How Do You Justify Owning Many Pens?

[Erik Dalton]

I'm worth it.

 

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I rest my case.

And that’s the way it is folks.

[senzen]

1. I can separate ideas by colour. I'd like to separate themes by ink combinations but I'm not there yet.

2. I love looking at certain inks: Tsuyu Kusa, Équinoxe 6, Asa Gao, Inti...

3. One pen per ink. Not all inks get along with all pens.

 

The one exception to ink first, pen second, is a Parker 75 I got (but haven't received) without having a specific ink in mind for it, and a Carène if I ever get one. I don't care for the older greenish Lamy Turquoise, so I'm going to have an extra pen, which does nag me.

 

I won't pretend any of this is rational.

[bugsydog55]

This is a concept that has crept into the back of my mind also. But I also thought about this when I passed several thousand books. It became a matter of perspective because any collective behavior is dependent upon the joy, thrill, excitement, etc. of the collector. Any hobby can turn obsessive and detrimental to the hobbyist and their loved ones. And not all obsessions can be called hobbies. With pens and ink there may be some other issues especially in a digital age. I personally love the tactile experience of pen and ink on paper, the feel of the pen in my hand, the ritual of filling and cleaning the pen, the sight of ink on paper and even the smells associated with some inks and papers. So having a bunch of pens is not a problem for me or many others because we see rewards in it all that many people do not.

[Claud]

If you have to justify it then you can't afford it.

 

 

Now , there's a good answer.

[inkstainedruth]

My "justification"? "Ooh shiny!" Often combined with "Well I liked that, I should get another one in a different color/nib width" and (whenever possible ) "It was too good a deal to pass up!"

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Marioferu]

When I realise that I'm not going to use one (much) again, I sell it. I probably have 10-15 pens inked up and ready to go at any time.

Wow! I realize I have eleven fountain pens currently inked.

[mitto]

I need no justification.

[vicpen123]

Quoting those before me.

 

I am worth it. I can afford it. Because I can. No justification needed.

 

If I don't ask you, then don't ask me. And I don't ask.

[JakobS]

With the kids under 10 it's pretty easy; I use the Crayola Defense. Why how do you justify the box of 64 crayons rather than just having three crayons? After all with just red, blue and yellow you can make almost every color.

 

Once the kid is older then ten these days red blue green has polluted his senses.

 

 

An astute child would point out that you can use 64 different inks in a single fountain pen, but you can't get 64 different colors out of a single crayon....

 

 

It's obvious the term "justify" has rubbed people the wrong way....

 

Perhaps if it were worded as "What has been the benefit for you of having more than one or two fountain pens?" people would have had little qualms providing an answer that would of fit what the OP is trying to understand.

 

A few years ago, being tired of just talking or reading about pens or ink, I wanted to know what members here have created with their pens: writings, drawings etc. that they were the most proud of. Did they create something that they came away from thinking "Wow, that came out just as I hoped!", or " That came out better than I hoped", or "How I wrote this piece was really amazing"? Though many members mentioned a few things they created, some people saw this as "pride before the fall" as if talking about something they created that made them really happy was a shameful thing...language and how people interpret individual words is interesting sometimes!

 

It really can show more about a person than they may realize....

 

As for the question that the OP asked: I have 30 pens. I use them all for writing novels, short stories, poems, notes, and signing work related documents. I have a few different needs as a writer, the first is what nib best fits the writing I am doing, for in depth note taking I generally will use a extra fine to fine nib, perhaps a medium more often these days, depending on if its straight writing, or mixed with diagrams or equations. I also like to use Running Book Hand, and so have a few pens in different sizes to perfect this hand, a Rotring ArtPen set with 2.3mm, 1.9mm, 1.5mm nibs, and a Manuscript set with slightly smaller nib sizes to use this Book Hand in an everyday writing. I am a big fan of Esterbrook pens, and have 10-15 different interchangeable renew points to use in these pens, which decreases the need to get a pen for each nib. I have been on this forum, and really interested in fountain pens for more than 11 years, so I have been able to resist temptations in the fountain pen world that others here cannot resist within a few months...

 

Could I write what I needed to with less than 30 pens? Certainly, I really only need a HB pencil if we want to get to the root of it.

 

Seeing fountain pens, or any writing instruments as tools, and figuring out what you hope to get out of them is the best way to understand if one, two, or three will be enough, or if a few more cover all your bases. And try not to get caught up in the fads that come around every few years....rarely are they healthy for you or your wallet!

Edited September 24, 2018 by JakobS

[wspohn]

What a silly non-thread. Set up a straw man proposition that one needs to justify something to someone and the horde are falling all over themselves to refute the incorrect proposition.

 

Baaa, baaa......

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/9673494-3x2-700x467.jpg

[ardene]

What a silly non-thread. Set up a straw man proposition that one needs to justify something to someone and the horde are falling all over themselves to refute the incorrect proposition.

 

Baaa, baaa......

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/image/9673494-3x2-700x467.jpg

 

 

 

Why not? It offers opportunity for expression of opinions. And some people make careers refuting "incorrect" -however this is defined- propositions. Others make careers by uttering them.

[DrDebG]

I don't think justification is the appropriate word.

 

Perhaps "benefit" might be better.

 

I have enjoyed fountain pens since I was a teenager, and have had periods in my life when I "stray". But as I grown older (what???? me??? old?? NAH!) I appreciate expressing myself in different ways. So, I have different pens with different nib styles and widths. Each one has a different feel and a different way of expressing itself. When you add ink and paper to the equation, you have a myriad of writing experiences.

 

For me, pens, ink and paper are like ingredients in a recipe. When combined together in different ways, each presents a unique expression. Some combinations work, and others don't.

 

I don't have anywhere near the number of pens that many here do. That is mostly because I have a limited budget to spend on pens and ink. At last count, I have about 50 pens, with just as many bottles of different color ink. When I am at home, every week or so, I ink up about 12-13 of my pens. So, I rotate through all of my pens about once a month. When I travel, I only take certain pens with me, and that depends where I am traveling to and for how long. For example, if I am going on a short business trip, I will take a couple of TWSBI Ecos. But I am traveling internationally for a couple of weeks, I take either my set of Platinum Preppys with cartridges, or 3-4 Lamy Safaris with cartridges. I have a tendency of giving away fountain pens when I travel, so I take more entry level pens with me.

 

One other quick point. Not every pen "works" for every person. I have purchased several pens that others have raved about. For me, they just don't work very well. So, what do I do with "rejects"? If my husband or daughter doesn't like it either, then I usually just put it away in a drawer in the hopes that I might change my mind later, or that the pen will miraculously transform itself.

Edited September 24, 2018 by DrPenfection

[sirgilbert357]

I will say this on behalf of the OP: it is worthwhile to be reminded occasionally that our interests and desires can be seen from perspectives other than those of an aquisitive collector. We actually frequently joke about this ourselves and often easily acknowledge that we can be compulsive. We sometimes sneak things past our partners and acknowledge that the desires to buy or own often have no other justification than satisfying those impulses. And we are fortunate enough to live lives with the leisure and the money to pursue something as useless for survival as buying dozens of pens even though we can actually only hold one at a time. It's pretty rediculous and self-centered from a certain point of view. Mostly an indulgence. I don't need 75 percent of the clothing I own, and my house, at 1800 square feet, is probably twice as large as I need. But there it is.

 

 

That is absolutely ridiculous!!! I can hold TWO pens at a time!

 

LOL...but seriously, there's a lot of truth to this statement. I don't really *justify* it per se, but I do have a *reason*. I just love the feel of writing with a fountain pen. Period. It can be so enjoyable that it alters my mood. I've been upset and had a horrible day before and writing 4 or 5 pages just puts me back into a calm, happy mood. It's like I'm writing away my stress!!

 

I currently have 7 pens. I plan to sell two at the Dallas Pen Show if anyone will buy them. If not, I'll sell them online somehow (which is laborious and I hate doing for sub 50 dollar pens). But anyway, I sell the ones I don't use and I keep the rest. I think 5 pens is quite modest, but I've got plans to end up with 10 if the finances eventually allow it. Still nothing to justify though.

[pajaro]

This thread's a pinko commie plot.

[chromantic]

Penny wise and pound foolish?

[Larry Barrieau]

"

How Do You Justify Owning Many Pens?"

 

 

 

How do you justify not owning many pens?

[Honeybadgers]

What a silly non-thread. Set up a straw man proposition that one needs to justify something to someone and the horde are falling all over themselves to refute the incorrect proposition.

 

Baaa, baaa......

 

 

 

Your opinion for why you like them is probably different from mine, and that can be interesting. A straw man argument would be posing the question with the basis that we are all wrong. The OP didn't do that. Ergo, not a straw man.

Edited September 25, 2018 by Honeybadgers

[BillH]

"

How Do You Justify Owning Many Pens?"

 

 

 

How do you justify not owning many pens?

 

 

+1

 

I want them.

[inkstainedruth]

Thinking of changing my previous answer -- partly because of a conversation I had at choir this evening, complaining about spam phone calls and trying to make sure my ad blocker was still working after the upgrade to my browser sort of borked things: on another site (not here, fortunately) I'm suddenly getting ads again and were reporting them to the ad blocker software company. And it's an ad for a "dating" site (and I'm using the term loosely because the photo was a blonde in a low cut top after presumably having had, um, augmentation surgery -- as if I'd be REMOTELY interested; which I'm not, being married, female, and straight. So I'm telling one of the other altos in the choir about it, and saying that what I wanted to say to the spammers and advertisers:

"I have a fountain pen -- your argument is invalid...."

 

So that's my "justification": I have a fountain pen -- your argument is invalid....

Justification? "I don't need no stinking justification...."

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[jameswatts]

My explanation -- as opposed to justification -- is that I am a writer. Fountain pens are my tools. I use them daily for myriad purposes because the physical act of writing is important to me. I will only buy pens I feel comfortable using (which does not mean I own no expensive pens, but that even the most expensive pens I have are ones I know I will use).

 

A dozen years ago I bought a set of Montblanc Starwriter pens. As we went through customs, the agent looked at our declaration form and asked, "you paid HOW MUCH for a PEN?" I replied that I was a writer. The agent looked to my wife and asked, "Is he any good?" She replied, "I think so." And he zeroed out our customs charge.