Frustrated in having to cap and uncap fountain pens every time I put it on the desk

[penworrymaster]

Are fountain pens truly these delicate--one wrong move and the nib's gone; one roll away and it is rougher than sandpaper--like we are told? Like would it break if I just let it roll off (like fan blows the paper under it and push it) in my desk, assuming that it wont fall and just, say have the nib bump in pen holder (plastic), earphone case, or whatever plastic or book in my desk?

[Lithium466]

Maybe...don't overthink it?

 

Thousands of children have used or use fountain pen in rough, harsh school environment, with little to no care to their pens, and most of them are fine.

[Claes]

@penmaster6969 How about a desk set? Or a retractable fountain pen, like a Pilot/Namiki Capless/Vanishing Point?

 

 

Have fun!
Claes in Lund, Sweden

 

[Ron Z]

Buy a vanishing point pen - Pilot or Majohn.

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

1 hour ago, Claes said:

@penmaster6969 How about a desk set? Or a retractable fountain pen, like a Pilot/Namiki Capless/Vanishing Point?

 

 

Have fun!
Claes in Lund, Sweden

 

 

1 hour ago, Ron Z said:

Buy a vanishing point pen - Pilot or Majohn.

you both beat me to it...

+1 on both of these.

 

And if you're that worried, may I suggest (for the time being at least, until you get more used to them) using more affordable pens?

Preppy's are very good, especially for the price. As are Pilot Varsitys (aka V-pen), Zebra makes one too, they are perfectly serviceable. 

 

 

 

[Estycollector]

I was given a Parker 21 from a gal that had used the pen as a child. The nib was bent, but the pen performed well. 

 

I just make a habit of laying any small items toward the middle of the desk because I don't want to have to pick them up and not because I am afraid of damage. 

[penworrymaster]

15 minutes ago, IThinkIHaveAProblem said:

 

you both beat me to it...

+1 on both of these.

 

And if you're that worried, may I suggest (for the time being at least, until you get more used to them) using more affordable pens?

Preppy's are very good, especially for the price. As are Pilot Varsitys (aka V-pen), Zebra makes one too, they are perfectly serviceable. 

 

 

 

ah so, it is just matter of getting used to so I can avoid overthinking it, so then it must be just fine, right?

[VacNut]

Yes. The aforementioned Parker 21 is near bullet proof. At $20 it is one of my daily users. A older pen that will likely work after sitting idle for years, after a flush of water. It has been around for almost 60 years and there are easily available parts. The postage will cost more than the parts.

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

32 minutes ago, penmaster6969 said:

ah so, it is just matter of getting used to so I can avoid overthinking it, so then it must be just fine, right?

With some experience (which i suggest earning on cheaper pens) you’ll learn what does and doesn’t work for you. But if capping and uncapping is that annoying to you, then i suggest a desk pen or a vanishing point (the majohn version is affordable). The vanishing point has the advantage that it won’t roll off of a desk either. 

[Bo Bo Olson]

Number one, do not buy a sloped desk.

If you have a standard or medium-large pen that is posted...cap stuck lightly on the end, it will not roll off the desk. Or closed the clip will prevent it from rolling.

Of course, it can only sit there bare a couple of minutes, before it could start drying out.

I'm sure two minutes would do just fine. I tend to use the pen before five minutes are up.

 

Second, you don't have to finish pushing the pen into the cap or rolling it into the threads. You can just slip the cap on, and it will keep the pen able to write with no problem.

 

 

Ball point advantages, cheap to replace a dulled cartridge from dropping it.

BP disadvantages, death grip to plow the south forty with out the mule, having to press hard to roll the ball.

 

FP advantages, lack of fatigue or pain of holding an FP. Lots of different ink colors and good to better papers.

 

FP disadvantages, can dry out and can fall off the desk...always point down.

 

One should twist/push it closed, and put it in your shirt pocket after every use...or some Ball Point Barbarian will come by, grab it, yank it open, stripping the threads, and make a pretzel out of the nib inside 2-3 seconds.

Always leave a cheap free BP on your desk.

...............................

The Great Lie, you have to learn by heart.

It took me months, / years to break in the nib to exactly how I write, if I let you use it, I'll have to start all over again.............prevents nib pretzels.

(This is a Great Lie....but a white one, that prevemnts heart attacks or jail time.)

 

This pen Lamy Persona in 1990 did not have a little dot on the clip. IT CAN ROLL OFF THE DESK. The 1991 version has a real little tiny dot, in the clip is spring sank, kept it from rolling off the desk. Mine is the one without the dot.

This is the 1991 version...look hard for the small, tiny dot on the clip. (not my picture)

My 1990 Persona, ... picture taken by Pendelton Brown when he turned my do nothing nail OB into a real nice Cursive Italic nib. Notice no dot....so it don't take much to stop a pen from rolling off the desk.

His writing also.

This an auction house picture of an inkwell set I won. I keep my pre-1923 MB Safety pen and that Lamy Persona in the pen holder on the left.

I chase inkwells, so these are more off the wall for me, than normal.

If you look around on Ebay or flea markets, you can find nice ones. This one is hard rubber.

Some sort of SE Asia burl, pen/pencil holder.

Simple Inlay/marquetry

Advise, look one day, buy the next.

 

[Mercian]

Buy a vintage Parker "51", preferably with the 'aerometric' filler.

• Its hooded nib means that you can leave it uncapped on your desk for a good long while without it drying out;
• its nib is a rigid 'nail' and is only partly exposed, so it is very strong, and the pen is very robust too;
• if you 'post' the cap on its back it won't roll off your desk, and the pen will still be perfectly balanced in your hand.

 

Or just get a Lamy Safari - generations of schoolchildren have failed to 'kill' them. I cannot think of a better 'endurance' test.

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

Just now, Mercian said:

Buy a vintage Parker "51", preferably with the 'aerometric' filler.

• Its hooded nib means that you can leave it uncapped on your desk for a good long while without it drying out;
• its nib is a rigid 'nail' and is only partly exposed, so it is very strong, and the pen is very robust too;
• if you 'post' the cap on its back it won't roll off your desk, and the pen will still be perfectly balanced in your hand.

 

Or just get a Lamy Safari - generations of schoolchildren have failed to 'kill' them. I cannot think of a better 'endurance' test.

“51” desk pens are also available.  

[Mercian]

3 minutes ago, IThinkIHaveAProblem said:

“51” desk pens are also available.  

 

[Chris1]

Always put the cap back and put the pen in your jacket pocket; never, ever, leave your pen unattended or someone will pick it up, write with it as though it was a biro, ruin the nib and then either drop it when done or put it down elsewhere, never to be seen again.

 

Once fully confirmed in that habit of pen preservation you can easily enjoy any (fountain)pen anywhere without worrying, whether a cheap and cheerful job or an eyewateringly expensive, irreplaceable, perfectly nibmeistered jewel.

 

OK - I exaggerate a bit, but 

 

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

Good habits require no thought.

 

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Bad habits either.....

[Dillo]

On 3/13/2025 at 9:20 AM, penmaster6969 said:

ah so, it is just matter of getting used to so I can avoid overthinking it, so then it must be just fine, right?

It certainly is. I noticed that almost every week you have a new post to ask about a lot of what ifs. I have been using the fountain pen most of my life. There isn't much that I think about. The metal tip is more strong than say the tip of a Papermate flair pen. Sometimes they bump into things or whatever, but it's usually ok. Don't have them fall off the table or roll away like any other pen or mechanical pencil.

 

Maybe just get a Platinum Preppy, a Schneider Ceod Classic, or something like that you don't need to worry about replacing. But seriously, just using them. I bring them with me every day. There isn't really anything significant I've seen. The nib bumps into things on a daily basis. It's not generally going to cause any problems in every day use.

[inkstainedruth]

@penmaster6969 This is all good advice that you've been given.  
But accidents DO happen.  A few years ago I was flushing the nib assembly on a Pilot Decimo and accidentally knocked it out of the container (a glass votive candle holder, which has upright sides instead of slanted ones) on to my bathroom floor.  And I'm sure I was turning pasty grey, because of course the nib was pretty mangled (and I didn't want to attempt to fix it myself because it was gold with rhodium plating.  

Fortunately for me, there was a pen show coming up and I took it to Richard Binder's table -- and it was the only time I showed him a bum nib on a pen that he worked on himself, instead of sending me to someone he had trained.... 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Mountain Man]

Try a Penwell from https://goodmadebetter.com. I use mine every day.

Cheers.

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

I do find that penwell interesting, rather new is my guess.

Ebay or fleamarkets. There are pen stands for just one; do make sure they will do fountain pens, in I have a couple that only do either a thin fountain pen or a ball point. They were in a live auction lot.