Fountain Pens

The fountain pen was introduced in 1880 and people are still using them today. But, who? I never see someone standing at the checkout counter at the supermarket whip out their $500 Montblanc fountain pen to sign the credit card slip. And I never see someone sign their tax returns with a $150 Waterman. Yet, dozens of companies make fountain pens and sell them for exorbant amounts of money.

Montblanc is so prestigious that they assign serial numbers to each of their "Meisterstuck" pens and disallow retailers to sell their pens online. The nibs are made from amalgamations of gold and platinum, while adorned by etchings. The pen itself is hand-crafted and inspected for quality. You can either have this for $400+ or you can go to CVS and pick up a dozen Bic's for under a dollar. Personally, I choose the fountain pen.

I own two fountain pens: A Waterman "Expert II" and a Lamy "Al-Star." The Waterman is my favorite because of it's smooth writing and quality construction. I also received it as a Christmas present from my Dad in 2004. The Lamy was more of an impulse purchase and although it feels cheaper, it writes very well. I use this as more of an everyday pen.

Fountain pens require a bit more care than ballpoints and they must be refilled regularly, either by inkwell or cartridge. There's also an increased chance of leakage, but I've never had that problem at all. I think that these tradeoffs are well worth the quality. The writing is smooth, the pen feels good in my hand, and the nib design forces me to write slowly, causing my handwriting to improve. At the same time, if I need to write quickly, my pens are more than up for the challenge. The Waterman most of all, as the ink flow is a veritable fire hose during furious writing sessions. Yet, it's never blotchy and the ink flow is constant.

Not bad for a 125 year old piece of technology.

Why am I blabbing on about fountain pens? Partially because I'm bored at the moment. But, as a person that does quite a bit of writing on a daily basis, take it from me: If you like to write, go with a fountain pen. A good fountain pen. Not the $19.95 special at Office Max.