Is A Pen Clip Really Necessary?

[ParkerQuink]

Sometimes I use the clip, sometimes I don't have a shirt that will use it. A pen is not a pen without a clip. (I'm not even sure if I would even buy a Lady Duofold...)Plus it usually makes a clear distinction of the pen manufacturer. Would a Parker Vacumatic or 51 be quite the same without the Arrow? Not really.

[tinkler]

Two of my favorite old pens never had clips--including a wonderful old Waterman 52. I think the earliest fountain pens were often clipless--as, of course, were their predecessors, the dip pens. Personally, I usually write in the same places, so I don't carry pens around much, and I keep them in pen trays. As for the writing experience, people who write without the cap posted don't have to worry about the clip, but for those of us with large hands who need to post, having the cap clipless comes close to the feel of an unposted pen.

[brh]

Can you imagine seeing a Pelikan Souveran or MB without a clip? A pen with no clip is pure ugliness. I don't utilize the functional aspect of clips, but I think they are necessary to add some embellishments and bling to black plastic. I have seen nakaya pens with no clips and they do not look visually appealing to me.

 

Much as I love the clever design of the Pelikan clip, that still sounds heavenly to me. I would go crazy over a clipless Souveran.

 

—

 

Generally, if my shirt pocket will fit a pen (I have plenty of shirts that an M320 won't fit in), I carry a nicer pen in it to work, and I carry it clipped. I also keep a bunch of beater pens (VPs, M205s) clipped in the front pouch of my messenger bag. But I love the clipless aesthetic, and I keep clipless pens in my bag, as well as taking them out for writing sessions at cafés &c.

[MJ Vesuvius]

Yes.

-- MJ

[krz]

I'll always have one pen in my pocket with a clip. The rest are negotiable.

My ring-tops wouldn't be quite right with a clip, and I love the look of a nice clip-less Nakaya.

[lovemy51]

even my Kaweco, which i carry around the most, comes with a clip.

[dickydotcom]

A clip serves two purposes.

Allows you carry a pen in a shirt. I don't do that because I've had one cap come off and ruined the shirt.

It stops the cap rolling off a desk if you put it down.

I do like to post the cap so if a pen had a secure posting method I wouldn't need a clip.

 

But a Pelikan just wouldn't be a Pelikan without the clip.

Lamy Safari: I'd happily get rid of that monstrosity.

 

Dick D

Edited July 29, 2012 by dickydotcom

[XiaoMG]

If I want to take a pen with me, then it needs a clip. I've tried to use clipless pens, but they ended up becoming desk-only pens.

[lovemy51]

i just remembered i even buy metal clips for my wood pencils :embarrassed_smile:

[hrjunior]

The most important for me that clip prevent the pen from inadvertently rolling off the desk.

[Ajsam]

I use the clip to clip my pen to my shirt pocket every day at work. Leaving it on my desk for even a moment risks someone picking it up and using it upside down, pressing harder and harder as it doesn't work. People seem to 1) consider pens community property and 2) have no idea how to use a fountain pen (I learned that one the hard way).

[ethernautrix]

I don't need clips on my pens -- the Nakayas, for instance, are perfectly lovely without clips. So I voted no.

 

I'm not against clips, though. I like the clips on my other pens.

 

Anyway, I keep the pens from rolling off desk by setting them down on a soft cloth or the mouse pad. If I don't hold the Nakaya cap in my other hand, then I stand it up on my desk.

 

When the TWSBI Micarta was in rotation, I put the cap in a very small jar of white paperclips and used the pen like a desk pen.

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

I don't need clips since I don't put my pens in my pockets. My Nakayas don't have clips. I also usually put my pens somewhere where they are resting on something and can't roll away.

 

Dillon

[revdrjaydwright]

The clip for me is absolutely necessary. I always put my pen in my shirt pocket, and I wear only shirts with pockets that will most likely fit my pens. I honestly don't feel ready for the day unless I have a pen in my pocket.

[tomgartin]

I think the clip is essential to the design of a pen. It's a chance to show off design while the nib is safely under the cap. It also keeps the pen on my shirt--whether in the pocket or on the edge under a button when my shirt doesn't have a pocket.

[Redbarchettayyz]

I need the clip. I never set my pens down uncapped, but I do place them on my desk quite frequently capped while attending to computer, etc. The clip keeping them in one place and not rolling is absolutely essential. I'd say I use my clips as "clips" about half the time - I rarely wear shirts with a pocket for pens, although I do like clipping one to my inside jacket pocket, resting neatly beside one of those small rhodia books. The rest of the time I carry whichever pens I'm taking outside the house for the day in a stiff, felt-lined 2-pen case I picked up from my local pen shop.

[andru]

Lamy Safari: I'd happily get rid of that monstrosity.

You can easily remove the clip from a Safari by slowly pulling the wire up-and-out (at an angle) where it enters the cap. I did this to mine. It will leave two holes, but the inner cap is not affected so it won't cause faster drying out. You can minimise the stress on the wire by removing one side at a time. Be careful not to scratch the plastic with the sharp edges of the wire ends.

 

Here is a topic about Safari and Vista caps giving more details.

[OakIris]

I don't use the clip to secure the pen in a pocket, but as many others have stated, it does prevent the pen from rolling off a desk onto the floor.

 

I have had just one similar experience with this. I normally post my caps, and the pen I am talking about actually had a cap with a clip - but the cap could not be posted. I was using the pen and, unthinking, put it down on my desk - I have a pen rest, so no excuse for this. It proceeded to roll right off of my desk and the impact with the wood floor caused the nib to become misaligned with the feed. I was able to readjust it and get it writing again. I have since given away the pen.

 

Anyway, lesson learned. Not only do I want a cap with a clip but I also want only those pens that can be posted to prevent this sort of damage (or worse) should I have another careless moment!

 

Holly