Most expensive/rarest Pen you have inked

[Gatorade]

Earlier someone posted a collection for sale that included some very rare pens. This got me thinking about how many of the rarer pens have probably never been inked. The were made to very high standards I'm sure but would any of us really ink a pen that there are less than 100 in the world? I shudder to think about just cleaning the pen much less actually using it! Would these be in your daily rotation?

 

Monday- Montblanc Skeleton (333 made)

Tuesday- Acme #2 Pencil

Wednesday- Lamy Safari

Thursday- Dunhill - Namiki Hannya Maki-e (25 made)

Friday- Esterbrooke J

Saturday- Rotring Core

Sunday- Krone Stingray (288 made)

 

Also how dissapointed would you be if your Friday pen was smoother and fed better than your Thursday pen?

 

Just wondering what has been inked out there. Everything I personally have inked probably had no fewer than a million made.

[TMann]

My only pen that I've ever had that was even reasonably rare is my current Pelikan Chicago. Fortunately I bought it used, so I was not the first person to have inked it.

 

TMann

[Danosaurus]

I don't know how rare it is, but I know it's expensive...a friend gave me a Montblanc Meisterstuck Ramses II fountain pen a few years back. It had already been filled and used, but not cleaned so I had to flush it a few times, filled it and it wrote beautifully. Promptly emptied, cleaned again and returned to it's case. Just too much pen to actually use.

 

Anyone know how many of these were made?

[acfrery]

The Pentrace LE 2004 edition was of only 100 pens, and I immediately inked mine. It frequently enters my rotation loaded with Noodler's Marine Green. It is a gorgeous pen.

 

(Picture by Bill Riepl)

 

My Omas 1888 Gold Demonstrator LE is number 1144 (I guess; too dim now to be sure). I ink it with Noodler's Navajo Blue or Noodler's Blue Black (I am currently waiting for a the bottle of this exceptional ink Natalie from The Inked Nib posted today for me).

 

(Picture from the Web)

[Hephaestus]

I’d ink a really expensive pen, so long as it wasn’t a demonstrator like that stunning MB Skeleton. It’s a tricky question, though, as most of the premium pens are quite ornate, which is not my cup of tea. Generally speaking, I’d have to write with any pen I owned. Some pens just have soul, and you can never quite tell until you put nib to paper. Any pen more than $150 that doesn’t stir me would up for sale.

 

I’ve never been into safe-queens. If I can’t bring myself to use a thing, gently, then I figure I can’t afford to own it.

 

-Ryan

Edited January 21, 2006 by Hephaestus

[Titivillus]

Earlier someone posted a collection for sale that included some very rare pens. This got me thinking about how many of the rarer pens have probably never been inked. The were made to very high standards I'm sure but would any of us really ink a pen that there are less than 100 in the world? I shudder to think about just cleaning the pen much less actually using it! Would these be in your daily rotation?

 

Monday- Montblanc Skeleton (333 made)

Tuesday- Acme #2 Pencil

Wednesday- Lamy Safari

Thursday- Dunhill - Namiki Hannya Maki-e (25 made)

Friday- Esterbrooke J

Saturday- Rotring Core

Sunday- Krone Stingray (288 made)

 

Also how dissapointed would you be if your Friday pen was smoother and fed better than your Thursday pen?

 

Just wondering what has been inked out there. Everything I personally have inked probably had no fewer than a million made.

I've inked a Churchill that was one of 350. Nothing lower than that.

 

 

Kurt H

[garythepenman]

I inked my fingers today, I'm one of a kind and very very expensive.

[Bryan]

I have a CS Elegance Deco Diamonds I've inked up, it's 18 of 200. I've also inked up my CS Steinway LE, #7 of 1853. And several other LEs and SEs.

 

I'd ink any pen in my collection, from a Sheaffer School pen to a One Million Dollar Montegrappa Peace Pen. It is, after all, their intended function.

 

When I save up to buy a LE, it's because I like the way they look, but they had better write well also. They might go beyond the normal function of an ordinary fountain pen and become pocket jewelry, however, IMHO, they will always be a functional fountain pen first, and jewelry second.

 

Bryan

[jmk]

My wife gave me a Loiminchay Qian for our anniversary a couple of years ago. It's green marble with a black cap and silver dragon clip. There were 50 made. This one is the artist's proof - # 1A (she bought it from Loiminchay's founder!). Since it is an anniversary present, I inked it right away. It's one of the smoothest writers I'v ever used.

[Gatorade]

My wife gave me a Loiminchay Qian for our anniversary a couple of years ago. It's green marble with a black cap and silver dragon clip. There were 50 made. This one is the artist's proof - # 1A (she bought it from Loiminchay's founder!). Since it is an anniversary present, I inked it right away. It's one of the smoothest writers I'v ever used.

Very good to hear that those collector pens are good writers! That was exactly what I was wondering. I guess XX/50 was the lowest number and some of those pens were well over a thousand dollars but everyone said they would ink them no matter the cost or number. Most wouldn't use them as daily writers but they would be used for what they were made for at least a few times. Good to hear.

[jmk]

My wife gave me a Loiminchay Qian for our anniversary a couple of years ago. It's green marble with a black cap and silver dragon clip. There were 50 made. This one is the artist's proof - # 1A (she bought it from Loiminchay's founder!). Since it is an anniversary present, I inked it right away. It's one of the smoothest writers I'v ever used.

Very good to hear that those collector pens are good writers! That was exactly what I was wondering. I guess XX/50 was the lowest number and some of those pens were well over a thousand dollars but everyone said they would ink them no matter the cost or number. Most wouldn't use them as daily writers but they would be used for what they were made for at least a few times. Good to hear.

Not to discount how much I'd like to ink up all of my LEs, this one was a must - she insisted! Since it is an anniversary present, how could I refuse?! Sure glad I did, because it's really a great writer, not to mention its unique appearance. List on it at the time was $1200, but I don't know how much she actually paid (wouldn't be fair, right?) Anyway, I'm sure glad I inked it - it's a real pleasure to use!

[wimg]

Hi Gatorade,

 

I ink and use every pen I have, and have about half of my pens inked simultaneously, which includes a bunch of LEs. I am not really into extremely ornate pens, though, as I think pens have to be functional. This means they either have simple forms, or just an ornate cap band or something, or just plain very limited editions, nothing special except the number made.

 

Some of the LE runs of which there are specimens in my accumulation are just 60 in size, others about 100, 200, 300, 400, 900, 1000, and 4000. Often these runs have very odd numbers, like 391, or 193. And often I don't know why such strange numbers were chosen either .

 

My latest three were #50 of 60, #93 of 193 and #477 of 926, just to give an example , but some aren't numbered, like the PenTrace LE.

 

Warm regards, Wim

[PaulK]

Heyyyyy...c'mon.....give up some pictures here! They all sound beautiful, I'd love to see 'em. I've never been so fortunate. Let me tell you what a sheltered life I've ('til I came here). My most expensive pen I've handled was a Waterman Edison. The local place I go to doesn't permit you to ink 'em either. I've come across a few Mont Blanc SEs...but frankly didn't want to touch 'em. Maybe one day.....

 

I do love looking at Kevin C's 'site though.... Frankly have really come to enjoy my Densho ED. It would be such a treat to have one with that fantastic artwork/craftsmanship.

 

Best regards,

 

Paul

[chupie]

I'm with Paul. I want to see these!

[Gatorade]

Heyyyyy...c'mon.....give up some pictures here!    They all sound beautiful, I'd love to see 'em.  I've never been so fortunate.  Let me tell you what a sheltered life I've ('til I came here).  My most expensive pen I've handled was a Waterman Edison.  The local place I go to doesn't permit you to ink 'em either.  I've come across a few Mont Blanc SEs...but frankly didn't want to touch 'em.  Maybe one day.....

 

I do love looking at Kevin C's 'site though....  Frankly have really come to enjoy my Densho ED.  It would be such a treat to have one with that fantastic artwork/craftsmanship.

 

Best regards,

 

Paul

I got so wraped up in hearing about all the LEs that were used that I forgot about asking for pics! Even better would be if you also included a writing sample in your favorite color ink. Or a nice ornate first letter of your name or the pens name. Be creative! This will be as close as some of us will get to actually seeing some of these. Please don't feel you need to ink one of these beauties up just for us but if one happens to be full and needs to get some exercise well then by all means share with us!

[Maja]

I own a Retro 51 'Abbondanza' LE pen---one of 351 made (mine is # 231/351) and I love using it. In the beginning, though, I have to admit I was a bit hesitant to use it....not because of the $$ I spent on it, but because it was an LE that took me forever to find (I finally bought mine from Dave Mallinder on Pentrace for a very reasonable price).....but I think pens are made to be used (unless they are historically-significant one-of-a-kind pieces, in which case they should probably be in a museum)

[sleek_lover]

Hmmmm

 

Most expensive....in basic retail...the MB Sterling Silver Meisterstruck...but I got it free as part of a deal for some emerald and diamond jewelry Peg was buying in St. Lucia. Tough negotiations...it was one of those.."throw in that MB over there and you got a deal" kind of thing. Full retail is probably in excess of $800.

 

Most expensive where I actually paid the price? Parker 51 Special Edition. Paid the $350 but the place where I got it threw in a Marlen Chagal, which I was lusting for anyway, so it was a good deal...

 

Rarest? That's easy... a 1927 Parker DuoFold Jr. Lucky Curve. It is rare because it is my father's high school graduation present and I do put it into rotation every now and then...

 

Bill...wondering what the hell happened to Rambling Snail...

Edited January 25, 2006 by paircon01

[chris burton]

I'd ink any pen in my collection, from a Sheaffer School pen to a One Million Dollar Montegrappa Peace Pen.  It is, after all, their intended function. 

 

Bryan

Exactly.

 

I don't know if any of these are "rare", but I've inked them. The two CP7's are #225 of 250. the LB1 is #50 of 100.

http://home.earthlink.net/~burtonchris/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/cptrio.jpg

 

The fifth pen from the left in this next pic is, I think, #3 of 9, and so is probably the rarest pen that I own. It only looks like a Stipula Novecento. It's really a PneuPen (by Lex Villines)

http://home.earthlink.net/~burtonchris/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/current.jpg

Edited January 25, 2006 by chris burton