I Don't Buy Anymore Expensive Fountain Pens!

[Rudolf]

I'm a fountain pen lover for many years. Since I was a kid of about 10 years I wrote with fountain pens. In all the years I've bought many fountain pens, from Montblanc up till very cheap budget pens. I had a lot of disappointments with many pens. Even the Montblanc Bohème never wrote out of the box, unbelievable!

 

I can't understand and I can't justify why a brand new pen of € 600 just won't write out of the box!

And every time I had troubles with many brands: Pilot, Edison, Faber-Castell, Parker, Diplomat, Waterman, etc.

Poor inkflow, wrong tine alignment, bad converters, hard starts, skipping, etc.

Why should I buy an expensive pen? They are all with defectives too.

 

I know that this all sounds very ironic and negative, but I'm done with it.

 

My last pen that I've bought is a Sheaffer Sagaris. A relative cheap pen of € 60 (10 times cheaper than a Montblanc!). The tines were well aligned, but I did a little bit fine tuning and tweaking and it writes superb. Inkflow is very good and no hard starts or skipping. So, not an expensive pen, but a very nice and smooth writer. Why should I buy a pen of € 600 that won't write well?

 

Moral of the story: fountain pen manufacturers, make sure that your (expensive) pens are absolutely perfect! Customers, a cheap pen is often as good or even better than an expensive pen. I'm not talking about esthetics, but purely about performance qualities.

 

So, this is all I want to say, I'm relieved

 

 

[BillZ]

I have purchased most of my high end pens(my current budget limit is $500USD) from a store in Houston, Tx. named Dromgoole's.

I get a discount from the owner and, more important, I get to "test write" with any pen I want before I buy. That way there are no surprises or disapointments.

[Arkanabar]

Merry Eleventh Day of Christmas!

 

I can understand your frustration. My first "pricey" pen was a Pelikan M200, and I suppose I sent at least a half-dozen or more nib units to the US distributor, Pelikan SRW, before I got one I actually liked.

 

I considered doing it again for my Pelikan M400. But the new distributor, Chartpak, apparently has so little confidence in the company's manufacturing tolerances that they won't exchange nib units with me. No, I must send the entire pen so they can ensure the new nib unit will screw in before they send it to me.

 

Both of those Pelikans are now excellent writers, by the way. But like you, I presently expect to find the best value for my money in the under $100 range, and that probably vintage.

[jar]

Sorry you have had bad luck. I've been lucky I guess and so my experience has been just the opposite of your and for over a half century now and over 100 pens.

[fplover01]

Merry Eleventh Day of Christmas!

 

I can understand your frustration. My first "pricey" pen was a Pelikan M200, and I suppose I sent at least a half-dozen or more nib units to the US distributor, Pelikan SRW, before I got one I actually liked.

 

I considered doing it again for my Pelikan M400. But the new distributor, Chartpak, apparently has so little confidence in the company's manufacturing tolerances that they won't exchange nib units with me. No, I must send the entire pen so they can ensure the new nib unit will screw in before they send it to me.

 

Both of those Pelikans are now excellent writers, by the way. But like you, I presently expect to find the best value for my money in the under $100 range, and that probably vintage.

 

I really cannot agree with this experience.

 

I have had lots of Pelikan M20x series pens (more than 25 before I downsized this year) and none had any problems writing out of the box. Also pelikan is famous for its manufacturing tolerances and how parts of new production pens would fit in older pens and vice versa, if they are of the same size. for example I have had m200s manufactured in the late 80s and still "W.Germany", and have used modern 2014 production caps or modern nibs and vice versa. Or older M400 nibs from the 80s screwed into modern M215 pens and the list goes on. i have never had any Pelikan pen, where an appropriately sized nib didnt fit or couldnt be screwed in, so having to ensure that the nib can be screwed in the pen doesnt sound like a very good explanation.

 

I have done several nibs exchanges at Pelikan here in Germany (not because I was not happy but because I decided I needed a different size) and the standard practice is to register the pen in the system and send it as a whole, not only the nib. Pelikan sees the pen as a unit and even the nib exchange is not intended to be performed by the user as I understand it.

 

A very expensive pen has other functions apart from the primary, as a collectors item, showcase piece, prestige object, whatever. At some point these secondary functions in my opinion overshadow the primary one (who really needs to write with an 600 Euro pen and how many of those pens are really just showcase pieces?) I am not sure that writing satisfaction rises in direct relationship with the price of the pen. I am very happy with my Pelikan M205s in the 70-80 Euros mark. I really love the M800 which is about 3 times more expensive, not because it writes 3 times better, but because I like its size, balance, look, gold nib etc. But I could still write all my life with the M205 and never care for anything else.

 

However by buying an expensive object, it is clear that the buyer demands strict quality control and impeccable function. I wouldnt have much respect for an 600 Euro pen that didnt write out the box.

 

My most expensive pens are my 5 Pelikan M80xs, which all wrote impeccably from the start. I really want a Toledo, but I cannot afford it. I do not expect it will write 10 times better than its humble little brother the M205, but I still expect it would write out of the box with no issues.

[thygreyt]

All my expensive pens have written right out of the box flawlessly... If you had an issue, did you try to solve it through the proper channels?

If so, and it didnt work, then i musts certainly understand why you feel the way you do.

 

At the same time, it is no surprise that there are some very good less expensive pens that write wonderfully.

[PS104]

This is why I patronize my local B and M pen store (Bertram's Inkwell). When I buy a pen from them I can always ink it up (not just dip it) and try the pen before I pay for it. It's important to fill the pen since that's how it's going to be used. Does the ink flow to the nib freely? Does it write dry? Too much flow? Is the nib smooth or scratchy? Is the nib the size you want? How does it feel in your hand? And so many other questions. Even then after I take it home and use it if there is a problem I know I can bring it back for tweaking.

I know there are good pens for sale on the web and the majority of sellers are reputable but a pen is a personal thing. You become one with it. It's not like a bottle of ink. I admit that I'm a frequent patron of Ron Zorn (Main Street Pens). No pen I have ever purchased from him has been questionable. Everyone has written superbly right out of the shipping box. Again, if there was a problem I know there would be no question about returning it to him and having the problem corrected. Every pen he proffers on his website is explained in detail and he tells you of any flaws (if any) and how it might fit in your hand.

[FOUR X FOUR]

I can agree with you on some levels. I have LAMY Safari. Black matte with the black steel medium nib. This pen is as smooth as any 2000 dollar pen I own

[Briguy52]

I can agree with you on some levels. I have LAMY Safari. Black matte with the black steel medium nib. This pen is as smooth as any 2000 dollar pen I own

 

I have the same feeling about the Safari. My Safari in Fine wrote super smoothly straight out of the box, much to my surprise at the time.

 

Whenever I purchase more expensive pens, I have the expectation that they'll write amazingly (or at least in the same 'price-to-smoothness' ratio as the Safari). Because of this, I'm often disappointed.

Edited January 5, 2016 by Briguy52

[Sandy Fry]

I have a handful of "high end" pens and , like Jar, have had no problems with any of them. All of them wrote perfectly straight out of the box.

 

I have heard many complaints with QC, especially on Visconti, but I have had zero issues so far.

 

David

[Mangrove Jack]

 

I have had lots of Pelikan M20x series pens (more than 25 before I downsized this year) and none had any problems writing out of the box. Also pelikan is famous for its manufacturing tolerances and how parts of new production pens would fit in older pens and vice versa, if they are of the same size. for example I have had m200s manufactured in the late 80s and still "W.Germany", and have used modern 2014 production caps or modern nibs and vice versa. Or older M400 nibs from the 80s screwed into modern M215 pens and the list goes on. i have never had any Pelikan pen, where an appropriately sized nib didnt fit or couldnt be screwed in, so having to ensure that the nib can be screwed in the pen doesnt sound like a very good explanation.

 

I have done several nibs exchanges at Pelikan here in Germany (not because I was not happy but because I decided I needed a different size) and the standard practice is to register the pen in the system and send it as a whole, not only the nib. Pelikan sees the pen as a unit and even the nib exchange is not intended to be performed by the user as I understand it.

 

A very expensive pen has other functions apart from the primary, as a collectors item, showcase piece, prestige object, whatever. At some point these secondary functions in my opinion overshadow the primary one (who really needs to write with an 600 Euro pen and how many of those pens are really just showcase pieces?) I am not sure that writing satisfaction rises in direct relationship with the price of the pen. I am very happy with my Pelikan M205s in the 70-80 Euros mark. I really love the M800 which is about 3 times more expensive, not because it writes 3 times better, but because I like its size, balance, look, gold nib etc. But I could still write all my life with the M205 and never care for anything else.

 

However by buying an expensive object, it is clear that the buyer demands strict quality control and impeccable function. I wouldnt have much respect for an 600 Euro pen that didnt write out the box.

 

My most expensive pens are my 5 Pelikan M80xs, which all wrote impeccably from the start. I really want a Toledo, but I cannot afford it. I do not expect it will write 10 times better than its humble little brother the M205, but I still expect it would write out of the box with no issues.

 

Exactly my point of view too. I could not have put it any better. Many of my under 150 USD pens write so well, some out of the box and some with a bit of nib tweaking, that I cannot expect any pen however expensive to write better. However, it is unacceptable for an expensive pen to give trouble out of the box.

[Zookie]

You can't go wrong with a Jinhao X450. They look and write nicely, for the most part right out of the box. If by chance they don't, they are easy to fix and are also very reasonably priced.

[sirgilbert357]

Expectations play a key role here. If you expect a 500 dollar pen to perform 10 times better than your smooth writing 50 dollar pen, then you will never be happy. You pay that higher premium for many different attributes of the pen, not just how the tipping material of the nib interacts with the ink and paper. Some of these attributes are intangible or don't affect how the pen writes (brand "image", exclusive or limited edition, gold trim, etc). We are talking veblen goods here, you can't ignore the very attributes that make it a veblen good to begin with.

 

I would think most of the issues the OP described would be returnable/repairable under warranty. There's also the "Did you flush the pen prior to first use / what ink are you using / did you try a DIY tine alignment / did you ask them for a new converter, etc" angle. And plenty of hard starting / skipping new pens have been fixed with a simple flush / cleaning. I get that this is a rant of sorts, but these pens are made by robots and QC checks don't catch EVERYTHING. That's why you leverage the brand's reputation and warranty. It sucks when it happens, but warranties are there for a reason. Coming into the hobby my expectations were MUCH different than they are now...YMMV.

[aeba]

edit:

tl;dr: I too agree with @fplover01. I don't expect any pen I might buy in future to write any better than a 60 € Kaweco I already have. But I do expect them to write out of the box. I don't mean that ergonomics, balance, colour, nib width and so on wouldn't be important things, they just are useless in a pen which doesn't work.

[Steven]

Rudolf, I know how you feel! I have been collecting fountain pens for some 40 years and have amassed a collection of over 600 pens and price has no bearing on writing quality. Thus I have ultimately resorted to fine tuning most nibs and sending the more egregious writers to nib masters for tuning.

 

From a writing perspective I have found Sheaffer's and Pilots to be the best out of the box. Mont Blanc and Pelikans have always been a big disappointment. Lamy's are hit or miss. In addition even the nibs of the same width yield different line thicknesses. The best pen for the money and beats 80% everything I own out the box for writing is the Platinum Preppy. Dirt cheap and beautiful writers. Cross, Parker, and Waterman's are okay but still have a few dogs out of the box. Their quality has taken a hit because of acquisitions, but the US made versions have been flawless. Sailors have been good also. It seems that Japanese fountain pens are consistently better than anything from Europe. I have also got some real crappy expensive pens such as the Parker 100 that all the internal gold plating flaked off and clogged the nib feeder. No wonder they stopped making them. I have also had a few expensive pens discolor and some fall apart. No excuse for such failures. I have had the nib on a Mont Blanc pit and one in which the body cracked. All the Chines pens I have tried were garbage and I have experience the ink leaking out of the nib on some.

 

I have never found a pen that could not be tuned to write flawlessly, but there is absolutely no excuse for any fountain pen to write poorly at any price especially when Platinum can delivery a Preppy fountain pen that writes as well as it does. My daily users are Lamy Safari's that I have tuned to write flawlessly. I keep a couple at work and home.

 

Getting a new pen is always an adventure since most times than not the nib performance is a disappointment, but when one comes out of the box that just delivers a wonderful writing experience its all worth it.

Edited January 5, 2016 by Steven

[gerigo]

I am sorry you have had bad experiences with your more expensive pens. Of course it is unforgivable a product you spent hard earned money on does not work right out of the box. However much we like to kvetch this should not be the way with new pens, it is an unfortunate outcome of where we are today with this particular industry.

 

Which is the reason why some of us have developed personal mechanisms to work through this current situation.

 

One way some of us have found work well is to have good relations at B&M stores.

 

I am lucky enough to have a few where I live. I have patronized these stores enough that they all know who I am, what I like and will set aside nice/ rare things for me. I can also walk in the store, and the owner and the sales people will happily switch nibs, custom order, give a better discount, return and request new pens on my behalf. At another store in Asia, the sales people will even tune my nibs for me if they don't work as well out of the box.

 

The other is to shop at places that have very robust return policies and will work with customers until they are happy.

 

Yet another way is to avoid manufacturers that are not so consistent with their nibs. I wanted to say in general Japanese pens work great out of box. But I need to retract this statement because I have had Sailors and Pilots that needed tuning, either by myself, or sent off to the professionals. While I was in Japan in November, I bought a Yukari Royale from Ito-ya that had a finicky nib. I walked it over to the Pilot pen station museum, and the nice resident nibmeister adjusted the nib for me there. I have had amazing experiences with OMAS and Aurora pens. Montblancs because the store here is willing to work with me, I will never walk out of the store with a pen that does not write to my liking.

 

Of course the last way is to learn some very basic adjustment skills so that you can do some of this adjustments on your own. A skill I have picked up on my own, and have found extremely valuable.

 

The funny thing is I feel the more we buy pens, the chances are higher we will get to encounter dud nibs. If buying cheaper pens are what works for you, then it's cool.

Edited January 5, 2016 by gerigo

[Blade Runner]

Any pen, expensive or cheap can have quality control issues.

If you value aesthetics, rarity, exclusivity as well as functionality, you will get the expensive pen tuned. Otherwise, buy the cheap pens.

[Algester]

as with always... as much as possible don't buy online without knowing how it will turn out... these is the lasting impression you will get with B&M stores unless your B&M stores suck then you have my condolences... if you can't test a pen dont even bother, unless you seriously have an idea what in the hell you are doing

it's also better if you know the seller and the seller knows what he or she is doing and not only turning in quick buck I mean sure B&M stores are expensive... but at lest you get to try out pens but unless said pen can't be sold in your country then I see the logic

Edited January 6, 2016 by Algester

[sidthecat]

I've budgeted an imaginary five bills for a custom ringtop from Shawn Newton, but I may have to hold a benefit or sell my mommy's condo. I'm especially interested in the flex nibs he's started making.

[Icywolfe]

There is something of diminishing returns for the functionality dept. As pens like Pilot Metro is good as 100 USD pens. And stuff like the Platinum PTL5000 at 45 USD can be good as 200 USD pens. The Custom 74 at 85 USD is a bit pricey but it has a big nib selection. In a way you don't need expensive pens. But the thing is for some 85 USD is uber cheap while for some it's uber expensive.

 

But for getting that many dud on the expensive side you must be unlucky or just don't like the feels of the pen. Like Platinum can feel scratchy but it's own thing. Pelikan can look like the nib tines must be spread apart but Pelikans tends to be wet writers. (I suppose that is why their inks are dry)

 

Benefits of expensive modern in a comparison for my Ahab* 20 USD to my Custom743 200-300 USD. Ahab is like tearing up the paper to flex it any. Custom743 just does it butter smooth. Unmodified Ahab (well mines) rail roads often more than the c743.

 

You say cheap pens are better than expensive? Lamy Safari and Alstar both I got were duds in the nib dept. I spent more money on nibs to fix these than the price of the pens. Glad the CP1 came be a good nib or I would've flipped some imaginary table. Logo has flow issues. Like the pen looks nice but man the skipping which Lamy's own ink... >.>

 

* I have/had more than 1 of these pens. Most I gave them to people. For obvious reasons I won't buy more than for my c743.

 

Oh man almost forgot about Twsbi. It would be a godly cheaper pen co if the body didn't crack.