What Do People Say When They Notice Your Fountain Pen?

[marcelo]

The last person that notice it said about my Sheaffer Prelude Blue Shimmer: "What a beautiful pen!" 😁

[Orpilorp]

Last week a 64 year old fellow employee said, "A fountain pen?! I didn't know they still made those."

[kestrel]

"I tried calligraphy once."

"Isn't it hard to find ink for those things?"

"How much did it cost?"

"Isn't it hard to write with one of those?"

"Cool"

"Can't you do ANYTHING like normal people?"

 

and my favorite because it always produces an amazing emotional response:

 

"My husband/wife/father/grandfather/mother/grandmother/aunt had a pen just like that. May I try it?"

[Wandering Man]

I was in a local grocery store the day before Thanksgiving, and was asked for a donation to the local center for the deaf. The woman noticed my fp as I signed her form and let me know she was curious about it. I'm not sure if she was able to understand my explanation. She is deaf, and I can't sign.

[marcelo]

"I tried calligraphy once."

"Isn't it hard to find ink for those things?"

"How much did it cost?"

"Isn't it hard to write with one of those?"

"Cool"

"Can't you do ANYTHING like normal people?"

 

and my favorite because it always produces an amazing emotional response:

 

"My husband/wife/father/grandfather/mother/grandmother/aunt had a pen just like that. May I try it?"

"Can't you do ANYTHING like normal people?"

 

THIS is my favorite! LOL!!!

[praxim]

"Oh, he has gone back to using a fountain pen. I don't know why."

 

My wife can get in the way of other people's comments.

[maus930]

Oh, you have one of those calligraphy pens

[effika]

"Is that a calligraphy pen? It's so FANCY!" (Said of my Lamy Al-Star!)

[LizEF]

"Is that a fountain pen?" ranks right up there with "Did you get a hair cut?" (when it's more than obvious you did)

[marcelo]

"Is that a fountain pen?" ranks right up there with "Did you get a hair cut?" (when it's more than obvious you did)

Great one! LOL!!!

[chromantic]

"What's that?"

"Cool!"

And just last night, "Wow, that's old school."

[Shaggy]

While using a Pelikan 205 in Amethyst:

 

"What a cool pen! Was it expensive? Was it more than ten dollars?"

[AL01]

(These are all real, I assure you)

"That's a cool pen"

"Don't give me one of your ****ing complicated *** engineering pens"

"You payed over 5 dollars for a pen?!"

"I've used a fountain pen before"

"That's kinda neat"

"Is that a calligraphy pen?"

"It's a quill" (A proclamation made by someone who saw my VFM in the 5th grade.)

"We used to have inkwells in our desk"

"That's all we used back in the day"

"I used to have pen fights with my friends"

 

...And so on...

 

Ya gotta love this hobby!

[AL01]

"I tried calligraphy once."

"Isn't it hard to find ink for those things?"

"How much did it cost?"

"Isn't it hard to write with one of those?"

"Cool"

"Can't you do ANYTHING like normal people?"

 

and my favorite because it always produces an amazing emotional response:

 

"My husband/wife/father/grandfather/mother/grandmother/aunt had a pen just like that. May I try it?"

 

I've heard a few variations of that one since I was...

 

If you use a fountain pen in an American school then you are already a bit out there. You feel somewhat unique, because others who will try to look like rich people, (they use fountain pens not for the writing experience but for a perceived image that does not reflect their true personality), and will probably come crying to the devoted FP user that: "IIIII BBBBEEENNNT MMMMYYYY NNNIIIIBBB.... BBBBBBBBUUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTT," exuse.

 

End Rant.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

Most don't mention it, even though some must notice that it isn't a ballpoint.

 

One coworker said "A fountain pen? Isn't that a bit much?" Apparently he had the idea that fountain pens are for doctors, lawyers, and senior executives. He also informed me that ballpoints write much more smoothly. He didn't last long with the company, but that wasn't why.

 

When I brought out a Platinum 3776 Century to sign something, a friend of a friend asked me if it was a Montblanc. She had one fountain pen, a Montblanc that someone gave her years ago, hadn't used it in a long time, but fountain pens and that brand were connected in her mind.

 

Other than that, with the few who say anything, it's usually just some variation on "nice/neat/interesting/etc. pen", but it rarely leads to a conversation about pens.

[Sandy1]

Using your lead-in of "The last person that notice it..."

You're still up?

Take a break.

Let's swim a mile.

(Not sure if it was my pen that was noticed. - I am working on 'allure', but...

Perhaps I should just keep my pen clipped to my left garter.)

Edited November 28, 2016 by Sandy1

[LizB]

"Mum, have you bought ANOTHER new pen?"

 

(I don't get out much)

[The Good Captain]

"Where do you get your ink from?"

[Bigeddie]

"An ink pen! I haven't seen one of those since school" - A colleague who is professor of politics. Many of his colleagues use fountain pens daily, I didn't have the heart to tell him.

[Bo Bo Olson]

It's only 15 or 20??? years since the Germans allowed school children to have ball points....so it's no big deal. Fountain pens are losing the war of course. Many normal folks that grew up with fountain pens....will grab a fountain pen like a ball point...if not reminded!!!!

 

 

Depends on exactly where you are at.....a collection of guns at the Gun club is normal....a collection of fountain pens is not....even in Germany.

A collection of Beer coasters is more normal.

 

Scribbling is abnormal....writing is for work or grocery lists only. Writing is work.

Fun writing??

Lots of different colors of ink? Why?

 

Picasso on the wall???Ah, Rorschach test. Homemade? How Cool!

 

Got to do something with ink spills.

Edited November 28, 2016 by Bo Bo Olson