Fountain pens are more popular than ever—and purists are fuming

Paul Homchick bought his first fountain pen three decades ago. He was working as an engineering consultant and wanted to seem trustworthy as he took notes.

- Soobin Kim & Timothy W.Martin

Since retiring, the 76-yearold has been more interested in exploring different types of nibs, the metal tip of a fountain pen, than impressing clients. To save money, he decided to give Chinese brands a shot.

Now nearly half of Homchick's 59 fountain pens are Chinese-made. That includes a $30 Chinese version of a Montblanc pen that costs about $750 today.

"In writing," he says, "there's not that much difference."

Some of his fellow enthusiasts would like a word.

Cheap replicas are flooding the market for the old-timey pens, rankling fans of a product long known for steep prices and a user base dominated by royalty, politicians and wealthy elites. The products are attracting new waves of buyers and have made the writing utensils more popular than ever. The Reddit group dedicated to fountain pens has doubled over the past five years to about 368,000 users. That growth is also striking a nerve.

L. Bruce Jones, of Idaho, refuses to add a Chinese copy to his collection spanning roughly 450 pens from Switzerland, Italy and elsewhereincluding limited-edition Montblancs that run up to $20,000 each.

Jones, 69, says that back when he was running a submarine company that built the world's deepest-diving submersible, a rival company in China tried to poach his

employees and hack into company servers. He's not about to support the country in its pursuit of Big Fountain Pen.

"I just find it reprehensible," he says.