So, I figured it might be time for another perspective post regarding something I notice every once in a while. When I ask, “What does your pen say about you?”, what comes to mind? How about, “Are you worthy of your pen?” Both of these questions have run through my mind stemming from one very simple thought. Do you use/own the pen you have because it writes well and you enjoy using it, or is it a status symbol?
Let me be the first to say, I have no problem with owning an expensive pen. I don’t happen to own any (the most expensive one I have ever purchased was a $15 Sailor Recruit from JetPens), but that’s due to my monetary station not my desire. If you happen to like Watermans, Parkers, or Montblancs, by all means, go and splurge on one for yourself. But I do have a problem if you’re buying them simply as a “look at me” sort of thing.
This topic came to mind because of the fact that I attend a prestigious private college (University of Charleston, for those who are curious) which holds events all the time (forums, business meetings, luncheons, dinners, etc.) and garners the attention of the “upper crust” of Charleston, WV (if there is truly such a thing in as “upper crust” in West Virginia). At one of these functions (a forum on energy) I happened to notice some of the people in the crowd as well as their choice of writing utensil (yes, I’m a pen nut, it’s what I do… I can identify a lot of pens by sight now, lol). A few rows away, a business executive had his padfolio (100% leather I’m sure) and a Montblanc fountain pen stuck in his pocket… He did not open his padfolio or remove his pen from his front jacket pocket the whole evening. In contrast, to my left, was another business executive who, as the forum progressed, scribble incessantly in a 99-cent pocket memo book with a *gasp* Bic stic ballpoint!
I say all that to say this… I respected the man using the Bic ten times more than the man who carried a Montblanc and never once used it. The man with the cheap ballpoint and memobook was there to learn/report on something and he chose a writing utensil well suited to his task. Could he own a Waterman that he uses to write important correspondence? Sure… Do I hold that against him? No… Instead of using his writing utensil as a status symbol, he used it for the purpose that it was designed for… The fine art of writing.
“Are You Worthy of Your Pen?”
Pens'n'Paper 
Sep 14, 2010 @ 11:23:53
Great post! It reminds me of a peer I worked with. He had a watch that was more expensive than his car and I asked him about it once to which he said,”I cant bring my car into a meeting but I can bring in my watch!” Crazy sense of logic.
Sep 14, 2010 @ 13:05:01
Thats brings an interesting point. I have the money to afford both if I really wanted to, but being an aspiring police officer, (got all the qualifications now; just waiting to be hired) I look at pens more for functionality and reliability… I think the thing that discourages me from spending $300+ on something like a mont blanc is the thought of how angry I would be if something happened to it and it either broke or got lost! So I try to set a price range for myself to where I would not be heart-broken if I lost the pen, or if it broke. And among all the pens in that price range, I try to choose the ones that have the best feel while writing, the best functionality, and the best reliability… Looks play a part, only in the sense that I don’t want to sport something fucking hideous in a working police environment (example: pilot Vball pens. what an ugly skunk design!).
And quite honestly, after buying and goofing with almost every <$20 dollar pen on the market from staples and wal-mart, I've found that gels and rollers are not infact smoother than ballpoints as they claim.. In fact, I find them to have many short comings such as:
– I find them to be generally scratchy.
– Gels and rollers are picky in the sense that they don't write on all types of paper or on the backs of photographs. When I attempted to write on the back of a photo with a G-2 and a Uni 207, the ink just pooled on the surface and would not dry.
– When water hits the page of something written in gel or rollerball ink, it turns to water-color paints! I've made the mistake of ruining college notes by walking to my car in the rain with my notebooks. The writing just melts down the pages!
– I also found rollers and gels to not be good value for the dollar at all. Often spending between $1.50 – $2.50 per pen. Of which many you can't even get refills for, and gel and rollerball ink doesn't last anywhere near as long as ballpoint ink.
On the other hand, ballpoints write on virtually just about everything including gloss paper, receipts, backs of photographs, napkins, toilet paper, walls, table-tops, just about anything you can get your hands on. Also the ink doesn't run when exposed to water. Ballpoints are extremely resilient much like pencils except the pencils' only downfall is that it can be erased by a piece of rubber…
Of all the ballpoint pens I've tried, (including but not limited to, mont blanc, cross, fisher, zebra, parker, papermate, bic, pentel) I have found that overall Bic has the best quality and value of any other manufacturer, especially over papermate! I found papermate's quality control to be horrible, such as unfinished plastic molds and edging on pen clips that were not trimmed and ink splatter all over the ink cartridge and inside of the see-through pen barrel. Not to mention everyone I personally know who uses papermate products always complains that they explode often. I would not use a papermate product if it was given to me!
My normal go-to pens are the Bic Cristal or Round Stic ballpoints, or Bic Matic Pencil because they last longer than ballpoints for things that don't specifically need to be in ink.
If I want a fancy pen, I'd go with my $18 fisher bullet space pen. They write and feel great, only thing I dislike about the bullet space pen is that the pocket clip can fall off. =/
Sep 14, 2010 @ 13:24:37
You do bring up an interesting point, but you missed the point of my article… I have no problem with buying a $300 pen… None at all… IF you are buying it to use it, and because you like how it writes, feels, etc… My problem is with the people who buy pens purely as status symbols… (Something I notice frequently in ritzy environments) I have actually asked someone how much they liked their Parker pens (they had a rollerball and pencil set) and they said that they were just pens, what difference did it make… That’s just wrong! XD
Sep 14, 2010 @ 16:06:57
I have a small pen collection. There’s a Montblanc fountain pen that my wife gave me, a Montblanc ballpoint that a lunatic gave me when I couldn’t find my own pen, matching Aurora fountain pen and ballpoint, and several Levenger True Writers. I just bought a Waterman ballpoint because I liked the look of it. It’s my daily work pen now. And while I notice pens, notebooks, and folios, I don’t think most people do. It’s never occurred to me that anyone else notices. I only get comments when someone has borrowed one of my pens.
Sep 14, 2010 @ 20:39:31
(if there is truly such a think in as “upper crust” in West Virginia). — I think you meant “thing” in that sentence 😉
I completely understand where you are coming from, and like you, hubby will notice problems in a roof a mile away because it’s his forte.
Sep 20, 2010 @ 20:48:33
Chris,
You will probably enjoy reading what happened to me when I bought a pen just for show. I deserved it!
I do have a couple of expensive pens (for me, anyway) — a Cross Apogee and Waterman Expert — and the only time I use them is at home or when I pack them in my traveling correspondence kit. I bought them just for my (for their beauty as much as their writing characteristics) and it doesn’t bother me at all that no one else ever sees them.