Do you HATE See-Through Pens Too?

[TSherbs]

On 3/14/2021 at 4:24 PM, sgphototn said:

I find demonstrators to appear unfinished. Seeing ink sloshing around in the barrel does nothing for me.

 

I have a Noodler's Triple Tail. Writes as it should as have all the Noodler pens I've owned, but even after a good cleaning there are remnants of ink in a few places that look nasty. 

 

I'm waiting for the right person to give it away.

 

Demonstrators are not for me and I wouldn't buy another. 

 

 

I have become less enamored of them also. But I do like a small ink window. 

[NickFP]

On 3/14/2021 at 2:06 PM, sansenri said:

Usually I prefer the non demonstrator versions. However, some demonstrators have their own appeal, often they look like a different pen.

 

 

I agree. I try, I reeeeaaally try to like them and I bought an Opus 88 Demonstrator transparent nicely polished...now there's ink stains stocked on threads and all not reachable parts of it...I hate them!😋

[MoriartyR]

I will admit that I prefer Visconti Homo Sapiens or Opera Master pens that have more transparent areas on the barrel and smaller coloured bits. I think they tend to look better that way and it fits the function of the pen design better.

 

The dual reservoir system holds a lot of ink, keeps it sealed and fresh, and the smaller forward reservoir needs to be replenished periodically, so to take full advantage of this system you need to see into both chambers clearly. Visconti doesn’t use the dual reservoir system on the original lava Homo Sapiens because the body is opaque and you can’t see how full either chamber is. I really appreciate this system and how well it keeps my ink fresh and prevents it evaporating or darkening. But it only really works with a mostly transparent pen.

So that is one application of transparency in a Visconti pen body that I think genuinely adds something. Same story with a Conid Bulkfiller, plus the filling mechanism is a bit more complex and it is useful to see how it works so you have confidence you operated it correctly.

Ink windows, on the other hand, are either too small to be useful or they ruin the design of the pen. I think ink windows are an unsatisfactory compromise either way. But these Viscontis and Conids are designed around the transparency and it is far more harmonious to me.

So I can’t entirely join the hate parade against transparent pens. But if someone starts a hate thread about ink windows I will be all over it. 😉

 

[sansenri]

On 6/22/2021 at 10:26 PM, NickFP said:

I agree. I try, I reeeeaaally try to like them and I bought an Opus 88 Demonstrator transparent nicely polished...now there's ink stains stocked on threads and all not reachable parts of it...I hate them!😋

 

Sometimes I do too... sometime ago I badly stained a M200 Cognac with ink that would not go away, I was so annoyed in the end I used some cleaner that stained the pen worse...

believe it or not I bought a second Cognac... I loved it and could not stand the idea of having ruined it...

oddly I use the stained one more often, as a pen for rugged/careless use

[Sk33t3r]

Nope, I kind of like demonstrators.

[BayesianPrior]

Yes.

[gwid]

I don't own any transparent pen , but I have 3 cheap sub 10 $ (in total, shipment included) chinese demonstrator pens on the way. 

I think its fun to see all the internals so i got a piston filler (wing sung 3008), a vacuum filler (wing sung 3013) and a c/c pen (jinhao 992),  but at the same time I do think that they look kinda cheap in general.

I don't see me spending more than 10 $ on a transparent plastic pen, but maybe I'll change my mind after testing the cheap ones, who knows...

 

 

[Freedom]

I am not a fan of Demo pens. That said, I do own a TWSBI Diamond 580 and love it. I just wouldn't buy a fancy/expensive Demo pen, such as  let's say a Pelikan M1000 in Demo version. I also don't like transparent pens either. Which is why I had to buy my Pilot Custom 74s in Japan where they have them in solid colors. I'm fine with low end pens being transparent or Demo but it cheapens the pen imo, which is why I'd only get those version in sub $100 pens.

[SilverStoneMetallic]

I am generally not fond of demonstrators, but I have made one exception; A Conid Regular Antwerppen. I like how only the barrel is transparent and that the color of ink can be coordinated change how the pen looks. The only way I would buy another pen with a transparent barrel would be if it were another Conid.

[SpecTP]

I love all my demonstrators and I have quite a collection. I have no issue cleaning mine too. None are stained so permanently that I couldn't clean the residual inks out.

[Vladpu]

I have and like several vintage semi-transparent pens.  They are not "demonstrators" in the sense that they were specially made to demonstrate anything - they just allow a view of how much of the (usually large) ink supply is left.  Most are 30s or 40s models, like a Sheaffer OS balance plunger filler from ~ 1941 with alternating black and light tan stripes.  Similarly a Sr Max Vacumatic "Azure Blue" (pretty much mint- never inked) with highly transparent alternating clear rings.  My favourite is a 1940 Waterman 100 Year Deluxe pen and pencil set in transparent red lucite.  I put in a silicone sac for extra visibility.  

From my perspective, they are exemplars of the influence of fashion in design in the pen market and a valuable part of pen history. 

[sansenri]

as I was saying earlier, some demonstrator versions of a pen really do look like another pen, so often it's not too difficult to like both the solid and the transparent versions

 

[N1003U]

I am happy to see this thread come alive again. I enjoy the commentary.

 

I don't know how popular demonstrators and other semi-transparent pens are in terms of market share, but they do seem to generate a lively discussion, regardless of whether one likes them or dislikes them.

 

On the rare occasions that I use one of my transparent pens in public, they almost never fail to generate comments and conversation, mostly from curious passers-by.

[Estycollector]

Sure it’s okay! 

[ethernautrix]

I might have mentioned this before, but I used to dislike demonstrators, but since TWSBI and the Pilot 823, I've found that I really like seeing the ink supply. Hahaha. Which is why I put a Pilot PO nib in a Moonman C2. It's kind of annoying, this Moonman C2 -- I feel like the PO nib deserves a nicer "coat," know what I mean? But I really like knowing at a glance what the ink situation is.

[82Greg]

I love demonstrators that demonstrate a mechanism within the pen. For cartridge or cartridge converter pens, it seems rather pointless.

[Detman101]

24 minutes ago, 82Greg said:

I love demonstrators that demonstrate a mechanism within the pen. For cartridge or cartridge converter pens, it seems rather pointless.

I've felt the same way.
Who wants to look at a cartridge/converter....bleh.
Strictly japanese eyedropper demos for me... 👍

[A Smug Dill]

1 hour ago, 82Greg said:

I love demonstrators that demonstrate a mechanism within the pen. For cartridge or cartridge converter pens, it seems rather pointless.

 

Not to me, when the rotary-driven converter is part of the mechanism, no less intricate than the filling mechanism in a piston-filler that uses the lower half of the barrel itself as the ink reservoir, and the tube part of the converter that holds the ink is usually transparent as well anyway. Seeing ink sloshing against the walls of reservoir is what I find pointless, with the only exception being to see whether shimmer particles in a shimmer ink need agitating.

[cactus235]

2 hours ago, Detman101 said:

I've felt the same way.
Who wants to look at a cartridge/converter....bleh.
Strictly japanese eyedropper demos for me... 👍

I've actually never used an eyedropper... or a piston filler to be honest!

 

I've only ever used cartridge / cartridge-converters, and I've been using fountain pens for over 10 years.  

[Detman101]

28 minutes ago, cactus235 said:

I've actually never used an eyedropper... or a piston filler to be honest!

 

I've only ever used cartridge / cartridge-converters, and I've been using fountain pens for over 10 years.  

My condolences...

I started out with Converter pens, though it didn't last long.
After my first Penbbs-456...I couldnt go back...and progressed to a Penbbs-355...then on to my Opus-88 Demo.

I still buy Converter pens as gifts for people. All the beginner pens come in Cartridge/Converter format anyhow. I wouldn't buy an eyedropper pen for someone unless they were full on into the hobby and appreciated the ease-of-use it allows.