The Rampant Inaccuracy Of Fountain Pen Reviews

[Jamesbeat]

I believe Matt from the pen habit tests his review pens for a while before making the review.

 

How long do you think they should test them before publishing a review?

 

The 2003 Jeep Liberty received good reviews when it was made.

Ask me 14 years later what my opinion of it is and I'll tell you that it is a worthless jalopy and I'm glad I got it to hold together long enough for me to get a reasonable price when I traded it in yesterday.

 

I think using a pen daily for a week or so is the most we can ask of reviewers.

It's nice to get a follow up review for a more long term picture, and I have seen this type of thing from Matt and SBREBrown, as well as many other YouTube reviewers.

 

Honestly I'm pretty surprised to hear complaints about pen reviews.

These guys do it for the love of it, not to make money.

 

If you don't like them, why not spend your own money and review them for yourself?

[langere]

Wow! This topic has people riled up!

 

Reviews are just reviews - personal opinions of people who do this for the love of fountain pens. Also, it is highly likely that people will review the pens they like rather ones they find mediocre (or worse). That's okay with me.

 

As a professional historian, I have to say to folks: When you get a piece of information, evaluate the source. That will help determine its accuracy.

 

And that's okay. The reviews here are "wiki" in the sense that people volunteer their time and effort to make these reviews. They need to be taken as such. And that's okay.

 

Erick

[pajaro]

I have read only a few reviews. Generally I have preferred to make my own mind up about pens. Many other people value things I don't feel concerned with (flex, wet pens, broad nibs, big pens, elaborately designed pens, etc.).

[Manalto]

Wow! This topic has people riled up!

 

Reviews are just reviews - personal opinions of people who do this for the love of fountain pens. Also, it is highly likely that people will review the pens they like rather ones they find mediocre (or worse).

 

I agree, and assume that those who review pens tend to be people with more-than-average experience, so we should expect them to notice features or shortcomings in the design of the pen that a novice might not. I've noticed that reviewers tend to be frank about their biases and warn the viewer (or reader) that this is the case. I don't think most people who see pen reviews are so gullible that they swallow them hook, line and sinker; they peruse them for those features that they find important. As far as waiting to see how well the pen holds up over time, that's a useful addition to a review but to refrain from discussing a pen for a year or two before commenting is just silly.

 

A preview is simply a review of something (a product, venue or entertainment) that isn't yet available to the general public. To use that word for a review of a product that has been recently introduced for general consumption is a misuse of the term - and would be misleading and/or confusing.

Edited March 13, 2017 by Manalto

[Lexus77]

Well, I don't actually look st reviews for the opinion these people have, I look for the information they give.

If I hear Matt Armstrong or Steve Brown (for instance) say that they don't like how narrow the pen is, I don't think 'narrow is bad.' No, I note that it's a narrow pen. And often they will give details too: It's 9 mm, or it's 10mm on the section. That's what I'm looking for. If someone says they love how much feedback it gives, I note that there's a lot of feedback, and although they might like that, I don't.
That being said, the enthusiasm thesse people sometime display for a certain pen can certainly be contagious. But if the info about it is just wrong for me, it won't persuade me to buy that pen. But seeing the pen in action, getting writing samples, and knowing where their tastes and mine overlap or don't overlap, helps me decide if that pen might be a good pen for me.

[jar]

I'm really bummed to find out I won't get paid for the reviews I do or even reimbursed for the cost of the pens.

 

Now I know that not only is the check not in the mail but all my inaccuracies have become rampant and likely threaten civilization.

[Jamesbeat]

I'm really bummed to find out I won't get paid for the reviews I do or even reimbursed for the cost of the pens.

 

Now I know that not only is the check not in the mail but all my inaccuracies have become rampant and likely threaten civilization.

I hope you're suitably ashamed of yourself for selfishly spending your own time and money providing (excellent) reviews free of charge to the community.

 

Disgraceful behavior

[TheRealMikeDr]

 

If I hear Matt Armstrong or Steve Brown (for instance) say that they don't like how narrow the pen is, I don't think 'narrow is bad.' No, I note that it's a narrow pen. And often they will give details too: It's 9 mm, or it's 10mm on the section. That's what I'm looking for. If someone says they love how much feedback it gives, I note that there's a lot of feedback, and although they might like that, I don't.

 

 

Measurements are nice - but I prefer to see photos of the pen next to a bunch of other pens - the way that Matt does it. It gives me a better idea (oh - the pen looked small but it's the same length as a Pelikan M800!) of the true size of the pen relative to pens I may already own and like. A 9mm section, while helpful too - simply means I have to go back and find the width of the section of other pens I like to see where it falls.

 

Here's an image (taken from Matt's site without permission - sorry Matt!!) of a photo from his review of a Waterman Carene - this photo does a better job of showing the size than any words could do.

 

http://i.imgur.com/oCA2VhN.jpg

[GutSchrift]

"Inaccuracy" seems strong. I think what's hilarious to me is the inability to recognize fact from opinion. Reviews are really opinions. Yes, they convey plenty of information, much of which are simple facts (size, dimensions, shape, material, etc.) But overall they are just a series of opinions about these facts. I'd hope the OP could understand that. If they are so determined to have the kind of review they've hinted at here would render all reviews obsolete -- because we wouldn't have any more opinions, or any more perspectives based on experience and one's one point of view. In that case, let's have a computer make measurements and come up with an universal rubric for judging pens -- so we can throw it right out! Collecting any fine object is about opinion, and that most elusive and unaccountable human quality -- taste!

[TSherbs]

 

....

 

Here's an image (taken from Matt's site without permission - sorry Matt!!) of a photo from his review of a Waterman Carene - this photo does a better job of showing the size than any words could do.

 

http://i.imgur.com/oCA2VhN.jpg

 

Stop feeding my desire for a Carene!

[corgicoupe]

Perhaps there should be two categories for reviews, both of which will be subjective. One category would "emphasize" comparison with other pens; the second would focus only on the pen being reviewed. The reviewer would be expected to select the category and stick within it. Subjectivity would remain, but the focus would be narrower.

[MuddyWaters]

I am glad that this thread was opened - just saw it now. I agree with the sentiment of the OP. Fountain pen reviews have more pornographic value than actual evaluative purpose. When someone uses the word "dishonest" for a reviewer, I sympathize with this when the reviewer does not do any research into the pen before endorsing it or hating on it, when the reviewer fails to make useful comparisons with other pens and fails to take into account the price of the pen explicitly. I attribute dishonesty the more influential a critic is ("with great power comes great responsibility"). I'm not saying that reviewers should not be subjective. I'm saying that they should be as objective as they can be in communicating their sentiments of the pen, which some reviewers do better than others.

 

Another pet-peeve of mine is the evaluative scaling reviewers use. Some will give an outright numerical score on some aspect of the pen, which I find more useful than saying that a pen is "good." If you take SBRE Brown's videos and list all the pens he has found "good" or that "he likes," your list will be cacaphonic and would give the buyer very little guidance into what their next fountain pen should be. I wonder if the more positive reviews you make, the more views and subscriptions you get as a result, and whether some reviewers use this as a strategy to exploit the market. When I got obsessed pornographically with the Lamy 2000, I was just looking for more and more videos that praised the pen and showed its action in a positive light. When you ask SBRE Brown a question in his comments section, he will give you a quite general and useless answer for the most part. This is his way of maintaining an indiscriminate position in the fountain pen world as a reviewer. There are other reviewers like Goulet which have a vented interest in their reviewed products, so I don't even bother with those videos.

 

The remedy to this is to not succumb too much to the porn when buying pens. Trying in store is always the best and the second best thing is to find members of the community which have similar interests. What I've found best, interspersed with bad decisions, is to try many kinds of cheap pens to see what one likes before splashing big on a pen. People seem to minimize here how much fountain pens cost and how damaging it can be to people's budgets. Do not be influenced by the normalization of buying millions of pens as professional reviewers do but will never caution against. The average fountain pen enthusiast gambles on a pen and either likes it or not and then is stuck with it, with no good re-sale value or return investment in the form of subscribers, sponsorships, etc.

Edited March 14, 2017 by MuddyWaters

[Bluey]

Perhaps there should be two categories for reviews, both of which will be subjective. One category would "emphasize" comparison with other pens; the second would focus only on the pen being reviewed. The reviewer would be expected to select the category and stick within it. Subjectivity would remain, but the focus would be narrower.

 

 

The nature of reviews will never change no matter what safeguards there are.

Edited March 15, 2017 by Bluey

[otw]

I'm not saying that reviewers should not be subjective. I'm saying that they should be as objective as they can be in communicating their sentiments of the pen, which some reviewers do better than others.

 

This is a contradiction. (Bold emphasis mine.)

 

I would like to ask the OP to provide an example of a review that meets their standards, to satisfy my own curiosity. (I'm not trying to pick a fight, just genuinely curious.)

[Uncial]

I do get the OP's frustration. Only this week I was looking at a review of a Sailor pen that was clearly a limited edition of some kind but of a common enough model. By the end of the review they had gushed about how beautiful it looked, how nice it was to write with, the incredible material, how much they love Sailor and how buttery smooth the nib was (on a Sailor pen? Really?).

 

Sadly they neglected to mention the nib size, the model of the pen, the special/limited edition (and if it was available globally), the filling system, the size of the pen, the approximate cost, whether or not it posted or if it was a screw cap or a push on or the characteristics of the nib (dry, medium, wet)....all in all a completely useless review. Now I'm not going to begrudge a person who clearly has found a pen they are in love with, but surely the purpose of a review is to give information.

 

That is an extreme example, but many reviews leave out quite vital information all the time and it is possible to be pulled in to considering a pen through another's enthusiasm only to discover there are elements of the pen that are simply not agreeable to you at all; and that can be deeply frustrating and annoying.

[Tas]

I've just gone back and updated all three ramblings / pen reviews of mine.

Thank you for pointing this out.

[Manalto]

That is an extreme example, but many reviews leave out quite vital information all the time and it is possible to be pulled in to considering a pen through another's enthusiasm only to discover there are elements of the pen that are simply not agreeable to you at all; and that can be deeply frustrating and annoying.

 

Would you like your money back? Sorry for the sarcasm, but when someone posts a review in a forum that's inferior, just stop looking at it and move on to (or wait for) a better one.

 

Is an expectation of a professional-quality review realistic on an enthusiasts' forum? I'm just grateful that some of them are. If we get deeply frustrated and annoyed each time a person doesn't meet our expectations, we have an extremely long bumpy ahead of us.

[Mulrich]

That is an extreme example, but many reviews leave out quite vital information all the time and it is possible to be pulled in to considering a pen through another's enthusiasm only to discover there are elements of the pen that are simply not agreeable to you at all; and that can be deeply frustrating and annoying.

 

 

In my experience, most reviewers are responsive to follow-up questions. So if there's something you want to know about a pen that the review didn't mention, a comment on the article or email to the reviewer might get you the information you're looking for. That, or look for a different review or website.

[pepsiplease69]

This is getting really entertaining.

 

Time for some popcorn.

[ethernautrix]

 

Would you like your money back? Sorry for the sarcasm, but when someone posts a review in a forum that's inferior, just stop looking at it and move on to (or wait for) a better one.

 

Is an expectation of a professional-quality review realistic on an enthusiasts' forum? I'm just grateful that some of them are. If we get deeply frustrated and annoyed each time a person doesn't meet our expectations, we have an extremely long bumpy ahead of us.

I agree. This is a hobby forum (as weird as "fountain pen hobby" seems to me), and the vast majority of us are enthusiasts, not professional, uh, pen masters. I guess I don't expect unbiased reviews anyway, and I especially don't expect a professional-level review from non-vendors. (And I'd be wary of reviews by vendors.)

 

As the next person (after Manalto) said, if the reviewer left something out, it's easy to ask questions in the thread.