Carrying Fancy Pens In Jeans Pockets

[YonathanZ]

Hi,

 

I take a fountain pen with me to college every day and store it in my front jeans pocket. Sometimes it's a fancy MB or whatever and I wonder if storing it in such a way could damage the finish of the pen.

If it's a possible issue, I might get a single pen (fabric) sleeve for it.

 

Thanks.

[Estycollector]

Demin is thick so the first thing that comes to mind is a sprung clip. The clip on the Lamy Al Star would be good for jearns except when you have to sit, I would rather carry it in the t shirt neck line or button column on a button up or golf shirt.

[welch]

Don't worry about the finish as much as the chance you might break the pen in half. I don't know how tight your jeans are, but ordinary Levi's 505 jeans are not made for carrying pens and pencils.

 

Try a

 

- shirt with a pocket

- knapsack with pen/pencil slots

- knapsack with FP case -- lots of nice leather ones, for instance

 

When I wore a tee-shirt and Levis every summer day, I would hang my Parker 45 from the neck of my shirt. One day, while riding my bike, the body of the pen fell into the road. It survived, demonstrating that the Parker 45 was a rugged pen, but I was more careful afterward.

 

If you want to carry a fountain pen in a blue jeans pocket, look for something like a Kaweco Sport. It's metal, and most of the pen stores inside its cap. (In the summer, now, I put a Pelikan M-100 or M-150 in the pocket of khaki shorts, but those pants are loose.

[yubaprof]

I used to carry expensive pens in my jeans until one broke in half, just like Welch said. Then I started carrying a pen in my coat (black leather jacket) pocket, which was fine until I put my car keys in with the pen. The keys, of course, scratched the finish of the pen. Follow Welch's advice and don't be a dummy like me.

[AL01]

Hi,

 

I take a fountain pen with me to college every day and store it in my front jeans pocket. Sometimes it's a fancy MB or whatever and I wonder if storing it in such a way could damage the finish of the pen.

If it's a possible issue, I might get a single pen (fabric) sleeve for it.

 

Thanks.

 

I carry my pens in my jeans, and use a cheap soft case.

 

A case will be enough to protect any of your pens, whether they be from 2020 or 1941.

 

But do be careful...

 

If your jean pockets feel tight, then I would not put a fountain pen in there...

[bemon]

Your pocket liner probably won’t damage a pen’s finish, but whatever is sharing space with it might. It would be best to protect it with a sleeve. Better insulation from scrapes and bumps. Plus as someone above mentioned, it could snap. Assuming it’s not a metal version.

 

Even better yet though, if you want to carry a pen in your pocket invest something that’s made to take a beating. Like a Karas Kustom.

 

They’re less likely to break, and aren’t “fancy” so They look good with some proof-of-life patina on them. They’re not exactly cheap, but are a lot less costly to replace than a Montblanc. If you’re in college I’m sure you’ll still get plenty of use out of your Montblanc at home. Nothing wrong with a having a home pen and a travel pen!

Edited May 5, 2020 by bemon

[Parker51]

Just remember to never ever sit down. I broke a not so precious pen in half by doing so. No problems while standing, or usually when I would sit, but one it didn't move sideways when I sat and it snapped.

 

The only way to avoid this and wear jeans is to wear vintage/antique high waisted jeans, which are very difficult to find and very expensive.

[drumley]

When I went to college way back when I carried my pens and calculator in a compact camera case on my belt.

[langere]

Yes, I have also broken a pen in half - a Stipula Passoporto - that I had in my pocket. Presumably it is a "pocket pen." But I will never put a pen in my pants pocket again.

 

Erick

[Runnin_Ute]

I broke a Lamy Al Star on the threads while it was a pen pocket of a brief bag. Not a pants pocket. Not quite sure how that happened. Cost to repair was $25 for the part which included nib,feed and section. Which I don't believe are available from the US distributor anymore.

[txomsy]

It all depends on what kind of person you are.

 

I broke many a pen in my day by wearing them on jeans pockets. Front or rear. Usually when seating. Front or rear. But often because I would run into anything and hit them. Or ride a bicycle, or maybe play a basket match with friends forgetting I carried the pen. Or I would forget and hang the jeans and the pen would slid off and fall. I hardly had a spill, but the body would shatter. Point is, I was very active, careless, absent minded and forgetful, so I would run into many dangerous (mostly for the pen) situations and what I wanted was something I didn't have to care for..

 

That was until I got my metal MB Slimline (which I got specially for that, it was the first full metal pen I ever laid my hands upon, at least I believe that even the section is metal) which has lasted me years in any pocket (but most often the shirt pocket.), and what I now believe is a Sheaffer Targa Slim ultraslim pen that has also lasted decades (until the section ring rusted, fell off and the section broke).

 

Nowadays, I agree with welch, a Kaweco AL or Brass Sport, a Lilliput, or their Delike Alpha and Element clones, or even the no name clones of the clones are a great option that will not give you concerns. Or any other similar pen. They are shorter and will go comfortably on low waist jeans.

 

I am specially fond of the cheapest brass clones: I've worn two of them on a front jeans pocket with coins, keys and other items daily for more than a year now and they always work great. Plus, they've got some advantages over the Sport: they are cheeeeap, larger, take an international converter, and there is a plastic insert in the cap for threading which, although it may occasionally come out, allows me to thread them as tightly as I want (never a drop of ink came out). They've also got disadvantages, though, but at 3-5USD, I can't complain.

 

But I would not carry any pen with plastic (or precious resin) parts. With my usual absentmindedness I would break it sooner or later (more on the side of "sooner"). YMMV. You know better what kind of wear you'll give them.

 

Oh, and I'd also be wary of backpacks. Too easy for someone to place their hands on, specially in agglomerations. If you do, wear them in an inner pocket, not easily accessible and have always an eye on the backpack. Specially if talking of a 300USD MB pen. That's actually one of the reasons I prefer a front jeans pocket... more difficult for me not to notice if someone puts a hand in.

[como]

That thought has never crossed my mind. My fountain pens are objects of functional art. The only pen I can imagine doing so is Kaweco Sport Brass, but I don‘t have it and probably will never buy.

[silverlifter]

The only pen I carry in my (front) jeans pocket is one of my Skyline Sports. I have done this with no issues because a) I wear my jeans a little loose, and b: the pen is so short that when I do sit down, even if it is at an odd angle, there hasn't been sufficient stress across the length for damage.

 

I would never put a longer, or more valuable pen in my pocket this way for the reasons described above. There are just too many other safe ways to carry pens to risk a good one like this.

Edited May 5, 2020 by silverlifter

[sebastel23]

but ... maybe kawecos are not fancy enough?

(good experience with them on my side, though)

[como]

No, not as fancy as an Omas Arco Brown, but it has its own charm and low maintenance.

but ... maybe kawecos are not fancy enough?

(good experience with them on my side, though)

[loganrah]

If you want fancy and jeans pocket friendly get a small vintage ringtop like this one. Fits inside the coin pocket of my Lee jeans (where it only rubs against the microfiber cloth I keep there for cleaning glasses). And if you are worried about it falling out you can get a small chain with a clip (like a short plain bracelet) to clip it too, though I haven't had any problems. Opens up to a pretty good length, though it is definitely too thin for writing for a long time.

 

These are regularly available on ebay for US$100 or so, I picked this one up fully serviced from Greg Minuskin.

 

The rolled gold turns a few heads too...

 

 

[Arkanabar]

To the best of my knowledge, this is the application for which the Kaweco Sport, whether metal or resin, was designed. I think the Delike Alpha has a better design, with a bit more length to reach the forefinger/thumb web and to hold a standard international converter.

[YonathanZ]

I never thought about a pen breaking inside a pocket, and I've been carrying one throughout the entire last semester.

I'm wearing t-shirts so there are no shirt pockets (and I wouldn't use one anyway), and a Kaweco Sport sounds like a terrible tool for college classes where I'd have to uncap and post it every minute or so. As for metal pens, they're heavy.

Edited May 6, 2020 by YonathanZ

[BaronWulfraed]

Only thing I'd risk in pants pockets is a chalk chuck https://www.cleanitsupply.com/p-31781/l-cs7pp/charles-leonard-aluminum-chalk-holder-silver-each-leo74541.aspx?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIia-lssmf6QIVVMDICh36tAzDEAQYASABEgIoRvD_BwE

 

Then again, I was the nerd with the plastic pocket protector in the 6th grade, graduating to leather pen cases some 10-12 years later. I also terrorized my 8th grade teacher by using a slide-rule [just for simple ratio when I was scoring tests for her -- M-correct / N-total => x%].

[Karmachanic]

I never thought about a pen breaking inside a pocket, and I've been carrying one throughout the entire last semester.

I'm wearing t-shirts so there are no shirt pockets (and I wouldn't use one anyway), and a Kaweco Sport sounds like a terrible tool for college classes where I'd have to uncap and post it every minute or so. As for metal pens, they're heavy.

 

Clip the pen to the t-shirt neckline. Or add a belt loop to a single leather pen case.

Standard sized pen in jeans pocket will, in time, lead to unhappiness.

Edited May 6, 2020 by Karmachanic