I collect pens for almost 4 years and enjoy every minute of it.

If collecting includes accumulating, I've been doing it over 40 years.

In less than a year, I have over forty vintage pens, and about a dozen modern ones. I am currently exiting the typical newbie frenzied "buy everything that looks neat" machine gun phase, and am considering a brief de-acquisition stint, to be followed by a more focused, lower octane sniper acquisition phase, centered mainly on Parker 51s and Flighters (including pseudo-Flighters by other manufacturers). Perhaps more importantly, I'm scheming on making my own pens, based on the best features of various makes and models.

I've been a stationery addict since grade-school... the FP addiction was very minor 3 years ago - I only had two or three FP's, but then it ramped up madly about 18 months ago!

I learned to write with a dip fountain pen in 1958. Shortly thereafter, I got my first fountain pen as a gift from my dad. I added pens over the next few years, mostly Christmas presents I asked my parents for. In 1976 I was a young soldier stationed in (then) West Berlin when I bought my first fountain pen with my own money. It has been a steady accumulation since then.

For now I'm unique at 10 yrs. I sat down last night and started a wish list of what new pens I wanted and realized I have a long way to go. I accept this for vintage but 76 new pens?

I listed 2 years but I had two fountain pens for about four years. The icing was when I came across this 'site where I started carrying 'em again and have added considerably to my pen box.

Prior to this, I only used rollerballs (Parker Duofolds & Sonnets, Bexley, Cross, etc.). I occasionally dust 'em off and use one for a day or so.

-P

The interest has been alive for at least ten years, but the active acquisition of pens is less than one year old. But not likely to stop anytime soon.

hi,

went to first grade in 1946.

learned to write with a dip pen. the teacher would pour the ink-blue, as i remember from a large bottle into the inkwells on our desks.

my uncle owned a stationary distributorship and gave me my first esterbrook in second grade and continued to give me a new esterbrook every school opening day through 6th grade and junior high school. then he gave me papermates which i hated. i always asked and for a fountain pen and with my chanukah money, i would buy a fountain pen. in high school, i discovered sheaffer school pens and used them throughout college. finally in 1962, became a teacher, my own paycheck--went to fountain pen hospital and bought 2 esterbrooks and a bottle of sheaffer washable blue ink. those pens started it--been collecting using fountain pens since. lost those 2 pens and many more since then. in the late 70's i started using sheaffers--they were the right width and weight for me. i use a sheaffer imperial, waterman 100 year old pen and a namiki fermo as my everyday pens. my alternates are a conklin endura, daish penol, and a canadian vac. i have many more pens including 2 bexley stradivarius, 2 mont blanc bohemes, one a retractable, etc and etc.

life is sweet!!

I sort of acquired my first four fountain pens in the early 1970s when my grandfather passed away. He had two Parker 51's, a Sheaffer Oversize in black and a Sheaffer Balance in black. In about 1971 through some subterfuge I managed to confiscate the Parkers from my father, although I think he eventually caught on. I could not get the Sheaffers because they both had gold nibs and parts and so were more valuable. The Parkers both have lustraloy caps. I used the fountain pens on and off through elementary school and maybe part of HS. I lost interest by the time I got to college but picked up again in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I again lost interest in the mid 1990s when kids and family managed to eat up all of my budget for luxuries like pens. In the last few months I have gotten into pens again and I have acquired several Parkers and Sheaffers on EBay. I know that many people look down on EBay purchases but I have found some excellent deals on good quality pens. yesterday I received a Sheaffer Flat Top with one of its original stickers still attached. I paid $21 for the pen!

Anyway, glad to be back in pens now. I hope to stick around a while this time.

Bob
San Ramon CA

I was 17 when i started playing with my dad's crosses and im 20 now and have spent a good 3k or more on pens i shouldnt have... so 3 close to 4 years.

Too many!

33 years. Using and accumulating. Still have my Conway Stewart "school pen" from primary school so this counts as collecting!


However only started going so nuts after I joined FPN
Armchop

For a long time I've resisted the label "collector" because I so very much consider myself a user. But the truth is that the collecting began about 4 years ago. Until then I had only three fountain pens and then the "accumulation" of pens exploded and as much as I've tried to keep it under wraps, I just can't - even now in India, quite contrary to my intentions, I've been collecting.