Engraving

[Itsacon]

Just got back my three Cross pens from the jeweler, where I had them engraved.

Had them done in a stylish font, as for me it is more decoration, than actually 'branding' them.

 

Made me wonder though, how many people actually get their pens engraved, and to what purpose: just to personalise, or increase the chances of getting the pen back if it accidently gets lost (in which case a block font would be better)?

 

Your thoughts?

 

PS: Jeweler was impressed by the way Cross had left space in the decorations for engraving purposes by the way. Had never seen it before.

[acfrery]

After reading, thinking and discussing a lot, I now want badly to have my Dani Trio Mikado-size Matte All Ebonite (DaTMisMAE?) painted with the word "Empathy" in some aesthetically pleasing alphabet. That does not qualify as engraving, and it is not my name, but it will certainly add (my) personality to the pen.

[saturation]

Some pens shouldn't be engraved because there's no where to engrave it without destroying its design.

Edited February 1, 2006 by saturation

[Itsacon]

True. Mine had a special space reserved for it though. They actually look even better now.

Maybe I'll try to get some pics...

[saturation]

Agree completely. In common designs, most caps are open for engraving.

[Betty]

I want to choose one very very special pen to engrave my name on it. It would be a pen that I would never sell, but I haven't grown too attached to any that I can't part with yet. I'm hoping the upcoming Sailor 1911 will do that for me

[Itsacon]

For me, the 1911 name calls up unwelcome associations with the Colt 1911.

 

Pen is mightier than the sword, ey?

[Goodwhiskers]

I reported "never," because I haven't yet had engraving done on a pen.

 

If I did have engraving done, it would be a gift recipient's name, or my name if I were working in an environment where I needed to ID my pens, or the name of my (still hypothetical) own business.

[DrPJM1]

I have never had a pen engraved, never had to.

[Carène]

I've never had a pen engraved, but I like the idea, so I chose option one--engraving to personalize. Now I have to look at my pens to see if there's any blank space...

 

Karen

[The Man]

I'm sorta' mixed on this one. A pen I'd buy for myself, I'd NEVER engrave.

 

But, I gotta say, a pen that I receive from someone near and dear, especially if the message is nice and sweet, even if it's an uber-expensive pen and even if I'd think, "thanks, [so and so] . . . but, WHY did you engrave this great thing?!? :bonk: ," I gotta say I'd leave it engraved. Sentimental and all. I think the only exception I'd make is if the engraved pen in question is something I've been yearning to get, hmm, well, engraving elimination countdown in 10, 9, . . . etc., to the penmeister repairer I go!!!! Heh.

 

Too bad there's no way to etch the message somewhere inside the cap and/or barrel. You might need one of those fancy dentist mirror/tools that can check the back of your teeth, but, hey, the engraving's there at least. I've seen some fancy watches w/engraving in the back; that works.

[Titivillus]

I'm sorta' mixed on this one. A pen I'd buy for myself, I'd NEVER engrave.

 

But, I gotta say, a pen that I receive from someone near and dear, especially if the message is nice and sweet, even if it's an uber-expensive pen and even if I'd think, "thanks, [so and so] . . . but, WHY did you engrave this great thing?!? :bonk: ," I gotta say I'd leave it engraved. Sentimental and all. I think the only exception I'd make is if the engraved pen in question is something I've been yearning to get, hmm, well, engraving elimination countdown in 10, 9, . . . etc., to the penmeister repairer I go!!!! Heh.

 

Too bad there's no way to etch the message somewhere inside the cap and/or barrel. You might need one of those fancy dentist mirror/tools that can check the back of your teeth, but, hey, the engraving's there at least. I've seen some fancy watches w/engraving in the back; that works.

I know that Nakaya had a converter that was painted with fish so that only the owner would really know that it was in there.

 

 

 

I had my initials on a Duofold done through the Parker Platinum club but it was such a lousy "things remembered" computer engraving that eventually I had the tassie changed at my expense. So for me I don't mind a vintage pen with a name but would not do it myself.

 

 

K

[goodguy]

In my eyes to engrave a pen is just like taking a hammer and wacking it to pieces.It takes away of the value and just takes away from the whole experience.For me a pen even a cheap one like a Parker Vector is a piece of art so if you buy a picture would you print your name on the picture ? I dont think so.

[Nihontochicken]

Imprinted monograms and similar style engravings surely devalue new and vintage pens, but maybe that's because fountain pens are generally not that old, yet. I also collect Georgian sterling and contemporary American coin silver, mostly flatware, emphasis on soup ladles, and most pieces are either monogramed or engraved with a family herald. This does not devalue the pieces, perhaps because almost all items are so marked, and most of the few aren't have suffered a removal which devalues them more than if the original engraving were left in place. The engravings to me are are a warm reminder that the silver was once a cherished piece of a family long since departed. And they prompt me to wonder about the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners and the like in which the ladles were proudly used. And every once in a while, I luck into a remarkable piece, like my 13 inch coin silver ladle by P. Sadtler & Sons of Baltimore, engraved “1867 Julius and Elize fur Silbernen Hochzeit”. At the time, Baltimore had a large German immigrant population, and this ladle was likely for some newcomers who had not yet fully adopted English as their primary tongue, and so it was marked in German "Julius and Elize for their Silver Wedding Anniversary". On the reverse, it is engraved twice more with two girls' names, and two dates around 1900. Daughters? Granddaughters? Of course, pens are a much smaller canvas on which to wax poetic. Still, maybe in another hundred years, pen engravings may not be value deductive as they are now. Just a thought.

Edited August 13, 2006 by Nihontochicken

[daveg]

I like the Visconti system where you can personalize a pen with your initials on the end but then put it back to "default" (Visconit logo) any time you like. I've never done anything more permanent than that.

[sonia_simone]

That Nakaya converter is really swell (I think it's 90% intended for the demonstrater, but still. So cool. And just a tiny bit cooler if no one but you can see it, IMO.)

 

 

I know that on linens, monograms were a functional matter--in a grand country house, one had dozens of long-term house guests in the summer, and the maids had to know whose handkerchiefs were whose when the laundry was done. That does make me wonder why they monogrammed silver.

 

So engraving pens may have started as a way to tell one's pen from one's friends'.

 

Alejandro (many posts back), what a nifty idea.

Edited August 15, 2006 by sonia_simone

[wdyasq]

For me, the 1911 name calls up unwelcome associations with the Colt 1911.

 

Pen is mightier than the sword, ey?

For others, one might find positive associations with the Model 1911 and its' variants. It is interesting to contemplate if more folks have met their demise by bullets, or ink from a signed decloration.

 

Tools can be used for good or evil purposes. Pens and pistols are both tools. Signing a piece of paper that results in the death of a person is normally done by one who will not see immediate results of their actions. A 1911 Colt in its' original chambering delivers 1/2 ounce of decision at 900 feet per second. But, if one cares to get real personal, use a knife.

 

Personally, I vote more persons have been killed by stroke of the pen than by an individual personal side arm. I know more nefarious pen users than I do nefarious pistol carriers. An armed society IS a polite society.

 

Ron