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Is A Fully Customised Edison Pen Worth It?


Gorpy

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In the (not so) distant future (3 years), I plan on buying an Edison pen for myself as a graduation gift and I want to know if it is really worth it. I see on this forum "ERMAHGERD EDISON PEN, SO BEAUTIFUL AND SMOOTH!!!!", but I plan on fully decking it out and I want to know if it's really worth it compared to similarly priced pens that I would really like. Also, when I mean fully, I mean with gold nib, nice filling system, a small engraving and a few modifications. This would truly be a unique pen and quite sentimental from the start. I estimate it would be around $600-650 USD. OR, would it be better to buy something like a limited edition/vintage pen (eg: Conway Stewart, Visconti) and then have that kind of let it be. I guess the question I'm really asking is "Is the price justified by the sentiment, or should I just get a 'better pen'?" Well, I still have a few years (which when I think about it isn't even that long. AARGH I'm thinking to much) to mull over it; thanks for reading my pent-up stress over fountain pens, and have a fantastically beautiful morning/day/evening/night!

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Yes, my ebonite Herald with custom clip, grip, colour & nib tuned by Brian is one of my perfect writers!

 

I didn't opt for gold, nor do I miss it.

"how do I know what I think until I write it down?"

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its not about is it worth it a better pen or is it worth to have a pen with your input on your pen instead of having a "standardized" pen out of a factory... go ask brian if he's wiling to work with a pen from his signature line and then give it some personal twist to me thats bespoke it's like getting a Nakaya straight from Japan (again with your own customization) or a Hakase... it's that personal

you can also ask pen turners from the pen making forums

Edited by Algester
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Thanks for telling me your experience, but this was incomplete when I accidentally posted it (oopsy-daisy) so I just edited it to have the link with my full thoughts.

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its not about is it worth it a better pen or is it worth to have a pen with your input on your pen instead of having a "standardized" pen out of a factory... go ask brian if he's wiling to work with a pen from his signature line and then give it some personal twist to me thats bespoke it's like getting a Nakaya straight from Japan (again with your own customization) or a Hakase... it's that personal

you can also ask pen turners from the pen making forums

I totally agree for the most part, it's about having that personal twist to it that makes it special. Thanks for your opinions.

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Obviously it's up to how you feel about pens and how much the custom made thing means to you, but $600-650 buys you a lot of pen. There are a whole bunch of seriously impressive pens available for that sort of coin and even more if you're willing to wait for the right deal or look at the second hand market. It may be that something you see speaks to you more than any custom pen you could envisage, who knows?

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Well, personally, I'm having the same dilemma, I could save up for a Pelikan M200 or perhaps a Edison or perhaps a nice High-End Pilot.. but it always itches to buy a mid-range monteverde because it looks so nice, I mean I really like the look but the same is to the other three... My 2 cents would be to try and hold out for three years and try to survive. I know it is going to be difficult, but try to not buy anything and just save up.

 

-RTMC

Favorite Ink and Pen Combinations:

Monteverde Jewelria in Fine with Noodlers Liberty's Elysium

Jinhao x450 with a Goulet X-Fine Nib with Noodlers Liberty's Elysium

Lamy Al-Star BlueGreen in Extra Fine with Parker Quink Black

Pilot Metropolitan in Medium with Parker Quink Black

"A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti."

- Dr. Hannibal Lecter

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I normally wouldn't get involved in a thread like this, but I'd like clarify...

 

Prices of $600-650 are mentioned within this thread, but this is not accurate in almost all cases.

 

Our Production Line will be between $150-275 with no exceptions.

 

Our Signature Line will be between $200-450 depending on model, steel or gold nib, and filling system, but they will always lie within that range....the only exception is if the customer is wanting a Binder Flex nib (with bulb, pump, or pneumatic filler), and Overlay pen, or a Urushi pen.

 

Just wanted to jump in here, as those prices mentioned at $600-650 will be inaccurate in the vast majority of our offerings.

Edited by bgray
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Gorpy,

 

Graduation is a great goal, and it's a wonderful thing that you have added another goal to that milestone. Sometimes it's not quite solid enough unless you're holding something in your hand, even though they talk about how having that diploma in your hand offers plenty of tactile and emotional joy. I wish that I had set for myself a similar goal of treating myself when I finished my programs of study, as a personal reward for hard work. The notion of personalization is terrific in this case because you have probably been working very hard to follow what a program has asked you to do, and now you must make that experience your own as you go forward. Go forward with a pen and be proud.

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I can tell you that a custom Edison was worth it for me. I absolutely love my custom Collier and do not regret one penny of it.

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I would caution about putting this pen "on a pedestal" and giving it unrealistic expectations. You're looking at getting this three years from now, and I'm not sure any pen can live up to that hype unless tempered with realistic expectations. I've owned several Edisons, and only kept one. They're wonderful pens, and the range of personalization for the price is great. Brian is a pleasure to deal with and stands behind his product.

 

How do you define "better" in a pen? You mentioned getting a vintage or LE Italian pen, but what would make those "better?" A lot of that is going to be subjective and your tastes may change over the next few years. I have a custom bulb-filler in the works right now with Brian, but I don't expect it to be the be-all-end-all of pens, or the perfect pen. How could it be? It can't be a bulb-filling, piston filler, made of celluloid and ebonite with a firm steel nib mixed with the springy-ness of an 18k. :lol:

~Jaime

(she/her)

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Hi, typically having used a variety of pens you may want all your favourite design elements in the one pen, something tailor made, something different from the off-the-rack merchandise. So Brian will do that for you.

 

Sometimes I wonder if we went to a modern fountain pen factory and viewed all the black acrylic barrels roll down the production line whether we'd feel the same as we did when we first saw it on the velour cushion in the shop window. On youtube VirtuThe3rdTV has some wonderful uploads of Japanese craftsmen making fountain pens with tools that are not exactly up to CNC tolerances, results are beautiful but the real X factor is the human element.

 

See images of my bespoke Edison.

 

post-119060-0-25239100-1423801363_thumb.jpg

post-119060-0-30289700-1423801366_thumb.jpg

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Thanks for all the feedback, all this thinking about it would simply make me feel like 3 years is longer than it really is.

I normally wouldn't get involved in a thread like this, but I'd like clarify...

 

Prices of $600-650 are mentioned within this thread, but this is not accurate in almost all cases.

 

Our Production Line will be between $150-275 with no exceptions.

 

Our Signature Line will be between $200-450 depending on model, steel or gold nib, and filling system, but they will always lie within that range....the only exception is if the customer is wanting a Binder Flex nib (with bulb, pump, or pneumatic filler), and Overlay pen, or a Urushi pen.

 

Just wanted to jump in here, as those prices mentioned at $600-650 will be inaccurate in the vast majority of our offerings.

And yes I made the wrong calculation, my bad, but with all the bells and whistles, it would still be on the upper end of the 400s wouldn't it? Unless I'm terribly mistaken. Have a wonderful day and let the descent to fountain pen madness begin for me! Edited by Gorpy
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You can get a great pen from Brian for well under the prices you mentioned. Browse thru the entire website. I'll bet there's something there you'll like right off. Choose a shape, or design a shape around one of the stock models. Then chose material. I found a Menlo in marble. There are so many options available. For example, you could get a Menlo shape, but not a button fill. After a Menlo I'm going to get something as an eyedropper only. Now how cool is that to have a craftsman like Brian. And if you want to upgrade you can always order a gold nib.

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I own a Edison Collier with flecked tortoise and black section with a non Collier clip, a beautiful pen. I also own a custom made Scriptorium pen with just the colors I wanted, just the right clip, and with cap rings, with a accent color at the cap lip. The Scriptorium was a bit less expensive than the Edison and I like it equally well. If you go to the pen turning forum you will meet up with a number of people doing some fabulous design work and offering some beautiful pens. Either Edison or Scriptorium and others can offer you that special pen and give it to you at a price that is often less than most higher end contemporary pens. I actually own three custom made pens and I believe they all use JoWo nibs, which means that you can always upgrade or purchase another nib with different characteristics if you decide to.

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I recently had a custom Pearlette done and I must say that you really do feel involved in the design process. I spent several days mulling over pen designs, filler options and nibs. After looking through the material gallery and not finding anything that called to me Brian got my inputs and sent me links to more samples until I found what I wanted. I even got an update when they were having some difficulty working with the material I chose giving me a nice little anecdote about my very own pen that I can share when the local pen nuts gather. :)

 

I have some nice LE, WE, vintage pens worth much more but this Pearlette will always be special.

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Is A Fully Customised Edison Pen Worth It?

 

If it's fully customized, then it's fully to your specification, so the only issue is whether the price is worth it to you.

 

My four Edison pens have been custom, and I opt for gold nibs ground to my specification, interesting filling systems, and celluloid sourced from David Nishimura & Mark Hoover's American Art Plastics. I tend to go for subdued and traditional colors and patterns, but one pen was made of Brian's stock acrylic; it is very attractive. After-sales service has been excellent, immediate and personal. I think an Edison pen is very good value both for purchase experience and for long-term use.

 

I'll add that I collect vintage and some modern, primarily for use. I think Brian's designs have evolved beautifully over the years and his custom work complements my taste in pens.

 

Fred

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My four Edison pens have been custom, and I opt for gold nibs ground to my specification, interesting filling systems, and celluloid sourced from David Nishimura & Mark Hoover's American Art Plastics.

 

Hi FredRyder--

 

I'm curious--did you get your celluloid from American Arts recently? I thought they had run out of celluloid. A couple of months ago, I wrote to them several times and received no answer... so I ended up going with Brian's Flecked Tortoise Acrylic, which I love.

 

Also--how do you find Brian's gold nibs? (I am considering upgrading to a gold B nib.)

 

Thanks!

 

Chris

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For the American Art celluloids, Brian had some in his inventory, so check with him first to see if he has any more available. I don't believe American Art Plastics is making more celluloid, but there was old stock the last time I was in Kensington. Call Mark Hoover to see what remains. On the other hand, there were hundreds of hard rubber/ebonite rods in all sorts of colors and patterns.

 

I figured that with my investment in a custom pen, I might was well have Brian put the gold nib in it. I had Edison gold nibs ground by Brian to 0.9mm cursive italic and they are great writers. I had one Edison nib ground to EF semi-flex which I am very happy with (after returning an EF full-flex nib as just too flexy!) through Edison's arrangement with Richard Binder (see Edison website).

 

Fred

Edited by FredRydr
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