What Motivates You To Buy?

[dms525]

Regarding the red ink: I actually have an old bottle of plain old Waterman's red that goes nicely with it. I do want to try the Diamine Red Dragon. Who makes Dakota Red? I'll go look that up...

 

Dakota Red is a Private Reserve ink.

[Sallent]

I went 17 months without purchasing a FP and felt good about beating the addiction and being content with the rotation I already had. Then this month I remembered that it's been 17 months since I've logged on to FPN, and I dropped by to check how things are going on this forum. What an expensive mistake! I've purchased 3 pens this month and my wallet is $550 lighter.

 

But on the positive side of things, I now own three great new pens.

[bitterwonder]

A nib that behaves unlike anything I already have. Something to add to my selection of tools.

[Mardi13]

Thanks all for taking the time to answer. I also popped over to the Chicago Pen Show thread and saw that some people go on what I would call "quests," heading into a show looking for very specific things, while others just go to see what's new and what might catch their fancy. Still others want to make up sets, or get as many different green pens as possible, or whatever. I am slowly figuring out what I like and lean toward, and am beginning to look around with those parameters in mind.

[Kataphract]

Pretty much for what it can do. I suppose if I had the funds, I might go looking for elegant pens that were a work of art in themselves, but at the moment, it's pretty much because:

 

1. I wanted a flex pen for drawing.

2. I wanted an extra fine point for drawing. Portability, high ink capacity, a non-balky nib with a postable cap were all points of consideration.

3. I want a stub nib for writing. 1.1 for now. Maybe different widths in the future. Maybe less forgiving nibs than a stub, also.

 

Always a specific purpose. Now, I may upgrade along the way on to a pen better at the task I wanted a previous one for, but for now, it has to serve a specific function. A possible motivation for the future is simply having pens dedicated to specific inks I like.

[ethernautrix]

FPN is definitely an enabler. When I joined fpn, I had already been using fountain pens for at least twenty years. I had had no idea that there were others who were as kooky for fountain pens as I was, even using my own jargon (such as "rotation"). After a few months (or maybe one), I entered the binge phase.

 

Having bought so many pens and tried many more, I came to learn what I really desired in a fountain pen - aesthetics, balance, comfort, and nib. Some chase the nib, but I look for the other three factors first; I can always change the nib.

 

And then, like Kataphract, I focused on purpose. This has helped me to reduce the number of pens I want to keep and to use them rather than let so many "rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use!"*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Tennyson, "Ulysses"

[fezz4734]

I buy probably for the feel of a new pen to my collection, I like to use them and see and feel how every new pen writes and maybe hopefully I try to find a pen I will absolutely love and will claim it as my favorite pen over the others and use it for mainly everything. Also, I could hand them down in my family and it's great to show people my new pen every now and then.

[Runnin_Ute]

Hard to say. Between number #2 and number #3 I went over 12 years. Number 3 (12/2012) was the same model as #2 with a different colored body and nib. (red marble/black and fine/medium respectively). I figured I knew what to expect. Pricing is usually a factor as well. I didn't pay over $100 for any of them.

 

Tried out the Pilot Varsity - wrote great, but not my cup of tea - passed all 3 on to others. The pen I paid the most for ($99) I eyeballed for months. No prior reviews on that exact model of True Writer, and the reviews of others were a mixed bag. It turned out to be one of my favorite pens. (Silver Anniversary with fine nib) I went from zero to 2 Pelikan's in one transaction....... I have 3 now.

 

Different pens, different motivations. Not always the same. I bought 2-3 just in January of this year.

Edited April 30, 2014 by Runnin_Ute

[ac12]

All of the above.