Sentimentality

[Cryptos]

I have been sitting at my desk at home - a few days away from school pre-Xmas - and thinking about how my pen choices have been and are evolving. So I made a small list of pens that I thought I would like to have. Obviously this isn't exhaustive, and I fully expect it to change over time. Also, I still seem to be firmly stuck in 'vintage land'. Not quite sure why, apart from the sheer variety of forms.

 

Anyway, I don't want to talk about the list in any detail. What has crossed my mind is that in order for someone like me to be able to afford even one of the pens on my list would require me to successfully sell at least two existing pens. Sound simple, yes? And I do have 4or 5 pens sitting never used. However, when it comes to it I find it difficult to part with them. I don't know why exactly. Maybe it's because I can only afford single examples. Maybe people with multiple pens of the same model feel differently, who can say. For example, I've had a Sheaffer Sentinel up and down on the classifieds a couple of times and I am still not sure I want to lose her.

 

So, is it just sentimentality, and does anyone else wrestle with this? I guess at the back of my mind is the thought that if I sell them I am unlikely to buy them again in the future, and they are interesting...

 

 

 

 

Secondly, I recently gave away (as a PIF) an acrylic pen from Nordic Pen Imports. Lovely pen really, but it got me thinking. How significant is the difference between modern acrylic pens from various makers? I mean, is there a big difference between, say, Scriptorium, Franklin Christoph and Edison? Unable to get my hands on any of these other pens (and I'm talking bodies here, not nibs) I have to assume that they will all pretty much feel the same just with differing levels of precision in the workmanship. Is that sufficient to move the price from the $60 of the NPI acrylic to the $225 of a Scriptorium offering? Or is the cost difference resting entirely on the nib?

Edited December 19, 2014 by Cryptos

[hari317]

to answer the latter part of your post, not all acrylics are the same.

 

For example the "Diffusion bonded" acrylic used by Classic pens is in a totally different quality league than the bog standard extruded acrylic bars that some pen blanks are made of.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/128835-classic-pens-l-m1-flame-red/

 

then the cost difference is the quality of hardware used.

 

Hardware includes: Nib unit, clips and trim rings.

[Barnaby Bumble]

Yup, this sounds familiar, Cryptos. There's that nagging sense of, "I know as soon as I sell this I'm going to wish I had it back." It's seller's remorse. Or prospective seller's remorse.

 

As for your question about acrylic pens, couldn't the same be asked about resin pens or celluloid pens or aluminum pens?

 

I don't know anything about NPI, so I can't speak to their materials, manufacturing process, or quality control. Do they mass-produce? If so, they can take advantage of economies of scale that the other 2 can't.

 

Scriptorium seems to be primarily a one-off business, and each one is made by the same person. Franklin-Christoph pens are also produced by a single maker, and while their pens aren't custom, they do seem to produce them in small batches. Maybe that's for strictly economic reasons (cash flow issues or an aversion to debt) rather than to maintain high QC. I don't know. I do know that they maintain high QC, because I own 3 of their pens.

[Cryptos]

I don't know. I do wonder about the acrylic rod stock. After all, it comes from manufacturers that do not seem to make pens, so what else is it used? Like I said, I'm in a vacuum here. I can't see how one rod of acrylic is any different to another. More research methinks!

 

 

 

Seller's remorse? Perhaps that's it, except in my case it feels a little exacerbated because there is virtually no local market for these things. Once something is sold it becomes quite problematic to replace if the desire to do so arises.

[Barnaby Bumble]

Seller's remorse? Perhaps that's it, except in my case it feels a little exacerbated because there is virtually no local market for these things. Once something is sold it becomes quite problematic to replace if the desire to do so arises.

 

Same here.

[jonperry]

This topic hits very close to home for me. I can certainly relate to the idea of hanging on to pens (or any number of other objects for that matter) because they are interesting and obscure... or the chance of finding another example in the wild is relatively rare.

 

For me, this is symptomatic of an attachment to materiality which is a topic best explored elsewhere. I'm a pack rat. However, I see myself as a custodian of the objects in my care, most of which will be passed on to others when, I too, pass on. For example, I have a collection of highly-specialized philosophical books. My spouse has instructions on who to contact if she choses to donate them and what dealers to contact if she needs to sell them. Same will happen with my pen collection.

[oregano]

Two very different, interesting questions! I think this is where the collector vs user question comes into play too...if you think you won't replace them, and will miss them, then keep them. If you think you won't replace them and won't be worse off for it, that's another matter

 

I'd like to know more about differences in acrylic too. From memory, 'cellulose acetate' (used in Pelikan's and Auroras I believe) is a better quality acrylic than run of the mill acrylics, but also more prone to instability/changing over time. Maybe someone can confirm or disconfirm since I can't find the source where I read that. Also, some penmakers--like Jonathan Brooks (and Newton pens I think?)--make their own blanks, which to my mind makes them very special. Scriptorium pens has commissioned some blanks from Brooks, so in a way they are one of a kind.

 

I think there is also some variability in quality of materials (acrylics and ebonite) depending on their source and that too could vary within one brand, like Edison pens, so there's that too. A lot of people value older materials used in vintage pens because of their depth (casein, for example).

[sirgilbert357]

I have a Parker Vector from the early 90's in used condition with an overly loud paint scheme. It's really quite ugly. It's worth literally nothing I'm sure. I think I'd miss it if it were gone though; I guess just because it was my first fountain pen. But I have it de-inked and sitting forgotten in a dresser drawer and I usually don't keep things I never use. I should just PIF it but it might make me sad when there are no takers, LOL.

[wastelanded]

I had a '47 Sheaffer's Valiant in chocolate brown. I fell hard for the pen, but it just didn't work for me. I gave it to a friend, with no regrets, and she is ecstatic with it. One of the few cases where I didn't regret getting rid of a pen.

[Paddler]

So, is it just sentimentality, and does anyone else wrestle with this? I guess at the back of my mind is the thought that if I sell them I am unlikely to buy them again in the future, and they are interesting...

 

 

 

I have a Parker 51 I bought at a flea market and restored to usefulness. It writes well, but I dislike it. The shrouded nib disappears when I write with it and, as I tend to rotate the pen slightly from time to time, the nib goes all scratchy and skippy. Then I have to lean over and look to see how to bring it back to the sweet spot. The only thing that keeps the pen out of the trash can is that it was made in the third quarter of 1943. There was a lot of history written about 1943 and I keep the pen as a goad to memory of those times.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I dislike the actual activity of selling something, but that's another story. Apart from that distaste, I've been thinking that it would be a good idea to sell off some of my surplus. As for sentimental attachments, it depends on the pen. I tend to feel this more with my vintage pens; they just seem to have more personality, and the fact that they are all used seems to give me a connection with their past, even though I have no idea who owned them before me. In some cases, they are much better looking than my modern ones; I have no modern equivalent for some of those vintage celluloids. Even so, there are some, one of my Vacumatic Parker 51s, some 21s, maybe a couple of others, that I'd give up without a qualm. Well, maybe a fraction of a qualm.

 

Modern pens are easier. There are ones that suit me perfectly. I like writing with them and I'll keep them. There are a couple of near duplicates that have enough individuality that I won't get rid of just one. And there are ones that I just don't like that much and which I would sell without looking back.