Early in our relationship, which is to say a long time ago, Alan gave me a very nice fountain pen. A Montblanc Meisterstuck, to be exact. I think he paid $140 for it, at a pen store on Calhoun Street in Fort Wayne. I’ve used it off and on over the years, because a fountain pen isn’t just something to write with. You gotta maintain it, too, clean it and keep the correct ink source nearby. At one point it spent several years in retirement, in the pencil cup on my desk, until I decided it was a shame to have such a beautiful pen and not use it, so I took it to the fancy-pen spot at the luxury mall in the suburbs, and they cleaned it up and returned it to service.
The thing about this pen are the details. The six-pointed white star on the tip of the cap, for example. It’s supposed to suggest a snow-capped mountain, as the company is named for the highest peak in the Alps. The pen-store clerks will tell you that in the Arab states, where luxury goods are in great demand, the company sells pens with just a round white tip on the cap, for obvious reasons. The nib has 4810 etched on it, the height of Mont Blanc in meters. Google will tell you the correct number is 4805.59, but the higher number is based on the height including the ice cap. Climate change probably has it closer to the Google number, so it’s fitting that this century-old company sticks with the bigger one.
I’ve been using it ever since. I find handwriting a to-do list is more satisfying than making one on my laptop. I also do a little journal-writing, the occasional check, this and that. When I travel, it goes along, in the elastic pen loop on my planner. I like it. The other day, I idly looked up what it would cost to replace, should what often happens with pens come to pass.
Reader, I nearly died: $810.
A friend of mine is in the Use the Good China camp. Open the special bottle, use the crystal, use the good china. What are you saving it for? Why leave it in the cabinet? And I agree, mostly. At the same time, I went to the pen place where I buy my Montblanc cartridges and bought a $35 Pilot fountain pen, plus a box of ink cartridges. I now use the two pens on alternating days, but only the Pilot will leave the house. At least I don’t have to worry about someone stealing it, although it is a cute purple. The Pilot blue ink is a little brighter, a little bluer. Here’s Fancy Pants and Purple Pop side-by-side.
If you’re wondering, I also use luxury pencils. I have a box of Blackwing 602s in my desk drawer, a sharpened one on my desk. I hardly ever write with pencils, but when I do I appreciate every little thing about the Blackwing. I gave Kate a box for Christmas, to go with the NYT crossword-puzzles book in the same package. (And a pencil sharpener, the small appliance people forget until they need one.)
It’s the little things. The things you touch. The things that are connected to the work you do in a primal way. I do nearly all my writing on a keyboard, but if you’re a writer you should have a decent pen. Now I have two.
Did anyone watch the president Wednesday night? I tried, or rather, I heard it coming from Alan’s iPad. But I noped out after five minutes, figured I’d read the NYT story the next day. Didn’t miss anything.
Happy weekend, all.
LindaG said on April 3, 2026 at 9:09 am
I ALWAYS watch presidential addresses, no matter how bad; but I too gave up on this one after several minutes. (Nobody’s ever seen anything like it!)
I learned shorthand in high school starting in about 1957. We were required to use a fountain pen. Later ballpoint pens were OK. Used shorthand as a secretary for several years; then taught it in high school until it died in the 1980s. Your pen is beautiful. I no longer have one.
436 chars
Mark P said on April 3, 2026 at 9:46 am
My brother used a fountain pen, but I have no idea what kind. He used it to grade papers when he taught some classes at Georgia Tech. The marks and notes seemed more emphatic when written with a fountain pen, and apparently he had a bit of a reputation for it. I use a pencil only when marking wood to cut. I used a pen back when I bought newspapers and did the crossword puzzle. Yeah, I’m that guy. But pencils never seemed to write well on newsprint.
454 chars
Pam H said on April 3, 2026 at 10:35 am
Your Mont Blanc is lovely and they have kept their value and then some.
Probably half the replacement value is for the gold nib.
133 chars
David C said on April 3, 2026 at 11:00 am
My chicken scratchings aren’t worth an $800 fountain pen or a $30 box of pencils. It’s Bic and cheap mechanical pencils for me. Forth grade penmanship was a living nightmare for dyslexic me and I’ll never forgive Mrs. Peterson for putting me through it.
253 chars
Heather said on April 3, 2026 at 11:15 am
My mom always used a fountain pen, but I’m left-handed, and my handwriting is messy enough without smearing ink everywhere. I do have a nice ballpoint an old boyfriend gave me that I stopped using when the ink ran out–this was before online shopping was a thing. I should find it and order some cartridges. I also believe in using the good stuff, but mostly apply it to clothes!
379 chars
Julie Robinson said on April 3, 2026 at 11:18 am
Starting as a teen, I had several fountain pens, never anything that nice though. I’m still particular about pens that work for me and carry two in my purse, one for me and one that I can lend and not be upset about losing. Roller ball pens just don’t write for me, no matter what angle I use.
Pencils? Mechanical only, soft lead.
That was much more pleasant than the speech. Thought I’d read the story and couldn’t even make it through that.
Not looking forward to having Pam Bondi back in the state, where DeSantis will probably give her a seat on the Florida supreme court.
585 chars
alex said on April 3, 2026 at 11:46 am
I got the penmanship award four years in a row when I was in military school and used fountain pens for my school work. What I liked about writing with them was that it was a slow and deliberative process and I found it calming and engaging during a time when my stressful daily existence allowed for few distractions.
These days I can seldom even find a pen in the house, never mind that I buy bulk packs of ballpoints every so often. (Going through the same thing with scissors right now as a matter of fact. I picked up 10 pairs of them at IKEA the last time I was there and now can locate only one of them.)
Other than writing checks or making shopping lists, I hardly ever bother to write anything by hand anymore.
726 chars
Deborah said on April 3, 2026 at 11:51 am
I got a fancy pen when I left an architecture firm where I had worked 18 years. I promptly lost it, or someone “borrowed” it. I can’t keep pens very long, I usually snag the ones from hotel rooms and then they’re gone in a couple of months. I like pens with very slender tips, not ball points, I used to buy them in boxes of a dozen or so but I haven’t done that for a long time, I need to do that.
It was a thing for a while for architects to use fancy fountain pens and they had 3 or 4 of them with different colored inks. I think it started with the late Chicago architect Helmut Jahn and lots of people who worked for him copied that and then they’d go work for another firm and it got passed around until it was a thing. I don’t know if it’s something still done, I haven’t heard of it for a while.
My husband uses simple mechanical pencils, the latest one he has only had for 2 or 3 years they usually last him about 15 years, so this may be the last one he ever owns. They’re not fancy at all, he just hangs on to them, carries it in his pocket every day until the push button on the end gives out.
1111 chars