Bauhaus Pens?

[zubipen]

Pelikan 100 and 101 are typical examples of the Bauhaus style

[spiv]

Platinum has greater scratch resistance than gold. Is that not more functional than bling?

[SweepHand]

But the bauhaus school embodies an ideal of form following function, of eschewing unnecessary ornamentation, and of being true to the nature of the material. Hiding a gold nib under a layer of platinum to make it look more like the steel hardware is a grating departure. Four options would have been to use a white gold alloy, palladium silver, a simple steel nib, or to not worry about the little bit of yellow gold poking out. Choosing to use the platinum instead was a marketing and aesthetic choice, not a choice driven by function.

Isn't that really the majority of what Bauhaus comes down to though, aesthetic choices that impute functionality? That's not a rhetorical question; I ask as a non-creative type whose knowledge of Bauhaus up until a few days ago consisted of recalling that there was a coffee joint by that name in Seattle back when I was in college.

[SweepHand]

How about the Pilot MYU or the Parker 50? Or even a T1?

Wow, I haven't seen anything like these before. That one piece section/nib is really something to behold!

[mstone]

But the bauhaus school embodies an ideal of form following function, of eschewing unnecessary ornamentation, and of being true to the nature of the material. Hiding a gold nib under a layer of platinum to make it look more like the steel hardware is a grating departure. Four options would have been to use a white gold alloy, palladium silver, a simple steel nib, or to not worry about the little bit of yellow gold poking out. Choosing to use the platinum instead was a marketing and aesthetic choice, not a choice driven by function.

Isn't that really the majority of what Bauhaus comes down to though, aesthetic choices that impute functionality? That's not a rhetorical question; I ask as a non-creative type whose knowledge of Bauhaus up until a few days ago consisted of recalling that there was a coffee joint by that name in Seattle back when I was in college.

 

I don't really understand what you mean by "impute functionality".

[SweepHand]

I don't really understand what you mean by "impute functionality".

Imply? Give the appearance of? In the aesthetic style of? Maybe impute was the wrong word.

[flight878]

Rotring 600

 

Rotring 700

 

Rotring 900

[Florida Blue]

Platinum has greater scratch resistance than gold. Is that not more functional than bling?

 

I wouldn't call a gold nib bling since without it the pen couldn't function. Gold is probably more suited as nib material than platinum since gold is softer and more responsive.

[mstone]

I don't really understand what you mean by "impute functionality".

Imply? Give the appearance of? In the aesthetic style of? Maybe impute was the wrong word.

 

The bauhaus aesthetic is "form follows function"; that is, the design should first be functional, and next it should have no unnecessary embellishment or ornamentation to detract or distract from the function. Even more, the ideal was to find beauty in the necessary functional elements of a design. E.g., bauhaus architecture tended to expose structural concrete and steel rather than conceal those elements (draw an obvious parallel to concealing the gold nib...) So anything that has non-functional add-on decoration is pretty much by definition not bauhaus, though it may be "sleek" or "modern" or simply "nice". That's not to say that the school rejects patterns or colors or elegance, just that those things should be part of the function of the design and not a glitzy applique. At this point we're so far removed from bauhaus and it's so much a part of the culture rather than a reaction to prevaling culture (you can buy a box of "bauhaus" at walmart, for pete's sake) that in popular usage it just means "vaguely modern and maybe a bit german". So every time this topic comes up, all sorts of pens that are kind of streamlined are thrown out as bauhaus. The real list is fairly short: the safari, maybe the rotring 600 (I haven't taken one of those apart), a couple of others I listed above. (And even several of the ones I mentioned have arguable non-bauhaus elements.) Anything with plating, or a jewel, or trim rings (other than a functional band, e.g., to keep hard rubber from splitting), or any other kind of ornamentation may be very nice and maybe even modern, but not bauhaus. If it doesn't emphasize the materials it is made of, in an industrial (rather than handcrafted) design, it's probably not bauhaus. If it's not relatively light, low cost, functional and low-maintenance, it's probably not bauhaus. It might be art deco, or deconstructivist, or functionalist, or brutalist, or futurist, or streamline, or high-tech, or postmodern--and each of those is interesting and has its merits--but just because something is sort of "modern and german" doesn't make it bauhaus.

[mstone]

Platinum has greater scratch resistance than gold. Is that not more functional than bling?

 

lf that was why it was done, maybe. But remember that part of the bauhaus philosophy was to make products for ordinary people. Platinum and steel are about the same hardness (depends on the steel alloy). Which is a better choice for regular people? If scratch resistance is the goal, why not chrome, which is much harder than platinum?

 

The body of the 2000 was designed by Muller and I admit that part actually is a very bauhaus design. But the nib was just something lamy had lying around in stock, not designed specifically for the 2000, and it was shoved into the bauhaus body with a layer of platinum slapped on to make it fit in better. There's nothing objectively wrong with that, and it's certainly a very good decision from a business standpoint. But at least on a pen forum people should know better than to ignore the nib when talking about a pen, and to ignore the reality of the nib while going on about the bauhaus ideal of the 2000 I simply find disconcerting.

[trent]

mstone, I completely agree with you on the nib issue.

[rdh]

To me, the Sheaffer Balance is a perfect form/function pen. The only things that deviated from this was the large nib (but there were no small, hooded nibs at the time) and some of the fancier celluloid used for some pens. It also was a breakthrough in design that is still being copied today, over 80 years after its introduction.

 

Dave

[spiv]

Sadly I am not well versed in pens, and I know even less of metallurgy but I was discussing this very thing with an engineer (also not versed in pens but a fair hand at metals & their properties) and he mentioned that iridium, rhodium and platinum have similar properties - perhaps the platinum acts as both protective cover and tipping material?

 

Regardless, it has a "look" to it, and if not a perfect reflection of the bauhaus ideal... it is still a quality pen that is not out of reach for those of modest means who can save up.

 

Truth be told, Bela Lugosi's Dead and Ziggy Stardust were the best from Bauhaus.

Edited July 12, 2011 by spiv

[mompus]

Didn't Moholy-Nage work with Parker? You can't get much more Bauhaus than that.

Edited July 12, 2011 by mompus

[attika89]

Didn't Moholy-Nage work with Parker? You can't get much more Bauhaus than that.

 

As I know Moholy-Nagy worked with Parker, but not on the '51'.....

 

"Moholy-Nagy did work for Parker, but his contributions all postdated the introduction of the 51 in 1941."

Source

[Painterspal]

Well, you can add me to the 'vast minority' too. I don't think the Lamy 2000 is a particularly good example of the Bauhaus 'form follows function' aesthetic either.

 

It looks the part, up to a point, but function is the key word here, it's not just about having that simplified, unadorned modernist look.

 

Ask yourself this:

 

Is the ink window really as practical as it could be? No, it's hard to use, you have to hold it up to the light and wiggle the pen and get the right angle before you might glimpse the ink.

 

Is the gripping area universally comfortable and ergonomic? No, some find it slippery, others dislike the tapered shape, the 'ears' also come in for criticism.

 

For me the Lamy, good though it is, doesn't tick all the essential boxes for simple utility and function or suit enough people. You might say it has too much personality to be ubiquitous. You might also argue that no fountain pen truly fits the bill - Parker jotter anyone?

 

 

 

 

 

I don't find the 2k all that bauhaus--that platinum on the nib is completely unnecessary. Old-model safaris (with actual screws instead of screw-shaped plastic rivets) and steel nibs are the apogee of the form. All-metal vectors are another good choice, or the plainer versions of the old MYU. (M90 has that gaudy jewel, so it's right out.) On the higher end you get a bling-free model from Edison, possibly even without a clip.

I can't claim any particular expertise in Bauhaus design, but I think you're in the vast minority on whether the Lamy 2000 qualifies or not. It seems that hardly a review has been tendered that doesn't make mention of the Bauhaus bona fides of Gerd A. Müller, and hold up his creation, the Lamy 2000, as an embodiment of the design philosophy.

 

http://www.lamy.com/content/the_company/design/product_designers/index_eng.html

 

Regarding the gold nib, I think the pen would be rather more visually complicated and therefore rather less Bauhaus without the coating.

[Surf Monkey]

Yeah, there's no way the 2k could be considered Bauhaus. It makes far too many concessions to pure aesthetics. If anything it falls into the modernist revival category.

[mstone]

To me, the Sheaffer Balance is a perfect form/function pen. The only things that deviated from this was the large nib (but there were no small, hooded nibs at the time) and some of the fancier celluloid used for some pens. It also was a breakthrough in design that is still being copied today, over 80 years after its introduction.

 

The shape, yes. The gold plated clip & cap rings, less so. Celluloid itself is a fairly non-durable material. In lucite, with stainless steel hardware and a single cap ring, I think it might be about right.

[rdh]

To me, the Sheaffer Balance is a perfect form/function pen. The only things that deviated from this was the large nib (but there were no small, hooded nibs at the time) and some of the fancier celluloid used for some pens. It also was a breakthrough in design that is still being copied today, over 80 years after its introduction.

 

The shape, yes. The gold plated clip & cap rings, less so. Celluloid itself is a fairly non-durable material. In lucite, with stainless steel hardware and a single cap ring, I think it might be about right.

 

 

Of course there are a lot of different versions of the Balance. There are some with single cap rings that function just to reinforce the lip of the cap. There are also some with nickel and not gold plated clips and rings. In 1929, when the Balance was introduced, lucite wasn't an option. Although celluloid could be made into many different colors, there was also just plain black, which makes a very functional-looking pen, and was one of the first Balance colors. Celluloid also has a warmer, and thus more functional feel than many plastics. Celluloid may be less durable than some plastics, but when well-made, it lasts for a very long time.

 

Dave

[mstone]

Of course there are a lot of different versions of the Balance. There are some with single cap rings that function just to reinforce the lip of the cap. There are also some with nickel and not gold plated clips and rings. In 1929, when the Balance was introduced, lucite wasn't an option. Although celluloid could be made into many different colors, there was also just plain black, which makes a very functional-looking pen, and was one of the first Balance colors. Celluloid also has a warmer, and thus more functional feel than many plastics. Celluloid may be less durable than some plastics, but when well-made, it lasts for a very long time.

 

Nickle plating doesn't really help; the point about the hardware is that it should be durable and maintainable. Steel is ideal (see the esterbrooks) and if you're going to plate it at all, plate it with something even more durable, like chrome, not softer like nickle. It's also a misconception that bauhaus needs to be black: colors are great as long as they're intrinsic to the material. The problem with celluloid isn't the colors, its the fact that if you don't care for it carefully it will discolor, or melt, or warp, or burst into flame, etc. The bauhaus ideal is function, as in "an ordinary family can buy it and use it and keep it looking good/clean without having to worry about taking care of it as opposed to using it". Another bauhaus ideal was industrialization, in the expectation that mass production could make high quality items at a price ordinary people can afford: celluloid is rather more labor intensive/craftsman oriented. This isn't about whether a particular pen is good or bad, it's simply a question of whether it really exhibits the ethos of a particular subset of modernism. There are plenty of other modern schools which emphasize other ideals, and I don't really understand the fixation on bauhaus, especially when there are other schools that more strongly identify with a particular design that someone is fond of.