Jump to content

Hello

Carrie

By Carrie
in Introductions

 Share

Recommended Posts

Carrie Antique

Carrie

Posted
Posted

Hello all, just a quick introduction. I'm Carrie and I'm from England. I wish I had the money to be a pen collector, but I don't, so I just have a small collection of pens, most of which are in working order and are used.

 

My dad got his fountain pen in the 1950s - a Conway Stewart 74 in Green Herringbone and it sat unused in the drawer for many years and I always thought it was a beautiful pen. That got me looking at Conway Stewart pens and my first was a CS 75. Once my dad saw that it prompted him to send his pen away for repair, so that's now in working order again and being used.

 

I also have a couple of Parkers - 51s and a 61. I love the latter even though it's a wreck. Next on my "must have" list is a 61 in good condition.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 11
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • grasshopper

    2

  • Carrie

    2

  • Maja

    1

  • Joe

    1

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

smudgy Rare

smudgy

Posted
Posted

Hi, Carrie. Nice to meet you! :)

 

I wish I had the money to be a pen collector, but I don't, so I just have a small collection of pens, most of which are in working order and are used.

 

Same here... I've been looking at inexpensive ones that seem to get high marks for quality to supplement the few more expensive ones I have. And really, expensive is relative - I think $60 is a good deal for a nice pen like a Pelikan m200, and all but one of my pens are less than $100. I think that's reasonable, but my husband says, "you spent that on a PEN??! Well, it's your allowance..." :rolleyes:

Vanessa

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Fulcanelli Mint

Fulcanelli

Posted
Posted

Welcome to the group!

 

What do you do with your pens mostly (letters, writing (poetry, novels, articles, etc.), journals?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
KCat Museum Piece

KCat

Posted
Posted

Hi Carrie

 

Welcome to FPN. I have very few pens that are *worth* more than $100 and I've only paid slightly more than that for two pens. And that was hard to do. Most of my pens are $50 or much less. Still a good bit of cash from my POV. But like Smudgy, I think a quality FP is worth that. I don't feel the same way about a ballpoint. Yet to me, a good quality mechanical pencil could run about the same as an M200 and I wouldn't think it outrageous. :) Go figure.

 

anyway - Welcome and look forward to seeing more from you.

 

Those CS pens are shuuure purty. :)

 

best,

k :meow:

KCat
Save animal lives - support your local animal shelter

My personal blog https://kcdockalscribbling.com

My nature blog https://kcbeachscribbles.com
Venerable are letters, infinitely brave, forlorn, and lost. V. Woolf, Jacob's Room

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest Denis Richard

Guest Denis Richard

Posted
Posted

The discussion brings back memories, references, scents etc... from accross the big ocean. I don't think I could ever tell my parents how much money I spent on my pens.

 

It's really not much by American standards, but that's a non-negligible amount of money for over there, and my family is regular middle class family. I remember that my mortgage on my condo used to be $200/months.

 

That's really funny how market values are totally turned upside down by "just" crossing an ocean. A pair of Levis would cost you $100 over there, but a visit to an MD (full cost, if you don't have insurance) would be around 20 Euros.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
grasshopper Antique

grasshopper

Posted
Posted

Hi Carrie, welcome!

 

Which part of England are you in? I'm looking forward to going back there in July hopefully, for a wedding... and maybe for a pen or two... :eureka:

You can't always get what you want... but if you try sometimes... you just might find... you'll get what you need...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Joe NOS (New Old Stock)

Joe

Posted
Posted

Hi Carrie, nice to meet you. I'm in the UK too :D

 

I was thinking of getting the CS White whirl Duro, has anyone had any experiences with the Duro?

 

Joe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Maja Donor Pen

Maja

Posted
Posted (edited)
My dad got his fountain pen in the 1950s - a Conway Stewart 74 in Green Herringbone and it sat unused in the drawer for many years and I always thought it was a beautiful pen.  That got me looking at Conway Stewart pens and my first was a CS 75. Once my dad saw that it prompted him to send his pen away for repair, so that's now in working order again and being used.

Hi Carrie and welcome to FPN :D

 

That CS 74 in green herringbone is one gorgeous pen and the CS 75 is a pretty pen too. :) Have you checked out Jonathan Donahaye's incredible Conway Stewart website at this link? It's well worth a look.... Also: David Wells has a very good CS guide (link here)and FPN's own CS forum moderator Max Davis has a sales site here...

Edited by Maja

Vancouver (Canada) Pen Club (our website)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wimg Ancient Artifact

wimg

Posted
Posted

Hi Carry,

Welcome to the Fountain Pen Nuthouse!

 

I must admit I used to think that DFL 60 (27 euros) was a lot of money for any pen, but since that time it has become an addiction, and a hobby, so I tend to spend a little more these days. I wouldn't consider myself a collector though, as I use all of the fountain pens I have lying around, with the exception of 1: that is the one I inherited from my grandfather, who probably bought it just after WWII.

 

BTW, I used to live and work in the UK, for a a perod of 5 years...

 

Anyway, I do hope you enjoy it here!

 

Warm regards, Wim

the Mad Dutchman
laugh a little, love a little, live a lot; laugh a lot, love a lot, live forever

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Carrie Antique

Carrie

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks for all the welcomes, always a good indication of a nice friendly forum. I've already been enjoying reading some of the existing topics. I just wish I was even slightly knowledgable about fountain pens, really I just know what I think looks nice and little bits of pieces I've read, absolute beginner really.

 

Fulcanelli, to answer your question, one of my hobbies has always been penpalling. I love writing letters and they look so much nicer written in fountain pen. I rotate which pen I use depending upon what mood I'm in. I seem to have been using my old Parker 51 a heck of a lot at the moment. Seeing my writing and hearing about my pens has even persuaded a few of my penpals to move over to fountain pen as well :)

 

Grasshopper, I'm not too far from Manchester. Whereabouts are you visiting in July?

 

All this talk of fountain pens has once more reminded me that I must find someone to get two Vacumatics back in working order. They belonged to my Great Uncle, so I know I'll be having kittens the whole time they go away anywhere because of the sentimental value of them.

 

Maja, Johnathon Donahaye's site is marvelous isn't it. I was sat in front of the computer grinning from ear to ear the day I found that site. I'll have to have a look at the other sites you've mentioned as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
grasshopper Antique

grasshopper

Posted
Posted

i'll probably be in staines, near heathrow, just outside of london. Manchester's quite happening still, isn't it?

 

If you're interested in increasing your number of penpals, there's a pinned thread titled "snail mail writing list" under "the Write Stuff" forum, where you can do just that.

 

i'm going to add my name there too but i'm jus kidding myself if i say that i'll be writing any replies promptly in the next few months. i'll do it soon though, hopefully...

You can't always get what you want... but if you try sometimes... you just might find... you'll get what you need...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33583
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26772
    5. jar
      jar
      26105

  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      Links to web pages or articles about Chinese typesetting, signwriting, etc.

      By Shanghai Knife Dude · Posted

      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By A Smug Dill · Posted

      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By adamselene · Posted

      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By A Smug Dill · Posted

      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By adamselene · Posted

      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o

  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More

  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...