At one time I said a fountain pen was simply pretentious. Later, I actually wrote with one and threw half of our ballpoints away and my wife stopped me before I threw out her half.
They are smooth and a fine point nib gets you all sorts of nice lines. Fine enough for engineer scribbles. Add in some ink that flows well, doesn’t run when wet, and resists smudging, and you wonder why ballpoints were ever a thing.
That is my pen loaded with fresh green Noodler’s Ink.
Lemur King's Folly 
That’s right. You had better not throw out my favorite pens. Zebra brand, hard to find fine tip ball point that doesn’t bleed, smear, or blotch on me. Keep your finicky fountain pens…although I do appreciate the color.
I only throw your pens out when you buy too many.
Says the guy who kept stealing them from work because he “forgot” to take them out of his shirt pocket. You’d think they were bunnies multiplying. Does this mean I can thin their ranks some more?
The pen may be mightier than the sword, but to quote Kipling, the woman is deadlier than the male! If you value your continued existence in this life, and don’t want to see what is in the next, anytime soon, leave the ladies writing utensils alone!
Fair enough. Cruel Wife says you speak wisdom.
Once every 20 years or so!
I like fine pens but I’m too sloppy for a fountain pen. I’ve tried.
When I used pens a lot I got Waterman pens. They are very smooth. People who used mine always noticed it.
Mont Blanc write the same way but they’re pretentious.
Almost as pretentious as fountain pens.
Fountain pens are pretty darned pretentious unless you can actually use them, which you self-admittedly cannot.
Anyway, have not ever gotten to write with a Mont Blanc pen… smooth?
Yeah, they and Waterman were darn fine pens.
They were $100 in the 90s so it they’re the same price, they’re commie Chinese made crap now probably.
Mont Blanc was the Rolex of pens.
Big and gaudy as well as very good.
I have a Cross fountain pen. I haven’t used it in probably 30 years.
Geebus. My TWSBI doesn’t cost more than half that now. Not pretentious. Writes smooth.
Would still enjoy (ahem) pen-sharing just try them out. That is so wrong to say. I know it, you know it…
Hmmm. Throwing branded pen names around, like Waterman and Mont Blanca, sounds awfully pretentious to me…
Thank you autocorrect for “correcting” my originally correct response. 🙄 “Mont Blanc”.
Pretentious, Iget that a lot.
People who don’t know a lot get all upset at people who do.
My. That sounded upset to you? That wasn’t upset. You’d KNOW if I were upset. Are you so insecure? Project much?