How Many Is Too Many?

[Bennett]

Sorry, I accidentally posted this message twice.

 

At what point does a fountain pen collection become too many pens? Like beauty in the eye of the beholder, I imagine everyone has a point of view on this question. Welcome your thoughts.

Edited October 6, 2017 by Bennett

[tgoto]

When one acquires a pen forgetting that the same pen is already in her/his collection, it might be too many

[Bo Bo Olson]

If you alternate stub with CI form EF up to BB.....you could have 45 different flex and width of nib pens, and then only have the basics....in there are well balanced smaller posted vintage pens.....and the basic nail/semi-nail modern Large pens.

A thin Snorkel needed as the only Large pen outside the 52, that has any balance. There must be some from the '20's early 30's.

Of course one needs a nail P-51 and a Nail Vac....if one picks one in F and one in M....and does one need a nail EF when one has the chance to buy super skinny Japanese nibbed pens.

Of course one needs a few wide nibbed pens......and never forget M is a very good nib size....and so forgotten....

Regular flex nibs for shading inks..........German semi-flex and maxi-semi-flex stub nibs for line variation.....and of course the German Obliques of that era.........there of course you need OEF, OF, OM, OB and OBB..........with luck in both semi&maxi.

More luck than me....mine are 50-50.

BUT I have in a mix of semi&maxi....both @15 degree and @ 30 Degree grind Obliques in OBB, OB, OM and OF...............pure luck.

 

I really don't need 26 semi-flex nibs(some of them are my pretty pens)...........I might well not need 16 maxi-semi-flex nibs. Just because it's attached to the basic German black and gold pen and I do have too many Black and Gold pens....is no real reason to let any one else have some fun??

 

Does one need all 51 colors of a P-51????? Now that is a question only few can answer.

 

I have 70 pens, and if I did a radical cut, could be left with 45...........if my wife did a radical cut.....25.

Edited October 7, 2017 by Bo Bo Olson

[ISW_Kaputnik]

It's too many when you think it's too many.

 

Of course, even a relatively modest number of pens can be too many to keep inked at once, or to rotate through in a reasonable amount of time if you like writing with all of them. But if this doesn't bother you, then it's not too many.

 

It's too many if you forgo necessary home repairs, skimp on food, and can't buy wine for your children because you've spent all that money on Montblancs, but I hope that most of us aren't that bad.

 

It's too many when one day you shake yourself, look around at your collection, and ask yourself how many of them you can sell, and for how much.

[Beechwood]

There is a very easy trap to fall into, from being a fountain pen user, to then becoming a collector and finally an investor, only buying pens cheaply or that you can keep for the time being and sell at a later date.

[mitto]

There is a very easy trap to fall into, from being a fountain pen user, to then becoming a collector and finally an investor, only buying pens cheaply or that you can keep for the time being and sell at a later date.

 

My question is how one keeps track of them, where and how to store them if the number reaches 1500-1600?

[tinta]

For me, above ten is way too many.

I have eight now, again,... dang it, must get rid of two or three pens. I'd like to reduce any duplication in my custom edged nibs. Why have two 0.8 stubs & two 09 CIs?

[max dog]

When one acquires a pen forgetting that the same pen is already in her/his collection, it might be too many

That's a good one. I think the day you get all excited and buy that brand new nice pen and bring it home, just to realize you already have that same pen hidden in one of your drawers, it's time to rethink your pen hobby.

[Mister5]

There's bound to more than one factor. But if you're asking yourself that question it's a start. Other things - is it making a major impact on your finances? Do you find yourself having more pens than you can use? Personally I've found that the "marginal utility" of new pens has gone way down offer the past year, so something really has to tickle my fancy for me to take the leap and make a purchase. My experience is as a user and not a collector, so a collector may have a totally different take.

[Kelly G]

Disclaimer: I am an accumulator, mostly of pens, but given just a bit of motivation, other things as well. One of the upsides of fountain pens is they satisfy my need to accumulate. Except for ink and paper of course, but I chalk that up to being a subsidiary accumulation.

 

So, how many is too many? When your pen stash is causing problems, of any nature, in your life, you have too many; at least for now.

Some problems can be solved and you can move along with your accumulation/collecting/use, others can't and you have to make decisions.

 

Objects such as fountain pens are meant to bring us joy as they provide utility. When they stop doing either, it is time to re-evaluate.

 

Fortunately for me, joy and utility abound, so I remain in the accumulating phase of the obsession.

 

Note: I define "accumulator" as somewhere between "strictly a user" and "focused collector". I am definitely a user in that I write almost exclusively with fountain pens. I also have some semi-focused areas, bordering on collection, to my accumulation. Having said that, I will still buy nearly any vintage pen in good shape for a low price, even if it is a duplicate or triplicate or worse. My logic is they are getting harder to find in the wild and if I can get a great deal, I can move them on to someone else (in the future!).

 

The short answer for me: You can't have too many pens.

Edited October 8, 2017 by Kelly G

[JotterAddict62]

 

My question is how one keeps track of them, where and how to store them if the number reaches 1500-1600?

Remember Khan, you will know if you are missing a pen and you will look for it until you find it.

Just this past Saturday I could not find a pen I just bought the week before. I was cleaning up the pen and forgotten where I left it.

I found it just where I left it in my shirt pocket.

[mitto]

Remember Khan, you will know if you are missing a pen and you will look for it until you find it.

Just this past Saturday I could not find a pen I just bought the week before. I was cleaning up the pen and forgotten where I left it.

I found it just where I left it in my shirt pocket.

I agree. But I am confronted now with storage problem.

[Wolverine1]

Round about 2011, I suffered a number of strokes which left my right side completely paralysed. And I thought that therapy etc would not be of much help, so I decided to liquidate my "small, pen collection". Turns out I had managed to accumulate just over 500 pens, mostly vintage Parker pens. My friends from Pentrace helped and helped me sell off my collection at a good profit, and I now have about 25 pens, all are users, pens used daily. Now I have no desire to accumulate new pens. But that solution is what works for me. There is no correct answer........

[ThomasB]

Until it does...enjoy the ride to that point and worry about other things until then

[Sasha Royale]

At what point does a fountain pen collection become too many pens? ]

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Bigamy is one wife too many. I don't know if that mean two wives or one wife. Fountain pens ? My wife will let me know, when I have too many. (wives or fountain pens ?)

[TheRealMikeDr]

At what point does a fountain pen collection become too many pens? ]

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Fountain pens ? My wife will let me know, when I have too many.

 

Bingo!

[SoulSamurai]

Common question. The Troll counting system works something like this:

One

Two

Many

Many one

Many two

Many many

Lots

 

So "two many" would be two sets of "many" meaning six, in contrast to "many two" which is five.

[sdbruder]

When I was single (more than 20 years ago) I had a single fountain pen. Ive married and that was it, forgotten in the bottom of a drawer.
Some weeks ago a friend of mine started talking about fountain pens. Ive wondered if I still had my old fountain pen.

 

Today until now I’ve bought to my account 16 new pens (and inks, and loupes, and nib maintenance kits and ... and ... and ...).

 

Time to see a doctor?

[bayindirh]

It's too many when you cannot maintain them and they stop bringing joy into your life. I have around 6-7 pens, around 80 bottles of ink and some cartridges. Currently I'm using the cartridges (they're nearly finished) and I'm not buying any inks since I need to spend what I have, also got all the inks that I liked (incl. some limited edition, unobtanium ones).

 

In my daily life, I use two pens only. One blue black, and one brown, because I cannot maintain more than two at the moment. I have a massive paper stock too, and some of them are not FP friendly. Since I'm also using my existing paper stock, my life has space for two FPs and a single gel roller to use said paper stock.

 

For me, having too many brings the "choice anxiety", and I don't like it. Also you like some pens more and use more frequently. This means letting some pens rest more than others, and I don't like the idea of killing something useful by not using it. I'm more of a user than a collector though, but I like having some niche and rare pens.

[JotterAddict62]

I agree. But I am confronted now with storage problem.

I have a spare 1/2 acre you can build a building on and I will be caretaker for your pens. You could call it [ Kahn's Pens Palace ]