Yard-O-Led

[Nihontochicken]

I am glad that you decided to give YOL a try, let us know what you think of the Diplomat.

 

Will do, though I'm forced to admit it wasn't necessarily what I was looking for, but a Fleabay "deal I couldn't refuse." Looks to be too narrow in the grip for my taste, which is a common feature of most all BPs. Same for my sterling Parker and Sheaffer, too slim for long term comfortable writing. I like my fat Staples Delta Elite for feel, don't imagine it comes in sterling for proper pocket bling.

 

BTW, for sterling fans, there is a relatively new type of the metal in which part of the copper is replaced by germanium, resulting in an alloy that is more tarnish resistant, and is also heat treatable and fire scale resistant, going by the trade name of Argentium:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentium_sterling_silver

 

http://www.argentiumsilver.info/

 

Argentium alloy has been around for a few years now, yet I still haven't noticed anything sold at retail made of it (or at least advertised as such). One Argentium supplier states that it generally runs 15-18% more expensive than standard sterling silver, though it quotes the casting grain as only about 4% more, currently $21.90 per troy ounce compared to $21.07 for sterling, not too bad, considering the tarnish resistance, IMO. Guess it takes a while for things to catch on in an old tech environment.

 

 

 

[Nihontochicken]

(Deirdre @ Apr 15 2008, 06:07 PM) *

Also, for a good deal of my life, platinum was worth 10-20% more than gold; currently it's about double; this seems to be something of a bubble as it's been about 50% higher than gold until fairly recently.

 

This gives information on the price of silver for the past 100 years, including the ratio to gold

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_as_an_...nt#Silver_price

 

Here is the 650 chart of the price of silver (up to 1998 in constant 1998 dollars) as well as the ratio of the price of gold to that of silver (link from referenced Wikipedia page, also available on sharelynx):

 

http://goldinfo.net/silver600.html

 

Note that silver is still very cheap, relative to most of the last few hundred years (is actually at about $17.80 today in 2008 dollars, or about $14.25 in 1998 dollars). Also, it is much cheaper relative to gold, now, still around a factor of fifty, whereas more like fifteen was the norm for hundreds of years, until the nineteenth century.

 

Here's the similar chart for gold:

 

http://www.sharelynx.com/chartsfixed/600yeargold.gif

 

Given the current ~50:1 versus historical 15:1 gold:silver price ratio, the ballooning of the various national money supplies, the increasing affluence of Chindia, and the virtual disappearance of physical silver bullion stocks, it's a decent bet that the price of silver will continue to significantly increase from here, IMO. But whether enough to erase the mark up on a sterling pen bought now, well ...

[Ghost Plane]

If you prefer fatter pens, you'll love a Grand once you get your hands on it. The standard size is too narrow for my long term use as well, but mine is so luscious a writer that I use it for short projects [under 3 pages or so]

[Hoarder68]

This gives information on the price of silver for the past 100 years, including the ratio to gold

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_as_an_...nt#Silver_price

So I'm misremembering my youth and I was off by a factor of two in the difference. I'm not terribly surprised, actually. I was trying to remember specific price comparisons and failed.

Over the long term gold was at about a 40 to 1 ratio over silver. Lately it has climbed to 100 to 1 ratio. At present it is about a 53 to 1 ratio.

Edited April 16, 2008 by Hoarder68

[hardyb]

Surely this needs to be a different thread. "Hitler's pen"? Oy vey.

 

azoy gor? ?אַזוי גאָר

[QM2]

Surely this needs to be a different thread. "Hitler's pen"? Oy vey.

 

azoy gor? ?אַזוי גאָר

 

Sorry, I only know:

dil nischt mir Kopf

sheyne Meidele

a guten Woch, a gezunte Woch, a freliche Woch

kishen t***

and some other similarly sophisticated random phrases!

 

Viennese German sounds a bit like Yiddish though -- they say "Joh" instead of "Ja", that sort of thing. My Austrian friends disagree with this however : )

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 16, 2008 by QM2

[hardyb]

azoy gor? ?אַזוי גאָר

 

It is a affrimative Yiddish expression like "Really" or "Too True" or "you said it". Sort of the verbal or written equlivant of a "High Five".

 

Sorry, I only know:

dil nischt mir Kopf

sheyne Meidele

a guten Woch, a gezunte Woch, a freliche Woch

kishen t***

and some other similarly sophisticated random phrases!

 

Viennese German sounds a bit like Yiddish though -- they say "Joh" instead of "Ja", that sort of thing. My Austrian friends disagree with this however : )

Edited April 16, 2008 by hardyb

[QM2]

azoy gor? ?אַזוי גאָר

 

It is a affrimative Yiddish expression like "Really" or "Too True" or "you said it". Sort of the verbal or written equlivant of a "High Five".

 

There is a different expression I used to hear that also started with "azoy", but the second word was different. Maybe azoy weh? It meant something like "well, whatever" or "good for them" or "whatever floats your boat". Was usually said with a shrug of the shoulders.

 

Oh this is so depressing, nobody speaks Yiddish anymore : (

 

We sure are diversifying the YOL thread though. Better move this to Montblanc/Hitler/Yiddish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 16, 2008 by QM2

[Nihontochicken]

We sure are diversifying the YOL thread though. Better move this to Montblanc/Hitler/Yiddish.

 

Hmmm, I haven't seen that particular Montblanc model before. Sounds interesting, maybe a MB I'd finally be interested in buying. Can you describe it or provide a link? :ltcapd:

[encremental]

Ghost Plane - how wide would you say YOL nibs run (even given your well known love for more generous widths)? I prefer something along the lines of a Pelikan or Lamy fine - i.e. not fine at all really, just the fine side of medium. What should I go for do you think - medium or fine? I've started to look with interest not only at YOLs themselves, but also Worcester Pens, who use YOL nibs in their higher range.

 

John

Edited April 16, 2008 by encremental

[ethernautrix]

This is going to make me sound bachelor-level lazy*, but while I like the look of some YOL pens, the sterling silver is high maintenance. I don't mind flushing out the nibs once in a while, wiping off fingerprints now and again, but polishing silver pens? Not my speed. (My Toledo gets rather dark before I bring out the toothpaste and bring it's gleamy glow back.)

 

 

*I like to think of myself as "low maintenance" rather than "lazy." Tomato, tomahto.

[Rapt]

No no...

 

Bachelor level lazy means cultivating a penchant for the natural tarnished look and not polishing a thing.

[QM2]

Ghost Plane - how wide would you say YOL nibs run (even given your well known love for more generous widths)? I prefer something along the lines of a Pelikan or Lamy fine - i.e. not fine at all really, just the fine side of medium. What should I go for do you think - medium or fine? I've started to look with interest not only at YOLs themselves, but also Worcester Pens, who use YOL nibs in their higher range.

 

encremental: I am not Ghost Plane, but I have 3 YOLs. You should go with Fine. It is very similar in width to a Lamy or Pelikan Fine.

 

 

QM2

[FredRydr]

...most in the retro 1920s-30s style that, it seems to me, a majority of people do not find aesthetically pleasing.

That's where you miss the point. The retro look is cool to many people. A niche market, perhaps, but a market nonetheless. I'd like one of their pencils with the black chased rubber look.

 

Fred

[Titivillus]

...most in the retro 1920s-30s style that, it seems to me, a majority of people do not find aesthetically pleasing.

That's where you miss the point. The retro look is cool to many people. A niche market, perhaps, but a market nonetheless. I'd like one of their pencils with the black chased rubber look.

 

Fred

 

 

Reread the original post and realized I passed right by that but then again the entire OP is really slanted against YOL in it's wording.

 

 

Thinking about all of the vintage pens that people have might not make YOL such a niche.

 

I just bought a BP to match my FP so I must be in the minority because I do find the 1920s-1030s style aesthetically pleasing.

 

Remember too that the majority of people would reach for a BIC rather than an FP anyways

 

Just because it's a majority doesn't mean that they are right it just means there are a lot of them.

 

 

If you want a real "what the heck" take a look at Classic Pens they take some other manufacturer's pen and make it in silver selling it for thousands of dollars.

 

It all comes down to if there is a market then a manufacturer can fill it.

 

Kurt

Edited April 16, 2008 by Titivillus

[girlieg33k]

Like others, I happen to like the 1920s-30s style and consider it to be aesthetically pleasing. Is it the retro-look? I don't know -- but I know what I like, and I like Yard-O-Led fountain pens. I own 4 of them.

 

Also, before I slag anything, I'll at least try it. That way, at the very least, I have some context to form the basis of my opinion.

Edited April 16, 2008 by girlieg33k

[encremental]

Thank you, QM2 - fine it is then!

 

John

[Garageboy]

YOL draws me in for those BEAUTIFUL pencils

Not a fan of the FPs much, but that tapered shape on the PROPELLING pencils..

[Nihontochicken]

QUOTE(FredRydr @ Apr 16 2008, 02:00 PM) *

QUOTE(Nihontochicken @ Apr 14 2008, 11:19 PM) *

...most in the retro 1920s-30s style that, it seems to me, a majority of people do not find aesthetically pleasing.

That's where you miss the point. The retro look is cool to many people. A niche market, perhaps, but a market nonetheless. I'd like one of their pencils with the black chased rubber look.

 

Fred

 

Reread the original post and realized I passed right by that but then again the entire OP is really slanted against YOL in it's wording.

 

Hmmm, I get the feeling that maybe you didn't read closely enough. Here's the complete quote, with emphasis added for clarification.

 

However, the pens are fashioned much the same as the pencils, and most in the retro 1920s-30s style that, it seems to me, a majority of people do not find aesthetically pleasing.

 

I find many of the '20s and '30s fountain pen forms pleasing, but typically not the pencils, with their unbalanced (IMO) belled, domed, or swelled blind end. I see that many manufacturers currently make FP models in the retro '20s-'30s pen shapes, but apparently only YOL does so in the retro '20s-'30s pencil shapes. So the appeal must be limited, which was the point of my original inquiry. I tried getting the crux of the question across without ruffling feathers,

 

I'm not trying to dump on the company or its products, just trying to rectify the disconnect between what these retro style pens and pencils retail for today as compared to what the similar vintage pencils seem to go for.

 

apparently without success. To be fair, I've seen various FPN posts with statements like "Montblanc pens are overpriced pocket jewelry for people who don't know pens" that have gotten less flak than than my honest inquiry here. Almost makes me sorry I asked. I guess the conclusion is that, yes, there is a small but very hard core of YOL aficionados who well like the style of early twentieth century mechanical pencils, some of whom get rather defensive when asked about it.

[Deirdre]

I'm glad you brought the question up, because it's made me really look at YOL from a different perspective. They weren't really even on my radar before.