What Pens Wouldn't You Buy Again?

[TSherbs]

15 minutes ago, MuddyWaters said:

 

That's true. I didn't dispute your perspective. I just stated that I hope other newbies were not dissuaded from taking a chance on them.

Well, isn't that true about every entry here? 

 

We're just listing what we each individually would not buy again. And some of us aren't even listing why.

 

Here's another that *I* would not buy again: 

 

Sheaffer Snorkel

 

and another:

 

anything over 40 gm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[johnsi02]

Zebra fountain pen - because everything about it was terrible.

Pilot VP - love the idea, but it’s click is too loud. The new one with the quiet nock is too expensive.

 I’ve had a couple of Pelikans. I disliked the nibs. I won’t get another without a plan to regrind it.

I really want to like Monteverde pens (well, Yafa in general) but they all dry out so quickly. Kind of like the Parker Sonnet. 

 

[inkstainedruth]

4 hours ago, tim77 said:

Interesting!  Some of the unloved pens mentioned above are amongst my favourite.  

 

I found the same thing -- while I can understand why someone might not like a Vanishing Point, for instance, I LOVE my smaller Decimo.

For me, it's probably some of the cheap Chinese pens.  And definitely, the Platinum Plaisir .  The cap band is, in retrospect, kind of cheesy looking; plus, I have one of the old models with the color-matched nibs and it turns out that's just a coating.  After a year or so of using various inks, the coating started to flake off, and I'm worried of contaminating any ink bottles with it.  Besides -- when I got it I was still inexperienced enough to not realize how much drier that pen writes compared to some of my others.

I would probably be really loathe to ever get another Parker Urban, which was a temporary replacement for the Vector I'd left at my brother-in-law's house in CT, and then when I tried to use an older style converter in the pen (rather than the slide converter it came with) the converter got stuck in the barrel and broke.  Got grief from Parker about it; then, the replacement slide converter they sent ME got stuck in the barrel and I gave THEM grief in return.  They sent me a replacement (it was still under extended warranty) -- only the SECOND Urban got some sort of weird leak in the collar of the nib assembly.  Lost track of how many times I flushed and soaked the nib assembly.  Eventually chucked the whole pen in the trash.  So, other than Vectors, I'm never buying another modern Parker pen.  Ever.  (Vintage ones, of course, are another matter entirely.... )

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Forgot about the Cross Verve.  Cool idea in principle.  But the two piece nib surrounding the feed means that it's really easy to get ink all over your fingers.  The good part is that I only paid a buck for mine....

[gyasko]

2 hours ago, Uncial said:

Nakaya......just to prove the subjectiveness of the thread if nothing else.

Not even buying those once.  The finishes don’t interest me and they all have section steps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JonSzanto]

2 hours ago, MuddyWaters said:

 

That's true. I didn't dispute your perspective. I just stated that I hope other newbies were not dissuaded from taking a chance on them.

 

Yes, I would hope that as well. I didn't mean to go too wide in my response, no offense. And I would add that I've learned as much about what I want in a pen from the ones I didn't care for as from my favorites.

[ENewton]

My worst pen purchase was the Monteverde Invincia Deluxe, 1.1 stub.  Not only did the pen make me feel that I was writing with a small trowel, but the finish on the grip started looking pocked within a few months of occasional use.  I kept thinking that someone else might enjoy the nib more than I did, but by then the pen looked too shabby even to give away.

 

The purpose it did serve was to show me that I wouldn't mind a really hefty pen, and that a pen with a stub or italic nib would be nice to use for printing.  I eventually bought a Waterman Man 100 Opera, which is quite heavy, and two pens with cursive italic nibs that serve me very well. 

 

The other pen that has disappointed me is the Kaweco Sport.  I love the shape and size, but the nib feels flimsy, with a tendency to skip even after attention by a very skilled person.  Maybe someday there will be a replacement nib I like better.  In the meantime, I have managed to improve the writing experience by configuring the pen as an eyedropper and using only wet, lubricated inks.

 

 

 

 

 

[vicpen123]

When visiting NYC in 2016 I just had to go the Fountain Pen Hospital (sort of a pilgrimage)and buy a pen.

 

I bought a Pilot Metropolitan (a pen that was not available in any shop in Australia) but, to my dismay, after reading so many encouraging reviews, it turned out to be a dud.

 

So-so nib and sharp step down between barrel and section made it the most uncomfortable pen that I have used.

 

Maybe, if it ever becomes safe again to visit NYC, I will return and buy a better fountain pen.

 

Stay safe and well.

[yazeh]

I never liked the design of Lamy Safari and I doubt I would ever buy anyone. And I don't like hooded nibs. So, that's those I won't buy anymore. 

While I replaced my nib creeper, (when I lost it) I won't buy one again. The same goes for Ahab. But it doesn't mean that I don't enjoy using them

[Tasmith]

TWSBI 580.  While the specs suggested I would like the dimensions, I find the section too narrow and uncomfortable.  Its also very back heavy making it poorly balanced in my hand.

[ibrahim]

10 hours ago, silverlifter said:

Homo Sapiens: too heavy, the bayonet closures are right where I grip the pen so it was uncomfortable after half a page.

many people go on and on about Visconti pens and how much of a joy they are to write with. Yet your experience is enlightening to me as I can’t manage a pen that is not ergonomic and it’s not comfortable to write with. 
So…what are the best pens you have ever had and you can write on and on, so much so that writing is, indeed, a joyful experience? Thank you so much for your input. 

[ibrahim]

For me I have been disappointed with modern Waterman pens. They are obviously not anything like the vintage ones that wrote like a dream. 
 

I never seemed able to adapt to Faber Castell. I don’t like either the grip section or the weight distribution. 

[silverlifter]

23 minutes ago, ibrahim said:

So…what are the best pens you have ever had and you can write on and on, so much so that writing is, indeed, a joyful experience? Thank you so much for your input. 

 

I like larger girthier pens, but well balanced and lighter. So my favourites for longer sessions are Sheaffer OS Balance, Parker Vacumatic Maxima, and my newest and last, a Nakaya 17mm Portable Cigar. These are all, in my experience, the pinnacle of pen design and execution.

[ibrahim]

11 minutes ago, silverlifter said:

So my favourites for longer sessions are Sheaffer OS Balance, Parker Vacumatic Maxima, and my newest and last, a Nakaya 17mm Portable Cigar. These are all, in my experience, the pinnacle of pen design and execution.

 

Thank you so much. You have given me something to think about and consider. 

[rogerico]

13 hours ago, gyasko said:

Pelikan M_Whatever.  Two chicks, PF, E|N, 14k, 18k, steel... They’re all  such insipid nibs &  not worth the trouble to get them to write properly.

 

Pilot Capless: too heavy, needs frequent cleaning but is hard to clean.

Agreed! 👏

[inkstainedruth]

It occurred to me that another pen I would likely not buy more of would be a TWSBI 580-AL (and certainly not a 580-ALR).  And no -- it isn't for the reason you think about the quality of materials: I've dropped one of those on the sidewalk and it didn't crack.

The problem for me, is that the piston doesn't extend all the way to the back of the feed. As a result -- particularly when the pen gets low on ink --  you can get air bubbles in the ink chamber.  I've been told that the smaller Ecos and Eco-T models have the same issue (and as a result of that, I've been hesitant to get one, even though I like the smaller size and weight -- the 580-AL and 580-ALR pens are now my benchmark of "what is too heavy a pen for me) and some of the colors.  I haven't used the 580-ALR much since I first got it, because it has an additional problem -- when you fill the pen it is very difficult sometimes to eyeball just how deep you're sticking the nib and feed into a bottle of ink; as a result, I was sometimes getting it immersed up to the section, and cleaning ink out of the ribbing on the 580-ALR is a chore.  Oh, and the 1.1 stub nib on it is such a firehose that it writes better with the nib upside down....

I'll admit that when I was Christmas pen shopping, I considered getting a TWSBI Vac, but don't know enough about the mechanism; plus, none of the colors currently seeming to be available didn't really wow me; and much as I joke about "Ooh, shiny!"?  Somehow, they just, well, weren't.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[shostakovich]

TWSBI - fell apart very quickly. Sheaffer Snorkel - horrible pen - Vanishing point - overrated and pretty useless.

[como]

All the pens I sold, I probably won’t buy again. I sell pens to be able to buy some more pens. As I am not a pen dealer, I generally lose money when I sell, some quite a bit. Needless to say, I won’t buy the same thing again, just to start the same process again 😀. Ok, probably not the answer that OP was looking for, sorry! But generally, a pen that does not fit my core collection has a much bigger chance of getting sold off, ie pens I am mostly just “curious” about.

[Nethermark]

In 2016 I bought a Conklin Mark Twain Crescent Fountain pen. It cost $150, but it felt like a very cheap pen. It was utterly uninspiring to write with and the quality of the pen was abysmal. Chinese fountain pens are much better than this and at a fraction of the price. I will never buy a modern Conklin again.

 

I will probably also never buy a Nakaya pen again. The Nakaya Long writer aka-tamenuri I bought is a very nice object. It has a very nice feel to it and it looks great. But only when closed. I don't like the step down to the section and it's rather puzzling to me, that they only come in a c/c version. For a pen of this size, it should be possible to hold more ink than a short cartridge. The nib is also just so so. I mean it's not bad, but it's the same as the one in a Platinum 3776 that can be bought for about €100. Every once in a while I ink it up because I feel I must be wrong, as the pen gets such raving reviews, and isn't cheap. But every time I feel disappointed.

 

Maybe the Nakaya was a bit unlucky in that I discovered vintage fountain pens around the time I bought it. I haven't bought new pens since, and very likely will not do so again. Vintage pens (especially the nibs) are just so much better than most modern ones.

 

 

[ibrahim]

1 hour ago, Nethermark said:

but it's the same as the one in a Platinum 3776 that can be bought for about €100.

Is that for sure?

 

I checked out the price of your pen and it was $650.00. Why didn’t you buy a Mont Blanc instead?

[ibrahim]

1 hour ago, Nethermark said:

Vintage pens (especially the nibs) are just so much better than most modern ones.

could you please give me your best recommendations?