Plastic barrels have any disadvantage over metal ones?

[Pfhorrest]

For daily use, does a metal fountain pen barrel offer any advantages over a plastic one? I like the low weight of my Lamy, but I was wondering whether the small amount of extra weight is worth it in the long run.

[Newbie]

I really don't think that metal pens have any real advantage. In my opinion, they are worse than a good plastic pen. Plastic doesn't dent, and is more resistant to wear. In metal pens you get a lot of scratches, brassing, and dents.

[Silvermink]

Metal is (obviously) less likely to out-and-out break, but more likely to show normal wear. Ultimately I'd say just get what you like the look of.

 

In the Lamys, the AL-star isn't much different in weight from a Safari, and the aluminum body scratches easily. I'd prefer a Safari in a potentially-pen-hostile environment.

Edited July 13, 2009 by Silvermink

[welch]

You can use a metal pen for self-defense? I have a Jinhao X450 that I'm afraid might break a toe if I ever dropped it on my foot!

 

Otherwise, pick the weight that makes your hand comfortable. I have a Parker Sonnet, which is a hefty little pen. Got a Parker 51 and understood that the 51 was made for someone who wrote all day. The world's greatest pen, and one of the lighter ones.

 

Offhand, I suspect that the nib is at least as likely to break as a plastic body.

[publius]

I prefer the feel of a metal barrel in the hand. If this were true of most people, plastic barrels wouldn't be nearly so common.

[vermillionpart4]

"Plastic" is also a reeeeealy wide category so it's hard to categorize all of it. Precious resin anyone?

 

As other people said, neither one trounces the other, just go for what you like.

[SimonJamesLucas]

I prefer a high quality plastic barrel myself, they're warmer to touch and more traditional looking by and large. I have cracked a Hero 616 but this is a very cheap light pen (and I was resting my fifteen and a half stone on it across the edge of a kitchen unit). However, I would be amazed if anyone broke something like a Sigma Style, in normal use, which has one of the best engineered barrels and caps that I have come across. I have metal pens too though, the spice of life dear Stylophiles, the spice of life.....

[ZeissIkon]

In the lower price category, metal barrel pens have a tendency to shed their "paint" like coating with remarkably little stress. I'm sure this is related to grossly inadequate surface prep; making paint really stay on metal is a well known art (when was the last time you saw paint peeling on a car less than, say, fifteen years old?), but it's neither quick or cost-free, and adds little to the fresh-off-the-line appearance (so is of no benefit to a company without a warranty or customer service department).

 

That said, I take only my metal pens to work, because I'm afraid of crushing the fragile-seeming plastic ones (lightweight models, and Esterbrook and a Dollar) if I lift something incautiously or a part flies off a tool during testing. The metal pens write well enough, they just get ugly pretty rapidly. Maybe I'll look for one that's just solid chrome plate next time... :roflmho:

[spotted and speckled]

If you work around any sort of germs, metal pens can be disinfected without hurting the pen.

[Tsujigiri]

Metal is definitely more durable, but at the cost of comfort. If you care for your plastic pens properly and buy a design that isn't prone to breakage (a cheap snap-cap like on the Safari will probably break over time, although that could take a while), then your pen should be fine. Hard rubber is a much more fragile material, and there are pens over 100 years old made of it that are still in perfect condition today, not counting a little discoloration. With that in mind, I go for plastic pens for their better functionality.

[Brian]

I think that beyond the practical aspects voiced by others here that its also very much a personal preference. Plastic pens are warm, have great variety, and have a place in the history of the writing instrument.

[pixelsnbytes]

I prefer plastic/celluloid/resin pens for the same reason I like these materials in knitting needles. Lighter weight and warmer to the touch.

 

Deb

[mr T.]

For daily use, does a metal fountain pen barrel offer any advantages over a plastic one?

 

Plastic pens break more easily in extreme cold.

[Bobby Check]

I find that a lighter pen writes faster. For me this can be important when taking notes.

 

Thus I prefer plastic or celluloid.

 

I definitely try to avoid metal sections as it too hard if I grip my pen too tightly.

 

Bobby

[Pen2009]

Both plastic and metal barrels can perform well in the normal usage conditions (which would be for most of the people) as long as you are not putting your pens through some torture tests. I like plastic for a pen barrel in general, as I don't like a heavy pen. If the metal is very light weight, like AL and other light metals, I don't mind having pens made of those materials. I am also open to "precious wood" as in Faber Castell Classic Precious Wood. Precious metal, precious resin, and precious wood. I wonder what would be next. Precious celluloid?

http://www.worldlux.com/products/fabercastell/_pens/classicpreciouswood/fullsize1.jpg

Edited July 14, 2009 by Pen2009

[someonesdad]

In a large electromagnetic pulse, your pocket is going to be a lot warmer with a metal pen barrel than if you had a plastic one. Just something to think about...

 

<wife> Oh, God, there he goes again. Take him out back and shoot him again.

[Saturninus]

Both plastic and metal barrels can perform well in the normal usage conditions (which would be for most of the people) as long as you are not putting your pens through some torture tests. I like plastic for a pen barrel in general, as I don't like a heavy pen. If the metal is very light weight, like AL and other light metals, I don't mind having pens made of those materials. I am also open to "precious wood" as in Faber Castell Classic Precious Wood. Precious metal, precious resin, and precious wood. I wonder what would be next. Precious celluloid?

 

 

Celluloid IS precious!!! Before I got into fountain pens, I never thought anything plastic could be valuable. Now I am willing to shell out hundreds for it...

 

what happened???!?!1

 

[archie001]

As I like heavy and beautiful pens in silver, gold, and china lacquer on brass, I opt for metal. They are also strong and durable.

[Chippy1199]

I greatly prefer a metal barrel to a plastic barrel.

Even if a metal barrel is colder at the start they warm up surprisingly quickly once used for a few minutes.

Also my only plastic barrel pen is much harder to hold because the plastic is quite slippery compared to the metal barrels, and I find myself having to adjust my grip much more often

[Frits B]

For daily use, does a metal fountain pen barrel offer any advantages over a plastic one?

Plastic pens break more easily in extreme cold.

And metal pens can suffer in extreme humidity, see this horror story: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...howtopic=102691

 

There is, however, also a story somewhere about celluloid pens in Singapore which simply turned into some fungus.

 

I like metal pens, if only for the perception that they are more resistant to environmental impact, i.e. they feel stronger. This is not always true - I once dropped an aluminum Pilot Vanishing Point on a hard floor and it just shattered but I have a titanium pen by Grayson Tighe which tells its owner that it will resist anything short of a welding torch.

That said, most plastic pens write a lot nicer as they don't tire your arm and hand muscles out so soon.