Thoughts On Beater Pens And Collection Tiers?

[LostArk]

What's the most expensive pen you'd keep in your pocket? For a long time I've separated my collection into roughly two categories: "can leave the house" and "can't leave the house." I suppose I have an aversion to losing or damaging pens that would be impossible to replace. Lately I've been questioning this method, however. What's the point in using pens I don't enjoy as much on a daily basis? I could be using a Bic if this were an exercise in practicality. On the other hand, the other day when I dropped my pen and someone stepped on it, I was relieved it was "just" a Kaweco.

[silverlifter]

I don't own any pens that I would consider exorbitantly expensive, but the pens I do own that I paid a good sum for (think Conid Minimalistica) travel to work with me every day. Not in a pocket, but a wool lined leather case. Once at work, I carry them about, including off site to meetings.

 

I'm very careful with them and have never lost one, but I figure that I write a lot at work and not using nicer pens to do that undermines the rationale for purchasing them, ie., they are tools to use.

 

I can understand people that own expensive limited editions, "art piece" pens or rare vintage models not taking them out of the house. But that is not a problem I am burdened with.

[Addertooth]

I have pens I intentionally purchase as writers... they typically have some kind of special nib (high flex, broad, oblique, needle Ultra-fine, etc). To get the nib I want in a writer, I am willing to accept some cosmetic flaws in those pens. I have pens which are "garage queens", which rarely venture outside of display cases. They are vintage and have nearly flawless exteriors, which even casual use would diminish. I have a few pens which are visually stunning, but have such amazing nibs, that they see careful use (within 5 feet of the display cases). None of my modern pens get special treatment, as they are easily replaced.

 

My most commonly take-to-work pens are Hard Rubber flat-top pens, modern pens, or Eversharp Skyline pens. The skyline pens just fit my hand uncommonly well, it is a matter of personal preference. The flattop hard rubber pens can see significant use without being visually diminished.

Edited October 31, 2019 by Addertooth

[vinniekowalski]

My current most expensive pen in my pocket is a ~$120 Pelikan. The most irreplaceable pen that's ever been in my pocket is a red loaner Sheaffer Balance with a lovely expressive M nib

[Driften]

No tiers for me. My $600 pens get used the same as my $20 ones. I'm careful no matter which price range to not lose or damage them. I have had pocket knives that never left the house or did much in the way of heavy cutting. In that case it was anything over $400 wasn't used as hard as others.

 

I do have a Retro51 rollerball clipped in my jacket that has a higher chance of losing it.The main reason is I have lost, and found, my Lamy Safari several times that used to ride in that jacket pocket. I still carry and use my fountain pens away from home but I don't rely on clips to keep them safe, but put them in pen sleeves or cases before putting them in a pocket.

[carlos.q]

All my pens, expensive or not, leave the house. All except a 1920's Mabie Todd, and that's because it doesn't have a pocket clip.

[praxim]

A common question, meaning there is a wide range of reasonable answers or it would not be asked so often.

 

Retirement means my pens' adventures are less fraught with daily work risks. I take any pen out of the house so long as it can be relied upon to behave when pulled out to write. Some of the vintage ones do not meet that criterion, producing undue amounts of ink when unsettled.

 

Using a Pelikan Toledo as an example, of course its style affected my decision to buy, yet it must write because I use it. A small number of the vintage pens are of similar market value, not irreplaceable but would cost me more to replace than I first paid. Still, what am I to do? Put them away and hope my estate gets a good price for them? What fun.

[Joe124013]

I've taken basically all my pens to work. I have a 3 pen case and a 6 pen case, and they stay in my messenger bag when not being used so I'm not typically worried about them being damaged. Maybe if I had some 10k maki-e Namiki showpiece I'd leave it at home, but as some others have mentioned I think getting use out of them is where a lot of the enjoyment comes from for me personally.

[bemon]

What's the most expensive pen you'd keep in your pocket? For a long time I've separated my collection into roughly two categories: "can leave the house" and "can't leave the house." I suppose I have an aversion to losing or damaging pens that would be impossible to replace. Lately I've been questioning this method, however. What's the point in using pens I don't enjoy as much on a daily basis? I could be using a Bic if this were an exercise in practicality. On the other hand, the other day when I dropped my pen and someone stepped on it, I was relieved it was "just" a Kaweco.

As for pens I literally keep in my pocket, I carry a Fisher Bullet casually, and a Cross Century Classic at work. Both ballpoints which come in handy every now and then. Neither will break the bank if I need to replace them. (Though the Fisher has been to 4 countries with me and signed my daughter's baptism certificate so I'd be sad if I lost it).

 

As for the rest of my weekday carry- as in pens I keep in my briefcase and use at work I've got:

 

1) Waterman Carene Contemporary Gunmetal rollerball. I have the fountain pen version at home but don't want to risk losing it. It's a great pen but think that finish is discontinued now and replacement costs look ridiculous on ebay. Besides, rollerballs like ballpoints do come in handy from time to time.

 

2) GVFC Classic: Again, I've got a near duplicate at home. A friend sold me the one I carry to work with a different nib for a price I couldn't say no to. It's become my EDC Graf but un discounted I'd consider it too expensive to carry around.

 

3 and 4) Lamy 2000 and Pilot Vanishing Point. Neither are cheap, but neither wouldn't be a stretch to replace if I had to. In fact my L2K is cracked and I'm on the fence between another Makrolon model or the (presumably) longer lasting steel version. It's put in 6 years of fairly heavy duty use and I think the crack is my fault.

 

I guess what I'm saying is I've crafted my daily carry out of pens I enjoy but also have near duplicates of. That or pens that happen to write beautifully but won't put undue stress on my finances to replace. (L2K, PVP).

 

When I want to use something different at home I can fire up whatever else I have in my collection.

[Sailor Kenshin]

What's the most expensive pen you'd keep in your pocket? For a long time I've separated my collection into roughly two categories: "can leave the house" and "can't leave the house." I suppose I have an aversion to losing or damaging pens that would be impossible to replace. Lately I've been questioning this method, however. What's the point in using pens I don't enjoy as much on a daily basis? I could be using a Bic if this were an exercise in practicality. On the other hand, the other day when I dropped my pen and someone stepped on it, I was relieved it was "just" a Kaweco.

I categorize my pens the same way: can leave, can't. But I gotta say, I love my beaters every bit as much as the stay-put pens.

[challer61]

Unless I’m doing field work, I’ll take my best pens on the road

[amk]

It's not just expense, it's also robustness. My Lamy 2000 comes travelling with me, while some less expensive ebonite pens don't. Parker 51s and 45 flighters have an 'access all areas' pass while my vintage Duofolds stay home.

 

My one urushi pen goes nowhere, and doesn't even get left on my desk, because cats. :-)

[Fox Point]

One of my most expensive pens is a copper lilliput which was bought specifically to be beaten up in my wallet, wouldn’t care if it was thrown down the stairs and has a replaceable nib. My most valuable pens tend to be the ones I love to use the most with the nibs I hunted down, but I think for me it comes down to pen fragility more than cost. Sailor pens, very old HR flat tops, they have gone camping with me in sub zero © night weather, safely kept strapped to me for temperature protection. Celluloid or fragile pens or finicky messy ones tend to go more staid places. All of my pens travel in hard cases except the lilliput, but that is just self-knowledge in action : D

[NinthSphere]

No price limit. In fact, I've taken my more expensive pens out more than my cheapest. My only "don't leave the house" limiter is fragility, which is down to the thin walls of an old Diamond Point ed. Of course everything goes out in a Nock Co. Case in my pocket, not just tossed in a pocket.

[Honeybadgers]

For a pen over about $150, price matters less than overall durability or ability to replace the pen. My really nice vintage stuff that is rare, absolutely not, it's just going to be too fragile. But some of my more sturdy vintage stuff like sheaffer snorkels with robust caps and sturdy plastic, fair game. But the same goes for some of my cheaper stuff that I just don't think could take being in the same pocket as my phone or being stressed against my leg as I sit down. So my celluloid viscinti divina doesn't get pocket duty ever but my homo sapiens bronze does regularly.

 

Durability matters a lot. I don't ever lose my pens, so dropping and damaging the nib matter. if I'm at work, I do drop my pen on rare occasions, and have mangled a couple nibs. So that rules out most expensive or rare nibbed pens. But my brass delike's 14k manifold eversharp nib is common and cheap enough, as is all the bocks that I could ever throw on my tactile turn in copper.

 

And if it's going in a breast pocket of a suit jacket, price and age don't matter unless that jacket is going to get coat checked, then maybe not the Wahl Doric.

Edited October 31, 2019 by Honeybadgers

[DeborahMakarios]

I work at home, so I don't often take my pens out. But when I do, I generally take my sturdiest, and it travels - with support - in the cellphone pocket of my bag (handy to the top of the bag and less likely to get mashed by the rest of the bag's contents).

That said, if I had something I couldn't replace, I doubt I'd be taking it out and about. Because, yes, sometimes you drop a pen, and sometimes someone stands on it.

 

ETA: I have a Pilot Birdie that lives in my pocket. It's not heavy enough to make the pocket sit oddly. Alas that women's clothing doesn't come with proper sensible pockets that can carry a 'pocket-sized' book!

Edited November 1, 2019 by DeborahMakarios

[Slider20]

I will take pretty much any pen I have out with me. I dont own anything rare or super expensive (for me), its more about that the pen is reliable and somewhat robust. I will often carry a Montblanc 149 or a Visconti Homosapiens.

 

Ive never lost an expensive pen, however Ive lost 2 $400 pocket knives over the the years, still carry expensive knives.

[sirgilbert357]

I take all my pens out and about with me. Cost ranges from about $5 bucks to $450, and they all have "stamps in their passports". Really, I just think about the color of ink I want to use and select a pen based on that.

 

As for carry method, I never just put a pen in a pants pocket -- they either get clipped to whatever shirt I'm wearing (even a plain T-shirt), or they go in a rigid Franklin Christoph pen case and in a pocket of my backpack.

[Arkanabar]

Work is hard on pens. I've taken my Pelikans to work, and had the caps crumble as a result (perhaps due to my habit of clipping pens to the outside of my breast pockets, which I now will only do to a Hero 616). So they don't go with me to work any more, as new caps run $50+ for me. So work generally only sees modern pens under $40USD.

 

I'll take any of my most prized pens, such as my LE M205, with me when going out with my wife, as long as I'm not going to work.

[sandy101]

I have carried Montblancs, and other pens out and about in a case.

 

The case has kept the pens intact, and so far so good.

 

However, my philosophy has changed a bit over time - and it is to do with practicality rather than cost.

 

I often find myself writing where there's no flat surfaces, and being left handed I have found that I need one hand to hold the pen, another to keep the notebook open and having to hold the cap just adds another complication.

 

So, these days I carry pens that post securely (you don't want the cap boucning around on the bus floor that's covered in chewing gum) and remain balanced when posted. This means I'm more likely to be carrying a Parker Sonnet, Platinum #3776, Cross Townsend or Century 2 rather than a MB146 (which is not supposed to be posted). The pens live in a case in my jacket pocket, so they are always ready to go.

 

The other pens get used at home - unless of course I know I'm going to a place where there's a desk or a table.

 

It's not to do with cost of the pen - more to do with pens that work for me "on the road".