Stages Of Denial: "i Am Not A Collector".

[Addertooth]

I have acquired pens for a few months. I awoke this morning to two overflowing boxes of pens and an assortment of ziplock bags which are holding the disassembled pens which are in the process of restoral. I had to repeat the litany.... I am not a collector, I am an opportunist. When I see a pen which is miscategorized as a lesser (and far less expensive) version of a pen for sale, AND I can get it for a bargain price, it is purchased entirely as an investment. If I see a pen which would gain significant value with some minor repairs, it is purchased....as an investment...

 

As anyone who repairs pens, or invests in pens (and is new to the game) you cannot be expected to know the specifics of every brand and model. There is a tendency to specialize in narrow groups of brands and models which you understand well. Couple that with, you cannot know how to restore every pen which is out there. That limitation can drive specialization further. I have been pretty good with limiting myself to pens which can be sold for more (in some cases Hundreds more) than their purchase price.

 

But, I have noticed a disturbing trend lately. I find myself looking at pens and saying "hmmmm, I have all the colors of that model, except for this one". I find myself trying to justify purchasing a pen where there is no margin for profit. Even worse, I see an occasional pen which is Over market value, but it is so rare that it may be years before I see another example of this pen/color.... I find myself wanting it badly.

 

Have I gone too far? Am I at risk of becoming a collector? Is there a 12 step program to rid me of these senseless compulsions? Or, am I simply the man standing on the shore, trying to resist the tide from coming in and drowning him?

 

I would like to hear how others feel about the pens they have acquired, and whether they feel they have limited themselves to what they need (or can turn a profit on), or if they have drifted into the realm of collector.

Edited September 7, 2019 by Addertooth

[Tadeo]

It is of course a matter of individual perspective.

 

In my case, I went through an initial exploratory phase of buying whatever I could afford. After a few tens of pens, I started to know what I like and what I don't. Then, for some pens that I really liked I started buying some duplicates or multiples with different finishes/colors. This is how I ended with 2 Lamy 2k, 3 safaris, etc.

 

But nowadays I am going through a tighter economic situation and maybe it is contributing to the way I look at my acquisition practices. However, as much as I love multiple finishes of a certain model (i.e., lovely Kaweco sports and Lamy Safaris) a very powerful brake in my purchased is the usage perspective. Currently I have many examples of what could be considered lifetime pens. Wonderful writers of great build quality which, individually could provide many years of continuous service. Whenever I am looking at new pens, I start thinking of how long one of my pens has stayed unused and/or uninked and what will happen to that next one that I want to purchase. The conclusion very often is that I really want to use and enjoy all my pens and another one will just divide further my limited amount of time with my pens.

 

As a result my purchase rate has dropped significantly and I am forcing myself to think harder on what I really enjoy and what will really be put in to use.

 

Tadeo

[Addertooth]

Tadeo,

 

Your approach sounds reasonable. It is based upon how many pens you can actually USE. I spent time flushing three pens this morning, which had gone unused too long. I probably need to go through all of my pens to figure out which needs a flush. It is not uncommon for me to fill and test pens after a repair (to include testing the filling mechanism), as such, there are probably a dozen more that need flushed before they are put back into the cases.

 

Addertooth

 

p.s. I have a couple Lamy pens as well, one is my red-line editing pen at work, the other has sat unused for probably over a year... sigh, another I need to flush.

[Bibliophage]

There's "enthusiastic user", "collector", and "hoarder". Off to the side is "absent-minded".

 

An enthusiast grabs anything that looks interesting. A collector is methodical about what he gets. He knows where they are, what they are, and keeps track of them. A hoarder just gets them, and puts them in piles to have. He often doesn't even know what he bought last week.

 

Absent-minded can be any of the above, and generally fits me. I have a large selection, but most are to be given away. I have some old ones, but they're only what was interesting, or given to me by others. (I need to get the Sheaffers restored so I can use them) I have a small amount to repair, but they're all in my repair box. However, I forget where I put them half the time. They're not everywhere, but they aren't neatly lined up on cigar display shelves.

[Tadeo]

@Bibliophage

 

I guess that is something like when psychologists state that personality traits are within a spectrum. Some people are at one end, some at the opposite, and many in between. There is one of such traits officially called "orderliness" which seems to match the "in display boxes" you have mentioned

 

Tadeo

[sidthecat]

The antique sellers with whom I used to hang in the 80s said that if you have three of something, you are a collector, which obligates you to collect more.

I’d ignore the self-interested tone and concentrate on the numeral, which suggests you’re WAY past this stage.

[Bibliophage]

The antique sellers with whom I used to hang in the 80s said that if you have three of something, you are a collector, which obligates you to collect more.

I’d ignore the self-interested tone and concentrate on the numeral, which suggests you’re WAY past this stage.

I must be a collector of multi-meters and pocket knives then. I have one for each tool bag, each tool box, plus the car, plus my pocket.

[senzen]

Some interesting points here, I don't see myself as a collector but at 29 pens friends give me funny looks, as in "yeah, right". I now find myself in the strange position of having saved for a pen I've wanted for some time, but not finding it at an acceptable price for the past few months; and in the meantime stumbling upon other desirable pens which cost less, but which I have to say no to so I don't spend the money for than one pen; it's a sort of limbo, there's an expression in Mexico, the dog with two sandwiches, which means someone who'll end up with nothing. At least I can find some solace in enjoying what I already have, particularly inks coming out in colours I really like.

[Tadeo]

there's an expression in Mexico, the dog with two sandwiches, which means someone who'll end up with nothing.

Yeah! The expression is: "te quedaste como el perro de las dos tortas". This expression comes from a popular fable that tells the story of a hungry dog who stole a sandwich, then went to a river and saw its image reflected in the water. As the dog noticed there was other dog with a sandwich, it tried to steal the other dog's, but as it opened its mouth to stole the second sandwich, the one in its mouth fell in to the stream going away. So, the moral of the story is to not be too greedy or you can lose both what you want and what you have.

 

Tadeo

[SpecTP]

I started similarly in my pens acquisition.. I kept getting new pens after new pens not realizing that my real motivation was the search for the pen that would produce a certain line variation with consistency. So once I reached that realization, my pen acquisitions has been much more curated. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your point of view, it has taken me over 200+ pens to reach that epiphany.

 

Ink on the other hand.. I have no issues.. I only have enough supply for 50yrs..

[praxim]

sidthecat’s mention of three or more things being a collection led to an idle review of what it is I am "collecting". Apparently (and apart from many collections of pens), I collect torches, temperature measurement instruments, Persian rugs, and radios. I also have two-thirds of a collection of jeweller's staking sets and one-third of a collection of wives. It seemed wise to stop there.

[silverlifter]

and one-third of a collection of wives...

 

And people think collecting pens can be expensive.

[Erik Dalton]

Ugghhhh ✒️✒️✒️✒️.... It hurts my head to read this thread as i sit here in the middle of pile of pens waiting for repairs...lol....the truth so often hurts. I’m not really a collector, but i am certainly an accumulator and user.

Only this year have i tried to put the brakes on buying new pens. it took. massive strength to pass on a pre order of a Stressman M 1000. Next thing i know I’m writing with a Montblanc 149 in rose Gold with a medium stub nib. Then a 146 with an oblique nib.... so much for willpower...

I’m seriously running out of room....its good to know i’m not alone.

[Addertooth]

It would be easier to put the brakes on buying pens, If I didn't enjoy repairing them so much. Repairing them is literally 2/3rds of the fun. Once they are returned to use, and the risk of failure no longer exists, a new project is sought. Don't get me wrong, I love beautiful vintage pens; but, if all I was doing was purchasing restored pens, there would be something essential missing. You have a stronger connection with a pen which has been pulled from the brink of the dust-bin of history.

Edited September 8, 2019 by Addertooth

[DrDebG]

Interesting discussion.

 

I do not fit any of the categories mentioned. I have probably 30+ pens - maybe more if I could my Chinese pens in storage. I don't really collect anything, nor do I repair anything. If it needs to be repaired, I send it to an expert.

 

I am merely a user. A fountain pen is a tool for my enjoyment. As much as I would like to play around with trying repairs, I neither have the time, expertise or equipment to do such, so I leave it to the experts.

 

So when I am looking at a pen to purchase, I do my research. I patiently wait for the pen that I want at the price I want to pay. When I find it, I purchase it. Once I have the pen, I carefully evaluate it. If it is not at the condition that I want, I either return it (especially if it is a new pen), or I send it off to my favorite pen restorer. By way of example, a couple of years ago, there was a very limited edition from a "new/old" Italian manufacturer (same people, new name). I had read about this pen, loved the look, intriqued by the new nib and decided to purchase it. But I felt the price was too high. So, I waited, and I waited until I found one that was at my price point. I purchased the pen from a reputable online dealer - #72 of 100. When the pen came, I began the evaluation process. I realized fairly quickly that there were major problems with the nib and feed (I won't into details, but the nib and feed were unique). I contacted the dealer. He explained that what I was experiencing was a common problem with this pen. Unfortunately, the pen was no longer available and the manufacturer was not willing to correct the problem. My choice was to keep the pen and find (if I could) a reasonable replacement for the nib and feed. After agonizing for a couple of days, I returned the pen.

 

If I was a collector, I should have kept the pen as a collectible item. Why? Because there had only been 100 made and many of those had been returned to the manufacturer due to the defect. Perhaps I could have had a nibmeister fix the problem. who knows, 5, 10, 15 years or more down the road, the pen will be worth a small fortune.

 

But I am not a collector. I am a user, and want a working pen to enjoy everyday.

[Addertooth]

5Cavaliers,

 

Interesting perspective. I am surprised by the number of pens that are owned by "users" as versus "collectors". I almost find it bothersome to keep track of which of my pens are inked, and flushing them if a certain amount of time has elapsed since their last use. Now, only about five or six which are kept inked at any one time. Three are work pens (one Red for corrections/Lamy, one Green for annotations/Faber-Castell, One black/Montblanc, one amazing flex pen/Eversharp, and roughly 3/(currently Waterman Red Keyhole, Wahl flex, Sheaffer Triumph) which get rotated for tuning and adjustment... before they are flushed and a different set of 3 project pens take their places). Thank you for your response. I am finding many of these responses very illuminating.

[Studio97]

This topic reminds me of G.A.S. which can apply to fountain pens, ball points, pencils, art supplies, notebooks, backpacks, camping gear, etc.

G.A.S. affected me with lots of stuff but have stopped buying fountain pens for sometime. Non were for investment. I have got over G.A.S. Gear Aquisition Syndrome as far as fountain pens are concerned.

[DrDebG]

5Cavaliers,

 

Interesting perspective. I am surprised by the number of pens that are owned by "users" as versus "collectors". I almost find it bothersome to keep track of which of my pens are inked, and flushing them if a certain amount of time has elapsed since their last use. Now, only about five or six which are kept inked at any one time. Three are work pens (one Red for corrections/Lamy, one Green for annotations/Faber-Castell, One black/Montblanc, one amazing flex pen/Eversharp, and roughly 3/(currently Waterman Red Keyhole, Wahl flex, Sheaffer Triumph) which get rotated for tuning and adjustment... before they are flushed and a different set of 3 project pens take their places). Thank you for your response. I am finding many of these responses very illuminating.

 

I usually have 13 to 15 pens usually inked. But, I have a "procedure" I go through every 2-4 weeks, where I clean all of my inked pens. If one of my pens runs dry, I fill it with distilled water until "cleaning day" so that the ink will not dry in the pen. After cleaning and once they are dry, I check all the nibs, etc. then put about 1/2 of them into my pen storage, pull out others then ink them up.

[sirgilbert357]

This is a topic I wish more people would talk about. My other "hobby" is watches and there is a thread devoted to "purchasing abstinence" on the watch forum I visit. The topic is renewed with a new thread every year and it's currently at 703 pages for the 2019 thread. The idea is to get help, encouragement and motivation from others who are like-minded so you can curtail purchases and /or consolidate. It's also helped illuminate why we buy what we buy.

 

I've thought about trying to start a similar thread here, but I was pretty sure literally no one is attempting consolidation or purchasing abstinence, lol. Guess there are a few of us out there after all...

Edited September 8, 2019 by sirgilbert357

[inkstainedruth]

I don't think of myself as a "c-worder" collector, in that I don't buy pens and put them into display cases. I use the pens I buy except for the ones that haven't been repaired yet. But I started out with two 24-pen zipper cases (the inexpensive ones from Rockler). The original plan was "one for vintage and one for modern..." and that quickly switched over to sorting the pens by brand (I have two JUST for the Parker pens, and I think that if I didn't have some inked up I would have to consider getting a third one).

I like the term someone on FPN came up with (I think it was OcalaFlGuy): "accumuluser"....

I freely (if shamefacedly) admit to being one of those.... Especially after the Christmas where my sister-in-law's husband couldn't understand why anyone would have more than one or two pens ("You can't use more than one at a time") while my brother-in-law's wife couldn't understand why I would have them unless there was "intrinsic" (read "resale" -- especially at a profit) value. I told *him* that I used different colors of ink and it was more convenient than flushing a single pen out every time I wanted to change colors); and *her* that I was trying to improve my handwriting; neither of which was strictly true, but it was just easier than saying "I like fountain pens and I like writing with them...".

As for sirgilbert357's comment about "consolidation and purchasing abstinence"? Well, for several years running I tried to tell myself to limit to one pen per month.... And every year I did that I failed miserably. Nor have I been able (for the most part) to give away or sell any, even though I have a few that will end up on the block sooner or later because I never use them or don't like them or have better ones now (even of the same brand and model) -- I have done a LITTLE better this year (so far only having acquired 12 at current count (and one of those was a gift and several others were really good deals (all under $10 US other than shipping on one of them). But I'm also trying to figure out the way of shelling out a great wad of money for a Pelikan M600 Violet -- which, even if I get a deal, would be the most expensive pen I ever bought by a good bit, topping the M405 Stresemann by a fair amount -- and I had the budget for that pen (and the M405 Striated Blue I bought at the same time; this year, I don't...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth