FP: are they used or collected?

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TX_Planes

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I am puzzled over something regarding fountain pens. Perhaps some of you can shed some light on the topic.

I think that generally fountain pens have a more artistic high end appearance. However, I have a preference for roller balls...not having used a fountain pen in about 20 years. I wonder of all the fountain pens sold how many are used by the owner vs. collected and displayed.

Any thoughts?
 
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I know that most of my fountain pen customers will not write with anything else. Although they also tend to be collectors as well. many people tell me that a fountain pen forces you to use correct writing "Posture" and improves there hand writing.
 
Of the ones I have sold, over 90% are used.

One I thought was collected came to a show last year. RED emperor, purchased by a smaller lady, at the same show two years earlier. She stopped by the booth and bought another emperor. Took out the RED one to sign her check and informed me it was the NICEST fountain pen she had ever owned, and she owned SEVERAL name-brand pens.

I sell over 90% Jr. Gents in fountain pens, I think MOST people buy them to use.
 
I'm sure that just like Ed over 90% of the fountain pens I sell are used by their owners and that 50% of them are also collectors. Close to 50% of all my pens sold the last year and a half have been fountain pens. Some times I feel like the Ginsu knife barker at the state fair when demoing to a customer how to remove the feed and nib for cleaning and a crowd starts to gather around the booth, usually ends with a sale to one of the crowd, thats when it becomes real fun........
 
OKLAHOMAN said:
I'm sure that just like Ed over 90% of the fountain pens I sell are used by their owners and that 50% of them are also collectors. Close to 50% of all my pens sold the last year and a half have been fountain pens. Some times I feel like the Ginsu knife barker at the state fair when demoing to a customer how to remove the feed and nib for cleaning and a crowd starts to gather around the booth, usually ends with a sale to one of the crowd, thats when it becomes real fun........
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Did this just one time last year - wow - three sales at 3pm when the show was "winding down".

Will put it in the "to do's" this year!!
 
Thanks for the replies. Clearly I need to turn a few fountain pens. I need to reacquaint myself with the process of using a fountain pen. I hope I don't step on the slippery slope of nibs and custom blended inks.
 
I use a fountain pen whenever I can, even just to jot down notes. People are always asking what I am using. Teenagers think they are cool. My daughter uses one and started in elementary when first learning cursive People who buy and order my fountain pens are buying them to use.
 
I think all fountain pen users have a bit of collector in them. Most of my customers usually flash a Mont Blanc , Sailor or Pilot FP while looking at my wares.

Personally, I've taking using fountain pens one step further and REALLY like using dip pens.
 
I would say Fountain Pen ownership is a bit of both use and collection.

I use a fountain pen almost exclusively for my writing, and have done so for years, long before I ever heard of pen turning. There are some types of paper that are not very fountain pen friendly (glossy credit card receipts, multipart forms etc), an in those cases I resort to a ball pen. When sketching or doing math, I tend to use mechanical pencils.

At any time, I have three or four fountain pens in my briefcase inked and ready to write with different color inks. I tend to rotate through a collection of Fountain Pens, both self made and large production (Sailor, Namiki et al) to get these pens for daily use.
 
I'm REALLLLLLY no expert here, but I believe fountain pens are like fine wines, cars, or whatever.....people who are really into them collect the really expensive ones for show, and use less expensive ones for go...but every now and then they want to use the really expensive collectors items. I'd be surprised to find someone who loves to write with a fountain that has no interest at all in collecting them, and vice versa.
 
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