Why Cheap Pens Make Me Crazy

Completely agree with this video. Cheap implies poor quality, inexpensive doesn't always mean junk. A higher end anything will usually put more care and attention to detail. Sadly, many of us (me) have champagne taste on a beer budget.

17:22 "They just work well" You just convinced me to buy a cheap pen instead of an expensive one.

This was an entertaining look at quality of manufacture. And I had never noticed that about the Lamy 2000 feed. The interesting thing about Lamy is that a lot of pens use the same basic parts and design.

I don't agree with a lot of points: 1. My Parker Duofold Demi gets "ink boogers" if unused for more than a week or two. Not an inexpensive pen. 2. Delta Dolcevita Oversize and Montegrappa Classica barrels leave residues on the metal threads of the section. Not inexpensive pens. 3. You get bothered by the barrels of pens rattling? How many times do you unscrew the barrels per day? If anything I would be bothered by the cap of pens that unscrew if they would rattle, which by the way, all rattle on my pens..Pelikans m400, 600, 800, MB 149, etc. 4. The fact that the cap of a pen that is push-pull, rotates is bad design in my book since the cap has a bad grip on the barrel. And why would you rotate the cap on a push-pull cap pen? 5. I have a Visconti Wallstreet LE, which has the back knob not align with the barrel. For a pen this expensive with a square-ish shape this is unacceptable, seeing how much you praise the time they invest in checking these pens. Not an inexpensive pen. 6. I've seen MB starwalkers with threads that didn't catch the cap anymore. Not inexpensive pens. 7. My caran dache Leman squeaks every time the cap is unscrewed since it has metal on metal threads, and also the cap scratched like crazy even though it is one of my least used pens. Don't know what the hell is happening there, if the plating is cracking or what else might happen. Not an inexpensive pen. 8. I have a Pelikan m200 which somehow in the production process got a magnetized clip, that as long as I used it was ok, but after I let it for a year sit in a box, started to form a rusty colored deposit on it. I've checked all my pelikans metalic parts, all are nonmagnetic, and even the other metalic parts on the same pen are nonmagnetic. My point is, even expensive pens can have these flaws

Have to say, I'm not a big fan of the LAMY styling, but I am suddenly s lot more appreciative of their design

I have been collecting and working on fountain pens for quite a while. Sometimes I will purchase several originals and then buy a few knockoffs just to see if I can tune them or make a few improvements and wind up with a pen that is within spitting distance of the originals. I recently bought a house and during the move I discovered a penfolio with four Wing Sung 699s (823 copies) that I haven't touched since prior to retiring 2 1/2 years ago. They each had a small amount of old ink left in them and I wanted to see if they still wrote after being completely ignored for at least 2 1/2 years. To my amazement all four wrote immediately while I was watching this video. Inexpensive doesn't always have to mean cheap.

another excellent evaluation of the manufacturing process. Of course the expectation of excellence in the final product should be expected in expensive pens and if made properly should go without saying, however, for me, when I get a cheap knockoff that performs properly, it is different level of satisfaction with no expectation of longevity or fear of loss.

I am beginning to appreciate these minor differences that end up making a world of difference over time. Especially true for FPs where "something that can write" alone isn't enough.

Wonderful video. There is nothing as satisfying as discovering how clever engineering, attention to detail, and not compromising on QC can result in design masterpieces.

Absolutely brilliant video and some of your comments really cracks me up! I can relate to many of the incidences you mentioned with cheap pens and I can appreciate all the subtle qualities of the more expensive pens like Visconti, Pelican, Montblanc, Lamy etc. I collect many variety fountain pens and found this particular videos of your the best so far. Well done! Well appreciated! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Fantastic! I love your attention to detail. And with fountain pens, the smallest of details often make a large impact.

I know it is older, Dood, but I am binging your vids as a new subscriber. The sarcasm was excellent and I had some great laughs throughout. Hopefully it isn't the only vid of its kind in your collection. Thanks!

“Who likes squeaking?!” killed me

I think you left out the aspect of customer service. I just watched a video of someone who bought a used LAMY 2000 for cheap because the cap was broken. He asked the customer service in Germany for a Replacement and they answered that he should send in the whole pen and they look what they can do. So he sent it over, waited for three weeks (he was from the UK) and he received the pen with lots of documentation about what they did in the service department. They completely disassembled the pen, cleaned it, inspected it, replaced one part of the piston fill system, put new grease on every moving part, made sure everything works perfectly again, replaced the cap and even reworked the finish so that the cap again matches the pen. So he flipped through the pages, scared of what price tag they would put on such a lot of work, he just wanted a new cap. And they charged him - nothing. This is customer service second to none. To a point where you just wtf... So if you ever thought 'Is the LAMY 2000 really worth this much money?', take that into account, this is actually a ridiculous level of service.

Yes.. Expensive pens are a product of months of R&D, specialized manufacturing, rigorous quality control.. They have better finish, perform better (more often than not), last longer and give us that pride of ownership.. But do they deserve 10 - 100 X price tag (which can drive some pen addicts towards bankruptcy 😉) ? My answer is “No” !

I get a unique perspective of mechanical engineering and industrial processes after watching your videos. That is very unique to your videos :)

I like your channel overall, but your engineering perspective videos really stand out, even from all the other pen channels out there.

You have taught me to look at my pens differently, both the cheap and the slightly more expensive. I am no engineer but I can appreciate good design when it is explained to me. Thanks for the video.

I have a pen that I bought second hand on a fountain pen forum and it's considered a somewhat pricey brand. The when I turn the threads to unscrew the cap, the barrel unscrews from the section and the grip section stays put inside the cap. Sometimes even high end pens can have that fault as well.

Another fantastic video! Love the comparison and the sarcasm was in point. Thank for pointing out the differences in the manufacturing of the pens.