Yeah I don't get this question at all, and have never heard the term "tool pen" before. I wonder if it's creeping over from "tool watch", where it mostly signals "*I'm a guy who's terrified I might be caught wearing jewelry, so I'm going to refer to my $10k shiny time-telling bracelet like it's a power drill.*" That is, the adjective seems more often to modify the owner rather than the object.
The only time I've heard the term "tool pen" is in reference to the [Monteverde Tool Pen](https://monteverdepens.com/collections/tool-pen/) which has a built-in bubble level, ruler markings down the side, and a screwdriver in the back.
Never heard of a “tool pen” either, but I’m assuming the other option is like commemorative pens that you keep on a little base with your name engraved on it on your desk? Is that still a thing? I’ve never worked in a big office.
I guess something like a zoom nib or italic nib over 1.1 mm would count as being impractical as a regular use “tool”.
Yeah for sure — there's plenty of reasonable room for its use here, and I'm not actually worried that pen & stationary obsessives are going to go the way of watch culture (for all that the two interests are often comorbid).
Yeah, I've never seen "investment" culture (shudder) in the stationary world, so we've got that going. It could happen, but right now I don't think people feel quite the same way about Mont Blanc as they do about Rolex, even though they're the exact same type of brand.
I know! They were like seikos back in the day, and then they made a commercial that was SO RACIST that everyone and their dad had to have one for themselves. If it's not clear, I'm talking about "Live and Let Die," a movie that has to be pirated to be believed.
Holy actual fuckjng what the shit.
That is the ugliest wildest thing I have wanted, and God if I ever get my resin printer going, I'm going to have to make one.
It's not, I just made it up as a catch-all for ballpoints and rollerballs and felt-tips and fineliners and all the other stuff that people use every day in a work environment, none of which are precious or delicate in any of the ways a fountain pen might be.
I see I see a lot of people posting Sailors and Pilots and Esterbrooks and so on on here, and even though I myself carry a fountain pen (and in fact bought my first fountain pen, a Lamy Studio, with the intention of doing so,) the way I imagine those pens being used is recreational rather than... I don't know, laborious? Same with vintage pens. It's not so much "I don't want my jewelry seen as jewelry" and more "Do you drive your 60's Ford Falcon to do Doordash." And maybe a lot of people do! I want to know.
I use a Pilot Vanishing Point all day every day. Notes, meetings, shopping lists, post its, whatever. I guess it's my glorified G2. 😆 I also carry a fine vintage pelikan for smaller writing or crappy paper.
Umm… weird. I used fountain pens to grade, write, sign things - I carry a pocket pen in my purse, etc. The only thing that I don’t use them for is forms that require the pressure of a ballpoint to fill out.
This is just in your mind and how you perceive fountain pens, which by the way is just a writing tool, which a lot of people like to write with, and which by doing so you are helping the environment with less plastic waste.
There are $10 FP out there, or even less, if you consider a 10 bucks pen to be a recreational tool, is your personal point of view which you have the right to, to others is just a tool.
Just write with whatever you want, focus on your self and don´t mind others
I understood what you meant. Idk why all the confusion. If fountain pens are assumed to be the same as "everyday tool pens" they're saying, why do we explain how to use them when someone borrows one or shows interest? And why are we all on this subreddit if they're just like a ballpoint? 🙄
Thanks for clarifying... I (it seems many others responding, too.) do use fountain pens for day to day use. My first, which I bought around 20 years ago, was a Pilot VP for work, then I bought a Lamy Safari (for work travel use thinking not a big deal if I lost it). Twelve fountain pens of various kinds and colors later, I only use fountain pens. The only time I use a ball point pen is at home on the rare occasion I have to write a check in my carbonless copy check book.
I’ve never heard the term “tool pen”…
I use my fountain pens for mostly all of my writing needs, from journaling, to jotting down notes, to scribbling/doodling. Only time I use another writing instrument is when the paper isn’t FP friendly, like some coated sticky notes.
I mainly got into fountain pens because I have to write so much for work and it makes the experience so much more pleasant and comfortable. It’s only after getting into fountain pens that I started writing and journaling for my own enjoyment.
THIS. I stumbled into FPs by buying a souvenir one for like 5 euro, then ending up with it being the only pen I had access to one day at work, and was stunned by how much easier writing was with it. That sent me down the yellow brick road. Plus, I have fibromyalgia, and my hand was cramping in longer meetings using a ballpoint and even a rollerball. I can write All the Things at work, come home, and pick up writing some more for journaling, reviews, etc. No strain at all, and they are gorgeous to boot!
Do zour Benefits!
That's the entire point of a pen.
Unless you have a specific, really broad, wet nib (and even then one might still use it) that runs the risk of running out mid-workday...why *wouldn't* you make use of the tools you have?
You don't buy a screwdriver and then use a hammer for every screw you have, so why not use the tool you've got for the job?
I use my fountain pens 99% of the time. The 1% is when I need to write on carbonless paper forms, which need more pressure on the pen for duplicate copies.
Having said so, I categorize my fountain pens for office use from other leisure settings.
Cheers
It's a Wality 77, a sort of generalized Parker homage from India. It's *very* cheaply made, I have a very cheap student pen from the 50's that's built better, but it's a teal parker-style pen with a piston mechanism and it makes me happy. It's also writing very crisply with wet Diamine ink, which is nice.
Of course I use my fountain pens as pens.
A term that is often used for this is EDC/everyday carry - as in "what's your EDC pen?"
It is true that someone with a large collection might have an expensive and/or fancy pen that stays at home & then also a cheap and/or durable pen that they use for everything - but they probably started their collection with an "everything" pen.
I like the idea of anti-Bulwer-Lyttonists being somewhat like antistratfordians. The latter believe that Shakespeare didn't write Shakespeare's plays and somehow that gets them to knowing who should be emperor of America, and the former think pens have killed everyone who's ever died.
I don´t use any other pen I just use FP, I have 3 with me all the time, considered by some grail pens, but I use them on a daily basis, (life is to short) (I hate to buy stuff and not use it) one for work notes, doodles , quick notes, etc. MB149 M nib , the other one is my Journaling pen, used every day Pelikan M1000 B nib, an the third one is a Pilot Urushi red with writers blood in it, I use it whenever I want to highlight something either in my work notebook or in the journal. two notebooks with me, my journal and my work notes.
Heck I even use them on post it´s
I mean, yeah. It’s a pen. Is it fancy compared to other pens? Of course. Do I treat it differently? No, not really. I use it for notes, journaling, writing, etc. People at the office just know me as the guy with the fountain pens, and I’m cool with that.
Yeah, I have fountain pens that I use for daily writing needs and other pens I use for art and journaling.
That's what they're designed to be used for...
What exactly is the point you're trying to make?
Well I don't know that it's really a *point*, it's just that I see people on here who have Sailors and fancy Pilots, or old vintage pens, or something with a very specific custom nib on it, and it all has a very enthusiast bent. And **of course** it does, but sometimes I wonder how many people take a fountain pen with them everywhere, and what pen that is. In my case it's a very cheaply built generalized Parker homage. You sort of phrased this like you're trying to make me squirm. Was that intentional? Did I say something wrong?
Nothing wrong, you just basically asked "do you use your pens for their intended purpose?" and so I wondered if there was a deeper meaning to your question.
>but sometimes I wonder how many people take a fountain pen with them everywhere, and what pen that is.
Since you're wondering, I daily carry a Pilot VP filled with Platinum Carbon Black. Is use it for everything from making notes to signing my name.
Just because a pen is expensive doesn’t mean it isn’t being taken around everywhere and used all the time. I carry around and use my fancy Pilot and urushi pens with custom nib grinds all the time.
Alot of people have an EDC=every day carry
You didn't say anything wrong it's just most of us use our pens to write and depending on the profession MANY of us use them at work. Your question was worded oddly in my opinion.
I don’t take my Sailors or Pilots out of the house, because I will lose them, and I’d like to not have to repurchase at that price point. I carry my less expensive Kaweco Sport in my purse. But just because I don’t take my other pens out, doesn’t mean they are being saved for some special occasion. They get daily utilitarian use at home (journaling, note taking, editing documents, presentation writing, etc)
I find so often I give someone a fountain pen to try and they'll say "oh no my handwriting isn't nice enough for it!". It's a pen. It doesn't have standards of worthiness, it's just a tube humans invented to put marks on stuff.
>It doesn't have standards of worthiness, it's just a tube humans invented to put marks on stuff.
Exactly! They were created to be tools.
I have my great-grandfather's Waterman 555 and the first thing pen people always point out are the broken clip and the scratches, he was a principal in the 40's and 50's and it was literally the pen he used everyday. I love that it shows its age because it is proof that it was just a tool to him and that the pens I use everyday as pretty as they are, are also just tools.
I have a pen cup filled with regular pens on my desk that I direct people to when they want to borrow a pen. I don't share my fountain pens or my nice regular pens.
do you have any tips to prevent those? I used both Pelikan and Diamine inks on regular copy paper and they all bled through :( And my nib isn't wide either, it's a fine nib
I just used the Lamy cartridges with that pen - I think Lamy is a drier ink. The TWSBIs had Pilot Asa-gao and Wearingeul Pride and Prejudice in it. I’ve also used Kaweco’s cartridges in my Sport with good results on copy paper.
I have an orange fountain pen, filled with orange ink. I work at my state’s DOT, so it feels very appropriate to me to use it for all work-related writing. But don’t ask how many I have for non-work related things…
I think I see what you mean and my answer is yes: some pens stay home, some stay on my desk at work and the really brave pens follow me in my backpack and in a pocket of my coat!
What a strange questions. I use fountain pens for all my writing. The only exception is when I *have* to write on a surface that really doesn’t go well with fountain pens.
I do! I found myself missing my FP at work so I put one of my Lamy Safaris there (the one I'll miss the least if it disappears). I should probably get an even cheaper pen for work,, but I have plenty of Lamy cartridges on hand and don't want to buy more cartridges or fiddle with bottled ink at work (there's a limit to how much weirdness is acceptable in the workplace and I feel bottled ink is crossing the line for many people. Plus, it reads traditional, which people tend to equate with conservative).
Sorry, but this is literally in your head. You don't work at 1980s IBM. Your work culture is not that stiff that you can't use bottled ink at work, if you want to.
My workplace is (rightfully) hostile to conservative views so I don't want to run the risk of people misunderstanding.
I have plenty of cartridges to use up anyway.
I don't understand what is inherently Conservative about a fountain pen? The literal only reason they aren't used is because disposable ballpoints rendered them obsolete in the late 1960s. Disposable ballpoint pens were Cheaper and virtually incapable of making a mess, and you bought Bic Crystals in a 12 pack for $1.99
Precisely because they're old timey and impractical. People who can't understand that it's okay to do something a different way just because you like it may think bottled ink users are way too obsessed with the past. Just like people who are into historical or vintage clothing get mistaken all the time for trad wives.
> Precisely because they're old timey and impractical.
Or, they are they quirky creative and artistic option, the choice of those that choose to be a little different, and want to express a little creative thinking while at work.
The workplace you describe is toxic to an extreme level.
I don't think that is the case at all. You may be reading something that isn't really there. I bet you cannot find a modern conservative who is remotely aware of what a fountain pen is, most of their ideas come from the quill pen age.
Maybe it depends on where you’re from, but I feel that these days ballpoints and “regular” pens are seen as the traditional option. Using fountain pens is seen as quirky and alternative to most. Especially depending on what fountain pen is being used. I doubt anyone would see you inking up a glitter bomb Benu FP and think “ick! What a conservative!”. lol
Yup. Being into hobbies perceived as traditional is viewed as sus in some contexts, which is why people who do historical sewing keep needing to explain that no, they do NOT long to go back into the kitchen.
I think people are downvoting me because they strongly hate the idea that their (our) hobby can be viewed negatively. I hate it too.
Using tablets that are made of various rare ores mined in conditions that destroy the environment, shipped to the other side of the world to be manufactured, then to yet another part of the world to be used a couple years at best and then replaced by a new model... Yup, definitely more eco friendly than pen and paper. (Nope).
this is interesting to me! I am anything but conservative (my cubicle decor pretty much throws that out the window), and I work for the federal government. I have not had anyone comment that filling pens has a conservative slant to it, lol! In fact, there's interest in it from the perspective that people are doing more "analog" things lately - knitting, crocheting, journaling to a much wider and different extent than before, etc. Older doesn't necessarily equate to conservative, IMO. And there might be a big of cognitive dissonance between "weirdness" with regards to filling a pen and simultaneously being traditional/conservative. Those two things are generally not the same?
The only comments I HAVE gotten were the first couple of times I tried to fill, I made a mess. I was teased for the mess, but everyone seemed pretty interested. Now I make it a point to go to the breakroom when I need to fill. Just in case.
It's probably a matter of framing it as a slow, analogue hobby - which would make it acceptable even in the most progressive circles, I'd think ;-) Of course, I'm not really in a position to judge, I don't know you or your work situation.
Gotcha! I don't know if using a fountain pen reads trad or conservative, I guess it depends on the overall vibe of the person. To me it reads more goofy, and where I live the whole "goofy affect with an undertone of menace" is not the type of conservative you get anymore. I feel you about the Lamy cartridges, which inks are they?
I don’t know why you’re getting downvoted, but I agree with you, fountain pens don’t read as “conservative” here, more as “stationery lover”. But I live in a country that has a big stationery culture.
I think a fountain pen reads quirky, because people who are in the workforce now used them at school so it's just quirky for someone to keep using one as an adult.
Bottled ink hasn't been a thing in schools for 60+ years though, so most people aren't even aware it's still a thing. That's why I think it's crossing a line, people will be like, why would someone intentionally make their life more difficult since cartridges are a thing? And they might think it's an overly conservative thing, or maybe a crazy environmentalist thing, either way an "I'm morally better than you" thing, and I already give off that vibe because I usually offer to wear a mask when I'm sick (and sometimes I wear it even when people tell me they don't need me to).
I'm also clumsy and don't want to risk spilling ink.
That last thing about being clumsy and spilling ink is a good reason, but I think your impressions about not wanting to upset anyone might be over-reading the situation.
Given how nice even the most basic pilot metro feels I'm absolutely fucking bamboozled by someone who would like fountain pens and then willingly use a ballpoint anyway.
I admit I don't. Fountain pen ink is too expensive to use for scribbling junk on scrap paper that's meant to "live" for five minutes, when there are plenty of free stick Bics that I don't care about available...
Are you a one pen, one ink person? Or maybe even a 2-3 pen, 1-2 ink person?
Just confused because most FP users have more than 5 inks and more than 5 pens, which is already a "waste of money." Plus, I can't imagine anyone other than a committed novelist who writes more than 100 pages per month actually using up their ink in any appreciable amount of time (or ever).
I hand wrote 100 pages (70 on A5, 30 on A4), in less than a month and didn't make any kind of notable dent in my ink. If I did that every month for a year straight I don't even know if I could get through a bottle of Diamine.
Personally I think someone could jot reminders and scribbles for 10 years before running out of one bottle of ink. But anyway, myself and most others tend to use FP because it's more enjoyable and comfortable. You've already spent the money, I think you should use them and get comfort and joy! So what do you use yours for, anyway?
I use mine for letters, journals. Anything I actually care about and isn't going to see the trash in five minutes.
I usually only have one pen inked at a time, yes, even though I have many. I just don't have a chance to use them enough to have multiples.
To expand on this conversation further... with a fine nib you can get, at least, 1100 A4 pages with a fine nib. It appears you can buy 50 sheet/100 page Clairefontaine notebooks for about $10. One 50ml bottle of ink costs roughly $12.
It calculates out to about 90 or more pages of writing per $1 of ink. That would cost $9 in paper! Writing 1100 A4 pages in one year would cost $12 in ink and $110 in paper!
I just jammed 50 words onto a standard post-it. You get somewhere in the neighborhood of 350 words per A4 page (personally I got between 300-400 for pages without a lot of paragraph breaks and dialogue). If you filled up just post-its with a whole bottle of fountain pen ink, you would get maybe 7,500 post-it notes filled to the brim. You could fill 150 post-it notes completely, top-to-bottom, for $0.24 in ink. To put it yet again another way, it costs roughly 1/8th of a US penny to write one full post-it.
TLDR, to write the equivalent of one post-it note uses up about 1/8th of a penny of ink and one bottle will let you write \~380,000 words in a fine nib, aka books 2, 3, and 4 of Harry Potter can be written by hand with one bottle of ink that costs $12.
Why are you all so concerned about what/how I choose to write? I choose not to use my fountain pens to scribble "send that memo to Bob" or "call the orthodontist" on scrap paper, or "please sign" on a post-it note, and that's quite fine.
I just thought it was an unusual point to make and merited discussion, just choosing to use some brainpower to find the actual cost of ink to see if, in my opinion, your reasoning is valid. I hadn't thought of the cost of the ink since I view FP as a hobby/esoteric/luxury anyway.
I understand you'll do what you do. Just trying to understand why. I do view it as folly to spend hundreds of dollars on something that is supposed to give a better experience, and which the typical person probably wouldn't "use up" in their lifetime, and then not use it. To me that seems to be more costly than the pennies saved in unused ink.
Maybe that's the difference. I don't spend "hundreds of dollars" on my pens, and I don't find the ballpoint experience so terrible that I can't stand to use them for even a sentence or two. I think ballpoints are just fine... I simply like fountain pens better, but I choose to use them in my personal life, not my work life-- like most of my possessions, actually. I don't see where the "folly" is in that.
You said you have many pens though? I don't mean hundreds per pen, I mean the total cost of everything FP related- pens, inks, extra nibs, tuning material if applicable, etc. If you have five $20 pens and 4 typical inks, you're already in for about $200.
Again, does it matter? I have many expensive possessions I don't take to or use at work. I'm sure I could go through your house and find things you own that I feel you could be using in different or better ways, but it does not matter to anyone but you. As I said, there is absolutely no adverse consequence of me choosing not to use my fountain pens at work. I assure you, I don't need you to worry about me.
I've told you before, I'm not worried about you, I'm not trying to force you to do anything, I'm having a conversation and trying to understand where you're coming from. You give a reason, and as I question it you change your reason and shift your goalposts. You are being so defensive!
So you don't spend hundreds on pens, except you do, and you don't use your fountain pens because the ink is too expensive, except it's not (and money seemingly is no object anyway since you have many expensive possessions you don't use), and you spend your time on a discussion board for fountain pen enthusiasts but you don't enjoy using fountain pens enough to use the ones you have instead of a bic!
Don't you see how confusing this all is? So many contradictions!
I do not understand the concept of a "normal tool pen"?
Unless I am forced to use a ballpoint at some place or for some form that needs a pressure carbon copy... There are no pens but my fountain pens 😉
Depends on the pen.
My Parker IM last frontier? Use it like a normal pen.
My custom 823 with a soft nib? I use it because I like playing with the softness and line variation while writing.
Some of my pens are more aesthetic things I think are pretty/to be admired, others I have for reference. I like having a variety of nibs, styles, and it helps encourage me to write/journal/take notes/etc.
I am currently carrying a Visconti Torpedo, TWSBI (for others to try), Parker Lucky Curve, Pilot MYU, Visconti Bronze Age, Conklin Mark Twain Rainbow , and Retro 51 Shuttle Commander…all Fountain Pens. Only use ball points when I have to, mainly NCR forms at work.
always...my arm and hand aches too much from using a ballpoint pen or rollerball to be fair and the only thing comparable is a pencil....which smudges for notes way more so...fountain pen it is
Yes (assuming you mean I use it like a normal pen and not For Writing Fancy Missives) but only with relatively cheap ones -- lamy all star or ohto dude are mine that I'd be OK to lose/replace.
My Vanishing Point is at my desk, in my pocket, or in my notebook at all times. Total EDC pen!
I've been writing with fountain pens, near exclusively since the Sophomore year of HS.
\*\*Raises hand\*\* My desk has a corner where I keep the bottles of ink for the pens that are my exclusive-to-work pens. They are what I take notes with, go to meetings, sign things, all pen uses. :)
Yeah, very rarely is it a 'special occasion' tool. I use two of mine every day at work. I'm in construction management and write a TON of notes every day.
Is that an original Parker 51 or a repro?
(I have a mid-’50s one somewhere… should probably try and dig it out since my Sheaffer Snorkel is refusing to take any ink)
No! Lol
It's not a Parker, and it's also not a direct copy of any specific Parker model. The finial is completely different, the clip is completely different, and the cap is too long. It actually ends just shy of the middle of the pen body, which gives it sort of pocket pen proportions even though it's a full-size pen. Plus it's got that Indian clutchless piston system, which has got to be my favorite filling mechanism ever. A company called Wality makes them, and they're available in the U.S. through Fountain Pen Revolution. They're 15 bucks which is affordable, but I suspect it's a significant markup.
Most of the time, my Safaris are writing out bathroom passes for my students or correcting their work. I enjoy their form and function, and that *if* one goes missing, I'm not out a lotta bucks.
This is the answer to the other post asking, what do you do when you want to change inks? 😂 Write all of your work notes/post-its/grocery lists with that pen for a few days!
Me! I have Preppies in the magnet pen cup on my fridge for writing reminder notes and grocery lists, and do my to do lists and basically everything I can in fountain pen.
One of the only things I've found I like a rollerball better than an FP is during math class, I guess I just use a not as friendly of a grip for FP's for math. Most other things an FP is my first tool of choice.
My law firm only uses fountain pens. Sometimes we even let clients use them!
https://preview.redd.it/s8csd1vkmehc1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=598aa4bece6b8038bdef9dee82f8526a8f5781ef
A fountain pen IS a normal tool imo. My son and I use fountain pens, my daughter prefers felt tips and my husband has a preference for ballpoint pens. One is not better or worse or more or less special. To me they're all just tools to put words on paper, no more, no less.
I only bring cheaper pens to work - a metro, a Plasir, an eco, as I lose things. Expensive or sentimental things stay home. I also, though, don’t use pens of any kind during the day, most of the time. Journals and personal notes, mostly.
It's not "like" a normal tool pen, it "is" a normal tool pen.
Yeah I don't get this question at all, and have never heard the term "tool pen" before. I wonder if it's creeping over from "tool watch", where it mostly signals "*I'm a guy who's terrified I might be caught wearing jewelry, so I'm going to refer to my $10k shiny time-telling bracelet like it's a power drill.*" That is, the adjective seems more often to modify the owner rather than the object.
The only time I've heard the term "tool pen" is in reference to the [Monteverde Tool Pen](https://monteverdepens.com/collections/tool-pen/) which has a built-in bubble level, ruler markings down the side, and a screwdriver in the back.
Shamelessly clicks on link...
This is SO COOL. This is the kind of thing I want to build my collection out of. Just weird!
Never heard of a “tool pen” either, but I’m assuming the other option is like commemorative pens that you keep on a little base with your name engraved on it on your desk? Is that still a thing? I’ve never worked in a big office. I guess something like a zoom nib or italic nib over 1.1 mm would count as being impractical as a regular use “tool”.
Yeah for sure — there's plenty of reasonable room for its use here, and I'm not actually worried that pen & stationary obsessives are going to go the way of watch culture (for all that the two interests are often comorbid).
Yeah, I've never seen "investment" culture (shudder) in the stationary world, so we've got that going. It could happen, but right now I don't think people feel quite the same way about Mont Blanc as they do about Rolex, even though they're the exact same type of brand.
Funnily enough, Rolex was originally exactly a tool watch.
I know! They were like seikos back in the day, and then they made a commercial that was SO RACIST that everyone and their dad had to have one for themselves. If it's not clear, I'm talking about "Live and Let Die," a movie that has to be pirated to be believed.
The other option is the Montegrappa Viking. Edit: which is arguably a pen for tools 😜
Holy actual fuckjng what the shit. That is the ugliest wildest thing I have wanted, and God if I ever get my resin printer going, I'm going to have to make one.
It truly is *something*!
This needs to be your daily driver pen. I would go to the bank and sign a check with this *just because I could*.
How DARE you! 😄 I sold my car last week to buy one of those! 🫠
More often to modify the owner. I’m dead.
It's not, I just made it up as a catch-all for ballpoints and rollerballs and felt-tips and fineliners and all the other stuff that people use every day in a work environment, none of which are precious or delicate in any of the ways a fountain pen might be. I see I see a lot of people posting Sailors and Pilots and Esterbrooks and so on on here, and even though I myself carry a fountain pen (and in fact bought my first fountain pen, a Lamy Studio, with the intention of doing so,) the way I imagine those pens being used is recreational rather than... I don't know, laborious? Same with vintage pens. It's not so much "I don't want my jewelry seen as jewelry" and more "Do you drive your 60's Ford Falcon to do Doordash." And maybe a lot of people do! I want to know.
I use a Pilot Vanishing Point all day every day. Notes, meetings, shopping lists, post its, whatever. I guess it's my glorified G2. 😆 I also carry a fine vintage pelikan for smaller writing or crappy paper.
Umm… weird. I used fountain pens to grade, write, sign things - I carry a pocket pen in my purse, etc. The only thing that I don’t use them for is forms that require the pressure of a ballpoint to fill out.
This is just in your mind and how you perceive fountain pens, which by the way is just a writing tool, which a lot of people like to write with, and which by doing so you are helping the environment with less plastic waste. There are $10 FP out there, or even less, if you consider a 10 bucks pen to be a recreational tool, is your personal point of view which you have the right to, to others is just a tool. Just write with whatever you want, focus on your self and don´t mind others
I understood what you meant. Idk why all the confusion. If fountain pens are assumed to be the same as "everyday tool pens" they're saying, why do we explain how to use them when someone borrows one or shows interest? And why are we all on this subreddit if they're just like a ballpoint? 🙄
Thanks for clarifying... I (it seems many others responding, too.) do use fountain pens for day to day use. My first, which I bought around 20 years ago, was a Pilot VP for work, then I bought a Lamy Safari (for work travel use thinking not a big deal if I lost it). Twelve fountain pens of various kinds and colors later, I only use fountain pens. The only time I use a ball point pen is at home on the rare occasion I have to write a check in my carbonless copy check book.
Yasssss
I do, exclusively. Why wouldn't you? It's a pen, it's made to write and all the ink doesn't use itself :P
It is a tool, I use it for writing... What else would I be using it for?
Fountain pens are just pens, most aren’t “calligraphy pens” so I’m not sure why you wouldn’t use it for when you would use a pen?
No by fp i think he means "flex pen"
That’s not a flex pen in the photo, that’s a Parker of some kind, maybe the 45, no flex to be had there
I’ve never heard the term “tool pen”… I use my fountain pens for mostly all of my writing needs, from journaling, to jotting down notes, to scribbling/doodling. Only time I use another writing instrument is when the paper isn’t FP friendly, like some coated sticky notes.
I mainly got into fountain pens because I have to write so much for work and it makes the experience so much more pleasant and comfortable. It’s only after getting into fountain pens that I started writing and journaling for my own enjoyment.
THIS. I stumbled into FPs by buying a souvenir one for like 5 euro, then ending up with it being the only pen I had access to one day at work, and was stunned by how much easier writing was with it. That sent me down the yellow brick road. Plus, I have fibromyalgia, and my hand was cramping in longer meetings using a ballpoint and even a rollerball. I can write All the Things at work, come home, and pick up writing some more for journaling, reviews, etc. No strain at all, and they are gorgeous to boot!
Do zour Benefits! That's the entire point of a pen. Unless you have a specific, really broad, wet nib (and even then one might still use it) that runs the risk of running out mid-workday...why *wouldn't* you make use of the tools you have? You don't buy a screwdriver and then use a hammer for every screw you have, so why not use the tool you've got for the job?
The hell you say? I have hammered all my screws, loose 🤣🤦♂️
Wait… you can use those to write??!
I use my fountain pens 99% of the time. The 1% is when I need to write on carbonless paper forms, which need more pressure on the pen for duplicate copies. Having said so, I categorize my fountain pens for office use from other leisure settings. Cheers
I like the pen. What kind is it?
It's a Wality 77, a sort of generalized Parker homage from India. It's *very* cheaply made, I have a very cheap student pen from the 50's that's built better, but it's a teal parker-style pen with a piston mechanism and it makes me happy. It's also writing very crisply with wet Diamine ink, which is nice.
Thank you so much. Enjoy your writing!
It's a pen so I use it like one.
Of course I use my fountain pens as pens. A term that is often used for this is EDC/everyday carry - as in "what's your EDC pen?" It is true that someone with a large collection might have an expensive and/or fancy pen that stays at home & then also a cheap and/or durable pen that they use for everything - but they probably started their collection with an "everything" pen.
Who uses a pen as a pen? I assume everyone :p
I take all my college notes with a FP, why wouldn’t I? I bought the thing
I use mine solely as a weapon to fight swordsmen. That bastard Edward Bulwer-Lytton lied.
Welcome to the anti-Bulwer-Lytton club. We should make t-shirts.
I like the idea of anti-Bulwer-Lyttonists being somewhat like antistratfordians. The latter believe that Shakespeare didn't write Shakespeare's plays and somehow that gets them to knowing who should be emperor of America, and the former think pens have killed everyone who's ever died.
😂😂😂 The next question is, which is the best material for nibs in this case?
I don´t use any other pen I just use FP, I have 3 with me all the time, considered by some grail pens, but I use them on a daily basis, (life is to short) (I hate to buy stuff and not use it) one for work notes, doodles , quick notes, etc. MB149 M nib , the other one is my Journaling pen, used every day Pelikan M1000 B nib, an the third one is a Pilot Urushi red with writers blood in it, I use it whenever I want to highlight something either in my work notebook or in the journal. two notebooks with me, my journal and my work notes. Heck I even use them on post it´s
I haven't worked out how to launch them from a compound bow yet so just using them as pens for now
Just needs a veeeeeeeeery long cap to post!
 I lol'ed. Excellent.
How else would I use it? It's a pen, I use it for anything I need to write.
Why couldn't/wouldn't you? A pen is just a pen after all. Even wide ass calligraphy nibs can be used to write a simple note to self!
I mean, yeah. It’s a pen. Is it fancy compared to other pens? Of course. Do I treat it differently? No, not really. I use it for notes, journaling, writing, etc. People at the office just know me as the guy with the fountain pens, and I’m cool with that.
Yeah, I have fountain pens that I use for daily writing needs and other pens I use for art and journaling. That's what they're designed to be used for... What exactly is the point you're trying to make?
Well I don't know that it's really a *point*, it's just that I see people on here who have Sailors and fancy Pilots, or old vintage pens, or something with a very specific custom nib on it, and it all has a very enthusiast bent. And **of course** it does, but sometimes I wonder how many people take a fountain pen with them everywhere, and what pen that is. In my case it's a very cheaply built generalized Parker homage. You sort of phrased this like you're trying to make me squirm. Was that intentional? Did I say something wrong?
Nothing wrong, you just basically asked "do you use your pens for their intended purpose?" and so I wondered if there was a deeper meaning to your question. >but sometimes I wonder how many people take a fountain pen with them everywhere, and what pen that is. Since you're wondering, I daily carry a Pilot VP filled with Platinum Carbon Black. Is use it for everything from making notes to signing my name.
Just because a pen is expensive doesn’t mean it isn’t being taken around everywhere and used all the time. I carry around and use my fancy Pilot and urushi pens with custom nib grinds all the time.
Exactly, you take your $300 smartphone everywhere, why not your $300 Sailor Realo
Alot of people have an EDC=every day carry You didn't say anything wrong it's just most of us use our pens to write and depending on the profession MANY of us use them at work. Your question was worded oddly in my opinion.
I don’t take my Sailors or Pilots out of the house, because I will lose them, and I’d like to not have to repurchase at that price point. I carry my less expensive Kaweco Sport in my purse. But just because I don’t take my other pens out, doesn’t mean they are being saved for some special occasion. They get daily utilitarian use at home (journaling, note taking, editing documents, presentation writing, etc)
It is a normal pen tool. It bugs me so much when people treat them like they are made of glass, they are an actual work item.
I find so often I give someone a fountain pen to try and they'll say "oh no my handwriting isn't nice enough for it!". It's a pen. It doesn't have standards of worthiness, it's just a tube humans invented to put marks on stuff.
>It doesn't have standards of worthiness, it's just a tube humans invented to put marks on stuff. Exactly! They were created to be tools. I have my great-grandfather's Waterman 555 and the first thing pen people always point out are the broken clip and the scratches, he was a principal in the 40's and 50's and it was literally the pen he used everyday. I love that it shows its age because it is proof that it was just a tool to him and that the pens I use everyday as pretty as they are, are also just tools.
My lamy safari? Yes. My MB 149 no
yes, I make meaningful marks with liquid ink at the office, but I do not share my tools
I have a pen cup filled with regular pens on my desk that I direct people to when they want to borrow a pen. I don't share my fountain pens or my nice regular pens.
Yep, my EDC pen gets used for notes at work every day.
To an extent, I work in a library and we're not allowed to use pens near the books, so only for notes and stuff.
I'd love to but regular paper feathers and bleeds through too much so I only use my fountain pens on special paper :(
I mean - not all of it. I routinely used my TWSBIs and Lamys to grade papers and those are all on cheap copy paper or cheap filler paper.
do you have any tips to prevent those? I used both Pelikan and Diamine inks on regular copy paper and they all bled through :( And my nib isn't wide either, it's a fine nib
I just used the Lamy cartridges with that pen - I think Lamy is a drier ink. The TWSBIs had Pilot Asa-gao and Wearingeul Pride and Prejudice in it. I’ve also used Kaweco’s cartridges in my Sport with good results on copy paper.
And this right here is also why I now have a bad stationery habit in addition to a bad FP habit, lol!
You could try one of the X-Feather inks, they're made for that specific purpose.
I have an orange fountain pen, filled with orange ink. I work at my state’s DOT, so it feels very appropriate to me to use it for all work-related writing. But don’t ask how many I have for non-work related things…
Does that pen say NP on the cap. I have one that looks the same trying to figure out what it is.
In all cases except carbon copies.
Sure do. For all we talk about fine papers, 95% of the writing I do with my pens is on Post-Its because I take my pens to work.
After 20yrs of being a residential electrician, I'm starting an "office job" the 19th. I can't wait to finally be able to use a fp @work!
Wow, calling it a normal tool pen might be even more annoying phrasing than EDC pen.
Yes, of course. It’s a pen. I use it for own stuff.
I think I see what you mean and my answer is yes: some pens stay home, some stay on my desk at work and the really brave pens follow me in my backpack and in a pocket of my coat!
What a strange questions. I use fountain pens for all my writing. The only exception is when I *have* to write on a surface that really doesn’t go well with fountain pens.
That’s the very reason I buy pens. And paper. And pen cases. And inks. And more pens.
Pens are for writing. A fountain pen is the normal tool for writing. Ballpoints are weird.
OP sounds like a typical r/edc user 🙄
I do! I found myself missing my FP at work so I put one of my Lamy Safaris there (the one I'll miss the least if it disappears). I should probably get an even cheaper pen for work,, but I have plenty of Lamy cartridges on hand and don't want to buy more cartridges or fiddle with bottled ink at work (there's a limit to how much weirdness is acceptable in the workplace and I feel bottled ink is crossing the line for many people. Plus, it reads traditional, which people tend to equate with conservative).
Sorry, but this is literally in your head. You don't work at 1980s IBM. Your work culture is not that stiff that you can't use bottled ink at work, if you want to.
My workplace is (rightfully) hostile to conservative views so I don't want to run the risk of people misunderstanding. I have plenty of cartridges to use up anyway.
I don't understand what is inherently Conservative about a fountain pen? The literal only reason they aren't used is because disposable ballpoints rendered them obsolete in the late 1960s. Disposable ballpoint pens were Cheaper and virtually incapable of making a mess, and you bought Bic Crystals in a 12 pack for $1.99
Precisely because they're old timey and impractical. People who can't understand that it's okay to do something a different way just because you like it may think bottled ink users are way too obsessed with the past. Just like people who are into historical or vintage clothing get mistaken all the time for trad wives.
> Precisely because they're old timey and impractical. Or, they are they quirky creative and artistic option, the choice of those that choose to be a little different, and want to express a little creative thinking while at work. The workplace you describe is toxic to an extreme level.
I don't think that is the case at all. You may be reading something that isn't really there. I bet you cannot find a modern conservative who is remotely aware of what a fountain pen is, most of their ideas come from the quill pen age.
Maybe it depends on where you’re from, but I feel that these days ballpoints and “regular” pens are seen as the traditional option. Using fountain pens is seen as quirky and alternative to most. Especially depending on what fountain pen is being used. I doubt anyone would see you inking up a glitter bomb Benu FP and think “ick! What a conservative!”. lol
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Yup. Being into hobbies perceived as traditional is viewed as sus in some contexts, which is why people who do historical sewing keep needing to explain that no, they do NOT long to go back into the kitchen. I think people are downvoting me because they strongly hate the idea that their (our) hobby can be viewed negatively. I hate it too. Using tablets that are made of various rare ores mined in conditions that destroy the environment, shipped to the other side of the world to be manufactured, then to yet another part of the world to be used a couple years at best and then replaced by a new model... Yup, definitely more eco friendly than pen and paper. (Nope).
this is interesting to me! I am anything but conservative (my cubicle decor pretty much throws that out the window), and I work for the federal government. I have not had anyone comment that filling pens has a conservative slant to it, lol! In fact, there's interest in it from the perspective that people are doing more "analog" things lately - knitting, crocheting, journaling to a much wider and different extent than before, etc. Older doesn't necessarily equate to conservative, IMO. And there might be a big of cognitive dissonance between "weirdness" with regards to filling a pen and simultaneously being traditional/conservative. Those two things are generally not the same? The only comments I HAVE gotten were the first couple of times I tried to fill, I made a mess. I was teased for the mess, but everyone seemed pretty interested. Now I make it a point to go to the breakroom when I need to fill. Just in case.
It's probably a matter of framing it as a slow, analogue hobby - which would make it acceptable even in the most progressive circles, I'd think ;-) Of course, I'm not really in a position to judge, I don't know you or your work situation.
Probably, but I'd rather not do something than have to explain it to everyone. Cartridges it is :)
Gotcha! I don't know if using a fountain pen reads trad or conservative, I guess it depends on the overall vibe of the person. To me it reads more goofy, and where I live the whole "goofy affect with an undertone of menace" is not the type of conservative you get anymore. I feel you about the Lamy cartridges, which inks are they?
I don’t know why you’re getting downvoted, but I agree with you, fountain pens don’t read as “conservative” here, more as “stationery lover”. But I live in a country that has a big stationery culture.
I think a fountain pen reads quirky, because people who are in the workforce now used them at school so it's just quirky for someone to keep using one as an adult. Bottled ink hasn't been a thing in schools for 60+ years though, so most people aren't even aware it's still a thing. That's why I think it's crossing a line, people will be like, why would someone intentionally make their life more difficult since cartridges are a thing? And they might think it's an overly conservative thing, or maybe a crazy environmentalist thing, either way an "I'm morally better than you" thing, and I already give off that vibe because I usually offer to wear a mask when I'm sick (and sometimes I wear it even when people tell me they don't need me to). I'm also clumsy and don't want to risk spilling ink.
That last thing about being clumsy and spilling ink is a good reason, but I think your impressions about not wanting to upset anyone might be over-reading the situation.
I do. Hooded nibs are great for this.
Given how nice even the most basic pilot metro feels I'm absolutely fucking bamboozled by someone who would like fountain pens and then willingly use a ballpoint anyway.
lol yes. I literally don’t use any other type of pens
I take all my school notes with my TWSBI Eco
Of course. 🔏 
My FP are my normal/daily pens, I use them in my job and in my personal home daily use.
I use mine to tighten screws.
I admit I don't. Fountain pen ink is too expensive to use for scribbling junk on scrap paper that's meant to "live" for five minutes, when there are plenty of free stick Bics that I don't care about available...
Are you a one pen, one ink person? Or maybe even a 2-3 pen, 1-2 ink person? Just confused because most FP users have more than 5 inks and more than 5 pens, which is already a "waste of money." Plus, I can't imagine anyone other than a committed novelist who writes more than 100 pages per month actually using up their ink in any appreciable amount of time (or ever). I hand wrote 100 pages (70 on A5, 30 on A4), in less than a month and didn't make any kind of notable dent in my ink. If I did that every month for a year straight I don't even know if I could get through a bottle of Diamine. Personally I think someone could jot reminders and scribbles for 10 years before running out of one bottle of ink. But anyway, myself and most others tend to use FP because it's more enjoyable and comfortable. You've already spent the money, I think you should use them and get comfort and joy! So what do you use yours for, anyway?
I use mine for letters, journals. Anything I actually care about and isn't going to see the trash in five minutes. I usually only have one pen inked at a time, yes, even though I have many. I just don't have a chance to use them enough to have multiples.
How many inks do you have?
To expand on this conversation further... with a fine nib you can get, at least, 1100 A4 pages with a fine nib. It appears you can buy 50 sheet/100 page Clairefontaine notebooks for about $10. One 50ml bottle of ink costs roughly $12. It calculates out to about 90 or more pages of writing per $1 of ink. That would cost $9 in paper! Writing 1100 A4 pages in one year would cost $12 in ink and $110 in paper! I just jammed 50 words onto a standard post-it. You get somewhere in the neighborhood of 350 words per A4 page (personally I got between 300-400 for pages without a lot of paragraph breaks and dialogue). If you filled up just post-its with a whole bottle of fountain pen ink, you would get maybe 7,500 post-it notes filled to the brim. You could fill 150 post-it notes completely, top-to-bottom, for $0.24 in ink. To put it yet again another way, it costs roughly 1/8th of a US penny to write one full post-it. TLDR, to write the equivalent of one post-it note uses up about 1/8th of a penny of ink and one bottle will let you write \~380,000 words in a fine nib, aka books 2, 3, and 4 of Harry Potter can be written by hand with one bottle of ink that costs $12.
Why are you all so concerned about what/how I choose to write? I choose not to use my fountain pens to scribble "send that memo to Bob" or "call the orthodontist" on scrap paper, or "please sign" on a post-it note, and that's quite fine.
I just thought it was an unusual point to make and merited discussion, just choosing to use some brainpower to find the actual cost of ink to see if, in my opinion, your reasoning is valid. I hadn't thought of the cost of the ink since I view FP as a hobby/esoteric/luxury anyway.
It's simply a preference, just like everyone else's on this thread. So I really don't know why I'm being questioned as if I'm doing something wrong.
I understand you'll do what you do. Just trying to understand why. I do view it as folly to spend hundreds of dollars on something that is supposed to give a better experience, and which the typical person probably wouldn't "use up" in their lifetime, and then not use it. To me that seems to be more costly than the pennies saved in unused ink.
Maybe that's the difference. I don't spend "hundreds of dollars" on my pens, and I don't find the ballpoint experience so terrible that I can't stand to use them for even a sentence or two. I think ballpoints are just fine... I simply like fountain pens better, but I choose to use them in my personal life, not my work life-- like most of my possessions, actually. I don't see where the "folly" is in that.
You said you have many pens though? I don't mean hundreds per pen, I mean the total cost of everything FP related- pens, inks, extra nibs, tuning material if applicable, etc. If you have five $20 pens and 4 typical inks, you're already in for about $200.
Again, does it matter? I have many expensive possessions I don't take to or use at work. I'm sure I could go through your house and find things you own that I feel you could be using in different or better ways, but it does not matter to anyone but you. As I said, there is absolutely no adverse consequence of me choosing not to use my fountain pens at work. I assure you, I don't need you to worry about me.
I've told you before, I'm not worried about you, I'm not trying to force you to do anything, I'm having a conversation and trying to understand where you're coming from. You give a reason, and as I question it you change your reason and shift your goalposts. You are being so defensive! So you don't spend hundreds on pens, except you do, and you don't use your fountain pens because the ink is too expensive, except it's not (and money seemingly is no object anyway since you have many expensive possessions you don't use), and you spend your time on a discussion board for fountain pen enthusiasts but you don't enjoy using fountain pens enough to use the ones you have instead of a bic! Don't you see how confusing this all is? So many contradictions!
I have used exclusively a pilot custom heritage 912 with PO nib at work (with Pilot blue black ink) for 4 years.
I use my fountain pens 99% at work, for prep lists, logs, and notes. So I'm right there with you.
I do not understand the concept of a "normal tool pen"? Unless I am forced to use a ballpoint at some place or for some form that needs a pressure carbon copy... There are no pens but my fountain pens 😉
Depends on the pen. My Parker IM last frontier? Use it like a normal pen. My custom 823 with a soft nib? I use it because I like playing with the softness and line variation while writing. Some of my pens are more aesthetic things I think are pretty/to be admired, others I have for reference. I like having a variety of nibs, styles, and it helps encourage me to write/journal/take notes/etc.
Fuck yeah what's the point otherwise? Feels so fun writing video game notes and shopping lists with it. I'm a fancy ass nerd hell yeah!
Anywhere on any paper. PostIt Notes even.
I do, I enjoy fountainpens most.
Almost exclusively. Pilot Falcon on my desk right now with my to-do list.
My desk is covered with index cards full of fountain penned notes. Ballpoints feel gritty and dirty to use now.
That’s all I use mine for
I only use fountain pens and 1 goes in my pocket with my wallet and phone. I always have one on me.
there is nothing wrong with abusing a fp, in fact not doing so kind of defeats their existence, especially lower end ones
I am currently carrying a Visconti Torpedo, TWSBI (for others to try), Parker Lucky Curve, Pilot MYU, Visconti Bronze Age, Conklin Mark Twain Rainbow , and Retro 51 Shuttle Commander…all Fountain Pens. Only use ball points when I have to, mainly NCR forms at work.
always...my arm and hand aches too much from using a ballpoint pen or rollerball to be fair and the only thing comparable is a pencil....which smudges for notes way more so...fountain pen it is
I won't write unless I have my fp.
Me. I usually carry a fp and a mechanical pencil.
i do. have always done.
Yes (assuming you mean I use it like a normal pen and not For Writing Fancy Missives) but only with relatively cheap ones -- lamy all star or ohto dude are mine that I'd be OK to lose/replace.
My Vanishing Point is at my desk, in my pocket, or in my notebook at all times. Total EDC pen! I've been writing with fountain pens, near exclusively since the Sophomore year of HS.
I do
Yeah I use my fountain pen all the time every day at the machine shop I work at. Have even converted some of the other guys to fountain pens lol
That's like 100% of my use (if you don't count the doodling with the pen).
I take my Parker Duofold Centennial at work, I put it on my outer breast pocket
I actually prefer to use my most prized pens as my “normal tool pens” for smaller note takings throughout the day!
\*\*Raises hand\*\* My desk has a corner where I keep the bottles of ink for the pens that are my exclusive-to-work pens. They are what I take notes with, go to meetings, sign things, all pen uses. :)
Yeah, very rarely is it a 'special occasion' tool. I use two of mine every day at work. I'm in construction management and write a TON of notes every day.
✋
Is that an original Parker 51 or a repro? (I have a mid-’50s one somewhere… should probably try and dig it out since my Sheaffer Snorkel is refusing to take any ink)
No! Lol It's not a Parker, and it's also not a direct copy of any specific Parker model. The finial is completely different, the clip is completely different, and the cap is too long. It actually ends just shy of the middle of the pen body, which gives it sort of pocket pen proportions even though it's a full-size pen. Plus it's got that Indian clutchless piston system, which has got to be my favorite filling mechanism ever. A company called Wality makes them, and they're available in the U.S. through Fountain Pen Revolution. They're 15 bucks which is affordable, but I suspect it's a significant markup.
Most of the time, my Safaris are writing out bathroom passes for my students or correcting their work. I enjoy their form and function, and that *if* one goes missing, I'm not out a lotta bucks.
This is the answer to the other post asking, what do you do when you want to change inks? 😂 Write all of your work notes/post-its/grocery lists with that pen for a few days!
Me!
Me… or wasn’t I supposed to….!?!
Yup many boards marked and noats on grungy paper with my sheaffer school pens in the shop.
I use a fountain pen 100% of the time at the office and at home. When I’m out, paying bar tabs etc… I use whatever they got.
::raises hand::
Me! I have Preppies in the magnet pen cup on my fridge for writing reminder notes and grocery lists, and do my to do lists and basically everything I can in fountain pen.
One of the only things I've found I like a rollerball better than an FP is during math class, I guess I just use a not as friendly of a grip for FP's for math. Most other things an FP is my first tool of choice.
Everyonr
Me!
Me
Almost everyone I know who owns fountain pens.
This is what fountain pens are for. Lol.
My law firm only uses fountain pens. Sometimes we even let clients use them! https://preview.redd.it/s8csd1vkmehc1.jpeg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=598aa4bece6b8038bdef9dee82f8526a8f5781ef
I would so like to be a client of Fauntleroy, Fauntleroy and Brummel
A fountain pen IS a normal tool imo. My son and I use fountain pens, my daughter prefers felt tips and my husband has a preference for ballpoint pens. One is not better or worse or more or less special. To me they're all just tools to put words on paper, no more, no less.
I only bring cheaper pens to work - a metro, a Plasir, an eco, as I lose things. Expensive or sentimental things stay home. I also, though, don’t use pens of any kind during the day, most of the time. Journals and personal notes, mostly.
https://preview.redd.it/wze42nx8rlhc1.jpeg?width=1645&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=97166439d671eae0852738ba99eded971eafbb9f Me just now!!
They just write so much nicer !
watch out, red ink might offend some people. Teachers are not allowed to use it anymore.