How Do You Choose What Pens To Aquire?

[MuddyWaters]

Obsession

[almoore]

Usually it goes 'ooh that looks interesting' or 'mmm I really like that one I'll buy another'

Edited November 14, 2017 by almoore

[AmandaW]

My biggest problem with pens is that they evaporate the ink because it's hot and dry where I live. I have enough pens to use for the few months of winter...

 

Piston fillers perform better than cartridge converters. Screw caps better than snap caps. Plastic better than metal.

 

An interesting nib will probably clinch it.

[DasKaltblut]

I look for things that are really interesting. To me that means no black or brown pens. Orange seems to get some people going but not me. A pen design has to be really unique for me to consider it if it comes in a boring color. I also am not a fan of giant signature pens or really heavy pens. For that reason many of the pens designed to appeal to businessmen are just not interesting to me. I swap the heck out of my nibs so that is not as much of an issue.

[Pensei]

 

 

I blame you people for about half of them

Oh, yeah, that. More than half, actually.

 

Plus, I'm a sucker when something is limited edition or just out of the mainstream a bit for whatever reason. "They just made 800 of these." Yeah, like 800 isn't enough to more or less fulfill the demand. But it still makes me want one.

 

And I'm in the Oh, pretty school, too.

 

And the "I like this pen in F, so I need to get one in EF" school, too. Or the "I like this Prera with green end caps, so I probably ought to get the blue one" school.

 

You can talk yourself into anything.

[praxim]

I have my excuses.

[catbert]

1. Something I like the look of, don't already have, think will be interesting, and can currently afford.

 

2. A nicer and/or backup example of 1 if it turns out I really liked it.

[ParramattaPaul]

Having a liking for vintage pens, it is usually something to the effect of, "Oh, look! I don't have a (fill in the blank​)."

[AGxM]

Oh, pretty!

 

This 100%, plus a few oooohs and ahhhhhs help

[BillH]

"Oh pretty" is how I buy ink.

 

I buy pens to fit into the collection in some way (yeah, pretty counts here too)... mostly Pelikan, some Parkers, a few Montblancs. I like to think there is a plan for those. The Sheaffer section is asleep right now.

 

And all the rest I blame on "you guys" (you know who you are)

[senzen]

So far the path has been:

 

1. Get hypnotized by a an ink, usually on FPN. The first one on this path of doom was Tsuyu Kusa.

2. Realize the ink needs a pen, usually based on looks, reliability and probably decent nib, usually for under $30, a few under $100, only two above $150.

3. Get both, start rotating among all the pens until the ink comes out like I think it should, which I now realize is called saturation, unless already taken, for instance Verdigris in a Sonnet looks perfect. Funnily enough, Tsuyu Kusa was one of my last inks to find its best pen, along with Yama Guri: Sailor Pro Gear, Lamy Studio. Poor Kon Peki went through many pens.

 

After a very long time all my current inks look great in all their pens, and I ain't moving what works, so the next ink better come with the right pen; it isn't so much a question of the pen as my new expectations, knowledge and preferences: smooth, wet nibs in European F or M, or Japanese equivalents. While I wouldn't mind a Pelikan M205, A Pilot 92 or 912, or a Parker 75, the next logical step would be to find someone to bring out the best of all the Lamy Vista and Muji nibs.

[inkstainedruth]

@ katerchen and BillH --

Well, I *do* generally warn new people that we are all shameless enablers....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Mech-for-i]

Well, first thing first, I can say what would give me a reason not to buy a particular pen, namely un-interesting combo of feature / build / aesthetics and overall just a boring product. So in that regard I might say that what drive me to acquire a particular pen would most likely be that the pen had something that interest me .. and that can be anything , just something , anything. Still I rationalize over my purchase. I usually am not about all those limited edition. I consider those more ( usually ) fine piece of craftsmanship than a pen. Then the pen itself must perform reasonably well as a pen ( and I can speak from experience that price is irrelevant here, and brand name is no guarantee either ).

[SoulSamurai]

and possibly illogical

 

Not at all. It's the same for me, but I've kind of given up on finding the "perfect" pen for me floating out in the wild: I will either have one made to my specifications or make it myself... someday. For now I've found a few pens that, while not perfect, are definately good enough for practical and enjoyable use.

[OCArt]

Some folks only collect a certain color of pen, others collect from a certain time period and/or geographic location. I just love Pelikan pens and add as many of them as I can afford. I also get huge enjoyment from finding inexpensive Chinese pens that write quite well. My latest is a Wing Sung 3008--- a piston pen that uses Lamy nibs for under $5

[minddance]

Girth at least 11mm diameter for grip. Piston. Preservation of inks/sealing system. Good flow and nib. Easy maintenance.

 

Therefore, it is a Pelikan M800.

 

Cheers

[vicpen123]

Curiosity mainly. Some pens have features that I need to see in the flesh eg Sheaffer snorkel with TRIUMPH nib, Pilot VP, Sailor 1911M with 21K nib,

 

Except for some Parkers. I cannot have too many "51"s or 75s in my collection, both lovely pens and the only original upmarket vintage Parkers at reasonable prices locally.

 

If they also write well without adjustment, then even better.,

[Qoan]

Good looks is the first thing.

 

Then the colour has to go well with some of my inks... or some ink I intend to get (although this is dangerous, it's usually safer to have have tested the ink before having the pen)

 

Then I love F and EF nibs because my handwriting is tiny, but with some inks or specific uses (not just 'plain' writing) I might want a broader nib (too! ).

 

Then it has to perform well, I don't want a good-looking dud. And it's a plus if it can just stand a week in my cup and then start writing the moment I take it.

 

And, of course, it should be affordable (the limit depending on the characteristics of the specific pen)

 

Basically, if all of this is met, there are very good possibilities it will end up on my desk

[Bo Bo Olson]

Originally, I was in the Pen of the Week in the Mail Club....later Pen of the Month.

First it had to be affordable....ie cheap, helped if I'd ever heard of the company and or if it was pretty.

At first E20-/$25 was my limit. Actually, E15. I remember really, really wanting that E25 pen.....just one...you know, just once.

Pen of the Month were more expensive and prettier....up to E30!!!!

Then there was my first E50-E70 and E100 pens....and months between when I was cheap.

But there were so many better pens at those prices. Brand name pens started showing up!!!

 

 

Then I got into semi-flex nibs so bought only '50-65-70 German pens.

 

Then I got to like regular flex, had a '90's 400, and a gift Black and Chrome Celebry was that nice '90's springy German regular flex, so I ended up with a prettier version green marbled Celebry....and the model before the 381 also in a marbled green..............liking the 200's nibs I trans-mailed to a pal in England, in there are many idiots in Germany who refuse to mail outside of Germany, bought a New Pen. a 215. I having a couple 400s by then, didn't need a 200.

Used (semi-vintage and vintage or even modern) are cheaper. A top of the line can be had for 1/3 the price of a middle class pen, or the same price....depending on luck....and used pens prices have jumped.

Then an Amethyst was back lighted in a department store. Pre-ordered the new brown 200....my god....I'm becoming a new pen addict.

 

If one chases the nib, one normally gets a better pen. There are if you alternate your stub and CI's some 45 different width and flex nibs one could have............as Sandy1 shows, different width of nib on different papers makes the ink dance to different tones.

[chromantic]

Good-looking, comfortable, writes well. When I find that, I tend to want multiples in different colors. That's how I ended up with all the P45s, Frontiers Cadets/Craftsmans and JIFs. But the Frontiers don't seal well and, for someone who keeps many pens inked that aren't used regularly, that's a big disqualifier. Same with the P45s, plus they're hard to flush. The Cadets/Craftsmans never excited me like that first Cadet. The JIFs don't seal well, either, which is a problem with some inks but I have a soft spot for them and use a few regularly, putting up with that drawback.

 

Then I found the little Pelikan M150. It meets those three criteria - classic good looks, light, good size for my hand, writes well. The steel nibs seem to do better with a range of inks, more so than the gold nibs on the more expensive ones. The screw-on caps seal well enough to slow evaporation. Kind of a limited color selection, true, but I get to mix it up with fancier Pelikans for variety.