How Do You Decide When It Is Time To Thin Your Collection?

[susaz]

Hi!

My father and I had amassed a great collection, last count over 300. Most were never inked and remained in their boxes. Others were inked once or twice and never inked again. I kept 10 I liked the most in a case in my room while he used the rest, when he used them. After he passed away in 2013 I decided to weed out what I didn't like or wouldn't use (such as vintage pens) and sell the rest.

I had many false starts, I couldn't get to sell most of them. Then I decided to keep those made of exceptional materials or finishes. That helped weed 60% of them.

It's more a willingness than a real desire. As with books, my heart was broken, but they had to go. Not every single one of them to good hands but...

Now I keep 10 that are the max that I use. I added some new ones, in spite of old ones.

Make a list of what you currently really use and sell the rest!

[ethernautrix]

Reducing the number of pens you own is entirely dependent on if you want to. Some people enjoy owning many, many pens, even though they know they won't use the majority of them, but they like having them. Others prefer to restrict possessing only those pens they are using or know they will use.

 

For a couple of years there I was enamored with the idea of owning ONE pen. (Excuse me while I take a laugh break.) Okay, okay, so then I tried to keep only ONE pen INKED, for any duration more than half-a-day. Another laughable failure.

 

I realized that I am not that one-pen person. Neither am I the hundreds-of-pens person.

 

Everyone has an internal barometer of what is reasonable. When your pen habit starts to make you uncomfortable, that's when you know you're out of alignment with your barometer.

 

(I'm not talking about compulsive buyers/spenders and hoarders in the mental health sense. In these unfortunate persons, the internal barometer is broken.)

 

A positive aspect of "thinning the herd" is you have the option of going slowly, assessing how you feel about the process. If it feels good, continue; if it feels bad, stop. You can change your mind again later.

Edited March 17, 2017 by ethernautrix

[BillH]

Put a couple pens on the 'bay, with a BIN-OBO. Look at the lowball bids you get. Decide "I love this pen more than that!", and go look at auctions just in case there might be another one...

 

Thin the herd... hmmm. Might try it someday. Not today though.

 

(what we all need, really, is for the internet to go down for about a month ... I know, sounds like a science fiction dystopian nightmare, doesn't it!)

[trdsf]

I haven't reached the point of divestment yet. I already know my rules for exemption, though:

 

1. No pen of personal value to me will ever be for sale -- specifically Old Number One (the black SJ that was my first FP) and Grandpa's Conklin Symetrik.

2. No Esterbrook unless I already have that model, color and nib. I am to Esties what a black hole is to light and matter and, like Hawking radiation, only emit rarely and under unusual circumstances.

3. No pen that I can't replace on a whim for under $50 on eBay (exempting specifically my 51, and a handful of others by price and/or infrequency of appearance).

4. No pen that I do not have another example of, without regard to color or nib.

 

What that leaves are, well, a handful of Wearevers that have congealed around better pens had in small lots, and probably a couple others that I could in principle do without, but that I haven't repaired to the point of usability yet. So, for the time being, I have not reached the point of divestment... and probably won't until my executor has to deal with my estate, and then it won't be my problem.

[banjomike]

I'm not a collector. I'm a user.

I write a lot daily, mostly in my journal, but I've completed a first draft of a novel that was all written longhand in its earliest form, and the revision is now being done mostly longhand.

 

I only got into fountain pens 27 years ago. I've been buying banjos a lot longer, and I learned that it's always harder for me to sell a banjo than it was to buy it, so I'm judicious in both pens and banjos now. And have moved steadily upwards in price range over the years in both too.

 

The banjo also taught me that I would much rather be a player than a repair man. I can fix a busted banjo, and have many times, but only through necessity. When given the choice, I much prefer having a good luthier repair or do serious maintenance on my banjos. The same is true with my pens.

 

So the pens I own that aren't working are those I can't get going myself. So far. I haven't sent any out yet for repair, but that's probably going to happen at some point, as I find myself missing some old faves that really need an overhaul.

 

I'll probably never sell a pen, but I have already given some as gifts, often brand new purchases. All my kids and a lot of my friends and other relatives now have them. I've done the same with some banjos, too.

 

There's another comparison; both my best banjos and pens are all very high quality, but none are the fanciest of their kind I could get. Some of both are pretty fancy, but none are as over the top as it gets.

A banjo-playing friend often buys relatively plain instruments, but they all have gold plating, even when it's a very spendy option. When I asked him about the gold, he said "I like a little gravy on them."

That kind of sums me up, too.

[Zeeppo]

I am a man that needs this many juggling clubs on the wall in his office just to get through the day. I also have at least three trunks of balls. I should be casting no stones about the number of pens a person should own.

Anyway here is a top ten list. It is not exhaustive. Still, if any of these things have happened, you may want to consider cutting back on your collection. For instance, I discovered that I might be stalking Brian Goulet.

 

If I ever figure out how to start a blog on the site I will give you folks one of these a week. Please ennoy…..

Top Ten Reasons You Might Want to Think Your Fountain Pen Collection

 

 

10. You do not remember what color you fingers were

 

9. You have a standing invitation to stay of Faber Castle in Stein Germany.

 

8. You have paid for college for one of Brian Goulet’s kids.

 

7. Nathan Tardif (Noodlers) has named an Ink after you.

 

6. Your Graf von Faber-Castell’s have started invading Waterman’s area of the drawer.

 

5. You know where all your Mont Blancs are but are fuzzy on the number of children you have.

 

4. Your Husband thinks Edison is the man you are cheating on him with. OR Your Wife thinks you are cheating on her with Clairefontaine.

 

3. You have paid for college for Both of Brian Goulet’s kids (Knowing that Brian Goulett has a son and daughter may also be a sign that you have a problem.)

 

2. You have a Cartridge Converter Cat.

 

1. You Children are named Schaeffer, Delta and Kaweco

 

 

 

 

 

[the_gasman]

I don't know how many pens I have: probably more than 50, but certainly fewer than 100. I have them because I like to use them – I am definitely not a collector, but I do have a collection. I suppose it's like the difference between "enjoying a drink" and being "a drinker".

 

Anyway, whatever the definition, I have far more pens than I need. I estimate that I have about 15-20 pens that I absolutely love to use, and find any excuse to ink them up. It depends on the quality of the nib because the pen is merely a convenient method of holding the nib and of supplying ink to the paper via the nib. Therefore, my must have pens range from Parker 45s to [modern] Onoto Magnas, with a few others in between.

 

As I have said, I have FAR too many pens, so tomorrow I am definitely, definitely, definitely going to sell about half of them. Yes, I will soon probably sell a significant number. There can be no doubt whatsoever that I might sell several, when I find the time. I am resolute in my determination to think about selling a few. Perhaps I ought to sell one or two. One day, if I really must, I may put one on Ebay with a ridiculously high reserve price. Eventually ...

 

Cheers,

David.