What pen was your biggest disapointment ?

[Tom Aquinas]

This topic is enjoyable, interesting and educational. If ever justification is needed for resurrecting old threads , this is ample.

[Sasha Royale]

Parker 21

 

It resembles the Parker 51, and writes well. I acquired four

from four different sources. All four have unseen cracks in

the section that ooze ink onto the fingers.

 

I prefer to use my four Parker 51 pens, that are flawless.

The Parker 21's are retired to display and disappointment.

[jslallar]

Parker 21

 

It resembles the Parker 51, and writes well. I acquired four

from four different sources. All four have unseen cracks in

the section that ooze ink onto the fingers.

 

I prefer to use my four Parker 51 pens, that are flawless.

The Parker 21's are retired to display and disappointment.

 

 

21s have the same nibs as 51s, and are interchangeable with 51 specials.

Size is a bit smaller, maybe akin to 'demi' but I have never seem a 51 demi so cant be sure.

Feeds are simiilar although 21's is a bit smaller in size in keeping with the size.

The writing experience is the same almost, as is the ink flow.

 

Section cracks is a known failure due to inferior plastics, but NOS sections can be had from the net / shops.

 

Shellac on the grooves may also do the trick, normally the section of 21 is not sealed like 51, and closes with friction only, but shellac there would seal off any small cracks and prevent leakage, but this should be the last resort, first you should try and get the pens 100% fit if possible.

I have had two sections in 21s replaced not due to cracks but due to shrinkage and deformity of the grip.

 

For spares you can try http://www.vintagepe...ibs_parts.shtml, $10 each but limited colour choice!

 

I sincerely beleive that every pen is worth rstoring and should be in working order.

Edited July 15, 2012 by jslallar

[Tom Aquinas]

Parker 21

 

It resembles the Parker 51, and writes well. I acquired four

from four different sources. All four have unseen cracks in

the section that ooze ink onto the fingers.

 

I prefer to use my four Parker 51 pens, that are flawless.

The Parker 21's are retired to display and disappointment.

 

 

21s have the same nibs as 51s, and are interchangeable with 51 specials.

Size is a bit smaller, maybe akin to 'demi' but I have never seem a 51 demi so cant be sure.

Feeds are simiilar although 21's is a bit smaller in size in keeping with the size.

The writing experience is the same almost, as is the ink flow.

 

Section cracks is a known failure due to inferior plastics, but NOS sections can be had from the net / shops.

 

Shellac on the grooves may also do the trick, normally the section of 21 is not sealed like 51, and closes with friction only, but shellac there would seal off any small cracks and prevent leakage, but this should be the last resort, first you should try and get the pens 100% fit if possible.

I have had two sections in 21s replaced not due to cracks but due to shrinkage and deformity of the grip.

 

For spares you can try http://www.vintagepe...ibs_parts.shtml, $10 each but limited colour choice!

 

I sincerely beleive that every pen is worth rstoring and should be in working order.

 

 

You are correct. A Parker 21 was the first fountain pen I bought for myself as an 18 yo. I naively thought they would be as good as a 51. After a series of the problems which are associated with 21s, I took it to the Parker service centre. Parker offered full service in every State, and were proud of their name. I wish they gave the same attention today and had local branches. The senior technician came out o the workshop and spoke to me at the front counter. He told me everything you have written above and said that if I were to buy a 51 nib, which would be at cost price he would fit it and "work the pen really over". He did,replaced faulty parts and the pen still works flawlessly today on the original sac. The 21 was really an economy university student pen but was outclassed by the 45. I quickly did what I should have done, bought a 51 (that I lost on campus 18 months later). I still have the matching mechanical pencil for the 51 and the pencil for the 21. The 21's pencil was flawless.

Edited July 15, 2012 by Tom Aquinas

[bizhe]

Another vote for the Noodler's Konrad, only because my olfactory nerves are functioning normally.

[TonySMJC]

Worst new pen

 

Pelikan 600 a dry scratchy writter that skipped badly out of the box

it would write fine when freshly dipped or inked but after a few minutes it went from very good to very very bad

 

a quick trip to Binder had it writting fine

 

worst used pen Visconti Desert springs

very poor writter skipped and scratched

 

 

a waiting its arrival from Mike M Im betting it will be sweet when it get here Tomorrow

[amberleadavis]

Monteverde Mega Ink ball. I saved up for it and it was my first expensive pen since (having kids, getting a divorce and) going back to school.

[turtje]

Today I can say that the Sailor Sapporo M that I bought on saturday is my biggest dissapointment. My Parker Sonnet is smoothier

[dragon666]

Faber Castell Intuition - cost my a bucket load, was scratchy out of the box, cap fitting mechanism (bleep) (sounded muted & didn't feel secure), plastic attracted scratches easily, platinum attracted scratches easily, converter was tiny and needed refilling regularly.

 

Though Faber Castells look nice, I will not every buy one again.

 

BTW....

 

I wonder what it would be like to buy a "WORLD PEN OF THE YEAR" (which happens to be from Faber Castell every year, so should thus be called "THE ANNUAL FABER CASTELL PEN").

Would this pen be the smoothest pen you've ever beheld? I bloody hope so if you're gonna spend $5K. But I suspect it might be simply an exercise in flushing money down the toilet.

[vjones]

I've never been terribly disappointed in a pen, but I did buy a Pelikan M215 with a custom nib. The nib was a disappointment - it just didn't have good flow. It would write for a while (looking very nice) then suddenly just dry out, and it was very difficult to get it going again. Given what I paid for it, I was disappointed. I got a different nib and now I love the pen.

[pelahale]

This thread is awesome. Thank you moderators for allowing this freedom of expression.

 

I've been actively writing with fountain pens since 1977. In that time I've experienced many disappointments leading to my eventually writing off several brands forever after many repeat offenses. My personal s**list includes the following:

Montblanc

Omas

Krone

Platinum

Modern Parker's

Modern Watermans

Modern Sheaffers

Aurora

 

But my ultimate biggest disappointment in fountain pens is probably the Omas 360 mainly because I had wanted to like it so Mich. Montblancs weren't because I had already heard so many horror stories about them that my expectations were low (and for me all reports were confirmatory).

 

My twsbi 540s are beginning to crack & lately I've concluded that the 1.1 & 1.5 stubs are sloppy. If it weren't for their cheap price, I'd put them on my s**list also, but since prices are fairly low for their pens, I've concluded twsbis are "appropriately cheaply priced.

[wikeh2004]

Probably my Parker Sonnet. It looked so good, but it never was a reliable writer. It'd dry up on me, and was a hard starter every time I took the cap off. Ended up sitting in the box. Still there.

[de_pen_dent]

Not sure if i posted this here, but for me, it is the Lamy 2000. Dont get along well with them, find it hard to visually align the hidden nib and even when i get it right, both pens needed to be sent to Pendleton for tuning.

[novarider]

My biggest disappointment would have to be Montblanc. I have bought a couple of them and both were well below my standards for the price I paid for them. My next closest would be Lamy. People rave about Lamy pens and nibs but I find them just awful. That includes a Lamy 2000 that I hated.

[ravantra]

Every Waterman I own (2 pens). Both pens are nice to look at but uninspiring to write with.

 

I bought an Estie a while back to see what they are like. It leaks in the cap, the nib is meh and is a bit too small for my hand.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

After thinking about it for a while, I've got a couple of examples, but I'm not going to mention them by name here, although I have before, and might again in a different thread.

 

I spent $130 and $146 on them, which makes them my fourth and second most expensive pens right now. I really should have known better. I got two reasonably sturdy pens with decent steel nibs, which are in no way superior to pens that cost me much less. Okay, one is a little prettier, but the other doesn't even have that going for it, and is even kind of cheesy looking when you see the actual pen and not a picture.

 

I'm not just disappointed in the pens, I'm disappointed in myself for whatever mental processes prompted me to buy them. There are other pens which have turned out not to be all that great, but at least I know what I was thinking.

Edited July 23, 2013 by ISW_Kaputnik

[ac12]

The Parker IM that I just received.

The Parker "Royal Blue" has a purple tinge that makes it look purple.

I wanted a Blue pen, not a purple pen.

Nice looking, but the color is not what I wanted.

 

It's a good thing that I did not pay much for the pen.

[johnsi02]

Two pens come to mind. After reading many, many enthusiastic recommendations for a Lamy Safari on this board, I finally bought one. Partly to support my local B&M, and partly because so many people love them. Oh, and partly in hopes that the section would encourage a better writing grip. I got one with a very scratchy medium nib. The scratchiest nib I have ever experienced, even with owning many pens under $10. And this on a pen renowned for their writing experience. After considerable work with micromesh, and giving up several times, I finally have it writing well. Still considering getting a different nib from goulet (they have them on a great sale) and see what it feels like with a (hopefully) good nib.

The other, greater disappointment was the Zebra fountain pen I bought. I really like Zebra ball points, for me they are the standard for ballpoint writing pleasure. Their fountain pens are garbage. It is the only pen I have ever binned out of frustration.

JS

[penrivers]

Yes. I

 

Two pens come to mind. After reading many, many enthusiastic recommendations for a Lamy Safari on this board, I finally bought one. Partly to support my local B&M, and partly because so many people love them. Oh, and partly in hopes that the section would encourage a better writing grip. I got one with a very scratchy medium nib. The scratchiest nib I have ever experienced, even with owning many pens under $10. And this on a pen renowned for their writing experience. After considerable work with micromesh, and giving up several times, I finally have it writing well. Still considering getting a different nib from goulet (they have them on a great sale) and see what it feels like with a (hopefully) good nib.

The other, greater disappointment was the Zebra fountain pen I bought. I really like Zebra ball points, for me they are the standard for ballpoint writing pleasure. Their fountain pens are garbage. It is the only pen I have ever binned out of frustration.

JS

Yes. I have a Lamy Safari red, its good, but I feel it a little sticky stiff, not that the others are diferent but..........

Edited July 23, 2013 by penrivers

[rhodialover]

Lamy Safari. It was blue and had an EF nib. I hated the triangular grip and it was the scratchiest nib I've ever owned. It also had severe footing. I lost it one day and will not be looking for it.