Comments on: History of the World: The Demise of Fountain Pens

By: 8rustystaples

8rustystaples — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:16:00 +0000

Fountain pens are the bane of left-handed writers.
I tried writing with one. Once. My hand smeared the ink on the page, turning it into a Rorshach test. And that’s not mentioning the ink stain that took days to get off my hand.

By: Sheldon Siegel

Sheldon Siegel — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:33:00 +0000

It’s too bad Marcel Bich dropped the “H” from his name to name the pens.
It would be kind of funny to ask for a Bich to write with.

By: Roger

Roger — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:36:00 +0000

I’m a fountain pen fan, too – I have a (fairly cheap-o) Parker that’s my absolute favorite. There’s just something about writing with it… I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s almost as though I’m more ‘deliberative’ when I’m using it.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:07:00 +0000

I’ve been using one for about the last 15 years. I love the feel and it never gets stolen. One reason is that most people have no idea how to use it. The other is that i always keep the cap with me, anyone that takes it and puts it in their pocket gets what they deserve!

By: Chris Palmer

Chris Palmer — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:25:00 +0000

In defense of fountain pens, I was always fascinated by them, but never tried buying one more expensive than the cheapo ones which were fairly leaky, either too fat of a nip or so small it was scratchy, and were just generally frustrating.

One day at a Levenger store there was a sale on their medium priced nice pens. I can’t remember the model, but I got a fairly heavy metallic blue, solid metal body pen with a nice medium nip (after trying several in the store) and some good ink. It was normally about $50 or $60 dollars, but I got it on sale for $30 (I think). It is now easily my favorite pen and I can see what the big deal is for high-quality, expensive fountain pens – even if this one isn’t top of the line, it writes smoother and more comfortably than any disposable pen or cheap fountain pen I’ve used.

By: Witty Nickname

Witty Nickname — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:42:00 +0000

These articles are great! I can’t wait to get my copy for Christmas, please no one ruin the end for me!