Is It OK To Lend Your Fountain Pen?

[j4ester]

Was wondering if it is ok to lend your fountain pen to the others? Have read that this can be disastrous as the way a person writes can cause changes to the nib and change the writing experience.

 

If this is true, would buying a used pen rob us of the experience of writing with a brand new pen of the same model. I ask this as I have bought a used MB and though I am happy with it, would like to know if the experience would have been different were it a new pen.

 

It would be great if you can share your thoughts on

 

• 
   
  
• Does buying used pens mean we are not exactly experiencing the smoothness that the nib is known for ?
  
• or would it be a better experience as the nib would have been "broken-in" ( am not sure if i can use that term w.r.t nibs:))
  
• does this rule only apply to gold nibs/steel nibs or to both?
  

 

regards

Jai

[mooshi]

I've lent a couple of my cheaper pens out (Preppy and Ohto) and well... probably not the best experience ever, but only because these people have never used a fountain pen in their life. More likely than not, the nib gets rammed into the paper/counter. Then you get the, "I don't get how this works" look because they have the pen angled oddly... I don't mind lending my more expensive pens out to friends though, as long as I'm in the same room as them! (Well, the most expensive one I own is a Lamy Safari.)

 

As for buying second hand. Just my 2 cents, but I think that for the most part it's fine since most fountain pens are used by people who know how to take care of them. Yes, there are some with damaged nibs and dried up ink, but nothing a little TLC can't fix, right? In general, it all just depends on who you're buying from, I guess.

 

-- Moo

[two2tone]

Yes, provided that you retain a security deposit equal to the replacement value of the pen.

 

Twotone

[jar]

Yes, no and both.

 

Yes, an owner can damage a nib.

 

No, not all owners damage nibs.

 

Yes, some new nibs work perfectly.

 

No, not all new nibs write perfectly.

 

Yes, some old nibs are smoother then some new nibs.

 

Yes, some new nibs are smoother than some old nibs.

 

Yes it can apply to steel nibs.

 

Yes, it can apply to gold nibs.

[Ernst Bitterman]

I've just returned from lunch where without hesitation I lent my pen to our waitress. Granted, it was a Wearever Pennant, and something more inherently valuable wouldn't have gone out, but that's the game one must play. Since most of my pens are pre-used vintages, I'm forever using someone else's pen, and in only two cases have I found that what they did to the tipping through mere writing demanded any kind of remediation.

[dogpoet]

Yes. I doubt that somebody borrowing a pen for five minutes to scribble a few notes is going to have any serious impact upon it, unless they lean really hard on the nib.

[Glenn-SC]

Was wondering if it is ok to lend your fountain pen to the others?

Yes it is OK to lend a FP to someone to use.

 

Have read that this can be disastrous as the way a person writes can cause changes to the nib and change the writing experience.

The way the writer writes does wear the nib to how they hold the pen and how hard they push. If you loan the pen to someone who writes with it for a year or so it will wear to their handwriting style, which may be different from yours and hence not enjoyable to you.

 

If this is true, would buying a used pen rob us of the experience of writing with a brand new pen of the same model. (sic)

If you write with that new-to-you used pen it will wear to your style, which may be different from the original owners style.

 

 

I ask this as I have bought a used MB and though I am happy with it, would like to know if the experience would have been different were it a new pen.

Most likely, yes.

 

 

• Does buying used pens mean we are not exactly experiencing the smoothness that the nib is known for ?

Actually, the used nib could be smoother!

 

• or would it be a better experience as the nib would have been "broken-in" ( am not sure if i can use that term w.r.t nibs:))

If it was used nicely.

 

• does this rule only apply to gold nibs/steel nibs or to both?

Both.

[macaddicted]

I will gladly lend my Visconti Metropolis to just about anyone who can figure out how to use it.

[troglokev]

Was wondering if it is ok to lend your fountain pen to the others? Have read that this can be disastrous as the way a person writes can cause changes to the nib and change the writing experience.

To another fountain pen user, for a short period, without hesitation.

To a ballpen user, for a short period, with close supervision. Nibs can be bent by ham-fisted ballpoint users.

Wear of the kind that would change the writing experience takes years.

 

If this is true, would buying a used pen rob us of the experience of writing with a brand new pen of the same model. I ask this as I have bought a used MB and though I am happy with it, would like to know if the experience would have been different were it a new pen.

Probably not noticably, apart from the microscratches and fingerprints. You may have missed out on a few days of poor performance while the surface chemistry of the nib and feed settled down, though my experience with Montblanc has generally been good in this regard.

 

It would be great if you can share your thoughts on

 

• 
   
  
• Does buying used pens mean we are not exactly experiencing the smoothness that the nib is known for ?
  
• or would it be a better experience as the nib would have been "broken-in" ( am not sure if i can use that term w.r.t nibs:))
  
• does this rule only apply to gold nibs/steel nibs or to both?
  

 

regards

Jai

• Only if the previous owner abused the nib.
  
• The presence of oils on surfaces within the feed system can reduce the wettability, and hence the performance of the nib and feed. Flushing a pen several times with water helps (others advocate diluted ammonia, or a small amount of dishwashing liquid: I've never had to). This, I think, is where tales of breaking in a nib come from. It's also worth checking the tine alignment on a new pen, as this will affect the performance.
  
• Both. The surface wettability issue varies more by manufacturer than by nib material.
  

[Johnny Appleseed]

Personally, I lend out some of my fountain pens without hesitation, but only some.

 

I do not lend out flex nibs, italics, or pens that don't write perfectly (invariably at least one pen in my pocket is one that I am working on smoothing, regrinding, working out a flow issue or still testing after restoration). I usually do not lend out more valuable pens, though I have made exceptions.

 

I particularly avoid lending flex, unless I know the person is another flexaholic. While most people can figure out a fountain pen without causing too much damage, a flex nib can get mangled in seconds.

 

And I really try to make sure that whatever I lend will not result in inky fingers. Talk about a way to turn someone off from fountain pens!

 

John

[Bill Broome]

I loan mine, but I do keep the cap in my hand. That way people don't absent mindedly stick it in a pocket or purse or walk away without giving it back.

[blackbug67]

Mooshisho,

 

My position on lending your fountain pens is, don't do it! A fellow worker picked up my Omas Milord and before I could stop him he tried to pull the cap off, ala Bic. After I removed the cap, I let him try it and cringed as he pressed down on the nib, you guessed it, ala Bic. Now I make sure I don't leave a good pen out of my sight and always carry a cheapo for the benefit of the curious.

 

You got some good answers to your questions. I'll try to remember the good advice of fellow FPNers.

 

Larry

[sph33r]

Always lend something easily replaced. That's why I use Varsitys or Preppys at work.

[Skribb]

There seems to be a common confusion amongst the pencil/ballpoint users which states, quite incorrectly, that a fountain pen requires more force from the hand to write with than does a ball point or a pencil. I even had front row seats as I watched an inexperienced writer borrow another persons gold nibbed fountain pen, press down on the the thing at a near 0 degree angle (relative to the paper) and bend the poor thing so the tines splayed out like a V. when I later asked the person why they thought you had to push down so hard they explained that they thought the pen worked by spreading the tines apart which would allow the ink to fall from the nib on to the paper. At the time I wasn't particularly familiar with fountain pens so I don't know exactly how much the damaged pen cost or what kind of repairs it would have required, but it easily could have been one of the pricier ones.

 

Something along the lines of this, although he didn't manage to crack the nib down the center.

 

http://www.nibs.com/www/WEBSITE%20PICS/Nib%20Folder/Planewreck%20Folder/crackbefore585rotated180.jpg

[RLTodd]

No.

 

It is a breech of etiquite for anyone to be so forward as to ask to borrow a fountain pen.

 

Ballpoint pens are for lending, although I would still say it would be a breech as the other person came to a situation and failed to bring their own pen.

[I am not a number]

Yes. I frequently lend my pens from Waterman Edson to Pilot Pluminix.

 

As for the matter of a breach of etiquette; cultures, customs and practices vary.

[Kabe]

In all honesty, I only worry about lending my italics, stubs and flexies. Most rigids are ok for lending

[Inka]

As a rule in the society in which I live, where most people are still "fountain-pen-ignorant", I'd have to say NO, never lend out your fountain pen/s, with very few exceptions as described below.

 

Never lend pens nor tools to those you are not fully confident will care for and use them properly, which leaves out a lot of people out there.

It's often best to carry a cheap ball point or similar if you get put into the situation where people often ask to borrow your pen, lend that out only despite any weird looks you might get.

As for buying a used pen, it depends on the previous owner more than anything else and how well it was cared for, as I have a couple of pre-owned pens that are in excellent shape with one in particular I'd call a "favorite".

No, there is not a "break-in" period other than some fine micro-machining marks or "tooth" in the slot edges that may benefit from usage, nib tipping is generally much harder than the nib material and will not wear down from normal use.

If buying a used fountain pen the nib tines may have been moved from their balanced-state, now off-center, if the previous user rotated the nib as they write, but this is not a real problem.

I've gotten brand new pens that needed tip alignment without ever seeing ink or paper, so it's usually best to learn how to do nib alignment regardless of new or used fountain pens.

It makes little to no difference if a nib is steel or gold or palladium or whatever, as to these factors [although gold does tend to be softer and more prone to being "sprung" if someone had applied too much pressure], any material can be damaged from improper use, yet the tipping being harder on each type doesn't wear if it hasn't been used on abrasive surfaces and that's what touches the paper.

So if a pen is used and used properly there will be no damage, generally no difference in the writing experience from new other than possibly needing slight tip tweaking, the key words here being "used properly".

 

Bottom line:

Never lend a fountain pen to someone you're not 100% confident knows how to use one.

Bringing new people into the world of fountain pen use is a rewarding experience, so if you have the time and an interested party, use a pen you can afford to replace and teach away!

[BrandonA]

Yes. I doubt that somebody borrowing a pen for five minutes to scribble a few notes is going to have any serious impact upon it, unless they lean really hard on the nib.

 

Someone at my work borrowed my MB Starwalker ball point today as they wanted to illustrate something we were talking about. I hated it. This is the cheapest pen I own and the hardest to damage but I still didn't like them using it. Watching them trying to work out how to open/close it.

 

I know the chances of someone damaging your fountain pen during a brief use is slight but I would never let anyone borrow any of my fountain pens. I actually don't like people handling my LE, even though none of them have ever been dipped and they'd not be able to use them.

[Donald594]

Hogwash. Iridium is a very hard alloy. If anybody can wear through writing, they must right 75mph to generate the heat, and press with 50lbs of force.