Pre-Owned Fountain Pens - Problems?

[Jaywalker]

I've bought two pre-owned fountain pens from the classified section here on FPN and have been happy with them.

 

Still, I have heard my whole life not to let anyone else use your fountain pen. How can one reconcile these two views? Pre-owned means someone else has used it. Is the "prohibition" just because someone else might press down and destroy the nib, i.e., a gross change? Or is it because of small changes to the nib surface that aren't the way you personally write with it?

 

 

[Driften]

The myth is the nib will adapt to a person's hand. The reality is it takes a lot (years?) of constant use to wear away tipping material enough to matter. I expect someone with a heavy hand could press enough to bend one tine out of alignment over time and it is adjusted to them that way. I think it's more a case of the user adapting to the pen over time then the other way around. Brian Goulet put this in his list of pen myths.

 

I have a number of used pens, mostly Montblanc and Vintage and have not seen any indication that they adapted to anybody.

 

It is true that someone that does not use fountain pens could mash the nib and hurt it from loaning it out.

[overwriter]

The prohibition is against letting people who have never used a fountain pen use your fountain pen. As a minimum they need to be supervised and instructed to not press down. The tipping on a nib is so hard that when used properly it almost can’t wear down. I have let people use and try my pens many times with no ill effects.

 

The caveat here is that I do not own any pens worth several hundred dollars or that may be irreplaceable. I might feel differently if I did.

[PaganArcher]

I grew up hearing a phase in my family "There are three things in life you never lend another man: your pen, your axe, and your wife."

 

The attitude of not lending your pen to someone has two facets, especially today. First, most of society doesn't know how to write with a light touch. The risk of damage to the pen and their unwillingness to properly pay for damages is all too real. Secondly, how many people take a pen from a restaurant, work, or doctor's office without a second thought?

[sidthecat]

I grasped the wisdom of this caution when my dear friend, the brother I never had, the man who walked me down the aisle at my wedding, took my Wahl ringtop with the delicate, ultra-flexy Leroy Fairchild dip nib and MASHED IT onto the sheet of paper on his desk.

I may have screamed.

Luckily, the nib was undamaged, as was our relationship. I blame his upbringing.

[Jaywalker]

Got it, thanks.

[senzen]

I'd probably me more careful with gold nibs which are more easily bent, and it probably also depends on each particular model's weaknesses. So far I've had really good luck with the ones I've bought used, 2 Studios, 1 m205, smooth steel nibs.

[Drawing61]

When you buy used pens from reputable sources you are almost always buying them from people who love pens and have treated them properly. I own several used pens and have no complaints, on the contrary only compliments to the previous owners who usually tuned their nibs to the optimum writing experience.

[jar]

I gladly let anyone interested try any pen I have with me that day and have been doing that for well over a half century.

[Drawing61]

Thumbs up Jar. I would never hesitate to buy a pen from you or anyone with a reputation as good as yours.

[Runnin_Ute]

Most of my pens have been purchased "previously owned". Either from the Classifieds here, eBay or other sources. Mostly eBay. Very few have ever had problems outside of needing to have the sac replaced in the case of my Esterbrook pens.

 

Only one of those needed more than that, and it was easy enough to fix. The nib fell apart, it was easier and less hassle for me to just spend a few bucks and replace it. Esterbrook medium nibs are pretty cheap. My copper J arrived with a broken clip, but I wasn't concerned with that. If I was a true "collector" it would be a bigger deal.

[MarcS]

well-experienced and well-educated fountain pen collectors/users happily acquire certain (e.g. parker 51) pens knowing they were probably used as the workhorses they were intended to be. we can read the posts extolling their design and function, and hope we are fortunate enough to come across one for ourselves. does anyone avoid one of these wonderful vintage instruments (excepting the mangled, for-parts-only specimens) because someone else used them a lot? i think not!

[inkstainedruth]

The better part of my pen stash are vintage (or at least older model for the ones made after 1960). So they're definitely "pre-owned" pens, with I think one exception (a lower end Snorkel which still had the nib sticker on it, which is probably NOS). There's a few where there are issues with the nib, but for the most part there isn't a problem (and the worst offender is a Morrison for which I paid a whopping $25 -- and if I'm careful with it I can still get it to write -- plus, re-tipping the nib is gonna cost me way more than the pen is probably worth).

I have a few pens that are probably from the 1930s, including another Morrison and that pen is a lovely writer. And a 1937 Parker Vacumatic Red Shadow Wave, which has been in constant rotation for over 2-1/2 years. Yeah, at some point I might want to think about having the nib on that Vac looked at. Maybe.... And since that pen has someone's name engraved on it, I'm betting that it got a fair amount of use from its original owner (whoever W. J. Bates was, he or she had great taste in pens ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Bo Bo Olson]

Back in the day when the pen was used 8 hours a day, it took 7-10 years to wear off the tipping.

Used pens.....I hate the mealy mouthed 'pre-owned'.....can if they sat in the back of the drawer for a generation or three, have micro-corrosion or 'iridium rust'.....that causes drag.

If only a few years old....you will have no problem with drag......takes a long time with out use for drag to occur.

 

There are many a sad tale of someone letting a ball point user jackhammer the nib into a wreck. Keep a ball point for them...........they will bend even a nail nib!!!! and in seconds!!!!

 

I use to use a good quality brown paper bag to get rid of drag......that's all it's good for. It is not something to really smooth a nib to butter smooth nor grind it. Drag is 'iridium' rust from sitting decades in the dark of the drawer.

I do prefer 'good and smooth' to butter smooth....is good enough, is good for slick paper and takes a hell of a lot less time. Good and smooth allows some feeling of paper, and not overly slick, like butter smooth.

Brown paper bag smoothing is relatively safe......micro mesh is not as a 'noobie' you will ruin the first two nibs. So use cheap pens.

With the Brown Paper Bag, you will never get butter smooth.....you will get good and smooth, the step under butter smooth.

If you insist on butter smooth.....destroy two learning nibs on micro-mesh, then try.

 

Good quality Brown paper bag....non hairy.

In nice wide strokes*** in normal writing pressure always rotating the nib so it don't get flat spots, do circles right, & left. Squiggles up-down, sideways in both directions. Do that for 15 seconds then check, you might have to do it 3-4 times. ...if more then micro-mesh.

Do not use figure 8's..........a well respected passed member Ol'Grizz said that causes baby bottom.

 

***using a three surfaced buff stick, you have to make tiny strokes............I was glad I had experience with a good quality brown paper bag, before doing it on a buff stick. Actually only a couple of strokes on the rougher sections of the buff stick (IMO only on the second most rough section)....then use the smooth side. Remember to rotate.....and where it was 15 seconds with a brown paper bag....it's 2-3 seconds between checking on a buff stick.

 

 

Old sac pens, including the Snorkel will have to have new sacks put in. Once rubber sacks lasted 30-40 years.....now less than 10 years....but is not expensive..........HOWEVER.....you can not use supersaturated inks in a rubber sack. Ron Zorn and other respected repairmen, has stated those kind of inks can ruin a rubber sack with in a week or month.

A P-51 uses a fiberglass sack so is still good to go, even today.

 

Used C/C pens should be no problem.....just make sure you have the proper cartridge or converter for it.

Converters often have problems with vapor lock....even on new pens. One can add a small bit of spring to them to break surface tension.....some use a little plastic or steel ball.

 

You can save long run money buy paying a bit more from someone who wants to protect his good name, here on the com, than gambling in the rapids of Ebay.

I have 95% used pens, mostly old ones. Semi-vintage....'90-70's....or vintage '50-60's and some 30's pens. Of my 80 pens, only some five were new.

 

A new pen that you have used once, loses 1/3 to -1/2 it's value....just like the first foot driven with a new car....makes it a used car. Vintage pens that have never been used are called NOS...new old stock and are $$$$.

 

Had I bought only new pens.....I'd not have a collection....nor would I have many or even any pens other than my bought new P-75.....in anything good is expensive.

You can get once top of the line used pens at a real fair price. Classic pens with balance........I'm heavy into balance....in I grew up in B&W TV times where a pen had to have good balance and a Flagship had to have great balance.....and posted gave it the balance. Therefor I avoid modern cartridge pens, on the whole....somehow I have ended up with 8-9 of the things ....but that's me. You should start with used cartridge pens.

 

An Esterbrook, P-51, Snorkel are good vintage pens one 'must' have....eventually. They are not cartridge pens.

The pretty Sheaffer Targa is a '70-80's semi-vintage pen.....one 'needs' a P-45....which had a very long run, and is cheap enough.

 

Writing is 1/3 nib width/flex, 1/3 paper and 1/3 ink and in that order.

Good to better paper cost twice as much as common copy paper but you can keep most of the ream of 90g laser paper for a decade.It is not something for your printer.

Do not use Ink Jet paper, designed to absorb ink jet ink fast, will cause major feathering with fountain pen ink.

I suggest getting some good to better paper, be it a ream, half ream or box every three inks.

Paper is the key. It is the floor your inks dance on.

I like two toned shading inks, and one must have 90g or better laser paper for that.

 

Go to Ink Reviews, and read any of Sandy1's reviews....she uses four good better papers, and 4 nib widths.....and the ink can look so different, one would not believe it is the same ink.

Do look to get some of the good to better papers she uses.

Edited April 9, 2018 by Bo Bo Olson

[Chrissy]

As long as you supervise someone so that they know whether to pull off or unscrew the cap (or you do that for them) then it's OK to let someone else use your fountain pen without fear that they will wear the tipping.

 

I suppose there are some people who are real "klutzes" who might bend a nib, but surely they must be quite rare.

[jchch1950]

I love my fountain pens. For me they are something special rather new or old, somehow they came to my collection, they are objects that have a history in themselves.So I don't like that other people mess with them.I don't like to lend my pens.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Chrissy....there are many more real "klutzes", than one can logically expect from the many sad stories. Why should they not be.....a ball point is like plowing the south forty with out the mule.

Excess pressure is needed to make the ball turn....the pen needs to be held high, so the ball can roll with out hitting paper with the ball holder.

All bad things.......................even nails got bent!!!!

 

I am rather overbearing, if I lend or show someone how to write with a fountain pen.....hold it so...behind the big index knuckle....press very, very lightly, let the ink flow by it's own....and so on. Eagle eyed...cubed.

 

But from the many, many stores here, have become paranoid....and even Germans who in the last generation were fountain pen users, the new ones are not..............so better safe than sorry.

[AidenMark]

 

But from the many, many stores here, have become paranoid....and even Germans who in the last generation were fountain pen users, the new ones are not..............so better safe than sorry.

 

So true.

 

"Regrettably the M1000 is a little over-dimensioned but if you'd like to try one I just happen to have a Pelikan Smileyface that might suit your size of hand ..."

[mitto]

+1

[tadas]

Still, I have heard my whole life not to let anyone else use your fountain pen. How can one reconcile these two views

 

You don't have to. As many others have explained, this is a myth. I have, probably, 10 pens inked, that I consider to be "in rotation". Six of them are "used". To me, no difference. Each pen is it's own story - if it was abused in the past, it'lll be (bleep). Most are fine.

 

I buy and restore a lot of Esterbrook pens. Usually, all they need is a new sac plus cleaning. About 10 to 20 percent have nibs with problems. With Esties, this isn't a major problem - just screw in a "new" nib.

 

If the pen works (you can fill it, it writes even a little), it can be adjusted.

 

I don't even think about this when bidding on eBay - if the photo of the nib isn't scary, I figure it'll be OK, maybe (probably) if I do a little tuning.

 

The other myth is that ink goes bad after a short time, and you should toss ink over X months/years old. There are a few boutique inks where you might want to look at "expiration dates". Otherwise - my personal go-to black ink is Parker Microfilm Black, which was advertised as "good for V-Mail". V-Mail was the microfilmed mail that soldiers in WWII sent and received. In other words, my favorite black ink is about 75 years old. 'Nuff said.