Weight

[johnny5]

Been Listening to the children squabbling

Been thinking,

Does the weight of a pen determine the quality of a pen.

Most people relate to lightness as cheap & nasty and something with a bit of weight a better quality

What is the ideal weight of a pen ??

What are your views ????

 

[Bigblackdog]

i think that weight, in general, can represent quality. However, the two nicest fountain pens that I have are mont blanc, and are extremely light weight. one is plastic, the other is chromed metal. I can write pages without any ache in my hand. Using a slightly heavier pen that i have made, i can feel the difference after a few paragraphs. A chunkier and much heavier ballpoint is difficult to use for even a long paragraph. It is one of the mont blancs that i use as my daily go to pen.

 

[Bigblackdog]

i guess, also that there are 2 people looking at the quality- the buyer of a gift, who is unlikely to use it, and a user. I would say that gloss and finish are more indicatove of quality to the user-buyer.

 

[silver]

Weight has no bearing on the quality of the pen in any way or form. That's my view.

It's all down to the fact that Gold is the heaviest precious metals so it can be generally considered that heavy is best, however, looking at what some of the plastic Onoto and Caran d'ache make i would certainly challenge the heavy weight is good quality.

I believe for everyday users of pens then heavy weight is a hinders de and they want lightness. The collector will go for the heavier ones as they don't bother as the are only going to look at them. Another reason why weight = quality.. Or so they say.

In truth My dad and I made and sold pens made completely from ebonite that were exceptionally light and was very popular at the time, I'm not sure if that would hold up today in the environmental ethical world tho.

But we all know British engineering revolved around weight, cast iron works and foundries selling stuff for farmers to use and they are still going today.

So does that mean heavy is better quality

So weight doesn't mean everything, however if it's Gold or Silver then it really means it's worth more.

 

[Penpal]

Size is important hand size ie. Criteria such as as biro, fountain pen, pencil is determined by requirement.

With the trend now to 'Kitless' so called so many mores have been thrown out the window.

Remember when gull wing doors appeared on motor cars,about as useful as a sore tail to a boundary rider.

Weight is only one part of the equation my 4 wheel all wheel drive weighs round two ton easy breezy to drive, our car is nearly half the weight is highly geared and hard to keep down to the speed limit.

There is no perfect pen weight or size its all in the hands of the user.

Peter.

 

[wm460]

If they are too heavy they will fall out your pocket a lot easier when you are bending over.

 

[Pierre---]

Once a guy ordered a very heavy pen. I made it and asked why. He answered that his first task in the morning was to sign around 150 letters his secretary presented to him. It took him around one hour. He tried a lot of différent pens with hand-ache more than often. Usually, he likes the lightest for ease in case of long writing, but for this job, the heavier the better, said he. I don't have secretary, so I can't check, but I trust him.

I think that, except for special tasks like this one, very heavy pens are not that practical, except for collectors and gifts, as others already said. Medium and light pens are the more comfortable, the choice is a matter of personal taste. And hand strength plays a role, but it is not necessarily such an important criteria, as I had commissions from some tiny fragile young mademoiselles for rather heavy pens, and from rugby players for "the lightest you can".

Here is a chart about different modern fountain pens (trades, no kits). The weight with an empty converter is in column F (without cap) and G (capped). One can see that most of them is between 10 and 25 g uncapped, that I would described as light to medium (the Montblanc around 24 is typically a medium weight), and a minority is between 30 and 48 g, I would say heavy to very heavy.
Poids et mensurations de stylos - Google Sheets

 

[Penpal]

Love that chart Pierre.

Peter.

 

[Bill Mooney]

Weight doesn't count for me. I do with pens what my grandad taught me to do with tools when buying them. Have a few of the same tool laid out & try each one till you find the one that suits best. I've found if someone asks for a light or heavy pen it's more to do with comfort than quality.

 

[chas_41_uk]

According to my missus size is important, but quality is more important. Then she realised I was asking her about pens
However the above statement still counts for pens.

I've generally found the following applies:
A heavy pen is more likely to e bought by a collector or a businessman and used very little if at all.
Ladies seem to prefer a lighter weight pen, slimline, streamline etc up to a Zeta, Epsilon, Baron, Sierra or similar weight.
Gents are likely to use a mid range weight pen such as Zeta, Epsilon, Omega, Sierra up to Roman Harvest etc.
Of course that is after the blokes have bough a pen that is bigger and heavier than they can use comfortably, because blokes think size in important and the bigger it is the better it is

 

[Penpal]

Completed contracts once with a Solicitor a big man with an oversized pen a fountain posted. I was impressed it was enormous and part of the way the guy acted one flourish after another. It worked for him.

Peter.