Hey! Any of us Cadiphiles collect fountain pens?

[orconn]

After reading the responses to the fine watch thread, I wondered if anyone out there was into collecting fountain pens?

[EcSTSatic]

I love the look and feel of a nice fountain pen but with the PC I rarely write anymore. My handwriting has suffered as a result.

[hueterm]

I collect nice pens, but not fountain. My uber-fav is the Pelikan Souveran and any Caran d'Ache...

[dkozloski]

For years I had a problem keeping a pen. I was always losing them but I found a solution. I bought a gold Cross ballpoint pen for about $600 and I've had it ever since, about 25 years. It's amazing how you always keep your eye on it if somebody else is using it. It's getting kind of banged up and I've had to send it back to the factory a couple of times but they always fix it for free. The same pen today cost $1100 so I think I'll get by with the old one.

[ahahnu]

Dare I touch on this? Personally I bought my first fountain pen a few years ago. It took me a while to get used to writing with it, but I love it. You don't even have to press down and ink flows. I noticed you have to take your time writing with it, it has to be cleaned and maintained - kinda like my V - tempermental. I just received a caligrophie (sp) pen with aflat tip. I haven't even treid to use it yet. I use a ball point with a large ink ball to write with on a daily basis or let clients sign with.

It's amazing how you always keep your eye on it if somebody else is using it.

Knock on wood, 5 years later, still got it.

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

I'd like a nice fountain pen, but I can't justify spending $50 on a pen.

[gary88]

The nicest pen I own is the Cadillac pen that came with my car.

Though my ball point pen of choice is the Zebra F-301.

[orconn]

I quess I should have "pens" instead of "fountain pens." really meant writing instruments! I've found that pens as well as watches are also good conversation starters. I have always enjoyed a well balanced, smooth writing writing instrument. Like other collectibles there is a lot to learn about pens and ofcourse the collector cum connosieur develops his own preferences of manufacturer and materials from which a pen is made regardless of whether it is a ballpoint, rollerball or fountain pen.

I thoroughly enjoy writing with a fountain pen; the flow on ink through a great nib onto the paper is a great pleasure that makes the act of writing that much more enjoyable. However, I have to admit that for day to day use I carry a ballpoint as they are more reliable and lets face it less of a hassle to use than a fountain pen. Let's face what has a writing instrument to do but write legibly on paper and for some, to do this through carbon paper. Any thing more that we ask of it really becomes an addenda to its' function and again begins to move into the area of personal accessory and on to status jewelry. I have, over the years, accumulated a large number of fountain and other pens and like most collectors have come to think more highly of the products of certain manufacturers than others.

For everyday use I favor a ballpoint that takes Parker T-ball refills, preferably "broad" width. The Parker style refill fits a wide range of pens starting with the lowly, but marvelously engineered Parker T-Ball Jotter and filling pens that cost in the tens of thousand of dollars. I am not a big fan of Montblanc pens, while their classic Meisterstuck pens have an attractive design, there so called "precious resin" material used for their barrels and caps is very brittle and cracks easily in use, but their "broad" ballpoint refill is in my opinion the best writing ballpoint (not so their "fine" or "medium" refills).

Let me say that following my retirement from the active financial world and thoroughly bored with my new found leaisure time I took a part time job in a high quality pen store ........ reasoning that I was spending enough time there I might as well get paid for it. The store catered to the writing instrument needs Northern Virginians and Washingtonians and carried all kinds of pens from lowly Bics to limited editions costing many thousands of dollars. While I had always had a fondness for pens this gave me access to a much wider variety of instruments and I evolved from a sometime accummulator into a respected collector.

Let me say my collection also includes the Cadillac BP that came with my Seville and several Cross pens but then goes on to include many "board room" conversation starters as well.

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

I had a nice official chrome Cadillac pen at one point earlier this year, I lost it though. :frustrated:

[GizmoQ]

Originally Posted by I~LUV~Caddys8792

I'd like a nice fountain pen, but I can't justify spending $50 on a pen.

Fifty bucks - that's a disposable pen.

I will admit I don't use fountain pens (I'm left handed - gets messy), but I do own several fine writing instruments the most expensive being a 1993 Mont Blanc I bought with my first royalty check from an invention. I currently (that is if my boxes are still around - I haven't unpacked them since I retired in 01) own two Pelicans, a Mont Blanc, a Visconte, a Stipula, three Rotrings, two exclusive Lamys, and a dozen or so Y & C and Niji multifunctions.

I actually got into pens when I was engineering the YF-22 Electronic Warfare suite. I would come home with three pens and two pencils in my pocket and the wife said, "...short of the horned rimmed glasses and pocket protector," I had become a geek. She then presented me with my first multi-function writing instrument, a 24 KT Niji with three pens and a pencil - gravity fed.

While searching for more of the same, I came upon the Rotring line, which quickly led to the Monte Blac and Pelican. While my focus remained multifunction pens, the action and flow of other fine rollerballs (as my dad would describe his infrequent impulse purchases "reached out and grabbed me by the collar and slapped me till I bought it!") The Visconte, Stipula, and limited edition Lamys were purchased in Europe back when the dollar was strong.

Back to the $50 comment. The Y&C and NiJi pens are daily use. Lost and had stolen probably twice as many as I own with a starting price of $40 and at least three that I own over $300 (two Gold and a Platinum and yes I said daily use). In the early days, I learned how to keep up with my pens with the $40-100 units. And after I hadn't lost one in a year, I quickly move up the ladder. Hell I replaced the stylus of my TabletPC that I use for the car with one that was $295 in 1998 and the ink cartridges are from Space Pens (write upside down).

Here, too, much like the fine watch thread you get what you pay for. Some just make a statement, others are true supercars. I will admit, I tested several pens just because of the brand names on them, but what sold me for the ones I own was the feel, the weight and balance, and finally the stroke and flow of actually writing with the instrument.