The Worst Pen Ever

[impossiblebird]

I have a really cheap family member. She knew I was into fountain pens, so she gave me a "gift" of some metallic barrel, water damaged. discounted fountain pen and pencil set from a drug store from their Christmas "gift box sets". It was a cartridge fill. I plugged on in ONCE and it never did let the ink through. IT went straight to the trash along with the pencil and all. I know she meant well, but in all honesty I don't think you can get a quality fountain pen from someone who doesn't even understand "why they are so much when Bics are cheaper".

 

ROTFL… I've had people say that to me. They don't get it. Then again, maybe we ARE the nutty ones with a passion for FPs, inks and paper. Sorry, maybe I should just speak for myself.

 

 

I refuse to accept the "reality" of us users being nutty. :clap1: Therefore I submit my own reality, that everyone else is just un-educated in the way of the fountain pen and why it's best!

chomann's story reminds me of my family member who started buying me books for birthdays and Christmas; she never succeeded in buying anything I'd want to read, because she didn't take the time to find out what I might be interested in. Challenged about her choices by my sister, she said "But she likes books" (what? any old book? as furniture?) and, inexplicably "It's the thought that counts", when so little thought had gone into the selection. Cheapness would have been a better excuse; I could have comforted myself that very little money had been wasted.

 

FPs are what I've mostly written with for 40 years, and it's great that perfectly good ones can be had relatively inexpensively these days; though they are better, IMO, than any alternative for the majority of uses I have for a writing instrument, I don't lobby for them as "the best" in terms of function or form. I try not to do anything that might lead people to suspect that I feel there's anything out of the ordinary, or elitist, about using a FP, just like I refuse to acknowledge that there's anything out of the ordinary or elitist about listening to classical music. It's a shame people aren't shown enough great stuff early enough in life, before the idea's ingrained in them that it's not for them, or that the only people who appreciate it are trying to make out that they're better than anybody else.

[ethernautrix]

I have a really cheap family member. She knew I was into fountain pens, so she gave me a "gift" of some metallic barrel, water damaged. discounted fountain pen and pencil set from a drug store from their Christmas "gift box sets".

 

Heh. I've had plenty of people say, "Since you're into pens, here!" and hand over a bunch of disposable ballpoints with company logos on them. Err... no thank you? Heh.

 

Sometimes I've explained that I'm "into" fountain pens -- and show them whatever I have on hand. Sometimes I accept the pens and put them in a mug on my desk and wait 'til they disappear. Always polite, though. They don't know. They just don't know the difference in pens.

[ethernautrix]

It's a shame people aren't shown enough great stuff early enough in life, before the idea's ingrained in them that it's not for them, or that the only people who appreciate it are trying to make out that they're better than anybody else.

 

 

Yeah. Well said.

[kps]

chomann's story reminds me of my family member who started buying me books for birthdays and Christmas; she never succeeded in buying anything I'd want to read, because she didn't take the time to find out what I might be interested in. Challenged about her choices by my sister, she said "But she likes books" (what? any old book? as furniture?) [...]

And that reminds me of one day when I was in a thrift shop some years ago. A small child toddles up to its mother carrying a book, that can't have been priced over a dollar. "What d'ya want that for?" comes the mother's gravelly growl, "You already have a book at home!"

[kayakjax]

I have two bad pens I've gotten in the past few weeks (keep in mind I'm just dipping my toes into FP's after being away for many years).

 

I decided to get a couple Jinhao X750's to actually try out Chinese pens. One was a sparkly glitter looking "colored sands", the other a much more understated off white. I tried the gaudy one first, and was astonished at how well it wrote, so I saved the subdued one until I could get some brown ink to go through it. I flushed and flushed, I've taken it apart and tinkered (to the limited extent of my abilities), and the thing still won't write more than a line or two. Oh well, I have a good writing pen for about $10, with a spare body for parts, and a section in the parts box waiting for my skill set to advance a little.

 

A much bigger disappointment was the Kaweco Sport I got. Everything I read about them praised them profusely. They're a little small for my taste, but sounded good for a pocket pen that'd take some abuse. I don't like thin, scratchy lines, so I got a medium. It's as bad a writing pen as I've ever tried to use (and I grew up using Sheaffer Student Pens). It's scratchy and skippy. My old eyes can't see any problems with the nib, but I have a magnifying visor on order. It too goes in the "wait to be repaired" box, in the hopes that I eventually learn enough to make it work properly.

[kestrel]

The worst fountain pen I have ever tried to use (note the use of "tried") was a brandless, nondescript gold-colored pen from a surplus company strapped to a card that said Made in China in the lower right corner. No other identification was on the pen or the card except for the ubiquitous "iridium-tipped" on the nib. The free ink cartridges included contained a muddy liquid the color and consistency of strong black tea brewed from Mississippi River water collected during a spring flood. The nib was scratchy and as dry as the Negev desert during a drought. I never persuaded that nib to deposit any ink on paper although some of my more injudicious and vigorous shaking sprayed inky droplets on the wall and on me. The nib tore the paper I tried it on and the clip tore my shirt pocket. The cap ceased to be secure after the first day of attempted use.

I did finally produce legible writing from it, however. Pressing the side of the nib down on the paper produced a physical depression that was clearly visible after rubbing the indented paper lightly with a soft pencil lead.

This monument to inept design and construction now occupies a place of honor in a landfill somewhere in southern Georgia.

[Sailor Kenshin]

 

 

 

 

 

I refuse to accept the "reality" of us users being nutty. :clap1: Therefore I submit my own reality, that everyone else is just un-educated in the way of the fountain pen and why it's best!

 

 

And yet, you threw one out ...

[chomann]

 

 

 

 

 

I refuse to accept the "reality" of us users being nutty. :clap1: Therefore I submit my own reality, that everyone else is just un-educated in the way of the fountain pen and why it's best!

 

 

And yet, you threw one out ...

 

 

It was water damaged any way you cut it.. I saw water damaged cause I have no idea what chemical could cause it to erode the way it had. Like sitting sideways in a puddle of acid..

[Fountainer]

Royal Sheffield came in a box with 5 "free" pens. As i ordered, i already thought this is a horrible idea, but because the seller promised moneys back if not satisfied i thought ok, let's see it. You could tell immediately by the look and feel of the plastic feed that this is garbage. The feed was delicate like a grandmum's tooth, and couldn't set tight. It blotted so bad i needed 2-3 int. cartridges to write one A4 page and what i wrote couldn't be read! It destroys your papers, cancels your love letters, ruins your business, you'll get unemployed, divorced and in the end, you will die! That's what it does. Those ballpoints among it were horrible too, i think their balls weren't balls at all but rather cubes. But yes i got my money back and they had the trouble.

 

There was something good also. The fountain pen looked pretty and the nib was so slippery i haven't met like that ever after. At the times i dream about it and wish i had kept it as a comparison.

[byronss]

Of course, I just had to try some more inks . . . and try this pen, and that one . . . .

 

Unfortunately, that's the problem for me too. Equally, one of my favourites is an old Stypen, which has exactly the width and ink-flow I like. It cost me $20 and came with 10 other Stypens, which I rummaged through, inked and found a couple I liked. The rest went in the bin (which they can at that price). But the notebooks - that's another matter. They can be expensive, especially compared to the dollar-store ones, which usually don't work for my purposes or for the pens I use. My daughter, when she comes to visit with a friend, always opens my cupboard and says jokingly to her friend, "Look how crazy my mum is - like, how many pens does one person need?" She just hasn't caught on, despite my explaining. When we go shopping and we walk past anywhere there's stationery, she jokingly grabs my arm and says, "You're not allowed to go in there!"

[Jonsacks]

Well, just got one! A Noodler demonstrator. Writes fine. But the plastic smells like puke!

[bicfan]

Well, just got one! A Noodler demonstrator. Writes fine. But the plastic smells like puke!

 

Does smell nasty, eh? How is yours working?

[impossiblebird]

Well, just got one! A Noodler demonstrator. Writes fine. But the plastic smells like puke!

 

I have an Osmiroid 65 whose section smells like baby puke; it reminds me of school. My other Osmiroid 65s don't smell that way, nor any of my other pens ... does anybody know what causes it? Interaction of a particular kind of ink with a particular plastic?

 

... I was in a thrift shop some years ago. A small child toddles up to its mother carrying a book, that can't have been priced over a dollar. "What d'ya want that for?" comes the mother's gravelly growl, "You already have a book at home!"

 

Ouch! When I was a child, I used to spend all my money on books and records; my father once told me something needed doing about my addiction ... I assumed he meant the records, but no; I asked was it the books, then ... "Not your addiction", he yells, "your (expletive deleted) diction!". My hearing never has been up to snuff.

 

My gran had a home help who was, in practical terms, a real blessing. She was, though, a mine of misinformation and one who scorned book-learning in most of its forms. Her 5 year old grandson was formidably intelligent, but she was opposed to him learning to read before absolutely necessary, "In case" she said "he learns something"! (I kid you not)

Edited May 8, 2012 by impossiblebird

[ticoun]

Well, just got one! A Noodler demonstrator. Writes fine. But the plastic smells like puke!

 

Does smell nasty, eh? How is yours working?

 

Dunno, but I find that smell rather pleasing...

[Jonsacks]

Well, just got one! A Noodler demonstrator. Writes fine. But the plastic smells like puke!

 

It writes pretty well ... just wish I could lose that stink!

[rodrigaj]

My worst pen was a Pelikan M200 with a steel nib. I replaced the nib with an M400 14K nib and the pen is now one of my favorites.

 

I just received a Lamy CP1 from Goulet Pens for use with my Filofax, and the pen is a very nice writer. Smooth, good ink flow and start up, no skips.

[james0tucson]

Lamy Safari. Absolutely terrible in all ways and nothing could make it better.

 

My only problem with my (Charcoal) Safari is that I use it so much, practically carry it with me everywhere I go, that the black paint has worn off the clip revealing bare copper.

[sherlock_tomes]

Well, just got one! A Noodler demonstrator. Writes fine. But the plastic smells like puke!

 

It writes pretty well ... just wish I could lose that stink!

The longer you hold it, the warmer it gets, the more it stinks. Yep, I can't stand it, either.

[sherlock_tomes]

A Pilot Plumix, which is now in a pile of junk somewhere down in the basement. Completely functionless, other than to dig divots in paper. You get what you pay for -- and sometimes you get less than that.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I've been puzzled by people saying that the Noodler's Ahabs smell bad. Mine, Ivory Darkness, doesn't have any noticeable odor, good or bad, and I have fairly good evidence that my sense of smell isn't dead. Maybe it's a variation in the plastics they use, or a variation in people.

 

I got stuck with a fake Hero M616 on which the nib was literally in two pieces, right and left, squeezed together by the hood. They came out when I was trying to clean it. I got the real thing later; the fake got thrown away. Later it occurred to me I should have taken pictures.