Support Head-Fi.org by
starting all of your
Amazon.com shopping by
clicking here.
____________________________________________________________________
Today's Featured Head-Fi Blog: A Japanese headfier's monologue (Sasaki)
____________________________________________________________________
Please help
support Head-Fi by becoming a Contributing Member
CLICK
HERE -- Contributing Members, thank you
for your generous support! --
yonks ago, highschool it was when the three kids who may have been the outcasts of our school went from arm-wrestling in computer programming (right) to pen twirling. i was president since i was the first to make the 360 degree full circle there and back again move. i could do finger shuffle, thumb top spin up to 5x revolutions if used with cheap bic, wrist wrap and the loop jump consistently.
we got a picture in the yearbook but everyone was too embarassed so only myself and a guy who was not good enough to be part of the club joined... a good but unfortunate memory as it could have been so much better if only my mates had not jumped out. (we also had a floor-sliding club [same three]. we would run down the hallway [linoleum] and jump out horizontally, land on our chests and slide up to a recorded 10 metres. we were outcasts, but when we did this trick, we were the cream of the crop... the entire school parted for us like gangsters popping into a cafe).
now, i have mont blanc which i would never spin, but use for writing important letters or stories. it is like my lucky bat cover for table tennis.
__________________
BOSE: Better Sound Through Research
It's mainly the sensation while writing that makes fountain pens what they are. It's a completely different experience and different makes have their own particular feel when the nib touches the paper. All in all, fountain pens have become a luxury item. $200 or even $5k for a pen is not a lot to some of us just like you can spend at least the same amount on a pair of headphones.
The whole philosphy behind FPs is completely different compared to headphone/music listening and it varies depending on the value and rarity of the FP. Expensive collectable fountain pens are never ever used (in some cases not even inked!) so they're regarded as more a piece of rare art than a utensil. Cheaper fountain pens are used on a daily basis although even cheap fountain pens can be collectable and look nice. That said, the point at which cheap becomes expensive is highly subjective and personal.
For example, I would have no problems spending a few hundred on a pen and using it on a daily basis. However, I wouldn't use a pen that cost me $700 simply because that is the point when I start thinking it's getting expensive. The $700 pen would probably be sitting on my table in a glass box or something. Wealthier people would probably use rare/vintage pens that are valued at ~$1k on a daily basis and leave their $5k or $10k pens in the display cabinet. You are right in saying that a $5k pen would probably put down ink in exactly the same way as a $200 pen, but you are in no position to judge what others spend their money on let alone insult their hobby if you're not completely sure of their personal values, spending habits, financial standing, etc...
There's a much greater emphasis on aesthetics in fountain pen users than headphone users. Fountain pens are valued not necessarily by how they write, but more by what they're made of and how much time and effort was required to handcraft it. Headphones on the other hand, however cheap, rare or expensive, are meant to be used and rarely put inside a glass box on display. They're [edit: valued] by of how they function (ie how they sound) and to some extent its rarity. No one really buys headphones purely based on looks like people do with fountain pens. All in all, we enjoy headphones and fountain pens in different ways so let's be more diplomatic.
It's mainly the sensation while writing that makes fountain pens what they are. It's a completely different experience and different makes have their own particular feel when the nib touches the paper. All in all, fountain pens have become a luxury item. $200 or even $5k for a pen is not a lot to some of us just like you can spend at least the same amount on a pair of headphones.
The whole philosphy behind FPs is completely different compared to headphone/music listening and it varies depending on the value and rarity of the FP. Expensive collectable fountain pens are never ever used (in some cases not even inked!) so they're regarded as more a piece of rare art than a utensil. Cheaper fountain pens are used on a daily basis although even cheap fountain pens can be collectable and look nice. That said, the point at which cheap becomes expensive is highly subjective and personal.
For example, I would have no problems spending a few hundred on a pen and using it on a daily basis. However, I wouldn't use a pen that cost me $700 simply because that is the point when I start thinking it's getting expensive. The $700 pen would probably be sitting on my table in a glass box or something. Wealthier people would probably use rare/vintage pens that are valued at ~$1k on a daily basis and leave their $5k or $10k pens in the display cabinet. You are right in saying that a $5k pen would probably put down ink in exactly the same way as a $200 pen, but you are in no position to judge what others spend their money on let alone insult their hobby if you're not completely sure of their personal values, spending habits, financial standing, etc...
There's a much greater emphasis on aesthetics in fountain pen users than headphone users. Fountain pens are valued not necessarily by how they write, but more by what they're made of and how much time and effort was required to handcraft it. Headphones on the other hand, however cheap, rare or expensive, are meant to be used and rarely put inside a glass box on display. They're by of how they function (ie how they sound) and to some extent its rarity. No one really buys headphones purely based on looks like people do with fountain pens. All in all, we enjoy headphones and fountain pens in different ways so let's be more diplomatic
Beautifully put.
For me, fountain pens are either one of two things: in the case of modern pens, they are functional art. In the case of vintage pens, they are functional art as well as a piece of history. There is something very cool about writing with a pen twice as old as you are.
At this point, all of my pens are users. However, I get lots of pleasure just going through my pen case, picking up and examining pens, marvelling at the filling mechanism, the finish, the hard work that went into it.
Anyway, I'd still write with a $700 pen. That's still in the range of things like Mont Blanc Writer Series, for example, and as nice as those pens are, they aren't so nicee as to never be inked. I think the MB Patron of the Arts series is where you start getting into the "Not really for writing" segment.
I am sorry to crap on the thread. But what the hell?! If you spend $100-$750+ on a pen, there is something fundamentally wrong with you. Unless you are a "collector" and/or trying to start a museum, then spending that kind of money on a writing utensil is ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. The writing on the page is going to look the same, regardless, and if you can tell the difference, or would even care enough to distinguish the difference, then there is another flaw in your mindset. Is a signature any less of a signature if it was written with a $1000 dollar pen or a $8 pen? No. Is any kind of writing, script or text reliant on what type of pen you use? No. Is a legal document less legitimate if it is written with a $0.50 BIC? NO.
Sorry to offend, but I consider an obsession with pens as depraved as a foot fetish. Thats my 2 cents.
There is certainly a level of truth to spending something like $30-$40 on a pen purely for really good functionality and writing quality, but anything over that is stupid. A handmade solid gold nub? Why?
Spend your money on something useful.
Although I have yet to spend some serious money on a pen, there is somehting fundamentally wrong with what you are saying.
Why are you on Head-Fi? 'anything more than the $20 KSC75, which has pretty good quality, is a bit stupid.'
Anyway, I'd still write with a $700 pen. That's still in the range of things like Mont Blanc Writer Series, for example, and as nice as those pens are, they aren't so nicee as to never be inked. I think the MB Patron of the Arts series is where you start getting into the "Not really for writing" segment.
Actually I do have a pen I might not ink for a long time, but not because it is expensive. Its a Pelikan M205 Clear Demo. I love it because I can so clearly see the inner workings of of one of my favorite FPs, and IMO one of the best deals in modern fountain pens, the M200. Once I ink it, bits of ink will get stuck all over it, as is the inevitable case with demos.
I'll spend a bit more time with it before the inevitable inking. I am also planning on ordering a blue demo from Mr. Binder soon, I'll ink that one immediately.
Although I have yet to spend some serious money on a pen, there is somehting fundamentally wrong with what you are saying.
Why are you on Head-Fi? 'anything more than the $20 KSC75, which has pretty good quality, is a bit stupid.'
You have your hobby, we have ours. Leave it be.
The problem is, he's arguing from a slightly naive or should I say different point of view. Putting money into a fountain pen won't increase the usability and performance of a fountain pen. The nib, feed and filling mechanism can only be so good, at which point the extra $$$ goes into the materials, fabrication of the body, cap, engravings, exclusivitiy, rarity and other superficial/aesthetic characteristics. So you end up buying a piece of art (or stick of precious metal if it doesn't look very nice) and not an increasingly functional pen (no automatic spell checking, voice control/recognition scribing, dynamically adaptable nib size/shape). So from a functional point of view, your extra $$$ has been spent in vain.
When you spend money on headphones, you get sound. If you spend more money on headphones, you get better sound and sometimes better aesthetics/build. If you spend an astronomical amount (say $6k) on a pair of headphones, you get an eargasmic sound whereas the looks might not do them justice. From a pen collector/user's view, you're wasting your money! Why the heck spend so much money on sound when I don't give a crap about it anyway? All I want is a headphone that makes a sound and looks gorgeous! Likewise, we can draw parallels with your (colonelkernel8) comments on a pen collector/user: Why the heck spend so much money on aesthetic and rarity when I don't give a crap about it anyway? All I want is a pen that writes!
i never knew there was a "pen-fi" on head-fi! anyways, even though i would never spend more than ~$5 for a pen, these look darn nice! everyone has their own thing =D
pen-twirling club
) and not an increasingly functional pen (no automatic spell checking, voice control/recognition scribing, dynamically adaptable nib size/shape
). So from a functional point of view, your extra $$$ has been spent in vain.
