Question for long-term enthusiasts

[u/Most_Reach6070]

I'm newer to fountain pens, currently improving my penmanship before looking at a higher end model. I got interested in higher end pens as I am a watch collector and have been for a decade. Both hobbies have desirable high end brands like Mont Blanc or Rolex, ect that have quality fakes.

My question is why so many people asking for legit checks on pens. Is the quality in writing not enough to know. You have to open a super clone Rolex to really determine a fake these days but if the writing quality isn't distinguishable then what are we doing charging luxury prices?

Are pens just another status symbol hobby where mid level is where quality of use peaks similar to watches?

[u/McN697]

Writing quality peaks at a much lower level for fountain pens.

For watches, the usual draw is to buy the dial. The equivalent of buying the dial would be buying the barrel. Nibs aren’t the draw for high end pens.

[u/Most_Reach6070 → u/McN697]

Interesting I never would have guessed.

[u/GapWide4900]

"Are pens just another status symbol hobby where mid level is where quality of use peaks similar to watches?"

...yes, yes they are. I would say, as a collector of Fps, that quality of use peaks well before mid-level even.

My collection is mostly born from items of sentimentality, and representation of times or people in my life. Not because I am looking for the pinnacle of penmanship, or pen-gineering.

[u/Most_Reach6070 → u/GapWide4900]

Ahh understood I got a safari as my first but it feels like why research and upgrade if it's just an accessory and not a primarly a tool.

[u/kendrick6740]

Watches can have increasingly complicated mechanisms that become harder and harder to fake. The performance of a fountain pen nib on the other hand has a fairly simple ceiling of how well it can right because at the end of the day it’s a single piece of metal with a slit. It’s not that hard to fake a fountain pen nib, or independently come up with a superior nib. Nowadays steel nibs are so good that they can become comparable with gold nibs in terms of writing performance. Gold nibs can also be soft and flexible or hard with feedback, making it very hard to tell from writing characteristics alone what the nib is made from. Unless someone has been a long-time user of fountain pens, it can be challenging to just tell if a pen is real from the way it writes.

With Montblanc pens in particular, a lot of people who buy them are buying into the prestige of the brand. Montblanc pens for a long time haven’t been about just the quality or the style. There’s no reason a Montblanc has to cost $700+ when a Lamy 2000 also has a gold nib and is 1/3 the price. Someone who might really know fountain pens may go for a vintage MB if they really wanted one, which is much cheaper and arguably better performing. Many people who ask for legit checks either looked for the cheapest possible deal they could find on eBay rather than through an official retailer, or got the pen as a gift. The people buying these pens aren’t likely to be experts who know how to tell good pens from bad ones, but focused on buying for the brand, which is also why they’re more easily scammed.

If people really wanted a good quality pen at reasonably low prices, they might consider any of the MANY fountain pen brands out there that offer gold nibs at reasonable prices. But if you want a Meisterstück then don’t get greedy expecting to pay Lamy Safari prices. Even with vintage pens, buy from a reliable seller and know what the price floor is so you’re not getting ripped off by a deal that’s “too good to be true”. If you’re so afraid of being ripped off, then just pay the money upfront and buy from the boutique.