Accessory Question - Pens

[ChicagoRon]

First question: What do you write with?

(I have a cartier diablo.....love it!)

Follow-up:

Now that I am buying nicer shirts, many of them do not have breast pockets. What do you do with your pen if you don't have a pocket?

I don't wear a jacket to work. I often find myself sticking it between my 2nd and 3rd buttons. I don't think that looks very good, though...so I'm trying to break the habit...but I don't want to lose my pen either.

Any suggestions? (preferably ones that don't involve newspaper stolen from starbucks

)

 

[DocHolliday]

Here's an long-running thread with a lot of good info: http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...highlight=pens

There are some others on fountain pens and the like, if that interests you.

Personally, for daily use I have several Watermen pens that I rotate -- none so precious that I'd be heartbroken if it were lost/stolen.

 

[maxnharry]

Waterman Phileas fountain. Excellent writing, looks expensive but isn't. Most reliable fountain that I've used.

 

[hopkins_student]

Mont Blanc Meisterstuck rollerball. I don't buy dress shirts with breast pockets. If it doesn't go in the front pocket of my white coat it goes in my left trouser pocket.

 

[Alan B.]

Get a pen case! I have an inexpensive leather one from Levengers that has served me very well over the years. A must if you have nice pens with a lacquer finish.

 

[Ulrich75]

Originally Posted by Alan B.

Get a pen case!

+100

 

[Drinkwaters]

I collect vintage fountain pens and my collection tops out at about 100 very fine instruments. My daily drivers though are a Montblanc ball point and a Parker 51(color coordinated to the outfit I'm wearing). I often will carry my pens between the second and third button when my shirt does not have a pocket.

Best Regards,

Gary

 

[LabelKing]

Originally Posted by drink8648

I collect vintage fountain pens and my collection tops out at about 100 very fine instruments. My daily drivers though are a Montblanc ball point and a Parker 51(color coordinated to the outfit I'm wearing). I often will carry my pens between the second and third button when my shirt does not have a pocket.

Best Regards,

Gary
This is also what I do, even with suits.

However, one time the cap from a Sheaffer Balance came loose and the ink went all over.

 

[Artisan Fan]

I have a Montblanc pen and it looks nice but honestly I have much less expensive Watermans that write far better.

 

[Drinkwaters]

Originally Posted by Artisan Fan

I have a Montblanc pen and it looks nice but honestly I have much less expensive Watermans that write far better.

My wife gave this pen to me years ago. I have lost it a gazillion times, customers have offed with it but it seems to come back to me. I know there are better pens out there but I have no choice but to use it.

Gary

 

[chang]

ST Dupont Olympio, Chinese Lacquer and Palladium trim in my jacket pocket. Great fit and finish. I love the weight and feel of these pens, but I have to admit that I have pens that have smoother writing nibs. The Dupont nib is still very nice though. I prefer not carry a pen in my shirt pocket or anywhere visible.

 

[Chauncey Gardner]

Answers to that are hard to come by, as illustrated by a personal anecdote.

A few years ago, as Chairman of a club that was being torn apart by dissatisfaction with my Vice Chairman, I had gone to the board room early and I was using a red felt tip pen to make some last minute notes on paper. I hoped I could resolve the issue amicably.

When the board members arrived, they found me sitting perfectly still, my face partly hidden by my hair and buried in my hands with elbows resting on the table. I looked up with bleary eyes and an agonized expression on my face. Immediately there were gasps all around the table, creating a chain reaction that caused me in turn to recoil. My hand grasped my chest, and first I saw what looked like blood on my hands and then I saw the enormous wet patch of red ink oozing across my chest, quite beautiful in fact as it stained my favorite yellow ocbd shirt. A dramatic way to resolve a feud!

That taught me never again to attach a pen nonchalantly to a shirt front.

 

[sjmin209]

It depends what you want from a pen. I write with a fountain pen because a good pen (with a flexible nib) will give your writing a flourish and character that a ballpoint or rollerball never will; a flexible nib creates variation in the width of the line, and so the patterns of pressure individuals use will enhance the individual character of your letters. The problem is that many modern pen manufacturers (including Montblanc, Cariter, and Waterman) fit their pens with nibs that are so rigid they hardly differ from ballpoints. If you're interested in a good-looking object, you've got lots of pens to choose from. If you're interested in good-looking writing, I'd opt either with a vintage pen with a flex nib or, if you must buy a new pen, a Pelikan, as their nibs still have a small degree of flexibility.

 

[LabelKing]

I find OMAS pens to have a flexible nib.

 

[Dormouse]

I have several fine pens but I prefer using a Bic ballpoint.