Should I feel guilty buying fountain pens?

[lisq199]

Deleted

[pw1224]

If you can pay for food, clothing, housing, and education for you and/or your family then there’s nothing wrong with spending some money on a pen. It’s like buying a book or music. You’re paying the creator for the work. You’re deciding whether you like the work. A book doesn’t have to be a first edition, bound in rare leather for you to enjoy it. You don’t need to have a tuxedoed quartet playing live chamber music in your home for you to enjoy music. Just go with the flow and don’t hurt anybody!

[SIR]

Depends... it's all relative really, isn't it?

Some people in London feel happy wearing £20000+ timepieces on their wrists because other people are doing the same, and the law wonders why they are targeted, violently, by those who struggle to afford quality food to eat.

[ethernautrix]

What are valid reasons to buy or own fountain pens?

What are invalid reasons?

"Because I like them" is a valid reason - in my book, anyway. With all the other qualifications present (not going into debt, not depriving others who are dependent on you of food or clothing and other necessities, and such like).

Maybe the fountain pens are just the symbol for something else you miss about your youth.

[Medieval]

Fountain pens could be a link to your past that you want to maintain in the way that many people like to reconnect with their culture. Fountain pens aren't used much in Canada but they are in China.

I use fountain pens because they're the only way to enjoy writing. If it weren't for fountain pens, I would type. Expressing oneself in handwriting can be strangely meditative and cathartic in a way that typing can never be. Everyone has their own personal reasons and they're all equally as valid.

[Wuddus]

If the purchases are coming out of "disposable income" and not affecting paying bills, and those purchases bring you happiness, I fail to see the problem. On the flip side if the purchases are purely habitual, and don't bring lasting happiness, or take money away from life priorities, then it's time to ask yourself some serious questions.

My pen related outlay is very small. Pens are fun, but not an obsession for me. It is also far from being my only hobby or outlay. The hobby can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. The most important aspect, is that you should feel in control, and that you own the pens, rather than them owning you. I have found my balance, but it doesn't sound like you have found yours yet.

[penwash]

I went to elementary school in China and we were forced to use fountain pens from grade 1 to grade 6. I didn't think of fountain pens as anything special because to me they were common, and the ones I used to have as a kid cost around $1 each. I also didn't think too much of it when I moved away from fountain pens in grade 7. Until recently, I never realized that this was a hobby to a lot of people. So, nostalgia got the better of me, and I now find myself buying fountain pens for no particular reason. I'm not proud of my handwriting, and I don't even write a lot in general since I'm a software developer, and I can go days without writing anything. Basically I just don't think I have a valid reason to buy fountain pens because honestly, I do not actually have a need for them. I'm simply buying them because of nostalgia, and because I love the way they look and the way they write, which is why I can't help but feel guilty wasting my money on them. I often avoid using my fountain pens in public because I don't feel I'm "worthy" in a way.
Are my feeling relatable to any of you?

I think nostalgia is a common draw for people to use fountain pens in today's primarily digital world. A close cousin to nostalgia is appreciation for anything retro or vintage or antique, which is also something that the fountain pen hobby can supply (on the vintage side).

As for ending up with a lot of pens, just realize that there is more to this hobby than writing with your pens, there is also collecting, and "tinkering" (for the lack of a better word).

If you look at your pens and you enjoy having all of them, then you are collecting.
If you look at your pens and have the urge to restore or modify them, then you are tinkering.

It's all good

[Paddler]

If you feel the need to buy fountain pens, then your inner squirrel needs to know something about fountain pens. When this need to know has been satisfied, you will know it and can sell the unused pens on to someone else.

[Wahl]

Guilty ? Of course not !

If you enjoy it and can afford it, I don´t see the problem, it´s just like spending money on any hobby.

[amk]

If you need to fund study and can't because you spent too much on FPs, feel guilty.
If you need to eat and can't, because you spent too much on FPs, feel guilty. (and hungry, too)
If you know people need help, and you feel a bit guilty about your FP habit, try to give to charity as much as you spend on pens, and you won't feel guilty any longer.

Otherwise ... just have fun! You may not use your pen more than ten minutes a week, but if for ten minutes you enjoy the feeling of writing with it, or even just enjoy looking at it and fiddling with it, have fun, and don't feel guilty.

[alexwi]

Hi Lisq99!

Nostalgia's as valid a reason as any.

There's nothing that makes someone worthy or unworthy of a fountain pen. I've seen horrendous hand-writings by fountain pen users, so it's whatever makes you happy.

And as far as using them in public, most people don't give writing instruments a second thought, but other fountain pen users will definitely identify with you and this might be a good thing (it's a fetish similar to watches, which is also common among fountain pen users).

alex

[FredRydr]

Should I feel guilty buying fountain pens?

Yes. Switch to collecting vintage cars, instead.

[Kaputnik]

Guilty? No. I find fountain pens interesting, and like to write with them. I don't see that handwriting skill is a factor in whether one "ought" to have fountain pens or not. The quantity that one writes might be more relevant, but you don't need to be a prolific letter writer or diarist to enjoy occasionally using your pens. I do write quite a bit, actually, but if I were determined to feel guilty, I could brood over how little enduring value most of my writing has.

Mind you, I sometimes feel a twinge of unease as to whether I've spent my pen, ink, and paper money wisely. That's not guilt, though, just a concern about keeping impulsiveness under control. And if I spent too much in the first rush of enthusiasm, I've tapered off since.

[Driften]

You should not feel guilt and don't worry about using them in public. Just enjoy them for what ever amount you need to write. Back when I worked in an office I took meeting notes with mine even though I worked in IT and could have used electronic devices. Just putting things down on paper helped me to better remember content even without looking at the notes ever again. There should nothing to be embarrassed about in using a pen you enjoy.

Nostalgia is a valid reason. Heck I used to carry a pocket watch to work, and have a small collection of antique ones.

[Paddler]

Should I feel guilty buying fountain pens?

Yes. Switch to collecting vintage cars, instead.

Bass boats. Collect bass boats.

[TropicalPenGal]

It's good that you are questioning your reasons for buying fountain pens. I have done this as well. It sounds like you feel you are not being practical, that using/buying FPs isn't a necessity for you, so why should you do it? Of course it matters how much disposable income you have to spend on them, and to be sure you aren't being excessive in that area, but I learned for myself that I loved them simply because it allowed me to open up and express my thoughts easily, and that remains to me a cathartic experience. It calms me, centers me, and brings me joy. Have you tried using them for journaling? This use, more than my use of them daily to write at work or at home, made me believe having them and using them was absolutely necessary and made me a better person for it.

If you think about your reasons for using them, and if one of those reasons is joy in using them, you should question the validity of it no more. But if not, set them aside for the time being and see if you miss them. BTW, using a FP in public isn't something you need to be worthy of. Most people never notice what you're using to write with.

Hope you will be able to sort out how important they are to you!

[Sid the Cat]

I started acquiring fountain pens in an attempt to improve my handwriting, and of course the pens themselves quickly took over.
The handwriting is loads better, however.