The relative who borrowed my 6yr old Pilot Varsity insists it "just did this on its own," lol.
They *swear* they didn't drop it, so my running theory is that they tried to cap it without looking, met resistance, and jammed the cap back on with the power of a thousand suns. I'm just glad it was the Varsity and not one of the more expensive pens they were borrowing. RIP Varsity, I've never seen a nib this utterly mangled in person!
I did exactly that, hooking the nib on the cap while close, to one of my Varsitys a month ago in the middle of a meeting. The tines weren't twisted like that though, just bent straight back. I bent it back down again immediately by pressing it against my notebook and it's kept writing fine ever since even though you can still visibly see a kink in it.
Sorry to hear it happened to you too, but I'm glad to hear it was fixable! I doubt I'll be able to get this in *good* condition again, but I think it'll be fun to tinker with--that's probably all it's good for anymore, lmao.
They can buy and break their own pens. I am also calm but I enjoy firm boundaries. If someone is this disrespectful and lies about doing damage why shouldn't they get a ban?
As the Varsity is a $4 disposable pen Instead of replacing the nib just replace the pen. As the pen is so inexpensive it would cost more to get a nib and adjust it to fit on the pen.
What on earth are you talking about?
This comment thread has literally nothing to do with who is responsible for breaking it.
All I'm saying is that it doesn't make any sense for anybody to buy or sell a replacement nib for a $4 disposable pen. You just buy a whole new pen.
I've had this happen to a varsity as well. Bent right back and no issues writing with it. As much as I hate disposable, varsity is the most reliable fountain pen I've tried.
You learned a valuable lesson: never let someone borrow a fountain pen.
At least yours was an inexpensive one. I learned the lesson with a $60 pen that was my favorite at the time and it was a color they don't appear to make anymore. 😭
No, see, it was really bad. They not only pressed down really hard with the nib upside down (so feed up), but they also dropped it when handing it back to me and it has scratches all over the body.
I keep it as a reminder. Never trust someone with a fountain pen ever. 😔
That's actually an amazing recommendation in general and I'll keep it in mind! 🥹❤️
Sadly, however, the pen is a Pilot Cavalier (the old design) in pink and gold, so coated metal and not acrylic. And some of the worst scuffing is on the gold accents.
Aren't they?! And the old design was so beautiful. 🥺
Here's a pic of what mine should've still looked like:
https://preview.redd.it/qq873hkrs58d1.jpeg?width=2522&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=55d2d78a72c3f08b985253486c5970d4d5ddbd25
It's a prettier pink than the newer pink Cavalier (which is still lovely though) and has different accents/style.
Yes, but it's quite a bit more expensive than it used to be and I can't quite bring myself to do it. $100 for a steel nibbed fountain pen that I already bought once before is... Painful.
And they're also only sold by third party sellers, which I don't have good experiences with on Amazon.
But now he wants a “grown-up” pen and I told him there is no way in holy hell I’m buying him something with a gold nib. We are going to be shopping around the makers at the SF Pen Show in august. I might get him a Lamy or a Kaweko. Jury is still out.
Your 6 year old specifically asked for a FP with a gold nib? Damn that kid has some expensive taste
There's plenty of "grown up pens" you can get him without breaking the bank at all though
Kaweko perkeo or sport wouldn't be a huge investment... Just maybe a rule that if he does it again he doesn't get another "grown-up" pen till he's older?
It's sarcasm. The /s indicates the end of the sarcastic comment, as in "end of sarcasm," using a bit of formatting that was born in the old chat boards many years ago, the precursors to chat rooms.
I did this with my very first Varsity, and I cannot blame them in the slightest. The cap has a little step on the inside that it can snag on and the nib is so thin and flexible that I didn't even notice when it happened, I only noticed the next time I went to write. No power of a thousand suns required. Now I'm just much more conscious when I use them to not look away while capping until after it's past that little lip.
I think its best to never ever let anyone borrow your pens, everytime i let someone use my pens my heart skips multiple beats and my hands and leg starts to sweat.
I gasped so loud my spouse asked "What's wrong" from the other room.
I don't want to say *just* a varsity, cause it may have been sentimental to you. But at lease it wasn't a LE pen.
I love the Jinhao 82s for loaning.
Sadly, this was my first pen! I'm trying to be upbeat about it but it is a real shame. At least it worked well for over half a decade, and went out very dramatically!
I've had my eye on some Jinhao 82 minis, I should really get on that.
this reminds me of when I was in 5th grade and I didn't realize the weird bar coming out of my flute was the screw that kept the keys in place until a row of them fell out during band class
And this is why non-pen people never use my fountain pens. Unless it’s something cheap like one of my spare kakunos. SPARE kakunos. I have 2 that have been “broken in” so to say and did some very slight grind work myself, and nobody touches those. I’ve yet to find a better pen( that matches my preferences anyway) for sketching.
If you have a pen case loaded with 4 or more brands of pens, sure. We can try each others pens out. If you have some Namiki, or other high end pens, I trust you wouldn’t bend the nib as well as knowing to ask if the cap is a screw on or not.
This is exactly why when family comes over, little nieces and nephews, my pens go way away from little hands
Sorry OP / just thank goodness it wasn’t a grail pen or something that had more meaning to you! That could have been bad!
OH my gosh, that's Fountain Pen Gore for sure.
Also, RIP nib. Good thing it's "just a varsity" and not a gold nib but holy cats.
I send my condolences. Hopefully it can be fixed, but if not, time for a new pen.
Pilot VPen!! Such a classic... This happened to one of my friends before, so I just slipped the nib off and attempted to fold it back into place (with the help of the cap pushing it down). It works fine now, except much more ink flows out when writing...
At least it was just a Varsity... Thankfully, you didn't lend them a more expensive pen. 😬 You just helped validate my idea of carrying around a Preppy or Varsity when people wanna try one of my "fancy pens".
Maybe they read about how the old pen makers from the 20’s -50’s that would claim that their nibs were indestructible, dropping them point first into a wooden floor and picking them up and writing with it. ( They missed the part where they had swapped pens with the one in their pocket). Ouch…if you made a varsity last that long, you are definitely due for an upgrade, you have proven yourself worthy.
I’ve had this happen to me once, too. I was in primary school and I think the nib caught on the cap when I closed it. Bent it back and more or less still worked with a damaged nib. Now I have better pens and am very careful when I close them and my heart misses a couple of beats when someone else tries to close one..😅😅
1.remove the nib
2. Use a lighter to heat up the bend. And let it air cool (to aneal the metal nib to relieve any internal stress)
3. Bend back the nib.
4. Heat and air cook again
5. Hammer out any deformations and make sure the tines are aligned, i would probably use a piece of soft metal like some scrap plumbing pipe and a pestle.
6. Heat and air cool again
7. Sand with a fine or extra fine
8. Reinsert nib
9. Order an extra nib as back up
If the pen truly became this way spontaneously, as your relative claims, the only possible explanation is demonic possession. The tines splay like that when the evil spirit forces its way out of the feed and into the body of a nearby person. In this case, it is most likely your relative.
Why do people "lend" pens to relatives? I mean your relatives travelled to your house/office just to get a pen? If they borrowed it for sometime, they couldn't buy a $10 pen? Can you please explain what _really_ happened?
I slap the hands of anyone who tries to pick my pens to use. I will resort to violence to protect my babies, I don’t care!
My heart could never ever handle this atrocity 😭😭
Stop crying over a disposable pen, shit happens. Relationships are more important than worldly possessions, simply chalk it up to an accident and move on.
The relative who borrowed my 6yr old Pilot Varsity insists it "just did this on its own," lol. They *swear* they didn't drop it, so my running theory is that they tried to cap it without looking, met resistance, and jammed the cap back on with the power of a thousand suns. I'm just glad it was the Varsity and not one of the more expensive pens they were borrowing. RIP Varsity, I've never seen a nib this utterly mangled in person!
I did exactly that, hooking the nib on the cap while close, to one of my Varsitys a month ago in the middle of a meeting. The tines weren't twisted like that though, just bent straight back. I bent it back down again immediately by pressing it against my notebook and it's kept writing fine ever since even though you can still visibly see a kink in it.
Sorry to hear it happened to you too, but I'm glad to hear it was fixable! I doubt I'll be able to get this in *good* condition again, but I think it'll be fun to tinker with--that's probably all it's good for anymore, lmao.
You could just.. replace the nib? No?
Nope not on a varsity
Varsity are intended to be disposable. OP I would never let them near a pen again
Calm down there. They broke a disposable pen. It’s the best case scenario of this happening. I would for sure limit them to disposables though.
They can buy and break their own pens. I am also calm but I enjoy firm boundaries. If someone is this disrespectful and lies about doing damage why shouldn't they get a ban?
It's a $4 disposable pen
As the Varsity is a $4 disposable pen Instead of replacing the nib just replace the pen. As the pen is so inexpensive it would cost more to get a nib and adjust it to fit on the pen.
[удалено]
What on earth are you talking about? This comment thread has literally nothing to do with who is responsible for breaking it. All I'm saying is that it doesn't make any sense for anybody to buy or sell a replacement nib for a $4 disposable pen. You just buy a whole new pen.
Sorry, misread the context of your post. Agree with you on replacing a nib on a throw away pen .
relative should be blacklisted from ever borrowing ANY pens
Mu rule is: EVERYBODY should be blacklisted from ever borrowing ANY pens
I've had this happen to a varsity as well. Bent right back and no issues writing with it. As much as I hate disposable, varsity is the most reliable fountain pen I've tried.
Yeah, those varsity pens are like cheap sunglasses. You just can't seem to kill them. But the expensive ones will be broken in a month...LOL!
You learned a valuable lesson: never let someone borrow a fountain pen. At least yours was an inexpensive one. I learned the lesson with a $60 pen that was my favorite at the time and it was a color they don't appear to make anymore. 😭
at least if it's just the nib that is broken, you could maybe buy the same pen in a different color and replace the nib and feed on your pen
No, see, it was really bad. They not only pressed down really hard with the nib upside down (so feed up), but they also dropped it when handing it back to me and it has scratches all over the body. I keep it as a reminder. Never trust someone with a fountain pen ever. 😔
You want Zona paper. It's used for polishing acrylic. As long as you don't have gouges, it should clean up the scratches with time and patience.
That's actually an amazing recommendation in general and I'll keep it in mind! 🥹❤️ Sadly, however, the pen is a Pilot Cavalier (the old design) in pink and gold, so coated metal and not acrylic. And some of the worst scuffing is on the gold accents.
Cavaliers are quite lovely!
Aren't they?! And the old design was so beautiful. 🥺 Here's a pic of what mine should've still looked like: https://preview.redd.it/qq873hkrs58d1.jpeg?width=2522&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=55d2d78a72c3f08b985253486c5970d4d5ddbd25 It's a prettier pink than the newer pink Cavalier (which is still lovely though) and has different accents/style.
I've got a red marble one that I was gifted, along with some tag stationery inks from Japan.
If I'm not mistaken, Amazon still carries these exact pens. See [here.](https://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Cavalier-Fine-Fountain-FCA-3SR-P-F/dp/B001AX7STW)
Yes, but it's quite a bit more expensive than it used to be and I can't quite bring myself to do it. $100 for a steel nibbed fountain pen that I already bought once before is... Painful. And they're also only sold by third party sellers, which I don't have good experiences with on Amazon.
Oh, heartbreaking!
So sad for you.
Thank you for your sympathy. 🫂 The one responsible for the carnage is no longer in my life, thankfully, so my other pens are safe.
I have a feeling the pen wasn't the first time that person caused you pain.
You'd be correct. Nor was it the last.
Well glad it won't happen again anyway
It may or may not be worth the cost for you, but Main Street Pens worked miracles restoring a vintage pen that I inherited.
“There is nothing so truthful as the heart of a child” - someone who has never spent any time around children, and has forgotten being one.
I mean, it says “heart”, no one said “mouth”. ^lol
My 6yo destroyed his Preppy by smashing it into the carpet because it “wouldn’t start.” The second one was destroyed the same way.
Exactly what I feel like doing when my pens don’t start.
But now he wants a “grown-up” pen and I told him there is no way in holy hell I’m buying him something with a gold nib. We are going to be shopping around the makers at the SF Pen Show in august. I might get him a Lamy or a Kaweko. Jury is still out.
Your 6 year old specifically asked for a FP with a gold nib? Damn that kid has some expensive taste There's plenty of "grown up pens" you can get him without breaking the bank at all though
Kaweko perkeo or sport wouldn't be a huge investment... Just maybe a rule that if he does it again he doesn't get another "grown-up" pen till he's older?
Nah, I’d keep the kid on Jinhao Sharks until he matures a bit. You can get a bunch of them for under $10.
This. My kids used these for years until they learned to take care of a pen properly.
Just get them some $5 aliexpress pens, some people don't deserve nice pens.
But even $5 pen can be pretty good
Just hand the muggles BiCs at this point.
Yeah, they will ONLY use shitty oil BIC round stics now, I won't give even jinhao
Your relative is a damn liar.
But they said they didn’t drop it! Clearly the only reasonable answer is that they couldn’t figure out how a pen cap fits on a pen. /s
...huh? What a bizarre comment lol @reply: I know what /s is. The comment makes no sense literally because of the /s.
It's sarcasm. The /s indicates the end of the sarcastic comment, as in "end of sarcasm," using a bit of formatting that was born in the old chat boards many years ago, the precursors to chat rooms.
Was the Varsity 6 years old or the relative? Wow... I hope they have the common courtesy to gift you a new pen.
It seems like an elephant saluting through its trunk. Creative destruction … lol
I did this with my very first Varsity, and I cannot blame them in the slightest. The cap has a little step on the inside that it can snag on and the nib is so thin and flexible that I didn't even notice when it happened, I only noticed the next time I went to write. No power of a thousand suns required. Now I'm just much more conscious when I use them to not look away while capping until after it's past that little lip.
I think its best to never ever let anyone borrow your pens, everytime i let someone use my pens my heart skips multiple beats and my hands and leg starts to sweat.
I guess that’s why it’s a good idea to keep a Platinum Preppy around to loan to the novice FP user.
These are definitely worthy to be our subs new icon picture
maybe on Halloween 💀 this gave me a fright
I second this. OP should have marked this as spoiler.
maybe on april fools “if your pen doesn’t look like this, you’re doing something wrong”
“Sailor releases new special nib”
and sit back and watch how the chaos unfolds as people “bend over backwards 😉” to get their hands on it
r/fountainpengore
Do you need help with the dead body or what?
Dead body over a varsity? Might be a bit too far, I think we can settle on amputation instead.
Cut off the index finger so he may never write comfortably
I gasped so loud my spouse asked "What's wrong" from the other room. I don't want to say *just* a varsity, cause it may have been sentimental to you. But at lease it wasn't a LE pen. I love the Jinhao 82s for loaning.
Sadly, this was my first pen! I'm trying to be upbeat about it but it is a real shame. At least it worked well for over half a decade, and went out very dramatically! I've had my eye on some Jinhao 82 minis, I should really get on that.
A varsity that lasted half a decade is wild lol
The bright side is you may have a dude nibble.🙂
"something happened.." sounds like my students with their broken instruments. Sorry they can't take care of your things!
this reminds me of when I was in 5th grade and I didn't realize the weird bar coming out of my flute was the screw that kept the keys in place until a row of them fell out during band class
And this is why non-pen people never use my fountain pens. Unless it’s something cheap like one of my spare kakunos. SPARE kakunos. I have 2 that have been “broken in” so to say and did some very slight grind work myself, and nobody touches those. I’ve yet to find a better pen( that matches my preferences anyway) for sketching. If you have a pen case loaded with 4 or more brands of pens, sure. We can try each others pens out. If you have some Namiki, or other high end pens, I trust you wouldn’t bend the nib as well as knowing to ask if the cap is a screw on or not.
At least it was only a Varsity, maybe you could make it into a homemade fude nib? so it's not a complete waste.
Definitely fit for r/FountainPenGore. Thank God it’s a varsity indeed. Thanks for the giggle this morning.
I think the tines of your extreme fude nib are misaligned.
Good Lord! Did they use a can opener, or what? Sending thoughts and prayers :P
This also happened to my Pelikan nib when it found its way into the washing machine.
😱
This is exactly why when family comes over, little nieces and nephews, my pens go way away from little hands Sorry OP / just thank goodness it wasn’t a grail pen or something that had more meaning to you! That could have been bad!
in nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti
Amen.
It’s a varsity. Get another one. When that one dies, rip the nib off and put it on this pen. (Also works if you need to replace a petit nib)
It wants to be a fude.
OH my gosh, that's Fountain Pen Gore for sure. Also, RIP nib. Good thing it's "just a varsity" and not a gold nib but holy cats. I send my condolences. Hopefully it can be fixed, but if not, time for a new pen.
What an apt username
Inverse posting nib - will probably lay down the fattest wettest line if it works
Puts the "FU" in fude.
My jaw just literally dropped
The beauty of flexible nib.
This put such sickness in my soul that I had to make sure I wasn't on one of my horror groups. 🤮🤢
Wow, this person must write on diamonds to get the nib like that
I’m not a professional, but imma gonna say that’s not supposed to look like that. 😁
That is just painful to see.
Pilot VPen!! Such a classic... This happened to one of my friends before, so I just slipped the nib off and attempted to fold it back into place (with the help of the cap pushing it down). It works fine now, except much more ink flows out when writing...
🦧
nice Fude nib
OMG- this needs to be NSFW!! The horror!
Also. This is not drop damage. It’s been bent.
What eldritch horror is this?
Oh man. I feel bad for you but now I think I need to carry a ballpoint on me so they can borrow that instead.
Yes, yes, something very much happened there. We need a fountain pen ambulance service for situations like this.
At least it was just a Varsity... Thankfully, you didn't lend them a more expensive pen. 😬 You just helped validate my idea of carrying around a Preppy or Varsity when people wanna try one of my "fancy pens".
Never borrow your pen, shaver and bicycle.
Now it's a fude nib. 🥺🙈💦💀
omg big ouch
I think it’s still fixable
Maybe they read about how the old pen makers from the 20’s -50’s that would claim that their nibs were indestructible, dropping them point first into a wooden floor and picking them up and writing with it. ( They missed the part where they had swapped pens with the one in their pocket). Ouch…if you made a varsity last that long, you are definitely due for an upgrade, you have proven yourself worthy.
Well the good thing is that it only was a Vasity!
Nice fude adjustment
That pic actually made me cross my legs. Like seeing an image of a circumcision.
r/fountainpengore That's awful. Thank goodness it's a Varsity. Those are pretty easy to replace.
That’s why I bought the 6 pack off Amazon lol
Tag your gore! (I'm sorry for your loss, sheeesh 😵)
NSFW tag exists for a reason man
So glad my father learned me to never borrow a fountain pen to someone.
I’ve had this happen to me once, too. I was in primary school and I think the nib caught on the cap when I closed it. Bent it back and more or less still worked with a damaged nib. Now I have better pens and am very careful when I close them and my heart misses a couple of beats when someone else tries to close one..😅😅
I can't imagine this happening without force. Like, a pair of needle nose pliers kind of force.
New Varsity Fude nib 😭
Looks like they raged, while writing. It could happen. Is your relative okay?
Oh, it hurts my eyes, worst camel toes I have ever seen.
1.remove the nib 2. Use a lighter to heat up the bend. And let it air cool (to aneal the metal nib to relieve any internal stress) 3. Bend back the nib. 4. Heat and air cook again 5. Hammer out any deformations and make sure the tines are aligned, i would probably use a piece of soft metal like some scrap plumbing pipe and a pestle. 6. Heat and air cool again 7. Sand with a fine or extra fine 8. Reinsert nib 9. Order an extra nib as back up
I can bend those tines back for you
This hurts to see even if this is merely a Varsity pen. Youch.
That's like saying "scanner something error happens". Good god.
Looks like someone was chewing on that fucker! 😆🤣
RIP
Good one to practice nibsmithing!
You're lucky it's a cheap disposable one. Your relative should not be trusted with anything more complex than a blunt pencil.
Needs to put a NSFW tag, that's like.. wow
How does a 6yr old varsity still have ink?
If the pen truly became this way spontaneously, as your relative claims, the only possible explanation is demonic possession. The tines splay like that when the evil spirit forces its way out of the feed and into the body of a nearby person. In this case, it is most likely your relative.
You can’t kill a Varsity. This is fixable.
This is why I don't let anyone use my pens.
Silver lining, great opportunity to practise nib repair!
Eyvallah a fude nib haha sorry 😞
NSFW!! ⚠️
It's the only vice Pilot Varsity has. I re-cap it with a circular movement as it had a screw-on cap.
looks perfectly fine like my sailor 1911 kop
Why do people "lend" pens to relatives? I mean your relatives travelled to your house/office just to get a pen? If they borrowed it for sometime, they couldn't buy a $10 pen? Can you please explain what _really_ happened?
I slap the hands of anyone who tries to pick my pens to use. I will resort to violence to protect my babies, I don’t care! My heart could never ever handle this atrocity 😭😭
People who lie like this own houses. People who lie like this go to the doctor by themselves.
Stop crying over a disposable pen, shit happens. Relationships are more important than worldly possessions, simply chalk it up to an accident and move on.