What Is The Most Ridiculous Pen Gimmick Ever From A Major Pen Company?

[danthemann5]

Disposable ballpoint pens.

[uzkntuocmw]

My vote's for naming stupidly expensive luxury products after Gandhi...

[DrPJM1]

My vote's for naming stupidly expensive luxury products after Gandhi...

 

He's probably rolling on his grave for MB's offering.

[ANM]

Here are a couple that I think are pretty silly. One is a giant squid, associating itself with Jules Verne and the other with the Titanic

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii101/matthewsno/fullsize1.jpg

 

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii101/matthewsno/romainjerometitanicpens_khGS5_48.jpg

Edited November 10, 2011 by ANM

[rdh]

Here are a couple of ideas from vintage times. One is the Combo (pen and pencil) and the other is the adjustable nib. I know people collect them, but both seem gimmicky to me.

 

Dave

[Florida Blue]

I know people will want to throw things at me :ph34r: but most of the pens that we think are the greatest were gimmicks way back when.

 

Parker's hooded nib.

Sheaffer's Snorkel filling system.

Any demonstrator fountain pen that has even been made.

The original ink windows.

 

I'm sure many people saw these as gimmicks when they first came out and they were probably conceived to be that way by the companies.

 

I agree that limited edition pens are silly.

[OcalaFlGuy]

Here are a couple of ideas from vintage times. One is the Combo (pen and pencil) and the other is the adjustable nib. I know people collect them, but both seem gimmicky to me.

 

Dave

 

 

 

Parker's hooded nib.

Sheaffer's Snorkel filling system.

Any demonstrator fountain pen that has even been made.

The original ink windows.

 

I'm sure many people saw these as gimmicks when they first came out and they were probably conceived to be that way by the companies.

 

 

 

I actually see the combos as a brilliant idea. There are some very nice looking ones.

 

I am just guessing that combining two so different instruments into one lessened the effectiveness of

each separate operation.

 

I see a big difference between a gimmick and an innovation.

 

If you make an object better in a new unique manner (P-51) I see that as more the innovation. Fixing a "problem" that doesn't really exist or in a manner that's similar to something already tried, not so much the innovation. IMO, the Snorkie treads dangerously close to gimmicky as a Tip Dip pen did essentially the same thing without all the flash bangness and falling confetti.

 

Inkvues and Demonstrators actually serve useful purposes in my book. (Though some Demos accomplish that at the cost of a high fuggliness factor IMO.)

 

I would say the Lincoln DNA pen might be the Pinnacle of gimmickry.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

Edited November 10, 2011 by OcalaFlGuy

[tknechtel]

"Precious resin."

[OMASmaniac]

My vote's for naming stupidly expensive luxury products after Gandhi...

 

+1!!!!

 

I think you should consider some OMAS LEs made of silver or gold as well... I love that brand, but when they start designing metal LEs .... well, I just wish their designers could get a heart attack on the spot! And this is really crazy, because their celluloid LEs are gorgeous!

 

http://www.omas.com/IT/Prodotti/Edizioni_Limitate.html

[OcalaFlGuy]

"Precious resin."

 

As much as I enjoy spectating the usual MB stoning, I have to disagree.

 

As I understand it, MB appears to genuinely believe that their material is superior to the others and

that they've purposely made it that way.

 

If they can somewhat legitimately substantiate even a minor degree of superiority of that material then

calling it whatever they choose to call it to sell more, is just good marketing.

 

Parker made a big deal of naming the electronic polish process in the 50's of their nib points. It at least SEEMS logical that a better polish of the tip might make a pen write better so why not call that process something neat to publicize it better.

 

I gotta give MB a pass on the PR. (Purely coincidental the initials are the same as for public relations? )

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[Torculus Resupinus]

Aww, that squid pen is cute!

 

I agree with Bruce about gimmicks vs. innovation, and I agree that there are some good-looking pen/pencil combos out there -- I recently acquired one from Dave Feldman here on FPN that is made from some seriously pretty celluloid.

 

No doubt the Lincoln DNA takes the cake, but I also agree with Christof about all the stupid "collectable" SE/LEs that you can't write with.

[Alec Fleschner]

http://i262.photobucket.com/albums/ii101/matthewsno/fullsize1.jpg

 

I dunno...that's pretty cool. I don't know if I'd kill for a pen like that, but I'm pretty sure I could push them hard into a wall. Maybe twice.

[LedZepGirl]

Blingy limited edition pens, how the heck are you supposed to use those things? I see no functionality in a pen covered in outrageous raised designs and gem stones, it's just a piece of jewelry with a nib stuck in it.

 

Disposable pens too. It is just me, or is it that every disposable product has a reusable counterpart and oftentimes the reusable product works better than the disposable?

Edited November 10, 2011 by LedZepGirl

[OldGriz]

I know people will want to throw things at me :ph34r: but most of the pens that we think are the greatest were gimmicks way back when.

 

Parker's hooded nib.

Sheaffer's Snorkel filling system.

Any demonstrator fountain pen that has even been made.

The original ink windows.

 

I'm sure many people saw these as gimmicks when they first came out and they were probably conceived to be that way by the companies.

 

I agree that limited edition pens are silly.

 

Demonstrator pens were originally NOT made for sale to the public

They were made so that the dealer could show the potential customer how the pen operates

Therefore not in any way a gimmick....

 

The Parker hooded nib is also not a gimmick as it was developed so that the nib would not dry out when the pen was not written with for a while with the cap off and also when used with the very fast drying ink that Parker had developed exclusively for that pen...... So again not a gimmick but successful engineering to solve a recurrent problem

 

Ink windows on pens were there so that the writer would know when he was running low on ink.... remember back then there were no cartridges to carry around for refills.... the writer needed access to a bottle of ink.... if he saw he was getting low on ink at home by looking at the ink window he would refill the pen at that time to assure a sufficient ink supply... another engineering solution to a current problem of the day....

 

I have no idea what Sheaffer was thinking... but it is a successful pen, if somewhat over engineered IMO

[Shangas]

Wasn't the Sheaffer Snorkel designed so that it could fill out of any bottle of ink, regardless of the amount of ink left in said bottle?

[Kimo]

What is the most ridiculous pen gimmick ever from a major pen company?

 

Speerbob's original posting ideas are definitely up there is silliness. In my personal opinion I have two others that I put higher:

 

Precious Resin - Everyone stop your kneejerk reactions for just a minute and let me explain. MB uses a plastic material for their pens and they try to get people to believe that it is something else and paying silly high prices for it by calling it Precious Resin when it is neither precious or even resin. To my thinking, this is a 'ridiculous gimmick by a major pen company' which is what Speerbob asked.

 

Limited Editions - Every major pen company constantly cranks out so called 'Limited Editions' in numbers calculated be enough for everyone silly enough to fall for the con based on their greed that somehow they are valuable collectables that will skyrocket in price. These are just pens and unless they have been weighted down with unnecessary jewels or gold, they have no intrinsic value beyond any other pen the company makes. And often they are contorted to unuseable shapes or have encrustations and such that make them uncomfortable to actually use. To my thinking, these really fit the description of a 'ridiculous gimmick by a major pen company' which is what Speerbob asked.

[Florida Blue]

Demonstrator pens were originally NOT made for sale to the public

They were made so that the dealer could show the potential customer how the pen operates

Therefore not in any way a gimmick....

 

I still think that even the original demonstrators were gimmicks. Dealers were not the only ones that saw them, the potential customers saw them as well. They were a novelty in the 1930s/40s and were used to draw in people to look at the latest model (door to door salesman). A dealer doesn't need a demonstrator just a good schematic drawing and repair manual.

 

The Parker hooded nib is also not a gimmick as it was developed so that the nib would not dry out when the pen was not written with for a while with the cap off and also when used with the very fast drying ink that Parker had developed exclusively for that pen...... So again not a gimmick but successful engineering to solve a recurrent problem.

 

Not entirely a gimmick but still a bit gimmicky. Parker didn't set out just to solve the problem of nibs drying out in general but specifically drying out with their super quick drying new and improved Parker 51 ink. I think the hood came out partially as a marking scheme to sell millions of bottles of Parker-brand ink. Pen companies make healthy margins on refills.

 

Ink windows on pens were there so that the writer would know when he was running low on ink.... remember back then there were no cartridges to carry around for refills.... the writer needed access to a bottle of ink.... if he saw he was getting low on ink at home by looking at the ink window he would refill the pen at that time to assure a sufficient ink supply... another engineering solution to a current problem of the day....

 

This one was probably a bad example on my part but I was thinking that many people in the 1920s probably saw this as a gimmick. Why would I need a "window" in my pen?

 

I do agree that ink windows and the hooded nib were innovations but I believe they were born out of marketing gimmicks to sell pens at a time when the market was very competitive and the buying public very fickle.

 

I have no idea what Sheaffer was thinking... but it is a successful pen, if somewhat over engineered IMO

 

Me neither but as you said still a successful pen and a great one one too.

 

These are just my opinions and I'm no expert on pens but if I lived in 1941 and I wrote with a 1920s Big Red I might see a P51 as a gimmick in my perspective :roflmho:

A hooded nib, what in the world is that?!?!

Edited November 10, 2011 by Florida Blue

[stuartk]

I was going to say the Parker Ingenuity fiber tip disguised as a high line (read: 3 figure price) fountain pen. But since you've already put that one out there, how about Liquid Lead, Parker's attempt to make graphite (?) into a liquid (paste?). And don't even get me started on the Krone LE abominations. What about accordion and twist fillers? Designs that seem to place premature sac failure high on the objectives list.

 

I thought that Liquid Lead actually did ok on the marketplace? It's been re-incarnated again recently by Sharpie too.

[Florida Blue]

Wasn't the Sheaffer Snorkel designed so that it could fill out of any bottle of ink, regardless of the amount of ink left in said bottle?

 

I thought it was done so that the owner didn't need to wipe off the section after they filled it.

[stuartk]

Disposable ballpoint pens.

 

Pencils were disposable too, so are you saying they're also a ridiculous gimmick?

Edited November 10, 2011 by stuartk