Pen Places In New York?

[gaijin94]

Hi everyone,

 

I am in New Jersey and New York for work this week and next week and am looking for some places to buy some old FPs. I'm looking for some old pens that might need repair or that work but look shabby so that I practice repair/clean up work on them. So not really into purchasing already repaired pens.

Does anybody know of anywhere over the weekend (maybe flea markets etc.) where there is a good chance of finding those sorts of pens in Manhattan?

 

Any advice would be most appreciated.

 

Kindly yours,

[daoud62]

I live here and have been looking for a long time, so I would be very interested in the answer to this post as well.

 

For already restored pens, you can try the Fountain Pen Hospital on Warren Street, near City Hall (I have no affiliation with them). They usually have a nice assortment of vintage pens. The other place I would have recommended for new old stock was Art Brown's but, sadly, that institution closed its doors last year, yet another victim of viciously rising rents in present-day NY.

 

If you can manage to stay until the 15th of March, come to the Long Island Pen Show. You'll find lots of stuff there, and it's very convenient to NYC.

 

On the 1st and 2nd of March, there is a pen show in Baltimore, with lots of vintage pens as well, but Baltimore is a 2-1/2 hour train ride from NYC -- hardly a hop, skip and jump as they say where I come from.

 

Good luck!

[majorworks]

There's also Montgomery Stationery:

 

http://www.montgomerypens.com/index.asp

[bitterwonder]

Try the flea in the garage west of 6 th ave, around 24 th or 25th street. Sometimes they have pens but may be pricey.

The Brooklyn Flea in Williamsburg sometimes has some, but they too may be pricey.

I wouldnt say either of these places are sure to have pens, just if you are itching for a flea....

[gaijin94]

Thank you so much everyone for the local information. I would love to go to the pen show down in Baltimore but as time is kind of the essence, I dare say that it might be more worth my time to visit the suggested flea markets.

The pen shows have me kind of enchanted though, as I have never been to one before.

Hopefully I might be able to find something in my travels before returning home to Japan on the 7th! Fingers crossed!!

[JLS1]

FWIW, you can chech out FPH's vintage and discount pens on their website; look at "Vintage Pens" or " The Back Room" on their website, repectively.

 

Good luck and enjoy NYC!

[Oranges and Apples]

There's also Montgomery Stationery:

 

http://www.montgomerypens.com/index.asp

Even though they do have a store front do not expect to be allowed to roam the store. They in my past two experiences (and only experiences) they do not allow you to get past the counter of the store which is in the front. Even though I knew what you are looking for a man in a dark jacket constantly suggests that you order it online which he constantly reminded me that orders over $25 shipped free. I was only looking for some Pilot cartridges.

 

The second time I went in there the same exact thing happened! This time I was looking for a bottle of Pilot ink.

 

I was disgusted!

 

Do no expect to try pens either. They only have the pay counter as a display case and the rest of the store looks like a warehouse with many unopened boxes stacked to the ceiling.

Edited March 1, 2014 by Oranges and Apples

[gaijin94]

Hi all, sorry for being so late with a reply.

After spending two days walking all over Manhattan looking at flea markets,

I didn't find much at all. And what little I did find was basically all newer cartridge

Fillers. I did find a waterman 100yr pen but the back of it was completely snapped off.

The guy wanted $55 dollars for it because it had a "gold nib". He wasn't interested in taking

Anything less than $50, and as it seemed irreparable with my lack of skills, I let it go.

At the end of the second day just as I had given up, I stumbled across a tiny tiny flea market

On W39st just up I front of the Hudson ferry terminal.

I had a quick look and found a BCHR wahl pen needing repair. The guy wanted $45 dollars again

because of it "14K gold nib". (What is it with these venders who think that a good nib makes the value of the pen!?!?)

So I chatted him down to $20 and bought my prized possession back home with me.

Where adhere the flea markets....good question. I got confused as to my locations but the largest was two floors of an old parking lot on W25th. Lots of vendors but sadly no pens. I spoke to a vendor there and he said that he also collects but rarely sees any pens...

So maybe Manhattan is not the place to go looking for old repairable FPs...

 

I am about to post my purchase in the Wahl section for anyone who is interested and who might know what kind of wahl pen it is.

 

Stay well.

[majorworks]

Even though they do have a store front do not expect to be allowed to roam the store. They in my past two experiences (and only experiences) they do not allow you to get past the counter of the store which is in the front. Even though I knew what you are looking for a man in a dark jacket constantly suggests that you order it online which he constantly reminded me that orders over $25 shipped free. I was only looking for some Pilot cartridges.

 

The second time I went in there the same exact thing happened! This time I was looking for a bottle of Pilot ink.

 

I was disgusted!

 

Do no expect to try pens either. They only have the pay counter as a display case and the rest of the store looks like a warehouse with many unopened boxes stacked to the ceiling.

 

Wow, OK... thanks. I've never been there myself, so I'll let your experiences speak for themselves. Online only then, good to know.

[FountainCartoonboy]

Even though they do have a store front do not expect to be allowed to roam the store. They in my past two experiences (and only experiences) they do not allow you to get past the counter of the store which is in the front. Even though I knew what you are looking for a man in a dark jacket constantly suggests that you order it online which he constantly reminded me that orders over $25 shipped free. I was only looking for some Pilot cartridges.

 

The second time I went in there the same exact thing happened! This time I was looking for a bottle of Pilot ink.

 

I was disgusted!

 

Do no expect to try pens either. They only have the pay counter as a display case and the rest of the store looks like a warehouse with many unopened boxes stacked to the ceiling.

I tried them online and was upset with the service. After 2 weeks it still hadn't shipped. I called them to cancel. It's not that it wasn't in stock, they just sat on orders. Made no apology either.

I stay away from their eBay auctions as well. I can't stand that.