Do You Use A Retractable Fountain Pen?

[Precise]

These pens have been discussed on FPN. But does anyone use one? They were also called "safety pens". But they don't look any safer than a conventional fountain pen.

 

The Japanese Nishio brand retractables are widely available on ebay. This ad is cool in that it provides a lot of history and information.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/LIMITED-Japanese-HANDMADE-Ebonite-Urushi-Retractable-Capless-Safety-Fountain-Pen/142931117398?hash=item21475bc556:g:lToAAOSwzyBbk0lk

 

I'm intrigued. But I can't think of a reason to actually use or carry this type of fountain pen.

 

Do you have a retractable? Do you use it?

 

Alan

[Erggg]

I bought the Noodler's pen. I only bought it to have a saftey pen. I notice that the pen doesn't have hard start issues other Noodler's pens have.

 

Would I ever use it as a EDC Pen? No, never. It's not a fast deploying pen. I find it too involved for every day use. It can also be a bit messy which is not something I care to risk.

 

I think it does have some practical use however. It writes well. You can use other inks you can't use in a regular fountain pen. I think it also offers some nostalgia since, if I recall correctly, saftey pens have existed for a long time. But I personally consider this to be more of a gimmick pen than a practical pen.

[ajoe]

I have two Pilot Vanishing Point pens. Does that count?

 

Yes, I use them, but because they are great pens, not necessarily because they are retractable.

 

However, when traveling for business, it is often convenient to not have to mess with pen caps.

[Tasmith]

Pilot Decimo, use it quite often.

[ErrantSmudge]

I use a Lamy Dialog 3. I'm not sure if the Dialog 3 and the Pilot VP/Decimo are exactly the same type of pen as the "safety" pens like the Noodlers. For one thing, both the Dialog 3 and the VP are both very quick to deploy, quicker than capped pens and that's part of their appeal.

[Cordovian]

I use my Boheme on a regular basis...

 

[sirgilbert357]

Pilot Decimo, use it quite often.

 

 

+1

And my Decimo is the closest I will come to owning a safety pen...

[dapprman]

Strictly speaking a MB Boheme or Heritage are not safety pens (as they do not block off the flow of ink when retracted) but they are the closest to a modern day one aside from the Noodlers Boston Safety Pen.

 

For me I'm another with both a Lamy Dialog 3 and a Pilot Vanishing Point (if those count).

[BaronWulfraed]

Another with Dialog 3, Decimo, two current design Vanishing Points, and one prior design Vanishing Point (black plastic stolen from a government supply of Scripto mechanical pencils <G>, but has the one-piece nose-cone/pocket clip -- a much nicer feel in the fingers).

[TSherbs]

Pilot Decimo, use it quite often.

 

same

[ele]

A well-restored safety pen, used properly, is the most reliable, no-fuss/no-mess writer around.

[SpecTP]

I have a pilot vanishing point and a lamy dialog 3 as EDC.

[inkstainedruth]

I have a Pilot Decimo, and a Noodler's Boston Safety.

They both have plusses and minuses.

The Decimo is a great size -- but doesn't seem to hold a lot of ink (or else the nib dries up too fast or something). It's also not an inexpensive pen (especially since I ended up special ordering one through someone with contacts in Japan (because Pilot -- or at least Pilot-USA -- has some stupid marketing people) in order to get the color I wanted (grey) and the nib I needed (EF).

The Noodler's? It's somewhat fussy to be an EDC pen, like someone else said. And much as I hoped it would be the new Kung Te Cheng pen, that ink didn't do all that well in it. On the other hand, it's ebonite (which is a really nice material to make pens out of). And I had planned to flush mine out and didn't get around to it (for a couple of months ) -- so yesterday I rewatched the video on how to disassemble it and when I extended the nib? It still wrote! (the ink was Noodler's Luck of the Draw, the Boston/Washington Pen show exclusive last spring; not my favorite color, but it works in that pen quite well...). Instead of flushing it, I ended up refilling it....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[VRI39C]

Recently picked up the Noodler's Boston Safety Pen. It writes well, no false starts or skipping. Very difficult not getting ink on your fingers when filling, and you really need to be careful when extending the nib in case you splash a bit of ink all over the place. But I really enjoy using it. For me, this pen, my Boheme and Heritage 1912 are not EDC pens, but pens I still enjoy using deliberately. I enjoy the ritual of unscrewing the cap, extending the nib, writing, retracting the nib and capping the pen. For some reason I find the process soothing. I usually have 3 fountain pens inked at any given time, so for jotting down quick notes, I just reach for one of the others.

[Freddy]

A well-restored safety pen, used properly, is the most reliable, no-fuss/no-mess writer around.

Hear Hear

Use'em all the time....scan re Italian safety pens...properly restored they're bullet proof and I derive great pleasure......to boot.....

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/331105-what-pens-are-you-using-today-2018/?p=4066583

Fred

Let's Movie

[Charles Rice]

I want the nib to say , "here I am".

[TheRealMikeDr]

I think my Hero H718 is an incredible value and I enjoy using it!!

[southpaw]

I have a LE Decimo, a blue VP, and my favorite - a red wood VP (which I use regularly).

[Precise]

I was surprised to read all of the posts which equate capless pens with safety pens. I'd always assumed they were two different categories. The safety pens I referred to in my original post have caps.

 

I own two Pilot Vanishing Point pens. They were once my EDC. But I never liked the way they feel in my hand. So after considering (and rejecting) some serious lathe work, I put them aside.

 

Incidentally, I saw a comment about a Pilot VP spritzing. My first VP never did. My second did, so I traded it with Bittner for another just like it. And that is fine.

 

I never tried a Dialog 3. I like the size, but not the weight. And the internet is full of complaints.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

Pilot Capless Decimo, somewhat often, but not right now. I don't like to keep too many pens inked at once, and there are several "regular" pens that I like a bit better.

 

But we'd decided that doesn't count, right? Not a "safety pen".

 

Closest I have are a couple of Stypen Ups, a capped retractable fountain pen, cartridge only, not made any longer, but recently enough not to be called vintage. I've been told that there are reasons why it isn't a "true" safety pen, but the design does tend to keep ink out of the cap, and you won't get any on your fingers when uncapping. Not that either is really a problem with most of my unsafety pens.

 

And although the Up is a decent cheap pen, I got mine mostly out of curiosity at very low prices. Haven't used one in quite a while, and they aren't on my short list of pens that I need to try again sometime.