The Pen is King

[Brandane]

Ahh, so the thread really IS about pens?
My father was keen on good quality pens, and I inherited his gold "Cross" matching pen and pencil set. The ballpoint pen still works on the same refill after 27 years in my possession.

I also have one of those "Space Pens" as referred to by @accountantpete . It was given to me as a 50th birthday present. For everyday use, my preference is for Parker jotter ballpoints, or PaperMate disposables.

I used to have very neat handwriting, but due to lack of activity in this age of the keyboard, I find myself hardly able to recognise my own writing any more. It looks like a three year old has been let loose with a crayon .

 

[Globalti]

I still hand write occasionally and I find that after half a page or so, my hand muscles warm up amd my style becomes smoother and more fluid. At that point I sometimes tear up the letter and start again.

At school I dealt with "lines" as a punishment by Sellotaping four ballpoints together so that I could write four lines at once.

 

[Turbo Rider]

My handwriting is nothing short of terrible. My son writes better than me and he's 5! Still, I do love a pen because I need to scribble sometimes, love a doodle and also take great pleasure in the pen-face trick, where I place the pen next to someones face without them knowing and then call out their name (felt tip, of course). Plus, they come in very handy for defending yourself against random swordsmen.

 

[Archeress]

I love pens, but I think it comes from my love of paper as someone with a degree in papermaking. I have a set of Waterman pens, a fountain and a ball point. I would love to write birthday cards with the fountain, but it appears that the card used now is either extremely resistant to water or during the printing process use a lacquer. When antique pens come up on the TV programmes I get quite interested.

Hugs
Archeress x

 

[pclay]

I have a Lamy Studio fountain pen and I write notes in my A4 (moleskine style) notebook. For example I keep a fuel record by date and cost of all the petrol that goes into my car. This has been going for 3 years now, all hand written.

 

[Hyslop]

It's nice to have nice things, you value them and take care of them. I don't know anything about pens but won a Cross model a few years back, I love it, it only comes out of the box for special occasions and if somebody "borrows" it and doesn't replace it correctly, like leaving the nib out so it spoils the box felt inner, then there is hell on.


I think it's RRP was about £100, that seemed astonomical to me, then again I still have the Cross but have probably lost a 100 others in that time (care/ value). It was surprise to me to find out that people collected pens, how weird was that? Tbh, I dare not look in case it sends me off, like with wristwatches.

Excellent man ! Not only a cyclist but cant be trusted to pass a watch without a wistful look by the sound of things Nor can I,its been a rather difficult morning to tell the truth,Ive seen a watch I dont need at a good price,it called to me as I passed the jewellers!Oh dear,

 

[swee'pea99]

I won the Mont Blanc Meisterstuck from a business magazine once, for their letter of the week, and I was thrilled till it arrived. It was awful! It was like trying to write with a courgette, and the nib was anything but smooth. Years later, when I tried to take it apart for cleaning, in preparation for sticking it on ebay, the lid had stuck itself so firmly to the barrel that the barrel actually snapped rather than release it. Binned in disgust! I use bog standard Parkers for my everyday writing. The nicest writing pen I've ever come across was this:

...the Rotring 600. Beautifully smooth, nicely weighted, a real joy to use. But sadly I never use it any more, because I barely use a pen at all. So it sits in my pen jar, neglected.

 

[Aperitif]

Calling his nibs, @threebikesmcginty

 

[tyred]

I just use whatever they've got in stock in the post-office. They even come complete with lovely little chains.

 

[Turbo Rider]

I won the Mont Blanc Meisterstuck from a business magazine once, for their letter of the week, and I was thrilled till it arrived. It was awful! It was like trying to write with a courgette, and the nib was anything but smooth. Years later, when I tried to take it apart for cleaning, in preparation for sticking it on ebay, the lid had stuck itself so firmly to the barrel that the barrel actually snapped rather than release it. Binned in disgust! I use bog standard Parkers for my everyday writing. The nicest writing pen I've ever come across was this:

View attachment 78053

...the Rotring 600. Beautifully smooth, nicely weighted, a real joy to use. But sadly I never use it any more, because I barely use a pen at all. So it sits in my pen jar, neglected.

YOU'VE TRIED TO WRITE....WITH A COURGETTE?!?!?! I award you the nod of excellence!!

 

[marknotgeorge]

Being a left-hander that doesn't hook my hand over the page, I struggle to write with anything other than a bog-standard ballpoint without smudging all over the place. At work, I tend to use the Bics (occasionally Staedtler Sticks) from the stationery cupboard. I don't think I'm careful enough to have a non-throwaway pen without losing it, though I do have a nerdy urge to wring every last drop of ink out of a biro.

 

[ColinJ]

I still hand write occasionally and I find that after half a page or so, my hand muscles warm up amd my style becomes smoother and more fluid. At that point I sometimes tear up the letter and start again.

At school I dealt with "lines" as a punishment by Sellotaping four ballpoints together so that I could write four lines at once.

Great minds think alike ... only I used 5 pens!

 

[byegad]

I had a constant in all my school reports from age 4 3/4 to 18. An often caustic comment about my dreadful writing.

Possibly because I'm naturally left handed but 60 years ago I was forced to write with my right hand.

Higher education related note taking did nothing to improve it and now arthritis and a slight shake have fairly finished it off. So a pen is something I'd not thank you for no matter how good a pen it was. It would be wasted on me. However I have nothing but envy for someone who can write beautifully.

 

[Piemaster]

The best pen is ONE I CAN ACTUALLY FIND WHEN I NEED IT

 

[Roadrider48]

My dad, when he was still alive(obviously) used to like a good few visits to the bookies!
Consequently, I grew up thinking that William Hill was a pen maker.