The Upper Limit Of Quantity

[rokurinpapa]

I believe I am a user , not collector of fountain pens. Though I have more than 40 fountain pens,

I cannot stop to want to have some more pens.

What do you think the upper limit of quantity of fountain pens as utility goods ?

 

rokurinpapa

 

[Arkanabar]

Double posts happen when you hit the back button either to or from the posting form, or refresh the posting page. They are why I tell people to compose posts in a text editor (e.g., notepad++) rather than the browser. I'm posting here to move your first post to the top of the forum. You can still edit the double post, and remove all text from it and the reply. It's only been an hour, and you can edit your posts for 24 hours.

"Utility" includes things like "emotional satisfaction." So the question is, do you have any pens that first, are not used, and second, that you do not enjoy owning? Those pens are not utility goods, and should be sold, PIFfed, or possibly trashed.

Edited June 9, 2018 by Arkanabar

[pajaro]

I have over two hundred fountain pens. I bought a new Parker 51, then a new Parker 45, then a pen here and there sporadically starting about 1970 going forward. I tried this and that. I use a few of the ones I like most.

[penwash]

Look at your 40 pens together. Pick the ones that you don't enjoy owning for any reasons.

 

If you end up with a pile of pens that you don't enjoy, and only one or two that you do, then yes, you are a pure user.

 

Otherwise, you are a collector or at least enjoy collecting fountain pens.

 

Then the only practical limit of your collection depends on your focus, and available (and hopefully allocated) funds.

 

Just a thought.

[Karmachanic]

Utility? If you have two pens that fulfill the same function you have one too many.

 

Of course if one has to have a matching pen for your 632 inks then 632 would be the minimum number. Then if one has to have them in both round and edged nibs 1264 would be right. Then again if one has to have them in F, M and B in both round and edged nibs .......... and so on.

 

So I suppose it depends upon ones definition of utility.

 

Magnus919 has it down to two.

[rokurinpapa]

 

"Utility" includes things like "emotional satisfaction." So the question is, do you have any pens that first, are not used, and second, that you do not enjoy owning? Those pens are not utility goods, and should be sold, PIFfed, or possibly trashed.

 

Pens I have are basically used and loved by me, but the more I have, the less I use.

 

rokurinpapa

[rokurinpapa]

Look at your 40 pens together. Pick the ones that you don't enjoy owning for any reasons.

 

If you end up with a pile of pens that you don't enjoy, and only one or two that you do, then yes, you are a pure user.

 

Otherwise, you are a collector or at least enjoy collecting fountain pens.

 

Then the only practical limit of your collection depends on your focus, and available (and hopefully allocated) funds.

 

Just a thought.

 

Thank you for your cool analysis. Reviewing my situation, though I enjoy owing and using all my pens,

I realize that I cannot deny the fact that I enjoy collecting fountain pens. But I believe I have fountain pens

in order to use them.

rokurinpapa

[Bo Bo Olson]

In vintage you can get one time top of the line, at affordable prices.

The Geha 725 was some 380DM or $90, when the sterling silver P-75 cost $22....but that was silver dollar days.

You can get the Geha 725 for some E30-60 on German Ebay with a little hunting....if you don't push the ""Buy Now Idiot" button.

 

What do you want the nib to do? Nail, semi-nail, regular flex, semi-flex,...oblique or superflex....or italic, stub or CI?

 

What sort of Balance do you wish.

A Standard or medium-large width pen posted has to had fine to perfect balance, in when Standard/medium long pens were the norm, folks wrote 8 hours a day. A pen with out 'perfect' balance didn't sell.

That don't mean perfect balance is cookie cutter same. Light and nimble pens. A P-51, P-75, thicker girthed MB 234 1/2, Geha 725, thin large Snorkel Have perfect balance as does the 400nn.

Then you have a slew of pens with near perfect balance....like the 400. It took me two years to tilt the 400nn over the 400 for better balance. A Esterbrook DJ, can be thrown into the very good balanced pens. The P-45 also. Vac of course.

As you can see most of those pens are vintage and semi-vintage, and standard or medium-long.

 

But I grew up in that era, so am use to standard and medium-long pens.

Others who grew up with Large pens would have a very different list.

 

Some folks think a pen must be heavy and metal, ....normally later cured.

 

How pretty do you want? How much class do you want with your pretty. How pretty do you want your nib...or does the work of the vintage nib....say in mono-tone semi-flex over weigh pretty two toned modern nail/semi-nail nibs?

 

Geha 725 (mid '60's-72).....a very, very sleek, classy pen (could be my classiest one) with a grand looking semi-flex nib....back when I was a 20 pen 'noobie' one of my top 3 perfectly balanced pens....the 400nn finished 4th. Now with 80 pens I must have 10-15 pens in my top 5 balanced pens.

Nib picture with permission of Penboard.de.

[senzen]

I seem to have hit my limit: the inks I like, pens that make them look good. I now have three pens without inks, and one ink awaiting its saviour pen, although I've been told I might be getting a couple of interesting inks as a gift, and I have one more pen on the way.

 

Another break on future purchases are good looking pens that don't seem like they would be comfortable for my hands (and I have no way of trying in person), like Parker 75 and Vacumatics (thinner sections, at reasonable prices: $100), or a hassle to find the right ink for it (vintage pens with sacs?). It's a shame because I've stumbled on some really good looking and cheap pens.

[Mech-for-i]

I seem to have hit my limit: the inks I like, pens that make them look good. I now have three pens without inks, and one ink awaiting its saviour pen, although I've been told I might be getting a couple of interesting inks as a gift, and I have one more pen on the way.

 

Another break on future purchases are good looking pens that don't seem like they would be comfortable for my hands (and I have no way of trying in person), like Parker 75 and Vacumatics (thinner sections, at reasonable prices: $100), or a hassle to find the right ink for it (vintage pens with sacs?). It's a shame because I've stumbled on some really good looking and cheap pens.

 

well actually most of todays ink are a lot more pen friendly and certainly a lot more vintage pen friendly than vintage inks so long you do not go for the specialty(s).

[senzen]

 

well actually most of todays ink are a lot more pen friendly and certainly a lot more vintage pen friendly than vintage inks so long you do not go for the specialty(s).

 

That's good to know; I meant the fact that I have to try several inks, cleaning the pen etc; for instance as much as I like Pelikans the nib / feed unit isn't very friendly to swap inks.

[rokurinpapa]

In vintage you can get one time top of the line, at affordable prices.

The Geha 725 was some 380DM or $90, when the sterling silver P-75 cost $22....but that was silver dollar days.

You can get the Geha 725 for some E30-60 on German Ebay with a little hunting....if you don't push the ""Buy Now Idiot" button.

 

What do you want the nib to do? Nail, semi-nail, regular flex, semi-flex,...oblique or superflex....or italic, stub or CI?

 

What sort of Balance do you wish.

A Standard or medium-large width pen posted has to had fine to perfect balance, in when Standard/medium long pens were the norm, folks wrote 8 hours a day. A pen with out 'perfect' balance didn't sell.

That don't mean perfect balance is cookie cutter same. Light and nimble pens. A P-51, P-75, thicker girthed MB 234 1/2, Geha 725, thin large Snorkel Have perfect balance as does the 400nn.

Then you have a slew of pens with near perfect balance....like the 400. It took me two years to tilt the 400nn over the 400 for better balance. A Esterbrook DJ, can be thrown into the very good balanced pens. The P-45 also. Vac of course.

As you can see most of those pens are vintage and semi-vintage, and standard or medium-long.

 

But I grew up in that era, so am use to standard and medium-long pens.

Others who grew up with Large pens would have a very different list.

 

Some folks think a pen must be heavy and metal, ....normally later cured.

 

How pretty do you want? How much class do you want with your pretty. How pretty do you want your nib...or does the work of the vintage nib....say in mono-tone semi-flex over weigh pretty two toned modern nail/semi-nail nibs?

 

Geha 725 (mid '60's-72).....a very, very sleek, classy pen (could be my classiest one) with a grand looking semi-flex nib....back when I was a 20 pen 'noobie' one of my top 3 perfectly balanced pens....the 400nn finished 4th. Now with 80 pens I must have 10-15 pens in my top 5 balanced pens.

Nib picture with permission of Penboard.de.

Thank you for your invitation to the world of vintage pens. The oldest pen I have is Pilot 65th,about only 35 years before.

Fountain pens are in fact industrial goods. So commonsensically the newer, the better. But I feel deeply the beauty of

taste of vintage pens. I think Pilot 65th is better pen than Pilot 95th as writing implements.

The Geha725 seems very attractive. Vintage pens may cause another problem from the viewpoint of upper limit.

 

rokurinpapa

[Bo Bo Olson]

You are welcome.....the nibs on the Vintage German pens are superb.....'50-70 are outside of Lamy semi-flex stubs.

 

That's one of the reasons, I often say, 'Chase the Nib'.

There are if you only grind alternate widths in Cursive Italic and Stub, some 45 different nibs width&flexes. Nail, semi-nail, regular flex, 'Springy'-good tine bend but only 2 X tine spread, Semi-flex, maxi-semi-flex......Superflex, @ three flex rates; ..including the very rare Weak Kneed Wet Noodle. (Which I don't have nor want.....way too much pen for me.)

 

I have @ 35.

I'd say it took me a decade to get them.

So, you have time. Never hurry ...

I suggest climbing the flex ladder slowly....regular flex is very good for shading inks. When it is time to go semi-flex, the Geha 790 is the Best Buy....very nice nib and still well affordable. E30 with great luck....E60 should be a max.....if you take your time and enjoy the Hunt. Do your research.

 

The 'Buy Now Idiot' button should be avoided at all costs, unless you like paying 3X as much.

[mitto]

I dont like limits.

[Karmachanic]

I dont like limits.

 

The end of gathering is dispersion

The end of rising is falling

The end of meeting is parting

The end of birth is death

 

Limits are built in. Sorry!

[rokurinpapa]

 

inkstainedruth, on 13 Jun 2018 - 06:46, said:

I used to think that my absolute limit would be about 50. I'm now at around 3 times that number, although not everything is in working condition yet. (Of course I never thought I'd pay more than $50 US for a pen either.... crossed THAT threshold about 4 years ago.)

At some point I will start culling pens but I'm not to that point yet.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

inkstainedruth, thank you for your comment. I want to know the concrete quantity of pens in working condition. In your case, 50 seems to be upper limit.

rokurinpapa

Edited June 16, 2018 by rokurinpapa

[Freddy]

I believe I am a user , not collector of fountain pens. Though I have more than 40 fountain pens,

I cannot stop to want to have some more pens.

What do you think the upper limit of quantity of fountain pens as utility goods ?

 

rokurinpapa

 

I am a collector/user/and restoring fountain pens.

What you feel comfortable with re number of pens. Your prerogative.

Fred

Who..never met a pen he didn't like.......................................................

[inkstainedruth]

 

inkstainedruth, thank you for your comment. I want to know the concrete quantity of pens in working condition. In your case, 50 seems to be upper limit.

rokurinpapa

 

 

Well that's not strictly true. I think I have about 20-30 pens that need restoration of some sort, and a couple more that I just need to put back together.

I do go through spells of trying to empty pens before inking up too many more, because the number in rotation can get a bit unwieldy. But that's a separate issue.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[rokurinpapa]

I dont like limits.

 

 

The end of gathering is dispersion

The end of rising is falling

The end of meeting is parting

The end of birth is death

 

Limits are built in. Sorry!

 

I like limited edition pens. But the birth of these pens is not limited.

 

rokurinpapa

Edited June 23, 2018 by rokurinpapa

[rokurinpapa]

 

 

I do go through spells of trying to empty pens before inking up too many more, because the number in rotation can get a bit unwieldy. But that's a separate issue.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I currently face the similar rotation problem.

 

rokurinpapa