When I started collecting fountain pens about two years ago, little did I know where this endeavor would finally take me in such a short time. In retrospect, I am still atwitter with exuberant excitement when looking at the beautiful pens that I have amassed and, at the same time, aghast at the king's ransom that I have spent on my collection.

Many of my early purchases were random and indiscriminate acts of exploring untrodden territory of a galaxy of different brands and models. One day, for example, I decided that I wanted to examine and test the different sizes, in which the Pelikan Souveran is manufactured. In rapid succession, I bought all sizes just for the purposes of owning and comparing them. I later sold my M300 which was far too small for my sizeable hands. However, I have kept all other sizes which I all love and use. The Pelikan spree was a rather successful act of shameless pen acquisition that I have not regretted ever since.

I have also bought some pens that I came to find unsuitable for my purposes. I am a writer and collector, so each of my pens will have to perform in its primary function as a writing implement. I sold the pens that I found were not good writers. I also sold pens that at the time of purchase had appealed to me but in the course of time palled in my discernment.

I have recently come to understand that my collecting habits have tremendously changed. It is this change which I encapsulated in the topic title of this post, "Honing the Focus" and on which I seek to elaborate in the following:

I have about 40 fountain pens which may not seem too inordinate a number, given that some people who frequent this site actually count their pens in multiples of that humble figure. For me, however, the number is considerable enough, especially since many of these pens are celluloids which are rather expensive.

I have now gleaned from 24 months of learning about/experimenting with pens that I especially love two brands, Pelikan and Omas. The Pelikans are wonderful writers that happen to have a very nice outside appearance coupled with reliable internal workings. The latter is also true about my Omas pens but I believe that in addition to that they are the unrivalled epitome of design and beauty. Sure, I have other (celluloid) pens not made by Omas that I also love dearly but Omas has indeed catered best to my writing and collecting preferences.
For the time to come, I think I have channeled my collecting impulses to a very predictable and reasonable level. I have certain pens (mainly some old-stock pens by Omas) that I will want to add to my collection and that I consider to be worthwile. I have to add, though, that I am only interested in Omas pens up until 2000. The new designs do not electrify or enrapture me with the same degree of magnetic pull.

Meanwhile, many pens that I read about here continue to interest me and I enjoy learning about them. However, as opposed to the state I was in one or two years ago, I do not feel the urge to own them. That has definitely changed. The longer I immerse myself into fountain pens, the more fastitious I grow on what I want to have in a pen. Now, this is mainly advantageous to me as it prevents me from buying pens that I do not really want.

Some people might disagree, but honing my focus actually makes my collecting habit much more enjoyable. It encourages me to adhere to a prudent buying behavior and it will not allow pens into my collection that I do not really want and that I would, sooner or later, expell from my pen case. I have decided to continue adding to my pen collection, but at a much slower pace. No precipitation and no palpitations over seemingly one-of-a-kind must-have buy-before-it-is-gone deals anymore!

Incidentally, had any of you told me two years ago that Omas will be my main focus, I probably would have shrugged this off as I did not even like the brand at the time. I realized that I needed these two years to learn enough about pen so that I could seek out the pens that I like the most. I have realized that one needs to grow into this hobby and that one cannot build a refined collection from the start.
I will not rule out that my focus might change in the future, but it is rather unlikely. In fact, it seems for sure that I will not do a radical about-face.

Please feel free to share your thoughts on how you have honed your focus or, that might also be possible, how you keep enjoying having a very broad focus or no focus at all.

Originally my collecting lacked focus. I have vintage pens and new ones. Lacquer was one of my favorites and I still enjoy them, but like you, I have found Omas to be my current pen of choice. When you get a good one, they are great. The nibs are smooth and springy. Although equally smooth, Pelikans seem to lack that springiness and so I favor the Omas. They are finicky in that there is frequently something wrong with new ones and "out of the box" doesn't always work so I either purchase mine from John Mottishaw or if I buy them somewhere else they end up in his workshop. I've been buying pens for many many years. Had an American made Parker 45 in High School in the 1960's. Bought a 51 when they were still being made, and fell in love with the Lamy 2000 when it seemed expensive at $35.00. I still have some that say W. Germany on them.

I have an Omas paragon and several pels and I agree: they are as good as they come. I only wish the celluloids were more reasonably priced. They are real beauties.

Top quality fountain pens are not cheap here in England, so when I started to collect in a modest way back in 2002 I mainly went on an indiscriminate bargain hunt, prompted by sales in pen shops in my local area. I ended up with a mix of excellent Pelikans and a handful of fine vintage pens.

A couple of years later I sold up most of what I had amassed, with a couple of exceptions, due to a need for funds, and it was not until two years ago that I looked again at pen collecting. Not having the space (or cash!) for a large collection I decided to focus on fountain pens with a connection to the history of astronomy (my particular research interests in history and science coincide neatly in this topic), and so I began my new collection with my "grail pen", the Omas Galileo Galilei, purchased used but mint at an excellent price from a Pentracer in the USA.

Over the past year I have slowly added to this a Visconti Copernicus, a Chinese "clone" of the Montblanc Nicolaus Copernicus, a Parker Duofold Greenwich, and most recently a Delta Isaac Newton 1k Special lever-filler and a Stipula Da Vinci Infinity (No. 143 of just 188!).

Being a daily user of the supremely functional Parker 51 pen and pencil at work, I have also slowly begun to expand on this as a second theme to my collection; I always carry a set with me to match my Moleskine notebook and Moleskine diary, to which the 51 is complementary fine-nibbed perfection.

I am now taking a slightly different tack; I have determined that I will stay closely in-focus on these two themes, but am in the process of commissioning two fine and unique custom-made pens from the Worcester Pen Company in England and from Brian Gray of Pencraft in the USA. These two pens will commemorate the English Elizabethan astronomer Thomas Harriot in the former case, and the Polish father of selenography (Moon-mapping) Johannes Hevelius in the latter case. Still directly on-theme, but filling gaps in my collection with pens which are quite simply not available from the "big boys" in the pen world. I expect to do more of this in the future.

I can see the attraction of amassing large quantities of rare and beautiful vintage pens, but this is beyond my means and beyond my storage space - so I am more than pleased to maintain a fascinating focus on the two streams of my collection. Moreover, all my pens are in regular use, which would be impractical with a large collection. Life is good.

- Stuart

Hi omasfan

Just like you after few years of collecting with no discremination I found myself with 150 pens that had no real common theme except they were vintage Perker and vintage Sheaffer.
Collecting everything Parker and Sheaffer ever made is nice but not logical,I donthave enough money,time and space to do that so I started to concentrate on modles I found interesting and sell the ones I didnt like so much.
In the money I had I bought other models I wasted and so started the BIG overhaul in my collection.
If you saw my collection few years aog it looked like one big mishmash of pens,now it looks much more homogenic and logical.From few Sheaffer Snorkels some of them were duplicate I have today the whole colour array or the Snorkels.
I added more Perker 75 and now I have 19 (need to add much more).I got a Parker T-1 (it was a long dream of mine).
I added Parker 61 & 65 and bought all 4 know colours of the Parker VP.

today after selling pens I have 110 pens,I will not buy pens just to have lots of pens.I buy pens to add to models I like and every so ofter I will add to my expensive/large pens like the DVOS,Edson,MB 149...etc

Oh and one more thing I cant stop writing with my new MB VW,the more I use it the more I enjoy it,it never happed to me with any other pen except with my Omas Pragon,this is truly a wonderful pen.

While much more new to this than you fellows I quickly found that ones enthusiam can quickly lead to the mish-mash collection already mentioned.

I started with anything cheap, $25 and under that would write. That at least told me I enjoy a fountain pen more than any other and I never carry anything but an FP now. I then went after very early examples, a few of which still grace my collection...a BCHR Parker stub, a Waterman Artist Safety, etc....I then at least decided anything I keep must write well AND be a pen I could use in my daily rotation, not one kept simply because it looks nice, or represents a certain style or filler type. (Okay, the Waterman Artists does not fit but how often do you find one).

I also don't like flashy pens. I have a Big Red Duofold and just bought a grey/white marbled Wearever but other than that everything is black. My focus is simply big, black, conservative looking vintage pens. If a 1940s Banker may have used it, it's a pen I want. While I prefer a fine point for daily use at my office I always carry a second FP, usually a stub or broad for simple notes. It must fit my hand well, write a nice wet line without tooth or scratchiness and clip into my pocket. New pens hold no interest for me and I can stroll in and out of the two local pens shops without fear of dropping a cent. I use Aurora Blue and Black ink daily, Blue Quink for dip testing pens. I have an unused Sepia and a Grey Flannel. No fancy ink needs for me either. My pens are displayed in open pen racks where I can see and grab them easily, deciding what to ink for the coming week. One rack holding just a few pens is for inked examples, ready at a moments notice, the rest are in reserve, awaiting their turn at the page.

Luckily my taste for simple pens helps keep the costs down. Other than a few vintage MB models I can find plenty of nice examples, already restored and writing well for $50-100. Having a focus does help keep the random purchaes down but there is nothing wrong with buying whatever looks pretty even if it does not fit a pattern.

Most important to me at least is that it spurred me to write instead of type. My daily notes, and calander, plans and projects are now all in paper form and my PDA has simply become a phone and e-mail device, not my weekly planner.

Tony

Stuart, I love your theme! Great focus! I also love that you can connect your pens with the history of science. Thus, every pen can tell its story about one eponymous researcher.
Good to know that there is another Galileo lover out there. Is this your picture? Your pen then is especially nicely cut. Mine is in my avatar. I am currently using it as it such a gorgeous pen. No two of them look alike. That makes mine very special to me.

Also, have you heard of the new Classic Pens LB3 Jupiter? If not, here's a picture. Great design but unfortunately expensive. Here's a picture from Richard Binder who also sells them:

I happen to like fountain pens, roller balls and ball points...I am "focus challenged".

Hi omasfan, the first picture is not of my Galileo but it is very similar as you can see from the following image which is a quick snap of my pen. It is certainly one of my favourites, a great writer and a lifetime keeper.

Thanks for your kind comments on my astronomy history theme. I do find it adds a lot to the interest. The LB3 Jupiter looks like a great pen, but sadly out of my price range!

- Stuart