How Do You Carry Your Fountain Pen With You?

[christian1122]

i have a metropolitan and i always just put it in my pocket.

today i took it out to make some notes and the nib was pushed almost out of the pen. i pushed it back and it was all fine but i feel like i will break or bent the nib if i keep it in my pocket.

 

how does everyone else cary it? just in your jacket or in a case?

[fly_us]

1 pen in shirt pocket if my shirt have one, and 3 more in the pen case.

 

But how could the nib be pushed out of the pen when it is capped?

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

I carry most pens in a case but I have a Montblanc Boheme that is small enough to keep in the pocket of my jeans.

 

I too am a little confused, your nib was pushed almost out? Bend or break your nib? You do keep your cap on the pen while keeping it in your pocket, yes? I am assuming by "pushed out" you mean the nib was actually coming out of the feed section and had to be pushing back into the feed section. Is the nib that loose? I ask because it usually takes some serious effort to get a nib out of a pen, at least for me anyway.

[christian1122]

I carry most pens in a case but I have a Montblanc Boheme that is small enough to keep in the pocket of my jeans.

 

I too am a little confused, your nib was pushed almost out? Bend or break your nib? You do keep your cap on the pen while keeping it in your pocket, yes? I am assuming by "pushed out" you mean the nib was actually coming out of the feed section and had to be pushing back into the feed section. Is the nib that loose? I ask because it usually takes some serious effort to get a nib out of a pen, at least for me anyway.

 

i have no idea how it could come out. when i cleaned the nib a few days ago it was pretty hard to get it out.

[fly_us]

 

i have no idea how it could come out. when i cleaned the nib a few days ago it was pretty hard to get it out.

 

Why do you took out the nib just to clean it? I think the nib is not installed properly when you put back in, not because you carry it in your pocket.

[christian1122]

 

Why do you took out the nib just to clean it? I think the nib is not installed properly when you put back in, not because you carry it in your pocket.

 

i dont have a converter for it yet so i had to take out the nb and feed. maybe i didnt put it back properly? i didnt want to push the nib too hard becouse im scare that it will bend.

Edited June 19, 2015 by christian1122

[AAAndrew]

I carry two, rarely three, pens in my shirt pocket every day. I have a Fisher Space Pen in my pants pocket for emergencies. I don't know that I'd ever feel comfortable carrying a fountain pen in my pants pocket. But then I don't have a metal Kaweco.

[Starbuck]

I carry a Pilot Vanishing Point in one of the Franklin Cristoph pen slips. It stays in the jeans pocket most of the time. Though I might recommend the Aston Leather ones instead, the inside of the FC is a pretty rough material and the fit is a bit tight. (The large is probably better, I have a medium) All my other pens stay in the Aston 10-pen case either in my backpack or at home.

[carlos.q]

i dont have a converter for it yet so i had to take out the nb and feed. maybe i didnt put it back properly? i didnt want to push the nib too hard becouse im scare that it will bend.

Could you please explain this? It would seem that you are using the pen as an eye dropper and filling it with ink by removing the nib and feed.

[public alias]

My Metropolitan often goes in my pants pocket, along with keys, change, my phone, etc. That's what I love about that pen, it's so sturdy and so cheap I don't feel overprotective of it.

 

Nicer pens go in my shirt or inner jacket pocket, or my computer bag if my outfit doesn't have such pockets. And if I'm not taking my computer bag, and my shirt doesn't have pockets, I just don't carry nice pens.

[Dronak]

My pens are typically carried in my bag rather than on my person. When I need a pen, I take one out and bring it with me, and when I'm done, it goes back where it started. My bag has a few pen pockets built into it, but I use those for my pencil, eraser, and usually a ballpoint. I have a separate case for my fountain pens, so they go in there and the case goes into my bag.

[inkstainedruth]

I have a purse that has a couple of tall narrow outside pockets -- just the right size for a two-pen leather holder (although I've been known to squeeze three pens into one of those cases, and even fit a fairly long pen in the pockets (but outside the holder). If for some reason I need to carry a LOT of pens, I also have a three pen leather zipper case that goes inside my purse (but which I try to keep upright).

Besides that I have a crocheted (I think) pen wrap, thanks to FPNer Helen350, and a felted clutch purse I got in a silent auction that has inner cloth pockets (and which someday I'll actually sew elastic bands into to really hold the pens in the way the zipper bag, and my 24 pen zipper cases have elastic).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: for knocking about the house I will often clip a single pen to my collar or neckline but that is occasionally fraught with danger -- I had to bleach iron gall ink out of an acrylic cardigan a couple of years ago....

Edited June 19, 2015 by inkstainedruth

[JulesSilvan]

In my pockets. I have to wear cargo trousers for work so I just put them in the smaller slotted pockets, keeps 'em upright as well as easy to grab when needed.

[DrHaire]

I personally carry my pens in a case inside my backpack or pocket. My case is a faux leather 2 pen case from my local store when I bought my Cross Verve. The two pens I carry in constant rotation (except when being cleaned) are the Waterman Carene and Cross Verve. I keep these two in the case because a while back my Carene dropped from my pocket and the plastic nib section broke in half right where the converter is connected to the feed.

 

I would also recommend keeping them in a small carry case to prevent unexpected leaks (particularly if you have a piston fill) due to personal experience. Most leaks if I have them are from the snap on caps jiggling the nib and causing small droplets to fall into the cap (proper and frequent cleaning can prevent this though).

 

I also am adamant about keeping my pens in good condition and free from wear as long as possible. All my other pens are kept secure and sometimes locked in a cuban crafters mio glass top humidor (modified to have a slight downward angled tray after being given as a groomsman gift).

 

-Tim

[FayeV]

I used to carry up to 10 pens in my purse/bag. I finally trimmed to down to 2 pens carried in a 2-pen sleeve. My other inked pens sit in a Neocritz Transformer pencil case/cup. Yes, I realize it is blasphemous to allow the pens to "mingle" with each other. What I love about this case is that I can zip it up and put it upright in my (larger) bags and still access the pens by unzipping from the top zipper (without taking the whole case out of the bag first). When I get home, the pens in the 2-pen sleeve join the rest of the gang in the cup. When I leave the house, I choose two pens to take with me in the 2-pen sleeve. I can't keep pens in my pockets, they might fall out. Or in many cases, I lack pockets on the clothes I wear. It is a common problem with women's clothing. Grrrr!!!!

[christian1122]

Could you please explain this? It would seem that you are using the pen as an eye dropper and filling it with ink by removing the nib and feed.

 

i was cleaning it that is why i took it apart

[ISW_Kaputnik]

Shirt pocket for one or two pens. Even my T-shirts and polo shirts have pockets.

 

Inside jacket pocket if I'm wearing a jacket, which I'm usually not.

 

A cloth pen wrap inside my laptop case or folio if I want extra pens and happen to be carrying those cases.

 

As a last resort, sometimes, a leather pen case in a front pants pocket.

Edited June 19, 2015 by ISW_Kaputnik

[Ernst Bitterman]

Shirt pocket for me.

 

It seems to me that you're cleaning harder than you need to. If you don't have a converter to run water through the feed, stop around a drug store for what may be called "ear syringe" or "baby nasal aspirator". Here's one about to work on a Sheaffer:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/takematsu/earbulb.jpg

 

It should work unamended is your Metro uses international cartridges. If it's the sort that uses Pilot cartridges, you will probably have to trim the spout back until it fits over the mounting.

[madden11]

I have a slim round pen case that I bought from Leatherology. It holds just enough, so I have to be selctive about what I bring with me. Today I snuck in 3 pens and 2 vials of ink. My Pelikan M200 is the 'closure' for my Hobonichi cover.

[thatotherguy1]

I tend to carry my pens however it's most convenient for me. Shirt pocket if I have one, jeans pocket for a Sport and sometimes a full sized FP (but usually that abuse is reserved for ballpoints that I don't mind breaking), pen case in my bag most of the time for most pens.

 

Your pen should be A-OK in your pocket. Even if the nib and feed come out in the cap- which they really shouldn't and it's alarming that they do- the biggest thing I would worry about is getting ink everywhere. The parts should be safe enough in the cap. However, if you start to get into pens with more fragile materials or twisty bits on the ends of the barrels (like piston filler knobs, blind caps or vacuum filler caps) don't put them in the jeans pocket. You should be fine with a metal C/C pen like the Metro but anything more fragile or mechanically complex than that needs to be in a case or shirt pocket for safety's sake.