Fountain Pens may not be for me

Mr5x5 · Feb 7, 2012

I was getting ready for a meeting and my portfolio wasn't where I thought I left it. :scared:

Thankfully I had my presentation backed up in several places, but I know my Parker 21 and my Ahab were both in there with a stack of my stationery and several other things I didn't want to lose. :crying:

While it is possible I left it somewhere else, I have taken the house, car and office apart looking for it. Just another reminder to me not to invest in something I am unwilling to lose. I think my FPAD is over by choice and necessity. I still have my Pelikano Jr. but that is showing cracks in the cap after less than 6 months so if it finally goes it won't be replaced either. I think my actual lifestyle doesn't agree with what I want my lifestyle to look like.

nemo · Feb 7, 2012

I'm sorry to hear of the loss. I lose things occasionally too and that is why I keep my pens in my shirt pocket.

Hope you find your bag!

The Nid Hog · Feb 7, 2012

I totally get your point. I think that the key is to integrate things into your everyday life in a way that makes the least waves. When I'm traveling for work or doing something outside, I carry pens that will work under those conditions and that I can afford to damage or lose. The next level are the ones that I take to the office. Finally there are ones that I use at home.

The truth is, if I lose my bag, my pens are the least of my worries. My phone costs more than any pen that I regularly carry. It would be a big setback if my laptop (which I obsessively back up) disappeared. It's just that those things are a little more naturalized because of long-established daily use. If you like fountain pens, get a couple of inexpensive ones and use them. A mix of Platinum Preppies and Plaisirs would keep you going at not much more than a bunch of gel pens. But if that's not for you, no big deal about moving on to something else.

The Count of Merkur Cristo · Feb 7, 2012

The Nid Hog said:
I totally get your point. I think that the key is to integrate things into your everyday life in a way that makes the least waves. When I'm traveling for work or doing something outside, I carry pens that will work under those conditions and that I can afford to damage or lose. The next level are the ones that I take to the office. Finally there are ones that I use at home.

The truth is, if I lose my bag, my pens are the least of my worries. My phone costs more than any pen that I regularly carry. It would be a big setback if my laptop (which I obsessively back up) disappeared. It's just that those things are a little more naturalized because of long-established daily use. If you like fountain pens, get a couple of inexpensive ones and use them. A mix of Platinum Preppies and Plaisirs would keep you going at not much more than a bunch of gel pens. But if that's not for you, no big deal about moving on to something else.

Nid Hog:
I know what you mean, FP's are not for me either because of the likehood of me being a victum of a FP ink accident (which is why I'll stick with my Montblanc Rollerball "Starwalker" pen or my Montblanc 75th Anniversary Limited Edition "Mozart" ball point pen). :thumbsup:

I'm very good at not losing items (pens, lighters, keys, ect...), but when I was in the Army, I used 'good old' cheap and dependable Skillcraft pens in uniform, the field and/or deployed (no tears if loss or 'cabbaged'). :lol1:

"Soulmakers for 100 Years".

"The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought, this in turn makes us think more deeply about life, which helps us regain our equilibrium". Norbet Platt

crowdog · Feb 7, 2012

I feel you pain, when you think, or know stuff is lost. My wife reminds me all the time, and I feel like that quote, "you just can't be trusted with nice things". that being said, I also carry my pens in my pocket, and have two different special boxes they go in when I am at work or at home. Don't give up yet!!

Marty

Slivovitz · Feb 7, 2012

I've developed habits which help me keep tabs on most of the small objects which I used to lose, keys, pens, etc. The specific things I do might not suit somebody else, but I haven't lost a fountain pen at work yet. That said, it's usually the cheap but good ones that I bring in, Pilot FP 78 G and Petit1, Sheaffer School pen, Wing Sung. Because I overdid the acquisitions at first, I'd have to lose quite a few before I started running short.

Although I usually have at least one FP with me, the only pen that I always have is my good old Fisher Space Pen ballpoint, the bullet style that is good to carry in a pants pocket.

strop · Feb 7, 2012

+1 on the shirt pocket. I never carry a pen in o briefcase, folio, etc. They are either in a little wooden box on my desk or in my pocket. It is a developed habit, though. About 30 years ago I "lost" a nice Parker (I still think it was lifted) and that taught me to be very precise about where I keep my pens.

I wouldn't give up on it yet.

Doc4 · Feb 7, 2012

I know some guys buy expensive umbrellas specifically so that they will be more attentive to not losing them. Maybe you want to try the same with pens?

(I gotta try that line with SWMBO when I line up a nice urushi ... )

Mark1966 · Feb 7, 2012

I feel your pain!

When I could afford good pens I was working in the accounting profession so did a few audits. I lost a number of pens that will probably surface in an audit file in 100 years time.

So I took the approach of ALWAYS keeping my pens in my shirt pocket. After having two new shirts destroyed by ink leaks I gave up on fountain pens.....

Granaura · Feb 7, 2012

I was really impressed by the Preppy plastic pen that was sent (PIF'd) to me!! I would recommend them as a option you wouldn't mind losing!

oc_in_fw · Feb 7, 2012

Doc4 said:
I know some guys buy expensive umbrellas specifically so that they will be more attentive to not losing them. Maybe you want to try the same with pens?

(I gotta try that line with SWMBO when I line up a nice urushi ... )

I lose cheap sunglasses, so I buy moderately expensive ones.

Hidesuru · Feb 8, 2012

Thats really too bad, Nid. Sorry to hear you may not want to continue, but understand. Its an issue that I struggle with as well as I have been known to lose things from time to time.

I keep my everywhere-use pen in my shirt. I wear polo shirts at all times, so I just clip it beneath the bottom button where it is pretty secure. It has caught something and fallen off once or twice, but ive felt it and not lost it, thankfully.

strop · Feb 8, 2012

Mark1966 said:
I feel your pain!

When I could afford good pens I was working in the accounting profession so did a few audits. I lost a number of pens that will probably surface in an audit file in 100 years time.

So I took the approach of ALWAYS keeping my pens in my shirt pocket. After having two new shirts destroyed by ink leaks I gave up on fountain pens.....

I'm really curious as to the circumstances of the leaks. I've been using FP for >30 years and have never had a FP leak in my pocket. I've had a couple with a cracked section that leaked into the cap and I got ink on my hands, but never my shirt. I have ruined shirts by placing gel pens that I failed to retract, or RB that I forgot to cap, in my pocket.

The Nid Hog · Feb 8, 2012

Hidesuru said:
Thats really too bad, Nid. Sorry to hear you may not want to continue

No, it's not me. It's Mr. 5x5. I'm in too deep to get out now!

Hidesuru · Feb 8, 2012

The Nid Hog said:
No, it's not me. It's Mr. 5x5. I'm in too deep to get out now!

Heh, my mistake. Not sure why I read the wrong username.

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Fountain Pens may not be for me

Mr5x5

nemo

Lunatic Fringe

The Nid Hog

The Count of Merkur Cristo

B&B's Emperor of Emojis

crowdog

Slivovitz

strop

Now half as wise

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather

Mark1966

Granaura

oc_in_fw

Fridays are Fishtastic!

Hidesuru

strop

Now half as wise

The Nid Hog

Hidesuru

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