parkers are Chinese and to be fair they stack up fairly well. I also like lamy pens from Germany.

 

Out of the groups I would choose Germany. Functional, if lacking a little soul.

[Frank C]

For many years now, my daily user pens have been Japanese for the most part. They make good functional pens. They also make artistic masterpieces like like the Maki-e pens previously mentioned.

 

Auroras are built like a tank, not an Italian sports car.

 

I think that there are just too many pen companies to generalize about a country or a region.

 

My Pilot Custom 823 Vacuum Filler has a lot of passion—in addition to being a great pen.

[Betweenthelines]

 

 

My Pilot Custom 823 Vacuum Filler has a lot of passion—in addition to being a great pen.

 

Amen!

[Sergio 46]

My favor goes to japanese pens, technically excellent and generally of outstanding quality; but , while I choose generally F or EF nibs in my japanese Fps, I am always pleased to write or sign with my MB 149 in medium!

[Dr. Saleem Ali]

As a true lover of art (and of course pens !) there must be no boundary or segregation ; rather different regions of the world represent different people with their thoughts, innovations and designs so different beautiful and useful and collectible fps come into existence . I believe Japanese people are not only hard-working but also very creative and have done real innovations e.g .retractable fps .They have turned the pen-making into an art which no sensible person would escape admiration. These Japanese pens represent human art at its best and cost considerably because of time and labor consumed .They are for passionate connoisseurs .

[spaceink]

There is something strangely worded about the original post, perhaps coming from a limited if not problematic world view, saying that Japanese pens or products lack "soul or a passion." Is that an inherent attributed quality to anything Asian, while American or European-made goods are viewed with a romanticized aura?

 

Firstly, to make anything as well made as a higher end Sailor or Nakaya, or even a simple Pilot Metropolitan, takes enormous commitment to craftsmanship. The precision involved, the devotion to process, comes from hundreds and thousands of years of a culture devoted to attention and detail in the making of art objects and goods, from pottery to swords to paper, and now everyday items like the aforementioned cars or pens. There is enormous soul and passion involved.

 

Secondly, the idea of Montblancs or Omas inherently having more of a soul is the unquestioning uptake of marketing, backed by perhaps already skewed cultural perception. I personally own a few Montblancs and believe me they do not have more soul or passion than any of my other pens. If anything, Montblanc's recent shift to becoming more of a luxury brand attaching the famous snowflake to any object they can market is one of the more cynical and soulless moves by a penmaker.

 

Perhaps take a step back and expand one's thinking, not just about pens, but also about historical world culture, and then you might be able to see the faultiness of that view.

 

 

 

 

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Edited July 24, 2015 by spaceink

[Notgatherox]

To OP, I would like to know if you have tried Pilot soft nibs? I, for one, loved my soft nib in my Custom 74. The soft nib was a daily writer favourite.

 

IMHO, if I really had to say which brand was soulless, I would say Lamy. Lamy always writes good and consistently, which is good yes, but the lack of a quirk (variety?) makes it boring. And they're firm nibs! Really really firm nibs. At least Pilot soft nibs have some line variation.

 

The Japanese really pride themselves on craftsmanship and quality goods, so they do have passion in doing their thing. +1 to the poster above me.

 

And I do appreciate reliability in my pens. The Japanese never fail to deliver in that aspect. This is off topic, but I remember seeing a documentary where it was stated that any train that reaches its intended station six seconds off is considered late. And yet the Japanese have a really really low lateness rate (IIRC, it's less than 1% every year).

 

 

(Of course, the above are strictly my views. I may be wrong and you are free to disagree with me.)

 

 

 

~Epic

[Wolverine1]

I prefer American, Western European and Japanese pens, that my now modest collection is composed of pens from these areas. Chinese pens, I absolutely refuse to own.

But, the previous post by Dr Saleem Ali expresses my sentiments rather well.

[Kataphract]

I am wondering if folks can, or do categorize pens in terms of the fact that most pens either come from Europe, the US or Asia and if you had to live with only one group, could you choose?

 

I for one, am struggling with Asian pens. I just can't seem to get excited about them. Pilot is a PERFECT example. It seems to be a great pen but is lacks the passion of an Omas or a Mont Blanc or even some Parkers. Is the Pilot brand equal to the Toyota brand? Flawless execution that is devoid of a soul or a passion?

 

Love to know how people see this concept.

You can spin that any way you like. For example, Lamy vs. Nakaya or Namiki? It's ultimately a concept rooted in ignorance or a false perception. Pens are ultimately tools, and a well-executed tool allows the user to better display their soul and passion.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Except for Italian (don't have an Italian pen, but some day that may be remedied), I have them all and like them all. And that includes Chinese.

[luvpens]

I prefer American, Western European and Japanese pens, that my now modest collection is composed of pens from these areas. Chinese pens, I absolutely refuse to own.

But, the previous post by Dr Saleem Ali expresses my sentiments rather well.

Why?

I don't categorize my pens at all. A well made good writing pen, is just that. The price or where it's made is irrelevant.

[Wolverine1]

Why do I refuse to own Chinese pens Well, for one, they are poorly made, and secondly, I try to not buy pens from countries that have rather poor human rights records. I have taken care to make sure that my cell phone in S. Korean, and my computer is an American made one.