A Rant About Quality

[camd]

I have a very small pen collection - 10 pens - with a mix of modern and vintage pens. I have bought and sold a variety of pens over the past few years as I've experimented with finding what I like, but I've only kept ones that I actually use. However, I'm slowly losing my enthusiasm for my short-lived hobby. The cost of maintaining pens is simply getting to be too much hassle and too costly for me.

 

I currently have four pens out of commission. Three of them have manufacturer defects (cracked nib unit, cracked converter, flawed nib). These pens represent about $600 in total purchase prices, not to mention the costs of sending them for repair, replacement parts, and labour. All three are very common pens purchased new from well-known manufacturers (but all are currently past their warranty date). In addition, I have just had a recently restored vintage pen repaired, and have sent another recently restored pen away for repairs.

 

I like my pens a lot. I bought them because I love their feel, their looks, their stories, and I have chosen them carefully and deliberately. But the quality of manufacturing and repairs I've experienced has resulted in a pretty major waste of time and money. In the end, I have little to show for the time and effort I've put into researching, investing, and testing of pens except for one solid, top performing pen.

 

I'm really torn about how to proceed with this hobby. I like writing with fountain pens, but I simply cannot afford the cost of keeping fountain pens in working order anymore. Once I have all my pens returned to me, I'll have to reassess my expectations of this hobby, as they may be misplaced. I would have been a lot better off if I had simply kept all the pens in their cases as objects to be admired, because they simply haven't proven their value as writing instruments. It simply doesn't seem reasonable to me to spend thousands of dollars and have so little to show in return.

Edited May 11, 2016 by camd

[Bo Bo Olson]

Cross has a lifetime guarantee, like Lamy, Pelikan if sent to Germany not Chartpack and not too old, like you might get a modern body if you were to send in a '50's pen with a broken body. Or a more modern piston.

 

I like Pelikan, and have had no problem with my '40-s 50's-65 or 90's-2000 and something ones.

 

Do list your pens, and which problems were for each.

MB costs a world...is cheaper to send it to someone who repairs them instead of the factory.

[camd]

Do list your pens, and which problems were for each.

 

1. ​1995 Sheaffer Triumph Imperial 2444 - cracked nib unit. I contacted the Canadian Sheaffer distributor - it is not covered by warranty. I have ordered a new nib unit from a used pen seller.
2. 2012 Lamy 2000 - I've sent it for repair (to an independent shop) and was told the nib was bad (it may be possible to adjust to be tolerable). The Canadian Lamy distributor says it is not covered by warranty.
3. ​2006 Parker Duofold Centennial International - The converter cracked. I purchased a replacement converter, but it seems that link is still leaking from the section somewhere - I need more time to test it.
4. 1943 Vacumatic - second sac replacement in 4 years.
5. 1944 Vacumatic - second sac replacement in 4 years.

[sandy101]

Cross does indeed come with a long guarantee - I got one fixed ten years after purchasing it for the cost of postage. Like you, I've made more misses on second hand pens that hits, so I stopped buying them.

 

You say you have one good pen, and that is all you need to have a fountain pen hobby. You have the tool, now the trick is to do something interesting with it.

 

Parkers can be fussy with ink - so it might not be a cracked anything but nib creep because the ink is too wet for the pen. Recently I put Quink into my Parkers and the pens are much better for it. The blue black is my current colour, although once it dries it is more a shade of grey.

 

Doesn't the Lamy 2000 have an interchangeable nib? Could you not just swap the bad nib for a better one?

[jar]

Sorry you are having problems but also not sure why you think a rant is warranted for any of the problems you mention.

[camd]

Doesn't the Lamy 2000 have an interchangeable nib? Could you not just swap the bad nib for a better one?

 

Yes, Lamy 2000's have an interchangeable nib. It costs more than half the cost of a new pen, so it's not worth it for me, especially since (according to FPN reviews), it sounds like their nibs have very poor quality control. A new nib may not be any better.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I know that "I've never had a problem" is not a helpful answer, and in fact it would not be true, but I've had far fewer problems than you describe with new pens. And I don't believe I've had any quality issues at all with Pilot pens, although a couple turned out not to be quite what I wanted.

 

It may be partly luck. I got a Lamy 2000 that worked perfectly out of the box, but I've read of other people having issues. My three Italian pens, representing three different brands, have all been problematic, although I have two of them working well now and have hopes for the third. But other people "never had a problem".

 

It really shouldn't be that difficult, though, to assemble six to a dozen current production pens from major brand names that work without serious issues. With vintage pens, I always assume that they'll need some work, but I've had pretty good success there too.

 

Although I expect a new pen to have an adequate warranty, I've found that learning to do little things myself is a big help. Even there, however, I haven't had that much to do, a little minor nib tweaking on a few pens. If I've spent too much on this hobby, and I suppose I may have, it hasn't been because I keep needing to fix my pens. It's because I've kept on buying new pens after acquiring more than enough for the writing I do.

[TheRealScubaSteve]

Expensive or not, the bottom line is that all pens have plastic pieces that can break. If you find your current ones too expensive, I would look into brands such as Cross as already mentioned. TWSBI is another good option. They're inexpensive as far as pens go and are all great workhorses. Many like to talk up the horror stories, but TWSBI stands behind them by sending parts at their expensive should anything ever arise.

[TSherbs]

I totally understand your position, and if my total expenditures and subsequent experiences were like yours, I would desist. My money is too important for me and my family to waste it on pens, especially if they do not satisfy.

 

This is why the Lamy 2000 is the most expensive pen I have ever bought (and the nib had to be repaired--but under warranty) and why my many reliable inexpensive pens under $20 give me such satisfaction. Every time they work without leaking or breaking or skipping I am reminded of what a great deal I have in my hand. Instead of an expensive, finicky, or fragile lemon.

 

Go cheap, sir/madam. Go cheap.

[TSherbs]

Sorry you are having problems but also not sure why you think a rant is warranted for any of the problems you mention.

It wasn't actually a rant, and his disappointment and concern over the costs seem entirely reasonable. As my post states.

[jar]

It wasn't actually a rant, and his disappointment and concern over the costs seem entirely reasonable. As my post states.

I think, unless I am mistaken, that the topic title the OP chose is "A Rant About Quality" yet none of his complaints seem related to quality.

 

Sorry but I simply don't see anything that would warrant a rant. You think they are reasonable, I simply do not.

[TSherbs]

I think, unless I am mistaken, that the topic title the OP chose is "A Rant About Quality" yet none of his complaints seem related to quality.

 

Sorry but I simply don't see anything that would warrant a rant. You think they are reasonable, I simply do not.

It's not a rant, except in the title.

 

And all of it was "related to quality." How was this not a discussion of quality? Are you using a definition of "quality" that does not include necessity or frequency or cost of repairs to make the pen functional?

[zwack]

Replacing a rubber sac every four years does not seem excessive. I don't expect rubber bands to last four years.

 

However, I would ask what ink you are using in those pens? Some people suspect that certain inks cause problems. My opinion is not so much, but I am curious.

 

I would also be curious how you store your two older parkers.

 

 

The cracked nib unit and cracked converter are issues, but without knowing how they were treated they may or may not be significant quality issues. Finally the bad nib... Did you look at the nib under decent magnification? What is wrong with it exactly? To me nibs might be scratchy (easy enough to improve with a bit of work), or might have alignment issues (usually not too tricky to solve) or problems with the tipping, or be cracked or sprung. There are people who can repair the last three (and more) and if that is what has been done to your nib (by whom I know not) you might want to go to one of them.

 

To some extent I enjoy fiddling with pens to make them right well for me.

 

But then I suspect most of my pens are cheaper...

[UDog]

Sorry, camd, for your difficulties. Rants on FPN often result in an attack upon the ranter. Sorry for that too.

[camd]

Sorry, camd, for your difficulties. Rants on FPN often result in an attack upon the ranter. Sorry for that too.

 

 

Thanks UDog. Unfortunately, I've already had the misfortune of being on the receiving end of trolls in the fountain pen community. I've never understood the impulse to provoke for provoking's sake.

 

In any case, this is a very real concern for me. I have limited funds, and I have really enjoyed my exploring the fountain pen world. I understand that fountain pens are more finicky than ballpoints, but having pens continually rendered useless and requiring expensive repairs is really deflating. Perhaps it's a bad streak. I guess I'll find out soon enough.

[camd]

Replacing a rubber sac every four years does not seem excessive. I don't expect rubber bands to last four years.

However, I would ask what ink you are using in those pens? Some people suspect that certain inks cause problems. My opinion is not so much, but I am curious.

 

I would also be curious how you store your two older parkers.

 

 

The cracked nib unit and cracked converter are issues, but without knowing how they were treated they may or may not be significant quality issues. Finally the bad nib... Did you look at the nib under decent magnification? What is wrong with it exactly? To me nibs might be scratchy (easy enough to improve with a bit of work), or might have alignment issues (usually not too tricky to solve) or problems with the tipping, or be cracked or sprung. There are people who can repair the last three (and more) and if that is what has been done to your nib (by whom I know not) you might want to go to one of them.

 

To some extent I enjoy fiddling with pens to make them right well for me.

 

But then I suspect most of my pens are cheaper...

 

All good questions.

 

Vacumatic sacs: Are they really only expected to last a few years? I'm a bit surprised by that. My pens are over 70 years old - is it really possible that the sacs have been replaced 18 times? I'll have to do some more research on that, but if that's the case, then the pens really are just museum pieces, and not really practical writing instruments. I guess I had assumed that they were more reliable than that.

 

Ink: I mostly use Noodler's ink, but I also have Diamine and Mont Blanc.

 

Storage: All my pens are in rotation and are not "stored". I keep them all in a Franklin-Christoph Penvelope on my desk.

 

Cracked nib: The Sheaffer nib unit (one of the integrated nib types) cracked in a U-shape from the threads down about 10mm and across 10mm. I have no idea how this developed. The pen was not mishandled in any way. It gets regular use (about one day a week). I've heard from someone else on FPN that this happens with these nibs.

 

Cracked converter: An even bigger mystery. I have rarely removed the converter from the pen, and yet a crack developed at the end where the feed enters the converter, allowing ink to run out. I can't even imagine what caused the failure, except a manufacturers defect.

 

Nib: The Lamy 2000 is currently at a repair shop, which is how I know that it is bad. I have been advised that it can be improved somewhat, but not repaired.

 

Fiddling: I accept a certain amount of fiddling with such primitive technologies, but I do expect my pens to perform as advertised, as I do with all products I purchase. What is particularly galling is that my very expensive pens are not performing as well as $1 pens - as in, they don't work at all. The costly repairs required are more than fiddling.

[J85909266]

I would recommend that you steer clear of vintage and out of production pens if longevity and warranty support are major concerns, for you. Listing sac replacements for pens over sixty years old as a concern is not really reasonable. When you buy a pen that old, you must accept the risks.

 

With the 90s Sheaffer, again, you are asking for a lot. If my 1990's Spyderco Endura gets a crack in the FRN handle, I will have to buy a new one, and I know that. The model is no longer made. The same applies to pens.

 

I agree that you should expect warranty support for your Lamy and Parker, but only if you bought them new and are the only owner. Is that the case? if so, what was their reason for not helping you?

 

I am sorry that you have had some bad luck, but much of that has to do with your choices in what to buy.

[Bo Bo Olson]

1st, send to Lamy in Germany....takes a while but will be fixed for free....I took a factory tour three years ago. You got ripped off....just like Chartpack rips folks off.

 

Rubber sacks from China are not any good. Never have been.

 

Don't know what happened to that original US Factory (White???) that re-opened some 7-8 years ago, but think it died.

The original rubber ....rubber sacs had no problem with 25 years and 40 years was not unusual.

 

In I lived in Germany not where you'd expect someone to re-sack an Esterbrook from '48-52, because of the lever vs normal piston.... I inherited the pen that more than likely sat in a drawer of a deceased uncle-in-law for 15 years and then sat in mine for the same 15 years before I got back into fountain pens.

I got " 60 years "out of it...though the last year was a pain...as the sac became so porous it could hardly suck ink.

 

The Vac because of it's action puts more strain on rubber than a lever pen....but 4 years is much too little and would Never Ever been accepted in the Old Days.

 

Perhaps in the repair section, some one can lead you to rubber sacs that are good for 20 years in a Vac...or 25-30 years for those with lever pens.

Latex is better than silicon from my reading...and silicon has out-gassing problems if I remember correctly. I know I was only interested in the latex ones.

Edited May 12, 2016 by Bo Bo Olson

[Uncial]

I would definitely look for an alternative to rubber for repairs. I know it isn't particularly easy to find a non-rubber vacumatic unit though. I've never actually tried making my own, I've only ever bought the whole new unit for about €15 as I find buying the sac isn't really that much cheaper and the quality of rubber these days seems to be really, very, very poor. Depending on usage I would expect to get around 5-6 years out of a Vac unit before failure of some kind. Some of them have rubber that is so bad that it has literally melted in its envelop in a drawer within a year of purchase. I really don't know if this is normal or not or even if this was an accepted norm in ages past - everyone keeps assuring me it's the ink I use.

[Sandy Fry]

Sorry, but I am a little confused.

 

The pens were bought NEW?

 

It took you 21 years to notice the defect in the Sheaffer?

 

It took 10 years to notice a cracked converter in the Parker?

 

It took 4 years for you to notice the bad nib on the Lamy?

 

Am I just reading the post wrong or have you been having issues for 21 years on one pen, 10 on another and 4 on the last?

 

David