How Much Do You Spend On Pens, Ink, Paper?

[SpecTP]

less than what I spend on mechanical keyboards keycaps..

[richila]

My biggest splurge has been on writing paraphernalia other than paper or ink - I got a wooden lap desk and a carved letter opener for my birthday. I spend $36 per year on my Bullet Journals - one every 3 months. I got new pen wraps for Christmas and a bottle of ink. I found one type of envelope that I like with my Tomoe River stationery: I spend about $8 every 6 weeks or so on my envelopes shipped from GB. I use a lot of Tomoe River paper for letter writing. I buy A4 sheets to print and cut and A5 for back sheets. I always buy enough to get free shipping. I have yet to spend a month's pay - since I started August 2015.

[inkstainedruth]

I always suspected you were royalty, Mitto.

 

 

- Anthony

 

And since he's getting pens really really cheaply, from what he's said in other posts, I'm just envisioning just how many pens he has.... [Possibly an order of magnitude more than me.... ]

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[sidthecat]

I think I'll defer my answer for a few days, until after the LA Pen Show.

[Wahl]

Not spending much nowadays, but I do have quite an investment in my collection

[MHBru]

Well 2017 was an anomaly since among my expenditures in this area are two M800s so that was a pretty big dent. Don't regret it a bit tho. Likely a few hundred on top of that in total.

[inkstainedruth]

I'll admit that I don't actually want to sit down and calculate what I've paid in total. That includes the pens, inks, sample vials, tools, a couple of desks (since the first desk ended up being a little too small to be really useful), books, bookcases, storage containers, zipper cases, extra nibs, note pads and paper, and even some ephemera.

Several years ago, when I had some of the better vintage pens appraised, the overall appraisal value was for more than I had paid (including counting the repairs). Mind you, the guy was a self-described "generalist" -- and I got the impression I knew more detailed stuff than he did.... The highlight for him -- and even more for his assistant -- was the Parker 41 I'd paid a whole whopping 50¢ for the day before at an estate sale. The Morrison gold-filigree overlay ringtop was worth roughly what I had paid for it (which happened to have been more than I paid for my Plum 51 Demi Aero...). Go figure.... The Parker Vacumatic book I bought at Christmastime also cost a little bit more than the Plummer did, as it happened.

And of course in the 2-1/2 years since that appraisal show, I've gotten a number of other pens, including some much, much pricier ones.... And also gotten some really great "sumgai" deals.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Donald2]

I've probably spent around $2,600 to $4,000 dollars combined in 2017 and 2018 for both rollerball pens and fountain pens. The bulk of my purchases have been made within the last 4 months between November and February. So far, my purchases have consisted of over 140+ $2 and $3 Jinhao and Hero Chinese fountain pens as well as around 24 Platinum Preppy, nine Pilot Kakuno and a combination of seven Pilot 78G and 78G+ fountain pens. Within the last few days, I also just purchased 2 Vanishing Point Pilot Raden Water Surface fountain pens directly from Japan for $414.20 each with shipping included. Besides the fountain pens, I've also purchased around 96 bottles of Noodler's ink and about a dozen more combined Pilot, Iroshizuku, Sailor and Waterman ink within the last 3 months. Right now, I'm good to go for a very long time with both fountain pens and fountain pen ink. I don't see myself buying anymore fountain pens or ink anytime soon unless I see something that I really like. And even then, I'm going to have to decide whether or not I really need it.

Edited February 16, 2018 by Donald2

[mitto]

I always suspected you were royalty, Mitto.

 

 

- Anthony

I vhemently disapprove your suspicions.

[mitto]

And since he's getting pens really really cheaply, from what he's said in other posts, I'm just envisioning just how many pens he has.... [Possibly an order of magnitude more than me.... ]

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

May be or may be not.

[minddance]

Apart from the occasional Pelikans, others are all cheap pens. Cheap inks, and cheap papers, no Rhodia or Tomoe river or any exotic papers. (I never liked them anyway, alright, I only like 1 side of Rhodia papers, the more absorbent side, did you realise that both sides are different?)

[ParkerDuofold]

I vhemently disapprove your suspicions.

My apologies, Mitto... I forgot how despised royalty is in your neck of the woods.

 

 

- Anthony

[mitto]

My apologies, Mitto... I forgot how despised royalty is in your neck of the woods.

 

 

- Anthony

That is because you don't know what does 'mitto' means.

[Mew]

Last year I spent about $7,000 for pens, paper and inks. But this represents only 6.5 pens (custom pen, half payment in 2016, half in 2017).

This year, I have spent about $300 on inks only. I expect to spend about $1500 on a custom made pen in the next 3-4 months.

[CraigR]

This year, so far, has been pretty much cost free.

 

Last year:

 

Paper, envelopes, labels etc = $120

Journals = $75

Ink = $100

Pens = $50 for one vintage pen

 

To offset the above, and then some - I sold 5 vintage & 1 modern pens for a total of $450

[nibtip]

10000 swiss francs or so on over 40 pens of which i kept 26. 80 inks or so of which i kept 44 most japanese. Over a hundred notebooks mostly from Japan. some other things too. Now i am cooling off a little. No regret at all. It is pure pleasure for me.

[Waltz For Zizi]

I've probably spent around $2,600 to $4,000 dollars combined in 2017 and 2018 for both rollerball pens and fountain pens. The bulk of my purchases have been made within the last 4 months between November and February. So far, my purchases have consisted of over 140+ $2 and $3 Jinhao and Hero Chinese fountain pens as well as around 24 Platinum Preppy, nine Pilot Kakuno and a combination of seven Pilot 78G and 78G+ fountain pens. Within the last few days, I also just purchased 2 Vanishing Point Pilot Raden Water Surface fountain pens directly from Japan for $414.20 each with shipping included. Besides the fountain pens, I've also purchased around 96 bottles of Noodler's ink and about a dozen more combined Pilot, Iroshizuku, Sailor and Waterman ink within the last 3 months. Right now, I'm good to go for a very long time with both fountain pens and fountain pen ink. I don't see myself buying anymore fountain pens or ink anytime soon unless I see something that I really like. And even then, I'm going to have to decide whether or not I really need it.

Holy ... What do you do with 140 chinese pens? Do you usually give to others too? That's a heck lot of pens, in my opinion anyway. Are they all different models/colors?

[Waltz For Zizi]

Last year I spent about $7,000 for pens, paper and inks. But this represents only 6.5 pens (custom pen, half payment in 2016, half in 2017).

This year, I have spent about $300 on inks only. I expect to spend about $1500 on a custom made pen in the next 3-4 months.

This is madness I tell you, madness

[Waltz For Zizi]

10000 swiss francs or so on over 40 pens of which i kept 26. 80 inks or so of which i kept 44 most japanese. Over a hundred notebooks mostly from Japan. some other things too. Now i am cooling off a little. No regret at all. It is pure pleasure for me.

>100 notebooks?!?! It would take me two lifetimes to use them all. Lol.

[Mew]

This is madness I tell you, madness

Madness only until I tell you that I bought 4000 loose sheets of Tomoe River, and around 125 bottles of ink. Then it escalates to something beyond madness.