Fountain Pens I Wouldn't Buy Again - My Pen Regrets

You are the first person I’ve heard say that the grip section on the Diplomat Aero is slick; thank you!!!! I am so disappointed in mine because of that. I also agree with you on the Esterbrook J AND the TWSBI Eco! Great review! Oh…all my Conklin pens are trash pens. I won’t purchase another.

I can tell that my eco and 580 was not in use for maybe 2 years and when I reuse the pens I find the same level of ink and both pens writing with no problems .........amazed me
Sorry for my English but I am Italian
ps great video

The ink bugger pen was funny haha haha At least you get a laugh. I know I did

Thanks

Man, that last pen with the ink booger is the worst I've seen in FP

You inspired me to ink up my metropolitan. First pen I ever bought and the one that convinced me I might like this kind of pen :). Still such a fantastic pen, maybe better than my Sailor 1911. I do recall the stepdown being rough for long writing sessions though.

I can't stand piston filler pens, or the ones that have a syringe-like filler. Anything where you can't squeeze or screw the ink sack to make a drop of ink almost come out of the pen. The whole point of a fountain pen is to be able to push more ink to the nib two or three times per page. I have never yet found a pen with good enough ink flow, except for an old Parker 51 which used to splurge so much ink it was like writing with an oil slick.
My favourite pen is Lamy Safari, definitely not for the design, purely for the cost and writing performance. The caps on Lamy pens lose their grip and start falling off over time so I use the cap from a plastic eternal pencil (looks just like a Lamy Safari and all the body parts screw and click together which is great as these plastic pencils are less than a pound or dollar each, far cheaper than getting a new pen).
If anyone can recommend a fountain pen with truly generous ink flow and I do mean generous, I'd love to hear about it, but I've been using fountain pens since the 1980s and haven't found one yet!
Also does anyone know of a good broad or better still extra broad nibbed pen, I mean something with a round point nib, not oblique or italic? I was going to get a Kaweco Sport purely for the BB nib, it's the only modern pen I know of available in extra broad.

Hello gentleman,
From your Experience of Indian fountain pens, which would you pick for a great writing feel and reliability - ASA or GAMA or Mohi or RANGA or ANY other Indian ebonite pens ?

Nice little video , where did you purchase t house colorful cloth pen bags/cases ?

Back in the 90s , I was a gold nib snob. But these days I love a good inexpensive (Jowo or Schmidt) steel nib. I have lots of ECOs, and a bunch of Opus 88s. And I like these, in addition to the wonderful 20 year old Pelicans and Shaeffers. With you, I feel that nib dry out is a deal buster.

I don't mind these, but I don't adore them either: JINHAO 82, JINHAO X750, PELIKAN Twist, PELIKAN EPOCH P360, PARKER IM, Herlitz My Pen Style calligraphy pen

My regrets are buying Jinhao, Wingsung, Noodlers, Conklin, PenBBS. All these pens have something I dont like whether it be unreliable writers, very dry, scratchy nibs, or dont feel like quality pens.

May I know where u got the cases from? Specifically the red one with the Sakura patterns? Thanks!

The moonman pen was so bad the camera didn’t want to focus on it.

where you purchase those pen pouch?

for the diplomat aero... I reckon if you polish the section mirror smooth you'd actually gain more grip from it, might be worth a try.

Diplomat Arrow get yourself a little pin tar and your golden.

I know the feeling of WANTING a pen that's way out of your budget and settling for something else and just... it won't work, even if the something else is absolutely fine. The heart is a strange thing! May as well save money instead of spending it on the not quite right... I bought a Petit Prince Montblanc with a medium nib by mistake (I actually wanted a fine), and I love it. It doesn't write, it dances. <3

Thanks for the vid. I don't know the others but love the TWSBI Eco.

me watching this a 4 year old fountain child "yes"m,,,w, "very good video"... my firdmc.
me watching this as a grown adult: "good video! "
💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀question, ,how many "pens" dod oddo dod od


r! 😀

Bear in mind that my benchmark pen is a Pelikan M200. My first M200 was my first Pen of a Lifetime. I will never give it up. My wife later got me an aqua M205, and it is perpetually inked with Iroshizuku Ku-Jaku ink, which she also gave me. That's just about the only pen I always have inked.

There are a few I would never bother to replace if lost.

Jinhao X450. Too doggone heavy. And I don't like faceted sections.

Jinhao X750. Not as heavy as the X450, and doesn't have the section facets. But it's still just a bit too heavy. And I've never had a Jinhao that I could call durable.

Esterbrook SJ. I really like my medium manifold nib, which is kind of stubby. But this pen is too slim, and it's a bit of a pain to rinse, and I fret about sac failure when it comes to some inks.

Platinum Plaisir. The first pen I ever bought two of for myself. These never dry out. They have the right weight and the right section profile for me -- about 10mm diameter +- 0.5mm, relatively straight. I recommend them as a good starter pen for people who think they might not like the slimness of the Metropolitan and Safari. But they're hard to flush, and a bit toothy. But I now have a better pen for jotting, the Jinhao 51A.

Pilot Capless. Too heavy, and I don't like the clip where I hold the pen.

Pilot Decimo. I got a stub for it, and it's nicely bouncy. It's not too big, and it's not too heavy, but I still can't stand that clip under my fingers.

Parker 25. Probably the most affordable c/c Parker from before the company was ruined. I think Parker's FP cartridge is quite possibly one of the best ever designed. But I still find myself using the Jinhao 51A XF for jotting.

Pilot 78G. Just a bit too slim.

Pilot Metropolitan. I think it actually has the same section as the 78G. And the brass body makes it heavier.

Lamy Safari. The section is too narrow, and then the facets take away even more girth. Between this, the X450, the Capless, the Decimo, and a triangular brass ballpoint that I've loaded with a Fisher Space Pen refill, I've concluded that there's no pen with section facets that I'm ever going to like.

Noodler's Ahab. The section is just a little too small, and the barrel quite a bit too big. And some of them just dry out.

Noodler's Konrad (resin). I would LOVE this pen if it didn't dry out in four hours.

FPR Indus. It's a fairly close match to the M200 in form factor, just a little bit longer. But I've bought four or so, and they all dry out overnight.

FPR Jaipur. These are hit or miss. I had a red Jaipur that was my favorite EDC pen ever, until one of my puppies got hold of it. I have a yellow caps demo Jaipur that's unusable, because the pen has to be pulled out of the cap after you unscrew it. I have two others that are largely serviceable, but nowhere near as nice as my emerald Himalaya, now my favorite EDC pen.

Jinhao 992. Mine cracked at the end of the barrel, but never failed the way my Jinhao 599 did. I gave it away anyway.

Jinhao 599. A Safari "homage" with all the problems that copying the Safari's section gives it. I lent it out to people for days or weeks at a time to get them to try and maybe like fountain pens. It broke into pieces.

Beiluner BL-06, brushed stainless and chrome trim. Dried out worse than the Konrad. AND it's heavy, and the chrome plated section is slick and hard to hold.

Dryden Designs. The clip has a 1mm ball welded to its underside. It's too slim. It dries out. The overall aesthetics are weird.

My Montblanc 149 has been a pen I regretted getting. I have $40.00 pens that write better. I have had absolutely no dry out issues with my Diplomat Aero, I have a gold nib in it. I agree with all your other comments.

Precious info. I think I would try some waterproofing agent and dip the end of the caps and wipe right away you have the problem with ink drying out. I found out that some pens dry out on the clip opening.

After getting some experience I know that I will never buy a pen that has no spare parts available or its price is almost the price of pen itself. I agree that Pilot Metropolitan sucks , exactly how I suspected,but I would add a G78 or 87 pen which has poor nibs , poor plastics. Also Faber castell has quality issues , unavailable parts. Besides I wouldn’t buy screw cap pen. It’s annoying at least for me. Nowadays there are materials that can make normal snap caps durable. That’s why none of Pelikans sadly will suit me. I have to go and receive my new pen Waterman Expert 😊 I guess it’s decent quality.

I just about fell out of my chair when you did the car wash bit. 🤣🤣🤣

Roy
Auburn, WA

To avoid the threads to gripe just put some vegetable oil on a rag and gently wipe it on the threads. Makes them very smooth.

Are you mad all these are very nice

The Kaweco Sport AL with a fine nib is a cool daily writer when you have to write very small. And it’s great for ink sketching. It’s definitly a pocket pen with a cool „industial“ design. Thank you so much for this fantastic, very humorous and personal video.

Funny... The great lookin' fountain pens seem to be crap, but the one that’s bland lookin' , writes awesome.

Wow! 😳And Conklins aren’t cheap either! 😦

None of your reasons to dislike these pens makes sense.
Sorry!!
This is what they call ' White People Problems'?

Did the blue Jinhao even work after going through the car wash?

I laughed when the first pen you pulled out was the Kaweco Sport. I love it because it’s so small. It’s perfect for my hands. It’s the pen that lives in my purse. It’s a fine point, a tiny bit scritchy, but I like it. To each their own, I guess. 😂

The Metropolitan was my very first fountain pen. I didn’t love it as much as I thought I would. I don’t even know where it is now. I have added many more fountain pens to my collection. Of all the fountain pens I’ve owned, it definitely was my least favorite.

Lamy Studio anyone???

I understand your logic on the pens. For me the Kaweco Spoert is my EDC in my shirt pocket for quick note taking during the day. TheMetropolitan is my daily work note taking pen, snap cap, drop it and it is ok and if you loose it is not a financial burden. m nib for notes, F nib to annotate documents with my custom mixed Orange ink. great video, thanks.

The new Leonardo’s are not metal for the blind cap. I was worried from this review but they have quickly become one of my favorites (the internal piston fillers). I have 1 cartridge. They write beautifully out of the box and as you said their stubs are ridiculously good.

My first pen is a pilot metropolitan, and i agree the nib is a little rough, and i find the pen is too heavy for me

My biggest regret by far is my TWSBI Eco. I'm a left-handed writer, and I don't have any issues with any of my other pens, but my Eco is scratchy as HELL when I write the way I usually do. I have to contort my hand into a position that mimicks a right-handed writer for it to be smooth, and that's just not acceptable IMO. Every other pen I own, I'm at least moderately happy with, but I've barely used my Eco since I bought it, and it makes me sad because it's such a nice-looking, well-made pen aside from the nib!

I dodnt know AvE was into fountain pens too I have my first rubbish pen and now my two BENU pens BENU skull and Roses and BENU hexagon and I love both but the hexagon is a character it can suddenly stop writing or be a pain to start every pen has a personality but my skull and roses is always ready to go when shes wet

My 16 old daughter is looking for a pen. We got her a Dryden last year for Christmas but she is having problems with it. Don't know if it is her or the pen. It keeps stopping and starting when she writes with it? We have cleaned it with warm water and I can get it to work but she keeps having problems. I am thinking it is the way she holds it. Maybe there is a pen that is more forgiving for her to use? Any suggestions welcome. Good Video. Put some Teflon tape on the threads on the pen that is cutting the cap. That will fix it and you will only see it when you take the cap off.

From your "nothing really wrong, just not for me" list of pens I agree 100% about Kaweco Sport, TWSBI Eco and Pilot Metro. I gave away the only Pilot Metro I ever bought and cringe a little when they're recommended for beginners...I have some Kaweco AL-Sports which are okay. The heavier aluminum body makes them feel less cheesy that the regular Sport. I have a Conklin Duragraph garbage pen that's beautiful to look at, but the nib was garbage. I sent it to a nibmeister to have the nib replaced and I still don't ever use the Conklin... <sigh>

thrash video

you should 3D print a pen prison for these guys

My first fountain pen was the one I ended up being disappointed with. A Noodler's Ahab. It worked well for a couple days but after that I have had endless problems with hard starts and ink flow problems. I have tried everything I can think of short of buying a new nib/feed. I have since bought the Muji aluminum and then later a brass Kaweco Sport both of which have never given me any problems, so I never gave much thought to buying a new feed/nib for the Ahab. Maybe I should do that one of these days

Very interesting about the not for me section. I have some RSI issues in my writing hand and ive found that writing too much with anything thats too backheavy really aggravates it. I mostly dont use any of my pens posted anymore because of that. I love my metropolitan and i used to use it all the time but since my rsi even without the cap its too heavy for me to use very long and that makes me sad. I think metal pens in general i gotta be careful of now. On the other hand, since my rsi i got this wancai mini (seems a lot of keyboard-smash “brands” on amazon sell pens by that name honestly), one of those short pens you have to post like the sport. I just got it cause i liked the look but turns out since its got literally no backweight at all (very end of the cap rests on my hand) its the most comfortable writing utensil ive ever used in my life. So ive been thinking about getting into the ah, “short kings” should i call them?

It is crazy that I have a ton of pens but my everyday writing pen is a cheap one I got from the dollar store 😅

I don't own very many pens, and half of them were in that first box lol.



I'm also not too fond of the Pilot Metropolitan. Love my TWSBI Eco though. My first "fancy" pen is the TWSBI Precision because the ECO hooked me on the brand.

Well, sir, you can not place these pens in your bum and expect them to work properly after.

I have no idea why this channel was recommended for me, i literally have no interests in writing, pens, pencils, anything like that, and yet, i am enthralled

As someone who has never touched a fountain pen in my life I agree with your assessments