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What Do People Say To You When You Whip Out That Pen?


GabrielleDuVent

Common perceptions  

464 members have voted

  1. 1. What do people say to you when you get out your FP?

    • "My, that's a weird looking pen."
      50
    • "That's a cool pen!"
      167
    • "Is that a fountain pen?"
      182
    • "Is that a weapon?"
      12
    • "Can I borrow it?"
      40
    • "Do you use fountain pens? I do too! (goes off into a monologue)"
      19
    • "That's a very posh pen."
      55
    • Other (write them in the posts!)
      97


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Hi,

 

Although most people don't seem to notice, a few of my friends either tell me "that's so cool!" or "that's so cute!"

 

Dillon

Stolen: Aurora Optima Demonstrator Red ends Medium nib. Serial number 1216 and Aurora 98 Cartridge/Converter Black bark finish (Archivi Storici) with gold cap. Reward if found. Please contact me if you have seen these pens.

Please send vial orders and other messages to fpninkvials funny-round-mark-thing gmail strange-mark-thing com. My shop is open once again if you need help with your pen.

Will someone with the name of "Jay" who emailed me through the email system provide me an email address? There was no email address provided, so I can't write back.

Dillon

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So, if Europeans of a certain class only judge me on my pen and my shoes...that tells me what to wear to the next dinner party. I'm just not sure where I'd put my pen when I wasn't using it. :P

 

Inside pocket of your jacket, in a case, is where my mate puts it. I keep mine in a clutch purse.

Tes rires retroussés comme à son bord la rose,


Effacent mon dépit de ta métamorphose;


Tu t'éveilles, alors le rêve est oublié.



-Jean Cocteau, from Plaint-Chant, 1923

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"Oh, you use a fountain pen." I think the people who have noticed are familiar with them but think FPs are too much trouble to bother with. (Their loss.) Except my husband. He claims no interest, but on a regular basis he absconds with one of mine, uses it until it's empty, brings it back, and spirits away another full one. I think he's in denial.

Keep smiling! Cheers, Velia

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Most of my customers seem to take more notice of my cell phone than my fountain pen. Those who do notice think I'm eccentric and I probably am. Hey! At least I've graduated to using a digital camera.

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I think he's in denial.

 

Hmm...I don't think he's in denial. I think he's got a good thing going. :)

 

He picks up a full pen. Uses it till it's empty. Picks up another that, somehow, was cleaned an refilled while he was having fun with the other one. And, off he goes to have more fun. It's kinda like the LP gas bottle service. You drop off the empty, and pick up another that, somehow, was refilled while you were having fun making kabobs with the other one. And, off you go...

 

I don't know your husband, so I'm probably way off the mark, but it does make a good story.

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"Oh, you use a fountain pen." I think the people who have noticed are familiar with them but think FPs are too much trouble to bother with. (Their loss.) Except my husband. He claims no interest, but on a regular basis he absconds with one of mine, uses it until it's empty, brings it back, and spirits away another full one. I think he's in denial.

 

At least you let your husband use yours! My mate and I have "pen policy", although it wasn't inspired by David Mitchell.

 

1. No sharing of pens.

2. Yes to sharing of inks, but buy your own bottle if you like it. Stop nicking mine constantly.

3. If either of us buys a new pen, we're allowed to "try it out" for the duration of exactly ONE sentence; and the sentence is "the quick brown fox" or "portez ce vieux whisky".

Edited by GabrielleDuVent

Tes rires retroussés comme à son bord la rose,


Effacent mon dépit de ta métamorphose;


Tu t'éveilles, alors le rêve est oublié.



-Jean Cocteau, from Plaint-Chant, 1923

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"A fountain pen? Is that an antique?"

"Are you a lawyer?"

"Classy!"

"What if it leaks?"

 

Best comment ever was on my yellow Lamy Safari with a black nib and clip: "It reminds me of a sports car."

"Luxe, calme et volupte"

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"... pens need to be refilled?"

 

I just thought you were suppose to lose pens before they ran out? ;)

 

 

The most popular reaction I have recieved are people who recognize that it's a fountain pen, and comment with something like, "Nice pen."

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/606/letterji9.png
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They often ask why are you carrying such an expensive pen and suggesting I may end up loosing it..I've had that happen with pens such my safari which I don't consider to be an expensive pen.

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People are often surprised that I actually have a pen on me, but the type of pen seems to be irrelevant.

 

--flatline

Edited by flatline
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People are often surprised that I actually have a pen on me, but the type of pen seems to be irrelevant.

That's a good point; people don't expect you to have a pen on you, they expect you to have a mobile phone. Whenever there is something to sign, they immediately hand you a cheap ballpoint pen.

Iris

My avatar is a painting by Ilya Mashkov (1881-1944): Self-Portrait; 1911, which I photographed in the New Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

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Childish I know. Classic Mel Brooks movie.

 

Change is not mandatory, Survival is not required.

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Anyone born before 1950: Wow! I haven't seen one of those in thirty years! Do they still make those?

Anyone born after 1950: says nothing, just stares at me like I have three heads.

Everyone: says some version of, "You should use a ballpoint. They don't leak." Note: I've had plenty of clothes ruined by leaking ballpoints. None have been ruined by leaking FPs.

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/606/letterji9.png Life's too short to write with anything but a fountain pen!
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Childish I know. Classic Mel Brooks movie.

 

 

I love that line.

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Am I the only one who got the weapon question? My entire Latin class was firmly convinced that my fountain pen was a knife. I nearly got sent to the headmaster's office. The writing etiquette teacher had to testify that no, I can't stab people with it, and yes, it's a writing instrument (it was a Lamy).

 

My charcoal safari looks "tactical" and it often feels like a scalpel (to the point that I was worried I might have it confiscated on a flight). But I've never had anyone actually ask me if it was a weapon.

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You know, I was just a a sf con and signed books with fountain pens because they were the only pens I had brought with me (stupid of me, I usually know to bring a gel pen or something for emergencies), and nobody seemed to notice they were fountain pens, even the Nakaya.

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Today I had a brief meeting with someone I had never met before. At the end, she said "I just have to tell you, I love your pen. I haven't seen one of those in a long long time!" Turns out she was from Poland and seeing my pen brought back a lot of happy school memories for her. :)

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Last night, I was at a school board meeting and taking notes with my TWSBI 700. A woman next to me noticed and said she had no idea that anyone still made fountain pens. She said she loved putting different color cartridges in her fountain pen when she was in school.

Proud resident of the least visited state in the nation!

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