Ellington Pens Set #FountainPenFriday
An old feature returns, talking about a recent set purchase.
Fountain and Ballpoint pen set from Ellington Pens
Ellington Pens fountain and roller ball set
It’s been a moment since we did a #FountainPenFriday. The main reason for this is that I traveled with very inexpensive fountain pens for so long. There wasn’t much to say about them. When one is on the road or 30+ weeks a year, things go missing or get left behind. Pens in particular.
The one good thing about using fountain pens is folks are less likely to walk off with them. Someone asks if you have a pen they can borrow, you give them your backup up plastic ballpoint pen. Invariably, those were hotel pens. It was easy to say, just keep it, and grab another one when you got back to the hotel.
Bargain basement Chinese pens
So, I ordered several under-ten-dollar pens from a Chinese company called Jinhao. They’re serviceable, and easily available from eBay vendors. When the work switched from in-person training to remote (via WebEx), I felt comfortable looking at better pens. As anyone who uses Facebook knows, once you look at an ad, the Zuckerd00ds push five alternative items into your feed. If you’ve already made up your mind, this is annoying, particularly on a larger-ticket item. When it’s a pen, however, the suggestions offered new possibilities.
Matching set
Zuckerd00ds pushed Ellington Pens at me after several other brands. The notion of a decent ballpoint pen appealed to me. Tossing a tech geek a hotel pen in a computer class. Retirement enabled me to do more NOLA History Guy speaking engagements. Someone asks to borrow a pen to write down the title of your book, offering a better pen ups the game.
I spotted this set of black pens in an Ellington Pens ad. The price was right, under $50 for the set. So far, so good. The nib on the fountain pen is fine. I occasionally use the ballpoint, to make sure it’s OK, should I loan it to someone.
The bottom line
Having a nice, heavier pen to hand to someone is not going to make a lasting impression, but if it makes a first impression, then it’s helpful.
