Why Do Fpn Members Have Magic Drawers?

[TLMG]

Having been on the forum for the past month or so... I've realized that many of you guys seem to have shockingly magical desk drawers, attics, and closets!

I feel like every day there is a new thread where one of you find a phenomenal pen in the drawer.

"Hey everyone, just found a NIB 1955 149 under my bed."

"Hey guys and gals, found an original MB safety pen in my bottom desk drawer."
"Was taking the trash out and noticed there was a complete Patron of the Arts set wedged in the bushes!"

Can someone here teach me how to be so lucky? I'm sitting here finding lint in my pockets and you all find 139s :-(

[JLS1]

The subject line made me wonder where this topic was going. ("Magic Drawers"?!?!)

 

FWIW, one of the beauties of FPN is that you can learn enough about MB (or any pen for that matter) that you learn how to quickly identify really good pens (or pens with potential) on eBay, at garage/estate sales, antique shops, Craigslist/Kijiji, etc. Case in point: I saw a MB pen advertised on eBay that looked like it was a 50's 146 or 149 (the picture was blurry). Since I was looking for a 50's Meisterstuck, I asked the seller if the pen had anything written in the cap ring...their reply (which got published) indicated it was a silver rings 149 and the price correspondingly shot through the roof.

 

While this might be a case study in how NOT to buy fountain pens, it does show that you can learn a lot from FPN that will help you find the gold in other people's magic drawers...which is as far as I am going to go with this analogy.

[chiaroscuro]

It's not so much "magic drawers and attics" as it is bad memories and possibly problems with hoarding.

[Sasha Royale]

Fortune favors the prepared and the bold ! We find things because we frequently search through

other people's drawers, and finding . . . . . . . . . . .

 

I am getting a flashing, red, "content" warning light from the administrator.

[BrandonA]

My magic drawer contains my MB collection.

 

I don't see how you can lose / forget about pens. I guess people have a lot more "stuff" than me - I'm a minimalist and hate clutter.

[Komitadjie]

I'd be the worst burglar in history. Completely ignore the electronics, the police would find me rummaging in the back of the kitchen junk drawer.

 

"Hey, you, freeze!"

"Check it out, officer! I found a PFM crammed into an old sock, under this bent cheese grater!"

[Boochie]

Oh, nice topic !!! and, I agree.

 

To add to it, I am so envious of the posts of folks that find vintage, as well as current production, MB's at thrift stores and garage sales for less than $10. The only pens I have ever seen in thrift stores are the ballpoints in a cup next to the cash register with the name of some insurance agency on it !!

[Chrissy]

I can confirm that my drawers aren't magic

[Pen Nut]

Magic drawers ! Long time ago and the last thing on my mind was some German made fountain pen in poxy plastic !

 

Oh come on I cant be the only one ...............

[Komitadjie]

I think we all were, but NOBODY wanted to open that can-o-worms. Or puns, as the case may be.

[Jadie]

Actually, I don't have any magic drawers...but I'm great at sniffing out drawers from my friends' friends and parents/grandparents! Looks like most people don't use fountain pens anymore, so I always make them offers of adoption. XD

[Hooker56]

Boochie,

 

I'll give away one of my tricks. I go to many estate sales. The best ones for fountain pens are the 40-50 y.o. homes where the owners were elderly (from the FP Golden era and their children are running the sale-as opposed to an Estate co.) I have yet to come away from one of these without finding fountain pens. They may not be on my target list, but they almost all have pens in the house. Usually when you ask the host they'll walk to a drawer or box and say, "You mean like these?"

The box is usually full of ball points and ad pens and pencils as well, but it's marked at $5-10 for the box!