- Joined
- Jun 23, 1999
- Messages
- 1,209
I went poking around in this very forum a few weeks ago looking for a few pointers to pens. Most of the "high-end" stuff seems to be devoted to fountain style pens, but I was looking for something more hi-tech and less delicate in any case... I also didn't want a "multi-pen" one of those with multiple barrels having different color inks and also (always it seems and I don't like them) a mechanical pencil. I wanted a ballpoint pen, just a single color, but something very smooth to write with, very comfortable to hold.
I did stumble on a reference to the Fisher "Millenium Pen", and somewhere along the line (after visiting the Fisher page) decided that dispite its outrageous retail price ($100 for the first model) the technology was definately cool enough that I had to have one! I've spent far more on individual knives (after all), and while I don't write by hand all that much, I figured this would round-out my simpler gadget array (EDC) including of course a knife, a flashlight, and, a pen. Mind you the pen has been there all along, but now it's a much cooler pen!
I have to say it is a pretty cool pen... I can't belive it is so LIGHT?? Thermoplastic ink or not, I can't imagine it being that light and yet last so long. Essentially, Fisher says "If you run out of ink in your lifetime (any life time), we will replace the pen". Now does that mean if I tried deliberately use up all 160,000 linear feet of ink (most pens have about 3000 - 6000 feet of ink in them) say putting the pen on a machine -- If I created my own 29 line lined paper, two sided, that would be about 38,000 pages -- would they send me a new pen? I don't know, but for the sake of the publicity I don't see why they wouldn't! I'm sure they count on 99.9% of people loosing their pens long before they run out of ink. If I wrote ONE such lined sheet every day there would be enough ink for 100 years! A good bet on their part!
OK, so I said the pen is LIGHT. It is also fairly WIDE which makes (for me at least) for a comfortable grip when I write -- these days the longest thing I write at one time is a card or short letter, and that doesn't happen too often. Indeed since I've had the pen I've looked for things to write just to experience it! I can't believe how smooth the ball and ink flow are. When ever I pick it up and put it to paper, the first 1/2" of line or so comes out a little flawed, not quite dense, like a somewhat dry ink probably remaining on the ball from the last time I used it. But after that first half inch, the ink flows almost as liquid as a roller ball. Such an incredibly smooth and fluid ballpoint I've never felt before, even from some expensive and classic ballpoints like high-end Parkers! This pen really feels nice. I did also verify that it writes upside down, on glass, on very waxy paper, etc. Marvelous!
Of course it is very expensive for a pen, and while I will try my best to take care of it I will likely loose it even before what is left of my life time runs out, but I would like to find out how light this thing is really supposed to be when filled with ink. Still, like a fine knife and a high-tech flashlight, its fun to use while I have it!
(edited to correct spelling)
I did stumble on a reference to the Fisher "Millenium Pen", and somewhere along the line (after visiting the Fisher page) decided that dispite its outrageous retail price ($100 for the first model) the technology was definately cool enough that I had to have one! I've spent far more on individual knives (after all), and while I don't write by hand all that much, I figured this would round-out my simpler gadget array (EDC) including of course a knife, a flashlight, and, a pen. Mind you the pen has been there all along, but now it's a much cooler pen!
I have to say it is a pretty cool pen... I can't belive it is so LIGHT?? Thermoplastic ink or not, I can't imagine it being that light and yet last so long. Essentially, Fisher says "If you run out of ink in your lifetime (any life time), we will replace the pen". Now does that mean if I tried deliberately use up all 160,000 linear feet of ink (most pens have about 3000 - 6000 feet of ink in them) say putting the pen on a machine -- If I created my own 29 line lined paper, two sided, that would be about 38,000 pages -- would they send me a new pen? I don't know, but for the sake of the publicity I don't see why they wouldn't! I'm sure they count on 99.9% of people loosing their pens long before they run out of ink. If I wrote ONE such lined sheet every day there would be enough ink for 100 years! A good bet on their part!
OK, so I said the pen is LIGHT. It is also fairly WIDE which makes (for me at least) for a comfortable grip when I write -- these days the longest thing I write at one time is a card or short letter, and that doesn't happen too often. Indeed since I've had the pen I've looked for things to write just to experience it! I can't believe how smooth the ball and ink flow are. When ever I pick it up and put it to paper, the first 1/2" of line or so comes out a little flawed, not quite dense, like a somewhat dry ink probably remaining on the ball from the last time I used it. But after that first half inch, the ink flows almost as liquid as a roller ball. Such an incredibly smooth and fluid ballpoint I've never felt before, even from some expensive and classic ballpoints like high-end Parkers! This pen really feels nice. I did also verify that it writes upside down, on glass, on very waxy paper, etc. Marvelous!
Of course it is very expensive for a pen, and while I will try my best to take care of it I will likely loose it even before what is left of my life time runs out, but I would like to find out how light this thing is really supposed to be when filled with ink. Still, like a fine knife and a high-tech flashlight, its fun to use while I have it!
(edited to correct spelling)
