Vintage Pens, Did I Choose Well?

January 13, 2017

First pen I bought was a Lamy Al-Star. The second, after reading here for a few months, was a P51 from Ron Zorn, and I've used the heck out of both. Most of my pens are vintage now.

Ron is another great source of well-restored vintage pens: http://www.mainstreetpens.com

-Otter1

January 13, 2017

I am old enough that the Parker 51 was still on sale when I first went into the Air Force, and I bought a midnight blue one in the USAF Base Exchange . I bought a lot of other pens thinking I would find something better, but I never did find anything better. $25 for the pen and pencil set in 1970 proved to be the bargain of a lifetime.

I later found a few pens as good. Sheaffer Dolphin ($8 new), Montblanc 146 ($151 new), Montblanc 144s ($135 to $190 new). Several used Pelikans in the price ranges of the Montblancs I bought. Sheaffer school pens and Imperials at a few dollars to $89 for a nice restored Imperial with EF nib and PVC sac, restored by Main Street pens. Cross Solo, about $12 and up a bit. That's the circle of pens I use, and all the rest I sometimes test to verify that they are as inferior as I previously found them.

Edited January 13, 2017 by pajaro

January 14, 2017

You made some excellent choices. Peyton Street Pens is an outstanding place to buy restored pens (happy customer), and it's a great place to find some rare, some unusual, and some NOS pens. The owner will be around FPN from time to time. My favorite has been my NOS Sheafer PFM III.

You should be able to find a working Parker "51" for a decent price on eBay. Once you start thinking collection, you may find a need for patience to get what you want at a price you can afford.

Pen shows are outstanding ways to find pens, fill points in a collection, and even try a few out. However, your chances of finding that great deal are small. The people at pen shows know the value of their pens!

Buzz