47 replies to this topic

[inkstainedruth]

Bargain Basement : under $5 shipped.
Cheap: under $20
Moderate: $20-60 or so
Expensive:$100+

I'm mostly going off common sense prices of fountain pens as utencils. Most people outside the fountain pen hobby would not justify a fountain pen of $100 and above. Some might rationalize specifically Montblanc pens as a status symbol / object that dictates certain level of well-to-do and professionalism.

 

They might rethink that last statement (the part about professionalism) if they look at some of the overly tacky LE pens....   

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Intensity]

That's true.  I'm thinking more of the standard black (146, 149) with recognizable snowcap top, peeking out of a shirt pocket or something like that.

[TSherbs]

That's true.  I'm thinking more of the standard black (146, 149) with recognizable snowcap top, peeking out of a shirt pocket or something like that.

Before I knew what high end fp's cost (until I was 50, iow), I never would have guessed, nor known, what a fp with a white star top was... And certainly not what it cost. One thing I have learned through all this is how much money some people carry in the form of pens on their pockets or bags. But I don't think that many people actually know, so they can't be all that "impressed." No one at my job has any idea (teaching school). They are shocked by the $90 I spent on my Decimo.

[inkstainedruth]

Before I knew what high end fp's cost (until I was 50, iow), I never would have guessed, nor known, what a fp with a white star top was... And certainly not what it cost. One thing I have learned through all this is how much money some people carry in the form of pens on their pockets or bags. But I don't think that many people actually know, so they can't be all that "impressed." No one at my job has any idea (teaching school). They are shocked by the $90 I spent on my Decimo.

 

You scored a Decimo for only $90?!  Dang!  Nice score....  

 But what you said really does seem to be the case.  A friend of mine got a 1990s era Pelikan M200 for me as a gag gift (she saw it on Freecycle a few years ago because it had the Bayer logo on it); I don't think she had any idea what it was actually worth -- especially since it was clearly NOS, never inked by the original owner.  And even more especially because of the thought behind the gift. 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[corgicoupe]

Those are truly the best pens in one's collection.

[miwishi63]

The pens I value the most are the ones I inherited from my great-grandparents, none of which are worth a great deal of money, but are nonetheless invaluable to me.

[Noihvo]

 

[Runnin_Ute]

Interesting conversation and much of what has been said fits how I personally treat the difference between cheap and inexpensive. My collection of roughly 40 pens includes five of $100 or more and another seven between $50 and $100. Some of the "best" buys I have made over the years are a Pelikan M200 blue marbled (old style) with an OB nib for $46, and a Pelikan 120 Merz & Krell with an M nib from the 70's for $17.50. Both piston filler pens.

 

I do have a pair of Pelikan Jazz Elegance (one white, one black) M nib, that were $14.99 each including a 6 pak of cartridges for each. Not a bad pen, would be a pretty decent "first pen" for someone. 

 

I have three or four Esterbrook J's I paid more than that 120 for.

 

All these I consider inexpensive not cheap.

 

I have a few pens I got for free as part of a PIF in most cases, and in varying conditions. Most are in a range I would call inexpensive rather than cheap. Even the under $20 pens including freebies.

Edited by Runnin_Ute, 24 June 2019 - 02:03.