Hi all,

Just wanted to drop in and introduce myself. I've been collecting off-and-on for a while...about 10 years I'd say...and this is my first trip to a pen forum. Looks like a nice community here so I thought I'd take the plunge and register.

My collecting includes a few Parkers (45, Duofold Big Red, Sonnet), a few Watermans ("Watermen"? - Phileas, Carene, Gentemen, Kulture, Lauret), a couple Visconti, a couple Aurora, a Lamy (2000), an Eversharp, a Delta, a Cross, a Namiki, a Rotring, a few others I'm forgetting, and a couple of Shaeffers - one of which is the primary motivation for my posting today (see repair forum).

I collect watches also (as I suspect many of you probably do too), but they get costly rather quickly so I thought I'd get back into pens a bit.

Nice to meet you all and I look forward to spending time on the forum.

Ryno

Welcome Ryno!

Welcome to the Nuthouse!

Hello Ryno and welcome to the FPN. I'm relatively new myself and have had a great time!!!You will as well.

Handlebar

Welcome Ryno. Always glad to have another experienced FP user here to initiate us newbies. Sounds like a nice collection you've go going there. Sorry to hear about your Aspen - hope it works out for you. Out of all your pens, which is your favorite? See you around the boards!

It's hard to choose a favorite, but I would have to say my Parker Duofold (Big Red). I also keep my Lamy 2000, my Waterman Carene, and, until the mishap, my Shaeffer Balance in a pretty regular rotation. But the Parker is hard to beat. It's got that fantastic nib and a nice sense of balance to it. What's your fav Southpaw? Also, since I'm guessing you're a lefty, how do you get around the problem of smearing the ink?

Hi Ryno and welcome to FPN!

Sorry to hear about the cracked cap on your modern Sheaffer Balance in "Aspen" pattern I don't have that one myself (I have a "Cobalt Blue" model) but I've seen one and it is a very nice pen! I love Sheaffers myself, but my focus is mostly on their vintage models (although the modern ones are nice). Please let us know what happens re: your Balance cap; I hope the company can help you out.

Hello Ryno,

I'm not a watch collector myself but I do hang out on the UK-based Time Factors watch forum (http://www.tz-uk.com/forum/index.php) since there's often discussion on pens.

Martin

Ah...that would be Eddie Platt's site over at Timefactors.com. I bought one of my first "nice" watches from him - his Speedbird I. A nice guy with a knack for watch design. If you're ever interested in thinking about getting a watch, I can't recommend him enough.