Will the Fountain Pen Outlive Microsoft?

[rdeakle]

Doesn't mean that people are more fountain pen minded later in life.

Yesterday I lent my pen to the server in the restaurant (her ballpoint ran out), and she told me that she had not used a fountain pen since her school days.
My kids are converted to cheap rolleballs and felt pens as well, despite the fact that both had a quality fountain pen in school.

Perhaps, but many people tend to stick with what they know and with what they grew up doing.

I would also think that the fact that modern fountain pens are a lot cleaner, leak less, and are less of a hassle than older ones probably has a bit to do with it.

 

[Eeyore]

Perhaps, but many people tend to stick with what they know and with what they grew up doing.

I would also think that the fact that modern fountain pens are a lot cleaner, leak less, and are less of a hassle than older ones probably has a bit to do with it.

Ever witnessed a European office environment, and checked how many people really use fountain pens?

If it's over 10%, I'd be surprised. (based on what I see in meetings)

And all those people had to use a fountain pen in school (at least in many European countries).

Most people go for convenience, and that is what a cheap ballpoint or felt pen gives them. Besides, most people use the office freebies, of course.

 

[Go West Young Man]

Increasing sales figures are, in fact, a measurable scale.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18071830

-Andy

That article had no actual numbers, just vague percentage increases. 5% of a marginal niche is still a marginal niche.

The internet has made our easier for hobbyists to create communities, but you have to remember that we're talking to each other inside an echo chamber. When was the last time you saw a fountain pen being used by a stranger in the real world? And how unusual and exciting was it when that happened?

 

[Eeyore]

The internet has made our easier for hobbyists to create communities, but you have to remember that we're talking to each other inside an echo chamber. When was the last time you saw a fountain pen being used by a stranger in the real world? And how unusual and exciting was it when that happened?

About one in ten (maybe one in fifteen) office people uses a fountain pen, would be my guess, based on what I've seen in customer meetings.

So yes, I see other FP users regularly, but not that often.

 

[nortac]

I work in a hospital and maybe 1 in 10 physicians use a fountain-pen, none of the nurses do that I know of, other than myself. For some it is a status symbol, for others a style choice. Of the MDs, their pens are usually mid- range premium pens like Visconti or Monteverde, the ubiquitous Mont Blanc, but I have seen a few carrying Lamys and lower end Pilots as well. I think that as more pen users become aware of serviceable but economic varieties, a few more may be won over or at least interested in fountain pens. Not a shift in market share mind you, but a slight change.

 

[andrew98]

That article had no actual numbers, just vague percentage increases. 5% of a marginal niche is still a marginal niche.

The internet has made our easier for hobbyists to create communities, but you have to remember that we're talking to each other inside an echo chamber. When was the last time you saw a fountain pen being used by a stranger in the real world? And how unusual and exciting was it when that happened?

It's true I don't see it often. I have a coworker who uses them, and I had nothing to do with that. Otherwise, spottings in the wild are rare. If fountain pen use were in decline, though, businesses like the Goulet Pen Co. wouldn't be growing. I agree that FP's are a niche item appreciated by a small segment of the population, but some real money and real jobs have been created with the resurgence in fountain pen use. I'm sure 95% or more of all people will only ever use the free ballpoints the universe provides, but I do believe there's enough interest in fountain pens, at least globally, to keep the industry going. My hope is that more and more people wise up, but only time will tell.

-Andy

 

[Doc4]

Are we talking about fountain pens as WE understand the term, or as the interviewer who held up the rollerball understands the term?

(And if you want to get all historical about the term "fountain pen", that is meant to describe a pen with its ink supply inside its body as opposed to a pen you have to dip into an external source ... a "dip pen" if you will. So, in that broad sense, a ball point pen is a "fountain pen" because the ink is inside the pen body.)

Are "ink pens" going to be obsolete and no longer in regular use in ten years?

 

[Bob L.]

It's true I don't see it often. I have a coworker who uses them, and I had nothing to do with that. Otherwise, spottings in the wild are rare. If fountain pen use were in decline, though, businesses like the Goulet Pen Co. wouldn't be growing. I agree that FP's are a niche item appreciated by a small segment of the population, but some real money and real jobs have been created with the resurgence in fountain pen use. I'm sure 95% or more of all people will only ever use the free ballpoints the universe provides, but I do believe there's enough interest in fountain pens, at least globally, to keep the industry going. My hope is that more and more people wise up, but only time will tell.

-Andy

Going to try and build on this Andy...

Once ballpoints came out fountain pen usage declined. At introduction ballpoints were less problematic, worked well when carbon copies were needed, held prodigious amounts of ink in terms of words written without filling, were new and exciting, were easily manufactured in massive quantities, and their price points were varied enough to attract many different types of users.

Other commodities had similar experiences.

• sliced, store bought bread replaced home baked bread
• packaged cookies replaced home baked cookies
• manufactured shoes replaced shoes made by cobblers
• safety razors replaced straight razors
• multi-blade cartridge razors replaced safety razors
• the list is almost endless

"Good enough" is what the masses want. Ballpoints and Wonder Bread were both plenty "good enough". That said, there will always be people who want and are willing to pay for something "special". Sometimes this will be something from the past. Sometimes it will be a new take on something from the past. Edison Pens is a great example. So is TWISBI. So are the other fountain pen companies. The pens we enjoy are a niche market but, there is nothing wrong with a niche market if you know how to work it. Best of all, occasionally something brand new and innovative enters the world and the process gets a great kick in the pants.

Fountain pens are classy. Classy things tend to pass the test of time. I don't think any of us will find ourselves with nothing new to buy thirty years from now.

Just my two cents worth...

Bob

 

[Chadao]

And ballpoin didn't leak on airplanes.

 

[Chadao]

I remember using a fountain pen in grammar school in the 50's. The desks still had ink bottle holders.
I once got a consulting job, pre-internet, because I had a Pelikan in my pocket. I was in Peters Bros Hats talking to a friend. A man walked in, asked if he could join our conversation. He saw my pen, the conversation turned to writing instruments, and an eventual publishing consultation.