Jump to content

The Bay Of E: Volte-Face


Cryptos

Recommended Posts

Well, I have to take a deep, deep breath before saying this...

 

As I have more or less resigned myself to a non-Parker 51-fulfilled future, I decided to turn my attention to the only other vintage brand (not including Sheaffer) that appeals to me: Wahl Eversharp. Not all pens from this brand excite me, just a handful of models really - and I don't know why. I just like the look of them I guess.

 

Anyway, after conferring with my benefactors I was given permission to put up the donated funds - originally earmarked for the will-o-the-wisp P51 - toward something else. So, over the last few days I had a look around and spotted a couple of interesting Eversharps on our favourite auction site. Despite stating that I should not get involved with the auction process, as I am really too stupid to use it, I threw caution to the wind and plunked down a couple of bids.

 

As the saying has it, sometimes when it rains, it pours. Upshot is that somehow I ended up winning both! This is the first time I have ever won an auction, and I hadn't really planned on buying both pens, but there it is. I have a Skyline (gold ring cap) and a Symphony (with Loewy cap) heading in my direction. The seller said they were not restored but the pictures seemed okay to me. No doubt they will probably need new inside bits thus showing what a true dumbass I can be and doubling the price, but there's nothing I can do about that right now except consider sending them off to one of the excellent restorers from FPN.

 

I feel a little better about Fleabay now, though not enough to make me stop feeling like I am prodding a rattlesnake with a stick that is 2ft too short.

 

 

Any advice on this foolish and unexpected acquisition is welcome.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 15
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Cryptos

    4

  • penmanila

    2

  • JonSzanto

    2

  • inkstainedruth

    2

Similar to you, I had pretty much decided to take the "Road Less Traveled" and steer away from the Parker 51.

 

Then I found an interesting video from someone in my local pen group and posted on our site. Here is the link to a video that i found informative and "course adjusting". Although I have not jumped in to the 51 market --- YET, I am definitely more open to it than I was.

 

http://bostonpenpeople.org/Boston_Pen_People/Videos.html

“Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today, because if you do it today and like it, you can do again tomorrow!”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One never knows. I got a black 51 Vac last year as the only bidder (probably because there were some issues: a mismatched cap, and a chip out of the hood). I had bid on a whim, not really paying a whole lot of attention (sort of a "swing at anything" mindset), because my real focus that week was on the Plum Demi auction that ended the day before. And ended up not only getting both, but they then came in the mail the same day.

Let us know how the pens are when you get them! And welcome to the 51-virus! (I apparently only had a mild case -- 3 Aeros and the Vac; but still cheaper than Vac fever -- which I now have). Or Pelikanitis -- now that IS an expensive one to have acquired...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah, Ruth, I don't think a P51 is in any of my possible futures. Tons of them out there but having never seen one up close and personal I feel exceptionally naked in bidding on one. Just too risky. If a member here says a pen is such and such, well that is one thing. On the 'bay? I have no such confidence I'm afraid. Nothing against the sellers, it is my own deep well of inexperience that stops me going all out on one. Shame really, but there it is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Congratulations on your new pens! Hope they end up being in good condition.

 

Pen restoration can become it's own money sink if you end up getting lots of vintage pens. Not to discourage you, but just fyi. I just plunked down $100 to get a bunch of sacs and j-bars to finish the basic restorations. Then I'll have to work on the nib and flow...

 

So if you have qualified restorers in NZ and Oz, sending pens to them may be cheaper.

 

Again, good luck and congrats!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

You know, if there are pens you like, and would really like to add to your use, you just need to set a further timeline and then decide whether to continue searching on auction sites, or deal with a reputable dealer.

 

You seem hesitant to say precisely how much you are willing to spend, which completely cramps a lot of detailed advice. There are any number of pen sellers who have good pens available, they just won't be a steal like you can occasionally get in an auction (from a seller who doesn't know their product). Having said that, spending weeks and not days watching auctions is important, without even bidding on them. You really need to get a feel for what is out there. Most of the mistakes people make is when they don't know enough about the item itself (i.e. what kind of repairs are simple, and which are costly) as well as how that particular item's market is fluctuating. Impatience is rarely rewarded in the hotbed of the auction pit.

 

I wait. I watch. I've had a Skyline in mind for, oh, maybe 2 years or so, back-burner kind of thing. Pulled one down for $22.00 and all I needed to do was put a new sac in it and do some exterior cleaning/polishing. I have a pen that writes as well as any, flexes from F-BB, and looks brand new.

 

Just because I waited for it. Well, and I was there when it showed up, too. ;)

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not to mentrion, you can even have Fleabay tap you on the shoulder whenever any certain brand/model pen you desire is listed.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

Link to comment
Share on other sites

sometimes i even pick up pens i don't really need or particularly like, just because--well, they're there and seem to be great bargains, so i get them for a future sale or trade. like this one i got last week:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/antique-Pelican-fountain-pen-nice-shape-with-extra-refill-nib-cartridge-/161331848536?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=vlRORedIylGBdnUf6X4sJEk%252Fy%252Fo%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

 

it's an old-style M200 advertised as an "antique pelican" (yes, with a C). stumbled on it while trawling for "antique" under "fountain pens."

 

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll296/penmanila/_57_zps527f8ac3.jpg

 

i'm not a big fan of small pens, but for $40, i might even get to like this one ;)

Check out my blog and my pens

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i'm not a big fan of small pens, but for $40, i might even get to like this one ;)

 

Hehe. Well done!

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, being given an M200 by a friend (she got it on Freecycle!) maybe trumps you, penmanilla. But that looks like it's a prettier color (mine has the marbled section in green, not blue). And yours probably doesn't have the Bayer corporate logo on it either.... So I would definitely call that acquisition a "sumgai" on your part. Nice score.

Especially since it was a *lot* cheaper than the M400 brown tortoise I got a few months ago (I was just happy that it was under my max bid -- and only *somewhat* mollified the husband by pointing out that it was *still* cheaper than a new M400 would cost -- and probably not be able to get that color in a "new" pen). But no -- I'm not considering trying to buy it off you, just admiring....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

edited for typos

Edited by inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks, ruth! not to one-up you (there's a downside to this, i assure you), i took possession of a "free" brand-new tortoise M415 a few years ago--from my wife, who won it as the grand prize in a raffle of our pen club here in manila. of course i wish i'd won it myself, but since i didn't, the next best thing was to have my wife win, which then allowed me to reason (with my wife, of course) that the pen was conjugal property, and that i owned at least half of it. further pesterings and pleadings finally yielded me the other half, and the pen was mine--is still mine--but my wife has made me pay for it not only in numerous other pens but all manner of extravagant favors. beware the cheap and the free! ;)

 

 

Okay, being given an M200 by a friend (she got it on Freecycle!) maybe trumps you, penmanilla. But that looks like it's a prettier color (mine has the marbled section in green, not blue). And yours probably doesn't have the Bayer corporate logo on it either.... So I would definitely call that acquisition a "sumgai" on your part. Nice score.

Especially since it was a *lot* cheaper than the M400 brown tortoise I got a few months ago (I was just happy that it was under my max bid -- and only *somewhat* mollified the husband by pointing out that it was *still* cheaper than a new M400 would cost -- and probably not be able to get that color in a "new" pen). But no -- I'm not considering trying to buy it off you, just admiring....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

edited for typos

Check out my blog and my pens

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33501
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26627
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...