Would you ever spend a lot of money on a pen?

[TheOwlChronicles]

Not something I've particularly considered before but I've got a lovely new planner type thing and I'm being bugged for what I'd like for my birthday this month and I wondered if I'd actually quite like a posh pen!

The one I've seen that I like is a lot of money - silly money really, in the 100s. But it comes in at what this person usually would spend on me and it struck me as something I'd keep for life. Or until I lost it 😀

Anyway it got me thinking - would you just stick with any old thing or do you have a lovely pen?

Yes, I would because I write a lot BUT just because you buy a beautiful, expensive pen doesn't mean you'll get a nib that writes nicely for you so try it out first...

No. Fair play to those who do. But for me a good/expensive pen isn't a priority.

I may be the wrong person to ask as I love pens, mainly fountain pens, and I entirely understand the attraction. If it is something that would give you pleasure and is within budget then I would say yes. Particularly as you are not experimenting with a type of pen you are not really used to, so you are not running the risk of something you find disappointing to write with. That line of pens has been super popular I think.

That's so lovely.

I would on a beautiful fountain pen.

DH got a Mont Blanc for his 50th birthday, he used fountain pens for decades and had several more expensives ones over the years but the Mont Blanc was a big wish. I think it was around £400.

It's not my style but I hardly use pens nowadays for work outside the odd scribble as all notes are done electronically.

I’m another fountain pen lover and have one or two Waterman pens. They were fairly expensive but are lovely to use.

I recently did a calligraphy course. It was run by the official calligrapher/scribe to our local cathedral and took place in the cathedral itself. I spent the most wonderful 6hours practicing letters. It was incredibly relaxing and totally absorbing.
It’s not the sort of thing that most people would imagine me doing, but I bought the kit and when I have time I spend a couple of hours practicing.

OMG yes! For my 21st birthday I got a very fancy pen. Tragically, I lost it at uni fairly quickly. But my God was it ever fabulous! I love a good pen!

www.montblanc.com/Item/Index?cod10=1647597290445481&siteCode=MONTBLANC_GB

This is the one I like for any experts out there to give an opinion on?

Montblanc are definitely a luxury brand for pens. You only get a 2 year guarantee which is worth considering. But they do have certified repair services which you can use after the guarantee has ended. Looks like a beautiful pen.

I have a mont blanc rollerball. I think it cost about £300 when I bought it 10 years ago (they now cost £450). I use it constantly, every day. One of the best things I’ve ever bought!

My husband found a montblanc pen once and he's had it for years. It works as well as the day he found it and it wasn't new!

DH uses a fountain pen. He has a little collection. I dread to think what he has spent.

I have some nice ballpoint from my City days: a Cross, a MontBlanc (not that nice to write with imo) and a rather swish Cartier pen. I keep them in my bedside drawer in their boxes. At work I use the silvery gold WHS biro for about a tenner. It's very well balanced and not a big deal if I lose one.

It’s a lovely pen. You need to go to a store and actually write with it. For me, it would be too short and possibly too smooth to hold. But it depends on so many things – the size of your hands, your writing style, how often you will use it. Try and go into a montblanc store rather than a department store. You will have a much better range to try then.

I've got a gorgeous Cross rollerball that was a birthday gift 5 years ago. I use it every day and it feels like a luxury. It wasn't in the same £ ballpark as a montblanc, but pricier than I've ever had before.

In fact, I asked for a similar one this year so that I can keep one at home and the other in my handbag.

No. Certainly not on a ballpoint! I've had fairly expensive fountain pens (not as much as you're suggesting though!) and my £20 Lamy is better tbh.

I've been looking at Ellington pens - about £35 for a fountain pen

I think that particular pen might be a bit short, probably worth trying it out though. I have a lovely cross fountain pen that cost about £100, I love it and use it all the time.

I've always hankered after a Lamy 2000. They are the Donald Draper of pens.

I actually have a £10 stainless steel Parker fountain pen that writes smoother than the Mont Blanc a friend once let me try.

I received a limited edition Mount Blanc as a gift and was horrified - couldn’t fathom how I could use such an expensive pen.

it sat in a drawer unused for at least a year before i dared use it.

now it’s used every day and I love it.

My day to day pen is a £200 fountain pen from Cult pens and a bottle of real ink. It's messy when I refill the cartridge but I wouldn't change it.

Thanks for all the feedback

I don't write a lot I don't suppose. But my new planner is SO nice that I thought a lovely pen might encourage me to write in it more! Plus it would be a gift that falls within budget and well, I can't deny that I like nice things and try and take care of then things I have.

I currently have a lovely pen! It's from Paperchase and is metal, pale pink and has a metal pigs head at the top of it. Good as new after 5 years

No. I’m a chewer!

Not that expensive but my mum bought one of the space bullet pens and my dad was "can you not just use a biro"

One of my memories of her is whenever she did Christmas cards or signed a cheque or did a crossword she always had that pen, and it lived in her handbag
It now lives in mine and every time I see it I can picture her using it, and she had it engraved so it's our surname on it too

We need a link to this lovely planner OP!