My Collecting, Refined And Defined

[CraigR]

I have been collecting fountain pens for about 10 years but I have been using them for more than 50 years. During my collecting time, I have had bursts of buying that could be called "obsessive." I have also gone through long stretches where I bought no pens at all and just enjoyed using the ones I had. A survey of my collection a couple of years ago showed that I owned over 150 modern and vintage pens and was only actually using about 20 of them on a regular basis. At the time of the survey, we were living in a 4 bedroom home with study and plenty of room for pens, ink and paper display and storage.

 

Retirement finally happened to me in 2012. Yeah! This event was accompanied by selling the house and moving into our RV for a year, travelling and then settling into a small cottage on a lake in rural Ohio. Pens, inks and paper were packed up and stored during that year, with the exception of those 20 or so pens and a couple of inks that I use all the time. No new additions during the RV travel time.

 

Over the past few months, I have sold a lot of the pens in my collection. Many were easy to part with but some were just plain difficult. I love pens and it was hard to decide which ones stayed and which ones found new homes. Most of the pens I have owned have been vintage. This required me to have a collection of pen tools, supplies and parts. I also needed space to work on the pens. Once we were in the cottage I began to clean, repair and restore many of the pens I had on hand. Sales have been brisk and I am nearing a point where I think I can happily settle with my collection.

 

I will end up with about 20 pens that are in good working order, fun to use and represent a variety of style and writing characteristics. My main pleasure now with pens is using them. I have always written a lot of letters, cards and notes as well as drafts of short stories, columns and articles for publication. I have a number of pens to sell still, but now that I have a clear vision of where I want to be with my collection, it is much easier to sell a pen. What about buying? Well, I may have to seize a great deal from time to time, but I will also seek to restore and resell whenever I can.

 

So, I am making the transition from actively adding to my collection to just actively using the pens in my reduced collection. It has taken quite a while to get to this point, but it has been enjoyable.

 

Thanks for listening.

 

Craig

[zubipen]

Congratulations. A year ago I was also in the process to sell part of my unused collection. Yes, it is hard sometimes, but also it was good to know that all that unused pens will have a new owner to serve.

[77kath]

This is what I'm trying to do, but it's not working.

[playtime]

I seem to go in waves - selling many, acquiring a few more.......have recently sold a few myself:)

 

thanks for sharing....

[Blue_Moon]

I'm trying to downsize as well, and it is very difficult. I'm sure there is a sense of satisfaction when your collection is at it's optimum size. Thanks for sharing your story!

[kidde]

I'm still on the climb. For whatever reason it's much easier for me to give pens than sell them, but almost all I have passed on were not expensive. While I may occasionally score on a pen, I always see the value as what I paid. I have a feeling as I fall further down this rabid hole (did you see what I did there?) I'll understand true value better, but at this point I just assume I paid market +/-. I will say that vintage speaks to me loudly, and thanks to a Hooker(56) I no longer fear simple repairs. Some good finds if you will re-sac or put in a diaphragm and bathe them.

I hope you wear out every pen you keep. (Yes, I know it isn't likely, but you should still try!)

 

Paul

[WaskiSquirrel]

I liked this story. I'm not retired, but I had to downsize to a 672 square foot house two years ago. As I've lived in it, I've been downsizing even more just to open up empty space.

 

What really struck me when I moved into this house was that I used every single room (except the crawl space under the kitchen) every single day. In every other place I've lived, and none have been very large, there were entire rooms I could go months without seeing. Once I made this realization about my house, I started extending it to my other possessions. I owned (and still own) too many pens, but my real weakness is books. I've worked hard to shrink the collection down to what I actually will use.

 

You may want to share your story on the "100 Ways to Declutter" thread. I know I really liked your story and I think others there would enjoy it as well.

[CraigR]

I liked this story. I'm not retired, but I had to downsize to a 672 square foot house two years ago. As I've lived in it, I've been downsizing even more just to open up empty space.

 

What really struck me when I moved into this house was that I used every single room (except the crawl space under the kitchen) every single day. In every other place I've lived, and none have been very large, there were entire rooms I could go months without seeing. Once I made this realization about my house, I started extending it to my other possessions. I owned (and still own) too many pens, but my real weakness is books. I've worked hard to shrink the collection down to what I actually will use.

 

You may want to share your story on the "100 Ways to Declutter" thread. I know I really liked your story and I think others there would enjoy it as well.

Thanks for your kind comments! Funny you should mention books. I am an obsessive reader and recovering book hoarder. Details of my book fetish would fill a book itself. When we sold our house, I disposed of at least 5 van loads of hard back books from my library shelves and many, many boxes of paperbacks. Yes, I could have started a small lending library. I donated all the books to the local library, thrift shop and placed selected works in the hands of friends and neighbors. Living in an RV with less than 230 square feet is a storage challenge. We do not have slide outs. We used libraries, the internet and our Nooks for reading materials. Now that we are in a small cottage, that same resourcefulness has continued. We still read just as much but we don't own many books.

 

Thanks for your story too!

 

Craig

[DrCodfish]

Craig;

 

Your story gives me mxed feelings. I don't have as many pens as you do, or did, but I think I use even fewer of them than you: My little "rotation box" holds 18 I think, and there are always 4 or 5 slots unfilled.

 

The mixed feeling part is; I recently purchased one of your pens to add to my collectiion. (A Copper Esti). On the plus side I am pleased to say this pen is inked and in the rotation! On the down side, I took a Parker 45 out of the rotation and put it in the big ole storage box.

 

I know I should probably reduce, but a new pen is such a delight.

[CraigR]

Craig;

 

Your story gives me mxed feelings. I don't have as many pens as you do, or did, but I think I use even fewer of them than you: My little "rotation box" holds 18 I think, and there are always 4 or 5 slots unfilled.

 

The mixed feeling part is; I recently purchased one of your pens to add to my collectiion. (A Copper Esti). On the plus side I am pleased to say this pen is inked and in the rotation! On the down side, I took a Parker 45 out of the rotation and put it in the big ole storage box.

 

I know I should probably reduce, but a new pen is such a delight.

I am very glad that you are enjoying the Estie. It is difficult having too many pens inked and in use at the same time. I have tried and usually end up with a couple of pens clogged with dried ink from lack of use. You sound like you may be a ways away from needing to downsize the herd. Hang in there and stay away from the Classifieds!

[WilsonCQB1911]

Interesting topic. I've been reading about minimalism and trying to incorporate that into my life. For one, I spend way too much money on extra stuff I don't need, fountain pens being one of the problems.

 

I've bought and sold a ton of pens now and am trying to get my collection down even further. I'm at 7 pens locked in that are keepers (actually 6, with a 7th I'm likely to keep) and another 3 I have to adjudicate on. At least 2 of that 3 will likely be moved on, maybe all 3.

 

It's not easy, but I'd really like to only have 3 or 4. It's also not easy changing my spending habits, but I'm making progress.

 

Thanks for the writeup and good luck!

 

Also, Waski, I've appreciated reading many of your posts on this philosophy. I think you are at where I want to be in terms of a solid mindset. I'm trying.

[Keyless Works]

I too have periods of voracious buying followed by periods of abstinence (...seems to go hand and hand with the level of activity I have on this forum).

 

I am starting to sell off the pens I don't use so that I am left with a nicely curated selection of high quality pens that I can enjoy. I think my collection will still continue to evolve; pens that I love today may no longer be right for me tomorrow.

[JotterAddict62]

I have not been collecting for very long [ 5 yrs ] , but I'm trying to decide what excess to part with.

Anything I have a triple of or a double of will go in the sell pile which I do not have that much of.

I keep looking for Parker's that I do not have and stay away from all other brands. [ That helps ]

[greatorg]

"I have a clear vision of where I want to be with my collection."

 

 

That's what it's all about.

I love fountains pens, bought and sold a lot.

But I still have no idea were I want to be with my collection.

I've got about 50 Pens (45 vintage). By now I'd say that there are 15 pens I'll never give away.

But there ist no vision. Just to give me an idea: which 20 pens do you want to keep?

 

Thanks for your Story

Gero

[CraigR]

"I have a clear vision of where I want to be with my collection."

 

 

That's what it's all about.

I love fountains pens, bought and sold a lot.

But I still have no idea were I want to be with my collection.

I've got about 50 Pens (45 vintage). By now I'd say that there are 15 pens I'll never give away.

But there ist no vision. Just to give me an idea: which 20 pens do you want to keep?

 

Thanks for your Story

Gero

I am still not sure of where I want to settle with the collection. I know that I enjoy a variety of nibs so I think the collection will need to include fine, medium, broad, stub, italic and flex nibs. I also like certain pens within the brands. Parker "51" and vintage Duofold, Sheaffer's Snorkel and Flat Top come to mind. I have some vintage Waterman hard rubber models that I like a lot. Trying to trim the line-up to a final 20, or so, will be very difficult. I am pretty sure that even within a modest collection, I'll still trade in and out occasionally.

 

Craig

[FountainPages]

I have gone through the same. Have decided I am not a collector but more of a writer. The number of pens I can use with left overs is five. I have seven now down from thirteen. I'd like to pick up and Aurora 88 then work down to the "keepers".

[Federalist Pens]

I buy what I like, no real "method to the madness"!

 

I average about 1 per month, and up to around 100 pens in my collection.

(not counting the 50 or so that I have sold over the years, or the 20 I still have to move!)

 

Frank

[fpenluver]

I dont want to part with mine yet. But started to be more selective on what i am buying.

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

That's nice to trim down your collection. I did the same thing several years ago, and I never regretted it. I now can have all my pens inked and use them all regularly. I think collections are kind of like trees. You have to prune them from time to time to make them grow better or make them "work" better.

 

Dillon

Edited July 24, 2014 by Dillo

[playtime]

An apt simile. Come to think of it, I don't have a pen whose body is comprised of wood. My how a collection can grow.

 

 

I think collections are kind of like trees. You have to prune them from time to time to make them grow better or make them "work" better.