Are Premium Fountain Pens Any Good To Write With?

[senzen]

"Are Premium Fountain Pens Any Good To Write With?"

 

Yes, at least the ones I have; it does depend on what you consider "premium"... Which cost more than $50? $100? $500?

[dadbar]

I have 12 different Parker 75 pens,,,with about 8 different nib styles from EF to bold and a few specialty italic/stub thrown in the mix (including one ocatnium nib). I find some of these far more pleasant than others, even though they are all Parker 75s.

 

So perhaps your preferences are just as much sample dependent as they are pen dependent......

[praxim]

"Are Premium Fountain Pens Any Good To Write With?"

 

Yes, both new and vintage.

[kestrel]

The four best writers I own, by my own arbitrary standards that are virtually identical to Pakmans comments above, are:

 

Pelikan M800 with a Binder 0.9 mm Italifine nib. Except for a holiday to Indy Pen Dance to repair feline damage to the nib it has been in the rotation every day for ten years. It is an absolute joy to write with. Every time.

 

Sheaffer's Oversize Black and Pearl Balance ca 1929-1930. Almost as much fun to use as the Pelikan. It is in the rotation about 75% of the time.

 

1926 Parker Senior Duofold in RHR. Perfect feel and balance.

 

Visconti Kaleido Voyager in red marble. Either this pen or the Duofold are in the rotation about 50% of the time.

 

You can draw your own conclusions. I think these were or are premium pens. I have a lot of really nice writing pens but these four are the class of the collection.

[Honeybadgers]

No. My visconti gives me diarrhea every time I use it.

 

And my Mont Blanc 149 gave me scurvy.

[Karmachanic]

On what basis would a pen that is not "good" to write with become Premium?

[Honeybadgers]

easy, ask visconti.

[pajaro]

With some personal items, it is about more than cost. How it pleases you is important. So the premium pen can be satisfying and important.

[Driften]

I use all of my pens from my TWSBI GO up to my Visconti HS. The pens I use the most are over $150.

[Honeybadgers]

My favorite pen is a thousand bucks, but the one I use the most cost $40, once you factor in the vintage nib I put in it.

[A Smug Dill]

Ultimately, this 'hobby' or 'habit' of ours here is not premised on:

• entirely rational thought process; or
• objective cost-benefit analysis of our purchasing decisions that stand true whether or not others – whoever we regard as our peers, in that they know as much or better than we do, or are at least like-minded, about writing instruments / materials / practice – agree with the conclusions, or in fact whether we ourselves find the conclusions agreeable; or
• measuring performance of either 'our' money spent on the 'hobby' as enthusiasts (or even evangelists) or 'our' writing performance with the tools we acquired.

Of course (almost) everyone likes to feel smart / wise / astute / justified / vindicated in what they decide to do, as an aspect of pleasing oneself (Oh, did that sound rude?), but the focus really ought to be about pleasure and enjoyment in the writing experience, not what is analytically or measurably superior.

[surprise123]

You could buy a Pilot Varsity, send it off to Richard Binder and have it write smoother than an OEM modern day nib housed in a $500+ pen.

[minddance]

You could buy a Pilot Varsity, send it off to Richard Binder and have it write smoother than an OEM modern day nib housed in a $500+ pen.

yes, and then some people will try to educate us that smoothness is not all that desirable, that they are not after butter- or glass-smooth or whatever.

[surprise123]

yes, and then some people will try to educate us that smoothness is not all that desirable, that they are not after butter- or glass-smooth or whatever.

"Smooth" is not a definitive term. For example, I prefer Platinum's nibs over Pilots, because even though Pilot's nibs are smoother in writing experience, Platinum's nibs feel more like pencils. The tactile feedback is enormously pleasing, and the quiet whizzing feels nice in the hand.

 

There, I have educated you about objective smoothness. But, keep in mind that when you send a nib off to a nibmeister, they aren't just going to smooth it (unless expressly told to do so). They will ask about custom nib widths, feedback, wetness, all the factors taken into a nib and accounted for. I would personally never pay $50 just to get my nib smoothed, I would get it thinned/widened, ground to one of the many tips you can request from a nibmeister.

 

In the heyday of fountain pens, the actual beautiful vintage celluloid bodies we love and cherish today were considered nothing more than fancy holders of the "pen", which was the term used to describe the actual metal nib. I think the true character of a pen comes from its nib, for what is the use of a showpiece if it isn't functional?

[minddance]

"Smooth" is not a definitive term. For example, I prefer Platinum's nibs over Pilots, because even though Pilot's nibs are smoother in writing experience, Platinum's nibs feel more like pencils. The tactile feedback is enormously pleasing, and the quiet whizzing feels nice in the hand.

 

There, I have educated you about objective smoothness. But, keep in mind that when you send a nib off to a nibmeister, they aren't just going to smooth it (unless expressly told to do so). They will ask about custom nib widths, feedback, wetness, all the factors taken into a nib and accounted for. I would personally never pay $50 just to get my nib smoothed, I would get it thinned/widened, ground to one of the many tips you can request from a nibmeister.

 

In the heyday of fountain pens, the actual beautiful vintage celluloid bodies we love and cherish today were considered nothing more than fancy holders of the "pen", which was the term used to describe the actual metal nib. I think the true character of a pen comes from its nib, for what is the use of a showpiece if it isn't functional?

I do not find Platinum 3776 nibs quiet. and do not enjoy them like you do. I won't

buy another Platinum 3776 again. the Platinum 3776 are super noisy nibs, in fact, the noisiest in my collection. to me, they are not smooth, especially medium and finer nib widths.

 

at their price range, I wouldnt consider them premium.

[surprise123]

Shots fired... ok... Platinum nibs aren't quiet, I said they have a pencil-like tooth in their writing. You can hear it sometimes, and it's good tactile feedback for your writing. Also, the price point of a pen has nothing to do with how good it writes, or if it is considered a "high tier" pen. The writing experience, tailored to YOUR needs, is what you want.

[minddance]

Shots fired... ok... Platinum nibs aren't quiet, I said they have a pencil-like tooth in their writing. You can hear it sometimes, and it's good tactile feedback for your writing. Also, the price point of a pen has nothing to do with how good it writes, or if it is considered a "high tier" pen. The writing experience, tailored to YOUR needs, is what you want.

no shots fired, merely expressing my user experience. no, the tactile feedback, or whatever one enjoys calling it, of Platinum 3776 is not good for MY writing.

[4lex]

no shots fired, merely expressing my user experience. no, the tactile feedback, or whatever one enjoys calling it, of Platinum 3776 is not good for MY writing.

I like the tactile feeling on my vintage Pilots, on Aurora and Sailor pens. But I can’t bare the noise Platinum and Nakaya nibs make. I think it has to do with the frequency, I find the noise they make high pitched.

[A Smug Dill]

I find the noise they make high pitched.

Try a different paper on which to write?

 

I'm really sensitive to high-pitched noises, more than I ever wanted to me. The squealing of the plumbing two stories above mine in my apartment block drives me temporarily insane, if I happen to be home when the occupants of that unit take a shower; and, no, not even noise-cancelling headphones can help me sufficiently, and I have to leave my home to get some peace. I can't say my Platinum nibs generate a high-pitched noise when I write with them, and I have ten pens with #3776 and President nibs in my households; that's not counting the dozen or so other Platinum (Balance, Plaisir and Preppy) pens we have.

[Uncial]

You could buy a Pilot Varsity, send it off to Richard Binder and have it write smoother than an OEM modern day nib housed in a $500+ pen.

 

I'm not sure that's true. Smoothness can also go hand in glove with bounce on a nib. A nib that is firm has a greater tendency to reveal its feedback than a nib that is springy and forgiving, especially if you write with a somewhat heavy hand. Nib tipping is also a significant factor.