The Crossroads ... Maybe

[Paul-in-SF]

This post is intended only to reflect my own mental meanderings on the topic of buying and owning pens. I apologize in advance for its length No advice is sought, although I would be happy to hear about your own reflections on your own experiences.

 

Recently I have been working on a little project of placing small information tags on all my pens that have a place to put them -- clips or ring-tops. (I haven't yet figured out what to do about the relatively few pens with neither.) I have taken 8 fields of data from my pen database (record number, make, model, nib material, nib line width including special grind if any, date of purchase, total amount paid including tax and shipping, and whether it was new or vintage when I bought it). I extracted these fields into a spreadsheet, and I have been typing each label from the spreadsheet (due to formatting and other issues I can't just dump it into the label template).

 

While doing this I have, of course, come face to face with my accumulation of pens and the amount I paid for every single one of them (the amount paid did not even include repairs or replacement parts).

 

My interest in acquiring additional pens has vanished, dropped off a cliff. I still look at pens online, both new and vintage, I still Watch pens on eBay, but when it comes time to bid or buy, reasons come up unbidden about why I should not, why I don't need that pen, it will add nothing to my life nor make me particularly happy when it arrives.

 

I am not able to reflect deeply enough to understand entirely where this is coming from. I want to say that it isn't the money, but I'm not sure that my parents' Depression-era frugality isn't screaming in my hind-brain. I have space for a few more pens before I would have to buy more storage, but the storage I use is relatively inexpensive and easy to get. I think about pens that I like but that I never get around to using because I have so many other pens that I like as well or maybe a little better.

 

So as I write I am looking at this as maybe not a bad thing. It could be the time I need to get to know and use my accumulation better, and come to understand the place it fills in my life, before adding any more to it. So not a crisis, or even a crossroads, just a break from the superhighway of Acquiring, onto the gentler side path of using and loving.

 

I feel sure others have gone through something like this. How did it resolve for you?

[Bo Bo Olson]

Being long retired sooner or later the Inflation Wolf bites the wallet. I stopped looking about three years ago.....and since then the prices have often gone up 20% or more.

 

I'm no where near so organized at any time to know what I paid for many of my pens. 5 or 8 I might know in they busted a physiological money border. After that who's going to remember the next pen that cost a big E-50 or E70.........I can guess at some, some I do know. But I didn't buy to sell, so the need to know was not there. I do remember the 600 on sale for a E99 get over.....and don't remember the first pen over E100.

 

I have some 70 pens..........and have all the nib widths and flexes.....well only one CI, but I'm covered in that direction with a lot of German stubbed semi-flex pens.

Edited July 3, 2020 by Bo Bo Olson

[sandy101]

I feel sure others have gone through something like this. How did it resolve for you?

 

The one pen, one month challenge gave me a similar epiphany. Having used the most expensive pen in my collection exclusively for an entire month, and realising I missed the variety of inks, not the variety of pens I immediately slowed down.

 

I bought my pens to write poems and novels - so instead of buying more pens, I bought some books on Creative Writing and learned to write better. Instead of acquiring more writing tools, I asked myself why I wasn't using them for the purpose for which I had bought them. So, now I've got two 50,000 word drafts (thanks to NaNowriMo) to rewrite and I've got a few short stories and a handful of unwritten novels to go. So, my focus changed from acquiring to using what I had - and as you so rightly said -maintaining a clutch of vintage pens can come with a cost in both time and money.

 

I still buy pens, but instead of buying lots of pens, I put some money aside every month and that funds a "birthday pen" or two. As a result, I've done more writing with the pens I have, and less acquiring (although that doesn't necessarily mean I've spent less, but the postage and packing on a large number of cheaper pens adds up).

 

 

You can be a fountain pen enthusiast and have only one pen.

 

I think the question you need to ask yourself it what was your motivation for collecting/accumulating pens. If you are a collector, then maybe a couple of display cases, rather than pens might be the order of the day. If they were to write with, and then I humbly suggest you take a look at James Scott Bell's "The Mental Game of Writing" which can get you started, or pick a friend/relative/lover and write them a letter.

 

People love getting mail that is not bills. I started a "slow communication" revolution with some friends and family. We're more likely to send each other postcards than facebook posts these days.

[Paul-in-SF]

I think the question you need to ask yourself it what was your motivation for collecting/accumulating pens. If you are a collector, then maybe a couple of display cases, rather than pens might be the order of the day. If they were to write with, and then I humbly suggest you take a look at James Scott Bell's "The Mental Game of Writing" which can get you started, or pick a friend/relative/lover and write them a letter.

 

People love getting mail that is not bills. I started a "slow communication" revolution with some friends and family. We're more likely to send each other postcards than facebook posts these days.

 

Yes, I have asked myself that question. In fact, I only started keeping a journal in order to have a use for my fountain pens (although it's not enough) so I don't think I can honestly say that I started collecting pens in order to write.

 

But you remind me that I've always wanted to write -- I don't seem to have a creative bone anywhere however. My forte, if I have one, seems to be expository writing, essays and things like that. That's probably where I need to put my energy.

[inkstainedruth]

Ironically, it was keeping a journal that got me into fountain pens in the first place. It wasn't until I left the then current volume and the pen at my brother-in-law's house, and found that writing the entries with a ballpoint until I got the pen and journal back, and started looking for (temporary) replacements that I used FPs for anything else. Now I use them about 95% of the time and for everything from signing checks to making shopping lists (I do use Uniball pens for inking some artwork after doing the draft in pencil; and I do use a black sharpie now to cross out the address and barcode on any junk mail that I want to go back to the sender, so they have to pay the postage a second time...).

I do sort of understand the idea of "when does 'enough' become 'too much'?" -- at least in theory -- but then I went and bought two vintage pens yesterday while antiquing.....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[SpecTP]

I think it's sort of a milestone or threshold in our collection journey.. I too have reached this point where I am very particular about any pen. My threshold for purchase is much higher and I no longer am drawn to impulse buys or some nice looks. I used to buy 2-3 pens a month.. I'm now buying that amount per year.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

People love getting mail that is not bills. I started a "slow communication" revolution with some friends and family. We're more likely to send each other postcards than facebook posts these days.

 

How reliable are postcards these days? Will the old fashioned plain postcard, without one side taken up by images of vacation spots, be delivered? I was finding that they just didn't show up years ago. Do your postcards take a long timer to arrive at their destination? What percentage of them don't show up at all?

 

.... and I do use a black sharpie now to cross out the address and barcode on any junk mail that I want to go back to the sender, so they have to pay the postage a second time...).

 

How do you get the junk mail back into the mail stream? Don't the Postal workers just threw such stuff away? And can't the, possibly irate, junk mailers still read your name and address through the Sharpie line? When I've seen people trying to obscure a name and address with a Sharpie or something similar I can always still read the name and address with a little effort.

[sandy101]

I have been postcrossing (a post card club) for 4 and a half years now. I've sent nearly 600 postcards around the world. in 4 and a half years I would guess that around one in twenty go missing.

 

From the UK to the USA postcards take around two weeks.

To Russia - a month.

To China 3 months

And Europe - 7 days.

 

With the current Covid-19 situation cards are taking longer to travel, but they are getting through.

[senzen]

Thinking about it, I think I've gone through something similar, if not exactly the same; during the past 9 months I unexpectedly managed to get several of the pens I wanted, and ended up with more and better pens than I had thought possible. The result has been been the nagging feeling that I should use what I have more, helped by the fact that I care more about inks than pens, and have just about all the colours I want; the consequence is that I can bask in the glory of the right hue of Tsuku Kusa, Asa Gao, Hisoku, Vert Empire, with pens that don't get in the way and are even good looking. I am still grateful that humble Lamy Vistas and Mujis can produce the right tone of Verde Muschiato and Bleu Mystère.

 

Ink and pen combinations also look just about right, even if I haven't managed to find the right pairing for different ink colours on the page.

 

I still look for more pens but having my perfect pen and a couple of stunners has raised the bar, so I regularly stumble upon nice pens which pale in comparison, or at prices I find a bit ridiculous, but I do have a very strict limit.

 

Material accumulation has a clear limit on how much enjoyment it can produce, at least for me, better to focus on what we can create with it, or even what we can contribute to others, I have a friend who refuses to use "social media" so I ended writing letters, taking photos of them and sending the images via email; convoluted but appreciated.

[bayindirh]

This post is intended only to reflect my own mental meanderings on the topic of buying and owning pens. I apologize in advance for its length No advice is sought, although I would be happy to hear about your own reflections on your own experiences.

 

Recently I have been working on a little project of placing small information tags on all my pens that have a place to put them -- clips or ring-tops. (I haven't yet figured out what to do about the relatively few pens with neither.) I have taken 8 fields of data from my pen database (record number, make, model, nib material, nib line width including special grind if any, date of purchase, total amount paid including tax and shipping, and whether it was new or vintage when I bought it). I extracted these fields into a spreadsheet, and I have been typing each label from the spreadsheet (due to formatting and other issues I can't just dump it into the label template).

 

While doing this I have, of course, come face to face with my accumulation of pens and the amount I paid for every single one of them (the amount paid did not even include repairs or replacement parts).

 

My interest in acquiring additional pens has vanished, dropped off a cliff. I still look at pens online, both new and vintage, I still Watch pens on eBay, but when it comes time to bid or buy, reasons come up unbidden about why I should not, why I don't need that pen, it will add nothing to my life nor make me particularly happy when it arrives.

 

I am not able to reflect deeply enough to understand entirely where this is coming from. I want to say that it isn't the money, but I'm not sure that my parents' Depression-era frugality isn't screaming in my hind-brain. I have space for a few more pens before I would have to buy more storage, but the storage I use is relatively inexpensive and easy to get. I think about pens that I like but that I never get around to using because I have so many other pens that I like as well or maybe a little better.

 

So as I write I am looking at this as maybe not a bad thing. It could be the time I need to get to know and use my accumulation better, and come to understand the place it fills in my life, before adding any more to it. So not a crisis, or even a crossroads, just a break from the superhighway of Acquiring, onto the gentler side path of using and loving.

 

I feel sure others have gone through something like this. How did it resolve for you?

I'm passing through a similar point in my collection right now. I have collected more than enough (possibly exorbitant) amount of inks and almost 70 pens. In both collections there are deliberate duplicates (I hate losing something I love for any reason and unable to replace it).

 

Next month, I'll order some pens and inks (FC Looms in F, EF and B nibs, Edelstein Smoky Qaurtz, some converters, etc. A sizeable haul) and will stop. I'll focus on using and deeply understanding what I have.

 

There are some reasons for this decision:

• I have pens which I love: I got some notable pens from my father. They're his own pens and, priceless from my point of view. They form the vintage backbone of my collection and I love them, hence I need no more vintage pens. On the modern side, I found my "good" pens. They're not highest of the highest end. They're utilitarian but, they write lovely. Mostly Lamy, FC and Kawecos. A couple of Metropolitans. I love them, can use them every day, can replace them if something happens. Also I got every nib size I'm interested in.
• I've found my favorite brand, nib size & grail pen: This is possibly the greatest reason I've decided to stop. From Sheaffer to Cross, from Pelikan to Sailor, I've found out that I love Lamy most. Love the design (I love 80s brutalism and modern minimalism hence, Bauhaus), the practicality and maintainability of a Lamy. Looks disposable, built like a tank, user serviceable up to smallest bit. It makes the pen truly mine. Similarly, a black CP-1 with a Gold Nib is my grail pen. A true sleeper, practical yet high quality. Easily replaceable if something bad happens.
• I've run out of space: Self explanatory. 70 pens, too many bottles, not enough time and space. I don't like to give away stuff I like, so they'll stay as long as I can use them and hold them.
• Monetary / Reality reasons: There'll be always new pens and new inks. There'll be always something novel. I don't have enough money, space and time to get, know and use them all to the fullest. So I'll use what I have. Even a Preppy can be used for years unless its cap breaks. It's not a half bad pen too. So, an AL-Star, A Cross Century, an FC Loom/Ambition, Kaweco Sport can live for a long time. If I enjoy these pens, why look for another?

Sometimes one needs to stop and reflect. See what he/she has achieved so far and enjoy the treasure he/she accumulated so far.

 

After a certain point it becomes pointless hoarding, a waste of time and money. You buy and accumulate but can't use for a meaningful amount of time. I like to deeply understand what I'm working on/with. A theory, a car, a tool, a pen; it's all the same for me. In order to do that, I need to concentrate, and to concentrate I need stop distracting myself with new things.

Edited July 4, 2020 by bayindirh

[dan in montreal]

I'm asking myself the same questions, as I have, periodically, over the past 2 years. I'm prompted to whenever I find I'm spending more time thinking about pens than actually using them. And this whole COVID situation has had me reevaluate my spending patterns and the use of my time. I have far too many pens, especially if I count all the shoddy Chinese pens I accumulated years ago when I went on a crazed months long online shopping spree. A lot have been given away, a lot I have sent to the landfill, 2 or 3 I still use, most lay dormant. But that's another story.

Lately, I've found myself reaching for the same pens, and they are the usual suspects: Lamy 2000, a couple of Sailor and Pilot pens with gold nibs, a few Esterbrook Js and that's about it. Nothing spectacular, but I enjoy using them as the nibs are all different.

The funny thing is this: while I will never buy a Montblanc because I've told myself I could never bring myself to spend that much money on a pen, if I'm honest and add up all I have spent on run of the mill pens costing 30 to 100 dollars, I'm pretty sure I could have have 2 by now. The thing is, while they are all perfectly good pens, I'm no longer getting any real satisfaction from them. The initial pleasure they gave me has quickly faded. How many Lamy Studios do I really need? Another Phileas / Kultur? Do I really need another Sport? I figure the raw aluminium one should last me a long time.

 

So I'm determined not to purchase any more for a good while. I've decided to enjoy the pens I have.

Years ago, I actively sought out and collected cameras. After I ran out of space and thought of other ways to spend my money, I vowed to stop accumulating and use and enjoy the cameras I had. And I've pretty much stuck to it. I'm hopeful I'll be able to pull it off a second time.

Thanks Paul for starting this thread. I've enjoyed reading it.

[inkstainedruth]

How do you get the junk mail back into the mail stream? Don't the Postal workers just threw such stuff away? And can't the, possibly irate, junk mailers still read your name and address through the Sharpie line? When I've seen people trying to obscure a name and address with a Sharpie or something similar I can always still read the name and address with a little effort.

 

Well, I just take them back to the post office and toss them in the box. After that, who knows? But I've never had something re-delivered after it was marked as "Refused -- Return to Sender".

I suspect that the ad flyers may just get tossed. But the political garbage? That's generally sent "Presorted 1st Class". I figure if I do it enough times the idiots might just get the hint. Recently I've written other stuff on the envelope (nothing that would get me into trouble with the USPS, like swear words or anything -- just stuff to let them know what my opinion is -- especially the ones that are from some PAC (I leave the naughty words for posting on their FB wall... ; and I've gotten "likes" from people who are as appalled by said PAC as I am...).

There were a few things where I actually complained to the people who paid for the ads (reminder notices from the place we bought one of our cars). Repeatedly. I got tired of their service department jerking me around and told them I was never setting foot on their property ever again, and that I'd tell everyone I KNEW not to buy a car from them. I'm sure at this point the customer service person turns pasty grey when she hears my voice on the phone. I couldn't get information about who actually owns the dealership (I have a feeling it's someone who lives out of state ) and I got nowhere with the corporation, who told me "All the dealerships are independently owned and operated...." So I did the next best thing. I tracked down the direct mail company (someplace in West Chicago!) and complained to THEM. At first one guy said "It isn't us!" But another guy then said, "Oh, yeah, it is...." And between b*tching at the customer service manager and the service department manager at the dealership AND at the direct mail company, those have finally stopped coming. At this point, since the vehicle is out of warranty, I take it and our other car to the mechanic down the hill from us. And if there's ever another recall notice, I will take the car to a yet a third dealership to see if they're any better (the second place's service department wasn't much better than the first one's -- someone on Google said "I'm sick of [dealership #2] -- I'm taking my car to [dealership #1] in future!" and I wanted to say "NOOOOO! Don't do that! You'll regret it! You think #2 is bad? OMG are you going to be in for a shock when the service department at #1 screws you over the way they did me!"

Last winter when we were refinancing the home equity line of credit, we started getting all sorts of spam junk mail for places who were trying to sell us mortgage insurance. So I looked up the return address (when possible without opening the mail) and at the presorted franking on the envelope for the rest. And a couple of them got reported to their respective BBB locations (which was actually hard to do because they generally listed the business as "Not Accredited" -- and in one case to that state's Attorney-General's Consumer Affairs department. And who knows -- it took the PA AG's people several YEARS to deal with a company violating the state's DNC list (they were pretending to be from the utility). I had completely forgotten about it until a year or so ago, when I got a call from some guy from the AG's office out of the blue. I tried calling back and it went to voicemail, so I then called the AG's office directly and it turned out it was legit. The company had settled out of court, and my share of the settlement was a hundred bucks! (My mother would be so proud -- she'd be looking out from the Great Beyond going "That's my girl! I raised you right!" )

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Paul-in-SF]

 

I figure if I do it enough times the idiots might just get the hint.

 

I admire your optimism, even though I don't share it.

 

Ever since we re-financed our house around 3 years ago, we've been inundated with junk mail from lenders trying to get us to re-fi again with them. I can recognize them but I always open them just in case, and then recycle them. It's a tiny divot in my day, and doesn't seem to bother me at all.

 

The phone calls, yes, I wish we could find a way to stop the phone calls on the land line. I would estimate spam or scam calls vs. legitimate calls as about 10 to 1. At least the caller ID makes it easier to know which ones not to answer.

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

 

 

The phone calls, yes, I wish we could find a way to stop the phone calls on the land line. I would estimate spam or scam calls vs. legitimate calls as about 10 to 1. At least the caller ID makes it easier to know which ones not to answer.

If i had a ratio THAT bad, to be honest, i would just cancel the land line.

 

If the ratio was 10:1 scam:real, i would have cut the cord LONG ago, and told the phone company EXACTLY why.

 

We have had cell phones since 2007 or so and we cancelled our land line 7 or 8 years ago when we switched internet providers. We had a voip line, and the provider we switched to had MUCH faster speeds at a lower price. We realized we didn't really use the land line, so when we switched over, we just got plain internet, and no voip. Havn't looked back since. I don't think i will ever have a land line again. And with iOS 13 last year, we gained the ability to send all calls NOT from someone already have in your address book directly to voice mail. I don't get scam calls anymore, my phone doesn't even ring. Instead, i get a notification of a missed call, which always has an obvious scam number (oh look, a phone number from the same area code as mine... AND the same first three digits... how unlikely since i don't even live in that city anymore!). I am VERY grateful for this improvement in iOS. I highly recommend it.

 

I've also had the "i don't really WANT any more pens" thing happen. It was around for a while, then I saw a colour I didn't have, at a price I could accept... It comes and goes for me. I know I'll never have them all, I will NEVER be able to afford a Mustard/Yellowstone "51" DJ with an empire cap. That's a simple fact. I'm not HAPPY about it, but I've accepted it. For the longest time I had NO interest in Sheaffers AT ALL. Then I decided I really like how Triumph nibs look... now I have 6 Snorkels, all bought since March. My pen/ink acquisition comes in waves. But If yours doesn't come back, then enjoy the "using and appreciating" phase

Edited July 5, 2020 by IThinkIHaveAProblem

[vicpen123]

I have accumulated all the interesting and unique fountain pens that appeal to me. Have managed to avoid buying pens because of their decorative bits.

 

Just functional bits like different nib styles, filling systems and pleasing to use.

 

Don't need any more so I just look at and use the ones that I have and enjoy.

 

It is a lovely and relaxing hobby when there is no more angst about falling down a rabbit hole.

[pajaro]

I have become tired of collecting stuff. Pens, electric trains, stamps . . . No more pens. I will probably sell all except a few Parker 51s. The Midnight Blues. And a Montblanc 144 red medium. Those are sentimental.

[Estycollector]

Based on a casual observation, it appears folks collect without a strategy.

Edited July 9, 2020 by Estycollector

[bayindirh]

Based on a casual observation, it appears folks collect without a strategy.

Actually, I have one. I curate while buying. Do some research, decide whether I want it or not, then buy it. I also buy to use it, not to collect it. I may duplicate some items if I intend to use them daily and for a long time. I'm a sucker for using some stuff for a very very long time.

[Addertooth]

In my eyes, the first sign your collection has "overgrown", is when you simply lose count of how many pens you have. I believe I am over 100 pens now, some in different stages of repair. When I had less than 50 pens, I could tell you every pen I had, and what state it was in, and what unique features it possessed. This is no longer the case.

 

I am cut from a slightly different cloth than many collectors. Certainly I have Grail pens I desire, but the core of much of my desire has been driven by "mechanical sympathy". I will see a non-functional pen, and realize with some work it can be restored to function and it's former glory. It somehow makes me sad to see a pen which is destined for the waste-bin unless someone takes some time out of their day to restore it. I have bought very few pens which were Good-To-Go at time of purchase.

 

There are Every Day Carry (EDC) pens in my group. They sit in the sweet spot of "Writes Well, but not So rare that I am afraid they will get scuffed up". Some of the pens in the collection are so nice, that they are used sparingly, but are prominently displayed. Those pens in the latter group are largely an Homage to the artisans and daily craftsmen who produced those things when my grandfather was young. Then there are the largely forgotten pens, which were frequently acquired as a batch purchase. They are certainly competent pens, but they don't spark the desire to pick them up, or use them (Eagles, New Bankers, etc).

 

All of this said, my purchase rate has certainly declined. I had gone about two months without a purchase until two days ago. The pen was a model 250 Shaeffer, basic celluloid green piston filler, it was found in a local Facebook advertisement. Someone had polished it with a brillo pad, which horrified me. It will get a new polish, re-plated, and a piston replacement, and be put on "Shaeffer Row" in one of the display cases. It may be months before I buy again (unless some ungodly Grail pen comes up on my scope). In all fairness, my standard for what constitutes a Grail pen has risen over time. It probably has risen to "Museum Piece" at this point (or the ability to be restored to Museum Piece quality).

 

As to the future, it has always been my strategy to sit on these pens until after I retire. At that time, they can be sold off for bits of extra income. Some of them do represent a significant bit of financial resources in a very small space. And they are prettier to look at than a few hundred dollar bills rolled up in a case.

[landrover]

I’ve bought far more pens than I could ever need, including many of the more expensive ones such as Conid and MB149. After the initial excitement has quickly worn off I wonder why it seemed so vital that I buy it. Yet I keep on.

Anybody else feel the same?

 

Oddly I keep coming back to the Parker 51, and Lamy 2000 which were quite early purchases.

I’ve bought more of these than necessary as well.