Innovation in Fountain Pens

"David Heverly" wrote in message
David
Who has never owned a car with an automatic transission.

Hoorah! While I wish I could say the same (I guess I could since I have yet
to own my own car, I just use one that I might as well own), alas I have
only "owned" slushboxes. Hopefully it gets balanced out by the fact that one
is a 17 year old Benz on which I do all the work and the other is a BMW 540.
Richard

(David Heverly) wrote in message om...
"marlinspike" wrote in message ...
"kcat" wrote in message
...
whatdaheckisthat?

i keep hearing the word but I get bored too quick to bother figuring
out what it is.

What, metrosexual? If you live in a metropolitan area, you know the type.
It's the guys who: a)can't do anything mechanical for themselvs (at least
not properly), b) shop at saks fifth avenue or niemen marcus or some place
like that for grooming supplies (like skin creams and hair care and stuff
like that), c) buys antique doorknobs and other antique home decorations, d)
drives a hybrid vehicle, e) dye their hair blond, and f) would be described
by governor-hopeful Arnold Scharzenegger (or however you spell it) as a
"girly man."
Richard

Thanks for clearing that up. I would have guessed that a
"metrosexual" was a someone who could only get aroused in while in a
metroplitan area. Who knew?

David
Who has never owned a car with an automatic transission.

Neither have I. Well, almost nobody in Spain has. I have had a few
cars (i'm "only" 32... twenty-twelve, that is :-) ), and my favourites
have been a renault 5 from the early 70s and a seat 850 from the mid
60s. No gimmicks allowed.

Juan, whose idea of hi fi is a telecaster plugged into a cranked up
VOX AC30...hey, u can't beat that...just can't beat that sound :-)

On Thu, 7 Aug 2003 17:05:55 -0400, "marlinspike"
wrote:


Anyways, couldn't it be argued that a piston is the best filler? ...

Yup... But it depends on who you ask. Everyone has their personal
favorite. The piston filler's longevity and worldwide popularity even
today is a testament to its practicality and functionality. The
Snorkel was a fun gizmo but too costly to manufacture given its
benefits (talk about cramming two tons of s_ _ _ in a one-ton pen).
The 51's aero filler is a great mechanism, but again the market is not
strong enough to make producing it a profitable venture and, sadly,
pen manufacturers have to make a profit to stay in business.
Bernadette

wrote in message ...
Matt Gabriel, Mad Poet of Newport wrote:



Well, the titanium alloy flex nib was a recent innovation, tho it's
arguable if it makes for a better pen than what came before. How new
is that pressurized pen that takes dip nibs?

As for new, untried ideas, I can think of a few that would be handy,
or just neat:

A FP with a matching inkwell/pen stand. Slip the pen into the stand,
and the electronics in the pen and stand monitor the ink level, and
refills it automatically. Also, there are four color inks in the
stand, and by turning a ring, you can get any color you please by
automatically mixing ink inside the pen.

A piston filling system that can be closed off, and replaced in the
pen with another, for changing ink colors on the fly or refilling when
away from the desk on travel.

A vacuum system for clearing out a nib and feed, so you can use it as
a PDA stylus without leaving ink on the screen, or to clear the way
for a different color ink stored in a separate sac/piston/cart inside
the pen body, or for using india ink in the pen without constant
cleaning.

A semi-opaque pen body that's an attractive solid color or design,
until a small LED inside the pen lights up, showing how much ink is
left.

A retractable nib pen that allows you to select from various nib types
on the fly with a click-and-twist... say XXF, M, and BB.

Titanium-nickel alloy nibs to make them nigh-indestructable. Drop 'em
nose first, and don't worry about it... lots of flex, too.

Carbon fiber or laminated kevlar barrels to make them pretty and
completely indestructable.

Bayonet-lock caps. Never deal with an ink stain again.

So there are some untried ideas that would make a fountain pen more
useful or more robust. The tiny market for modern FPs is probably
going to ensure none of them see the light of day.

Not one of them would make a fountain pen more dependable. In fact all
would in some way detract from a dependable fountain pen. Most of your
ideas border on the plain silly or have been done before even 50-75
years ago. Such as a lock on cap (Triad and Chilton). Strong barrels?
What is a steel barrel pen? Carbon fiber pen barrels have been made for
years and have been known to split. Titatinum pens? Several have been
done from the T-1 to current Omas. All are known for problems and
Titatinum is simply not a good metal for pens and it does usually allow
offer good ink flow. Also shows scratches too easily. Lighted
ballpoints are old ideas from the early 50s, and lighted mechanical
pencils date from the 30s or 40s, and yes I have seen lighted fountain
pens as well. Dual or even three or more nibs in a fountain pen date
from the 1930s or earlier. Seevral US companies made them as well as
Omas and others back then. Several more were made in the 70s, and at
least one is under development right now.

Before you call something a new idea you should know something about
what was done before. Those ideas didn't fly long because all were
gimmicks that added nothing except a gimmick to a fountain pen. A
fountain pen is not a toy nor is it a multi function Swiss army knife
tool for writing. Such gimmick pens have been made in 100s of styles
and all failed and in most cases very qucikly. You forgot a pen that
fills with water and can make its own ink. Naw--real old idea that also
failed each time it was done. Frank

I think that we should start by defining what an innovation is. If
putting 2 (or more) old things together, then, there has been many
innovations, but to me it is 2 old things put together :-). For
example the lamy ink bottle would be an innovation: a bottle with
built in blotting paper. Nothing new under the sun.
The parker T1 Frank mentioned has a wheel under the nib to get
different line widths. Any ruling pen has that.

Juan

Juan wrote:


I think that we should start by defining what an innovation is. If
putting 2 (or more) old things together, then, there has been many
innovations, but to me it is 2 old things put together :-). For
example the lamy ink bottle would be an innovation: a bottle with
built in blotting paper. Nothing new under the sun.
The parker T1 Frank mentioned has a wheel under the nib to get
different line widths. Any ruling pen has that.

Of course several pens with built in blotters have been made, one with
blotting paper on a tiny roll inside the barrel. The others with a
blotter wheel under a blind cap very similar to the check procetor used
in Security pens. In fact Securoty also offered a blotter wheel in place
of the check proctcetor wheel for a while. Just more silly gimmicks
that quickly faded. As I said days ago one could call anything
different an innovation such as the cheaper style new LE 51 being
innovative in using a cheap 1920s style feed and cheaper gold plate than
the originals gold filled trim and high tech ink collector.

I rather define inoviation as a useful improvement in the true
technology of fountain pens. As I said there has been none since the
51 or Snorkel nor will there probably ever be another one in our
lifetime or beyond. Fountain pens have gone as far as they can go
without absurd and/or insane gimmicks or plain nutty complications. One
may as well try to improve the wheel by making it something other than
round. Frank

schreef in bericht ...
Matt Gabriel, Mad Poet of Newport wrote:

Before you call something a new idea you should know something about
what was done before.

Why not combine the best of different pens into a brand new fountain pen,
for example the snap-on cap of a 51, the view window of a Pelikan, the
piston filler of an Aurora and the looks of a Carène?

Ko

Ko van den Boom wrote:

Why not combine the best of different pens into a brand new fountain pen,
for example the snap-on cap of a 51, the view window of a Pelikan, the
piston filler of an Aurora and the looks of a Carène?

Looks are not an innovation. Thats a matter of taste. Some ultra rare
51s came with ink windows and other pens like 50s Lamys and dozens of
other 51 wannabes were bascially 51 clones with windows and snap caps.
If it makes any sense its all been done before. zzzzzzz Frank

To each their own, of course, but IMHO this is like putting wings on a pig.

Wait, think how much faster you could get BBQ! I like it!!


satrap
wondering if john cline ii is going to invent a roller coaster-proof FP...

In article , wrote:
Matt Gabriel, Mad Poet of Newport wrote:

Titanium-nickel alloy nibs to make them nigh-indestructable. Drop 'em
nose first, and don't worry about it... lots of flex, too.

Not one of them would make a fountain pen more dependable.

Titatinum pens? Several have been
done from the T-1 to current Omas. All are known for problems and
Titatinum is simply not a good metal for pens and it does usually allow
offer good ink flow. Also shows scratches too easily.

Titanium can now be surface hardened, so if one really
wants titanium (looks, low heat conductivity or whatever)
it's more practical than it used to be.

But titanium-nickel alloy nibs is an other class than just
another barrel material and really would make pens more
dependable. Unless you know something about it which makes
it unsuitable as a nib material?
--
Urban Fredriksson http://www.canit.se/%7Egriffon/
A weapon is a device for making your enemy change his mind.

Urban Fredriksson wrote:
Unless you know something about it which makes
it unsuitable as a nib material?

Yes I do and so does anyone who knows pens. It offers poor surface flow
and remains a brittle metal. Surface hardened won't help that muc I'd
think. There appears no way to make ink flow in a 100% dependable
manner on titatinum. Thats the main reason Parker gave up and 100s of
reports of trouble have been reported on current Titanium nibs from
Omas. Some do write perfectly, but the very next nib cannot be made to
write well no matter what is done. Last I knew John Mottishaw says he
cannot and will not repair titatinum nibs. Frank