I recently started a new job and people commented on the pen I use, its nothing too fancy just a brushed steel Lamy 2000 rollerball (~$300) with a leather pouch.
Not sure they are taking the piss or if they have just never seen someone not writing with something other than a bic but i am interested to hear what others do or perceive.
Yeah, I could never let myself use a 'nice' pen at work [some mouthbreathing coworker damaging a $300 pen by scribbling with it or someone 'borrowing' it permanently would emotionally destroy me and set me on a lifelong course of revenge] but I let myself enjoy a $30-$50 fountain pen to feel 'special' (and to get some practice with it).
OP, 98% of office workers use the free biros/Kilometricos that are in the stationery cupboard and think of gel pens as 'fancy'. Bringing your own pen in from home is something they're not used to as a concept.
I lose too many pens to want to have an expensive pen.
I received a very expensive Mont Blanc fountain pen gift for my graduation over a decade ago. Never used it and stored away somewhere. Seems a waste.
Use Surface Pen and Apple Pencil frequently past few years, both home and work. Does that count?
I'll have it then!
But seriously, eventually you will to a point in life where all these packed away trinkets with actual purpose get brought out and either used or sold.
You raise a good point. It’s not like its custom engraved or has the Uni name on it or anything. Just sentimental memory of a normal pen.
Question is where on earth to find it… Probably back in UK attic really.
Your comment reminds me that I also have a Mont Blanc pen set (rollerball and fountain pen).
Mine were purchased at a market in Shanghai, and came with a set of refills for both. Cost me about $5.
Sounds like a Monc Blant.
Same place I bought my North Fake jacket.
Depends on your line of work. Some people like a quality well weighted pen due to preferences
Personally once you've used more expensive pens, you don't want to go back to the cheap bic biro pens or mechanical pencils.
I'm writing and scribbling notes most of the day and generally prefer certain pens/pencils.
Have you tried going digital? I take lots of notes at work, especially meetings and scribble diagrams as well. Got tired of lugging around notebooks and switched to Microsoft OneNote. It's pretty great, can access the content on any device and has nice organisation features for different projects/meetings/subjects etc. Both MS and Apple writing direct on screen is very impressive. Give it a go.
I have feet in both camps. My everyday carry includes a fountain pen and a Super Note A6 e-ink device. ;-)
I love my Meisterstück Gold-Coated Ballpoint Pen, costs $640 and well worth it
I get angry when someone takes my $3 BIC so yep I'd say you're being a bit of a (profanity) unless you're signing the constitution or similar.
Agreed. Wankery
I wouldn't even notice TBH. I googled that Lamy to see what it looks like and it just looks like the sort of thing you receive as a cheap promo with the company name on it so really odd that multiple people would comment about it. Did you make a big show of taking it out and carefully placing the pouch precisely in position on your desk followed by polishing the pen before carefully placing it on top of the pouch? I've got a couple of nice pens (~$50) at home but would never use one at work as they go missing way too often.
when not in use i keep it on a silk cloth, nib retracted pointing downwards, clip facing directly upwards at 12 o'clock, polished with a jewelry cleaning cloth after each use and with the price tag still attached.
Well that explains it then. You can probably count the days until it goes missing.
My Pen was the recent $5 parker deal
It's as nice as i'll ever go.
I also indulged!
I have a couple of different LAMY pens I use at work, even when in the office. No-one bothers, someone might comment in a positive manner if they borrow / use one.
Most people use whatever they want to use.
I have Lamy accents for home and all the grips, but i dare not take them to work.
Pens are my thing. I love nice pens. High end pens are wankery and some write worse than $2 Bic pens.
I think the sweet spot for pens that aren't too wanky and write really nice is from about $30 to about $80. A lot also has to do with the refills or the ink that goes in them rather than the pen itself, but an oddly or too heavily weighted pen writes like trash.
You need a good combination on diameter, weight, balance and quality of ink/refills for it to be a truly great implement to write with.
My go to brand is Faber-Castell. They are the Casio of pens. Reliable, functional, very well made, a delight to write with, look good and don't cost a years wages for what feels like a very high end writing stick.
FWIW… $300 is a wanky pen. Butr if you like the Lamy 2000, have a look at the Faber-Castell Loom rollerball series. Similar pen, but about $80 instead of $300.
My home pen is a $50 Lamy Vista clear rollerball which is great to write with, I agree $50 or thereabouts is a good investment for something that looks good but can be "expendable".
I use a $200 apple 2nd generation pen. I think using pens is still ok and not wankery.
Not in the same league as you, but I bought a $30 red metal Pilot form the newsagent. Its nice enough that no one will borrow it & I havent lost it in the 3-4 years Ive had it.
I draw the line at Rotring 600 (or you can splash out for the multi colour variant)
I've got an expensive Faber Castell pen in my work bag that was $300-400 (was a present) but I can't say that I've used it at all in the last few years. I've basically forgotten it's there and I just checked that it is after seeing this thread.
To be honest, I wouldn't even notice if someone used a nice pen unless it was really obvious when they pulled it out - like if it was colourful or if had a really fat body or something.
A gold Cross Classic Century pen from a garage sale, the 5% gold rolled one rather than the solid gold version. It is an older version so it was made in America instead of China like the new ones are. I like it a lot though I do wish it were solid gold because I like gooooold
I love writing with fountain pens and have lashed-out on a few grail pens. One of my favourites is a Visconti Brunelleschi and it's a bit of a conversation starter with people I don't know.
Seriously, who cares what other people think? It's a bloody pen. It's a means to an end and puts ink on paper.
Yep - that is beautiful!
Hmm not a fan. It looks like a steampunk surgical instrument
I had a Matt Black Lamy Safari which I lost a few months back. I loved the nib on this pen and haven’t been able to find a replacement that feels similar. It doesn’t help that Lamy nibs vary in width and feel.
Maybe in my line of work at a factory I just couldn't even imagine using something fancy. It gets lost, dropped, dirty - and that's all best case (worst case is sucked into machinery)!
Where are you working/what role to you have? Does that have something to do with it, because the pen (from what I can see) doesn't scream "fancy"?
In my work environment (corporate office situation), people have a range of pens from whatever it is the stationery cupboard to "nice" to "high end".
I dropped $20 on a Parker years ago and used it happily until I broke the clicking mechanism. In part because I used it to open boxes.
I got comments about it very regularly, and that was 15x cheaper than yours.
It's definitely a bit old fashioned and wankery, but I'd argue it's no different to people who get excited about expensive watches, designer clothing and other style before function choices.
I cycle between about 10 fountain pens I'm comfortable taking to work because that's what I enjoy writing with. They're generally the less colourful, understated designs like a Lamy 2000 or Pilot Custom 74/92 so they might look "nice" but don't stand out too much. And they definitely don't get lent out; Anyone who isn't smart enough to BYO can have the 90 cent biro someone left on my desk last week or one from the wad of promo pens that seem to breed in the stationery cupboard.
I wonder what industry or workplace you work in for your co-workers to have such a reaction. I work in a corporate environment with tech and engineering folk and the only people I've ever had comment on my pen choices are other pen or design nerds. People I work with write with anything from a broken HB pencil it looks like their dog ate to a $1000+ MontBlanc and no one cares.
Government, they are used to their mandated 0.5mm black bics.
No, I just use whatever pen works, hasn't been stolen at work or taken by my kids at home
I think using a $300 pen is unusual enough to get a mention (they would probably expect it is an anniversary gift or a leaving gift from your old job or something like that). I think I have a nice pen too but it is only a $50 fountain pen