Have You Ever Rewarded Yourself With A Fountain Pen?

[ChickenScratch]

I just thought it would be fun to find out if people have used fountain pens to motivate themselves toward some accomplishment. If you are doing or have done this, what pen did you get and what did you have to do in order to "earn" it?

 

To start: I bought my second (olive green) GT Parker 45 to celebrate losing 15 lbs. Got a new bottle of ink to go with it too. Green, of course.

[Blarelli]

I bought myself a pilot vanishing point to celebrate passing NBDE part II (National Board Dental Examination). Still trying to decide what my graduation present to myself will be.

[JimCouch]

Most of my pens were purchased as a reward or to commemorate some event.

 

I purchased a CHR pen to commemorate the purchase of our first house. (An early 1900s craftsman) the en would have been similar to what was used when the house was built

 

I have purchased a couple with part of the money I earned from some expert witness work I did on a couple of legal cases.

 

My Visconti was purchased with a portion of the proceeds from selling our business when we moved to Portland.

 

Maybe not rewards exactly, but more to commemorate important events.

[ink-syringe]

I sold nearly all my pens when I got sick. Nearly done with my treatment and catching up with my bills I have allowed my self to acquire a couple pens to replace the ones I miss. I am a academic/teacher and like to keep lots of pens inked up and all over the place in the office and at home.

 

Trying to get a couple vintage Sheaffers and then I'll be pretty happy.

[canibanoglu]

ink-syringe, I wish you a full and fast recovery and I hope you can get back all the ones that you miss.

 

I got myself a Homo Sapiens Crystal when I got my first(and current) job. And I recently got myself a vintage Pelikan 400 and a 2011 reissue 101n tortoise to celebrate my raise.

[PortiaDaCosta]

ink-syringe, here's wishing you a return to full health and the chance to rebuild your pen collection.

 

I'm working on a novella that's proving quite a struggle, so I'll need a reward on finishing. I daren't buy anymore pens for the moment, but I think a splurge on some more nice inks will fill the bill.

[shawndp]

On some pens, I set myself a target (sales is a large component of my job) and if I meet it, will buy a specific pen that I otherwise wouldn't... Other pens mark milestones in my personal life... I don't have a theme connecting the pen to the event though, so maybe I should look into that...

[inkspot]

Like some others here, most of my pens have been purchased as a reward for accomplishments or to commemorate a milestone event. I just finished writing my doctoral dissertation a couple weeks ago and purchased a fun pen to mark that accomplishment.

[PaperDarts]

Several of my pens are rewards, either self-awarded or otherwise:

• Passing the oral defence of my graduate thesis
• Achieving a fitness goal
• Completing a major project at work
• Turning 60

Actually the last "achievement" involved nothing more onerous than hanging around long enough, but the pen reward still felt good!

[torstar]

Nah, mostly impulse purchases.

[Nanor]

Ink-syringe: that’s an awful way to lose your pens. Good to hear your finishing treatment, wishing you a speedy recovery and best of luck hunting down your vintage Sheafflers. What specifically are you looking for? - I can let you know if I happen to see one.

 

My pen purchases are more of a compensation than a reward. If I have had to put in too many hours working overtime, I might put something aside and treat myself.

[The Blue Knight]

Yeah a few times. I generally reward myself after completing second semester exams with a fountain pen as I find exams stressful. I did it nearly 2 years ago and this was what started the hobby for me. I did it last year as well.

 

I like doing it as it sets a point in time for that next pen and it allows you fully understand what you are looking for and it means you are less likely to buy impulses purchases as you have a point set in time for when that purchase is going to come.

 

I definitely think I will do it again this year.

[AnnieB123]

I've got my graduation coming up (bioengineering). I've been promising myself a pen since I started, and now that I'm weeks away from graduating, I'm more conflicted than ever about which pen to settle on. I figure the one will find me when the time is right. I thought I had settled on a John Lennon commemorative, since his music and vision have gotten me through a lot in my life, now I'm not 100% sure... (I wish I could try one out before I buy, a lot of MB pens are just way too big for my hands to be comfortable).

 

http://www.ballerhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/specialedition.jpg

[amk]

Bought myself a Ranga blue and orange ebonite pen when I passed my full motorcycle test.

 

Other pens I have just awarded myself for.... being me :-)

[Kelly G]

You bet. When our daughter completed her Physical Therapy graduate school, I marked the occasion with the LE Mandarin VP. When I graduated from Seminary with my M.Div. I marked that occasion with the Danitrio Raw Ebonite Sho-Genkai. It strikes me now that on both occasions, good timing was involved as both of these pens are difficult to buy now.

 

When I left a long time managerial position in a former vocation, my boss, who knew I appreciated a good fp, gifted me a Y-O-L Grand Viceroy Barley - a lovely pen and I was pretty blown away.

 

A couple of years later, when I retired from that company, my then boss asked me what I wished for a parting gift, I suggested a Danitrio Densho Tamenuri and it came to pass.

 

Of course, that was a number of years ago and both pens were a bit less expensive than today's prices - but still, I was then and remain very grateful for those gifts.

[TheOtherBart]

It wasn't so much a matter of a priori motivation to complete a goal, but I did buy my Homo Sapiens Steel to commemorate earning tenure last year. Now I'm just waiting to get it back from Mike Masuyama to see how much I regret choosing that particular pen...

Edited March 2, 2015 by TheOtherBart

[ac12]

No.

In my case, if I want it, and I can justify and afford it, I go and get it.

 

The problem with some pens is timing. For new pens, this is the LE and SE pens, which could disappear from the market. So you have to grab them when they are available. And this is especially so for vintage pens, where you may never see that pen available for sale for a LONG time, if ever.

 

Even something as plain as the white Lamy joy, which I thought would be available for a LONG time, has been discontinued. And the current prices of $45 to $70+ are significantly higher than the $30 street price when they were being manufactured. So I have been kicking myself for not getting a couple when the street prices were down at $30.

 

Now, what you could do is, buy the pen, test it (to deal with any warranty issues), then put it away till you achieve your goal.

[maverick777]

I got my first batch of fountain pens last May, which included a Lamy 2000, to celebrate getting a new job. It was a a few months before I bought another pen.

 

I got my red M800 to celebrate filing my taxes early this year which included enough of a return to pay for the pen. It helped that I found the M800 for only $225.

 

So really only 2 pens in my collection were purchased to celebrate an event. The rest were purely for fun.

[FountainPages]

Only once, I rewarded myself with my grail pen, an Aurora Optima. All the others were planned or impulse.

[Sasha Royale]

Nope !