Do you "like" a certain pen because a greater person had used it?

[Pepin]

I just found out that Walt Disney used a Sheaffer Balance. Now, I must have the Walt Disney re-edition.

[Deirdre]

Mark Twain and the Conklin crescent would be the classic example, but yes.

[QM2]

No, couldn't care less.

 

But I saw a photo that someone had posted on Lion & Pen of Vladimir Mayakovsky with a MB sticking out of his outer blazer pocket, and it made me smile.

Edited January 2, 2009 by QM2

[jmkeuning]

Jason and Ryan had Lamy 2000s, so I got one.

[RevAaron]

No, couldn't care less.

 

I could see owning a specific pen owned by a famous person ("greater?"), but only to sell it down the line.

 

I just found out that Walt Disney used a Sheaffer Balance. Now, I must have the Walt Disney re-edition.

 

I've no beefs with the Balance re-issue, but I would point out that Disney never used a Balance II- he used the real deal. The original Balance is easy to find, make a great writer, came in gorgeous celluloids- even the simple black has great depth- and relatively inexpensive. You can get one of the smaller restored Balances for as little as $30. The full size Balances have big nibs even, and are a bit more, but still less than a reissue.

 

Lever fillers and vac fillers too! Very nice pens.

[jonro]

I would be interested to know what pens certain famous people used at different stages in their lives. I wonder what type of pens Einstein used through the years? What type of pen did John Kennedy use in college or when he was in Congress? How about J.D. Salinger when he was writing Catcher in the Rye? How about every president between 1920 and 1950 while they were in office? I think the answers might show that they all had some inexpensive pens and one or two really nice pens that they used regularly.

[henrico]

I never thought of pen ownership in this context but I suppose some folks would desire this.

 

Not for me though.

 

Henrico

[Deirdre]

I feel oddly attached to my Conklin crescent re-issue, but in the end, it's just a pen. It is very pretty, though (I have a blue one).

[MDI]

But I saw a photo that someone had posted on Lion & Pen of Vladimir Moyakovsky with a MB sticking out of his outer blazer pocket, and it made me smile.

 

"A little son came to his father and asked him

what is good (Montblanc) and what is bad (imperialist pigs)..."

[thibaulthalpern]

 

No. To me, there is no correlation. That is, just because someone "great" used a pen doesn't make it a pen that I necessarily want to use. I don't seen any meaningful connection there.

[Fernan]

No, like many others, couldn't care less.

 

I do write a lot in public areas, such as coffee shops. I hope, that with my example, I may inspire a younger generation to start writing with a fountain pen, or at least consider it. Earlier, sometime in December, I noticed a young man who couldn't keep his eyes off my pen. He was reading poetry, and had a pencil in his hand.

 

 

Fernan

[WillSW]

I always feel like everyone else (not on FPN) just went to the pen store, tried a few out, and bought one. I know this isn't necessarily correct.

 

If there were a famous, or "greater", person on FPN expressing their preferences I may be attracted to those pens against my will because of the celebrity factor and that I knew they were using fountain pens as well as respecting them. Please, if any of you are people to be admired, stay hidden behind your usernames!

[morgan097]

In the famous 1940 photo of Einstein becoming a US citizen, the pen in his left jacket pocket is generally believed to be a Pelikan 100N.

[Robert Hughes]

I've seen a picture of LBJ signing the Gulf of Tonkin resolution with an Esterbrook dip-less pen - and I have 2 of those.

 

Haven't signed any resolutions yet, except maybe for New Years.

[ANM]

For information about presidential pens, look here

 

http://www.loringpage.com/attpensetc/penbookupdate.html

 

General Eisenhower used a Parker 51. Story goes that General McArthur borrowed his wife's big red Parker to sign the peace treaty with Japan on board the USS Missouri.

 

I can't think of anyone who I would want to emulate and use a pen just because they did.

[vervavolant]

I believe that it is a matter of how I value that person´s judgement. If it is somebody who has a good judgment, uses the FP for about the same reasons I do and it is a pen I have been considering, yes I would put attention to it and, when I am in a position to buy an FP I would give it a preferred chance. Mind you, it does not has to be an expensive pen.

 

There is another thing to be considered. I have noticed that with some FP my handwriting becomes more legible than with others, regardless of the nib. It has to do with the weight, the thickness, the length, the ink and with other factors that I have yet to discover. Since I use FP for creative writing, I have noticed also that some FP that I have allow me a more fluent writting, regardless if a greater person used it.

[Deirdre]

Well, I admit that my reason for taking Twain into account for the Conklin is the words that the pen is a profanity saver. I can always use one of those!

 

Though if Ghost Plane's recent experience with Conklin's customer service is any guide, that's no longer true....

[Scrybe]

Of course I do. Ever since I heard Girls Aloud are fans of the Lamy ABC, that's all I'll use...

[Deirdre]

Of course I do. Ever since I heard Girls Aloud are fans of the Lamy ABC, that's all I'll use...

I'm not sure if I should give you two points for making me laugh or subtract three for even knowing who Girls Aloud are....

[Scrybe]

Of course I do. Ever since I heard Girls Aloud are fans of the Lamy ABC, that's all I'll use...

I'm not sure if I should give you two points for making me laugh or subtract three for even knowing who Girls Aloud are....

 

 

They are, of course, the High Priestesses of The New Religion of Musical Integrity Through the Medium of Clothes. Spangly clothes.

Edited January 2, 2009 by Scrybe