It's So Easy To Buy A Few Mid Fountain Pens But So Hard To Buy One Expensive Pen?

[The Blue Knight]

I can't be the only one who has this problem. I've done this for about 2 years know buying many cheaper pens over the year instead of buying one or two high end with the same money which would have really added something to the collection. I don't know if it's something to do with splittings the risks involved with the purchase over several pens or something else?

Edited February 11, 2015 by The Blue Knight

[Nick13]

I have had the same problem, in many cases it depends on your tastes. Sometimes I know I want to take a cheap pen since I know I will be doing something outdoorsy, other times, I will take a more expensive pen just to treat myself. I don't think there is anything wrong with getting a cheap pen, but I prefer to amass my money until I can get something of high quality.

 

 

 

All the best,

Nicholas

[Bo Bo Olson]

Mindless Greed.... and the Adrenaline Rush...of waiting for the mail man.

 

Belonging to the Pen of the Week in the Mail Club.

Pen of the Month Club is just as bad.

You have survived the first year......where your budget border expands, towards better pens.

What at first is expensive, becomes acceptable.

Now you have to join the Pen of the Quarter in the Mail Club.

 

I would suggest chasing the nib....and not the make and model....in you do need some 45 or so nibs of all flexes and widths, including an every other size of stub and CI.

 

How many semi-flex vintage nibs do you have? Have you any semi-flex Oblique nibs? That is the first step after having '4' basic nibs.

Just when you thought you were out of the woods.

[rezwrrd]

If I put together all the money I've spent on recent and vintage Parker 51 clones over the last few years, I would have enough to buy a decent real 51. However, I've enjoyed the experience of writing with Italian, Soviet, Chinese, and American takes on the same idea, and now I've got ten pens to play with instead of just one. I use my pens for notetaking at uni, so I prefer to use pens I wouldn't miss too much if they went missing somewhere.

[JotterAddict62]

I'm A vintage Parker junkie. I check out the local auctions in the area and decide on which ones to go to. When I check out the online auctions I look for something different that I do not have. Sometimes I look for a mate for a FP or pencil that I have to complete a set. A local auction in my area next week states in the paper a nice collection of items from the estate of a single 97 year old lady. I always have to check out these type of auctions.[ I'm such a ghoul ] It never ends.....

[ISW_Kaputnik]

It depends partly on where you think expensive starts. I've bought several pens in the $100 to $170 range, none above that. I can barely imagine spending $300 on some pens that I've looked at (not likely), $500 almost certainly not. $1000? Forget it, but why?

 

I think part of it is what I'd be paying for. Somewhere above $200 it seems to be harder to claim that you're getting a better pen, considered just as a pen. When people start justifying the price more in terms of craftsmanship, beauty, or artistry than for how it actually feels to write with the pen, that's where I get off. Not criticizing how other people make their decisions; it's just a matter of what's important to me.

 

And what the OP says about splitting the risks involved, that makes sense to me too. I don't feel too bad that two of my +$100 pens were rather disappointing; at least they work, and I'll probably sell them at a loss at some point. I've read some pretty discouraging reports, though, of pens costing more than $500 which were not ready to go out of the box, and needed all sorts of tweaking before they performed acceptably. The higher the price, the less willing I am to put up with any aggravation.

 

And finally, I've got my modern pens now. For any future purchases, I'm more interested in what bargains I can find on vintage pens.

[PolarMoonman]

I hate expensive pens because I love to tinker and am petrified of ruining or damaging a high end pen. I also prefer to disassemble my pens and clean the components to make sure it is in pristine condition.

 

I would rather buy five $20 pens than one $100 pen. You just get more and honestly when you hit that price point it really is the aesthetics and the name you're paying for. Two great examples are Montegrappas and Montblancs they cost hundreds to thousands and simply aren't worth it. My high price point is probably $75, I won't go any higher. Beyond that you're paying for more than just a nice writer and I don't wanna do that.

[Arkanabar]

I was brought up to start at the bottom of the range, and buy the cheapest one that has the minimum of performance and features you regard as necessary. Right now, for me, that's Konrads, lightweight piston fill pens of a suitable size, with a given section profile. I prefer the Pelikan Souveran/Tradition style where you don't have to remove a blind cap to work the piston, but not enough to pay 5 to 10 times as much. I'm also considering Metropolitans and additional Plaisirs, but I'd rather have the Konrads. It just means being patient.

[Blade Runner]

In my younger days a very wise person asked me: would you rather have a dozen of those middling pens you have been buying, pens that don't seem to keep your interest or that one expensive pen you've always been thinking about? With that little push I bought that expensive pen, and I loved it so much I didn't think about or buy another pen for a decade. I ended up saving quite a bit of money and time this way.

[Sasha Royale]

At the time, several "mid-range" pens fulfill a need, that is not satisfied by a top-tier pen.

A time will come, when the reverse is true.

 

A little madness adds to the worth of life. Steven shoveled the sidewalks of the entire

street, about 200 yards. I followed a couple of hours later, to clean the "dusting" that

fell after. I saw where 70-year-old Steven twice stopped to make snow angels.

[Lovely_Pen]

I too have been shocked by the amount of money overall I've spent on lower to mid-tier fountain pens. I guess a lot of it was I was just experimenting and exploring what there is out there...at least that's what I've telling myself. I know (generally) know now what I like and don't like--what works, and what doesn't.

 

Going forward though, I definitely think that I'll be curbing my spending habits and keeping my purchases of pens and ink to a few select higher-end items I know will satisfy for years to come. I'm also of the mindset that I don't need more than say 6-8 pens at any one time, so that'll be taken into account.

[SockAddict]

Okay, I haven't seen my answer yet: lack of patience! An expensive pen takes saving. A cheaper pen can be had now!

 

How much of this statement is honesty and how much is tongue in cheek I'll leave open to your interpretations …

[NinthSphere]

I don't really think of it as a "problem". Thanks to that pen database deal, I finally took a look at my spending over the last several months. Turns out I've spent about $1170 on 24 pens, not counting ink. That shocked me at first. Looking over the list of pens that I've bought, there are a few that I might have skipped over given a second chance, but for the vast majority, I can't think of a more expensive pen I would trade them for.

[inkstainedruth]

I think I'm kinda of the same mind as NinthSphere.

I haven't gone past the $200 US point. There are actually very few pens at that threshold and beyond that I actually want.

I'm doing pretty well with a lot of the low-end to mid-range pens, and the two high end pens I have (a couple of Pelikan 400s) I think did moderately okay on price-wise. I have a lot of my "grail pens" which is not too shabby for only having been doing this for about -- make that almost exactly -- three years from when I found my way here. A lot of really expensive pens are just too over the top for me -- even the tasteful ones (I don't, for instance, want a maki-e pen, even though some of the ones I've seen pictures of are really beautiful). I'm finding I'm more attracted to simpler, plainer pens, especially vintage ones, for the most part.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Hector67]

For me it will always be better to save up and get one or two pens a year vs. 10 or 20. Regardless of the cost.

[VivienR]

What's mid range anyway?

For me mid range means Parker Sonnet (the regular ones). I'm big fan of it, and have 7 of it. Why because I like their finis, their look and their performance, but still isn't as expensive, which wouldn't move out from home. But my Sonnet collection is almost done, so its time for the pricier ones. Have my desires, and if I like the pen, how its look (it's important for me) than I scale back for buy a highly priced pen.

[The Blue Knight]

For me mid range means Parker Sonnet (the regular ones). I'm big fan of it, and have 7 of it. Why because I like their finis, their look and their performance, but still isn't as expensive, which wouldn't move out from home. But my Sonnet collection is almost done, so its time for the pricier ones. Have my desires, and if I like the pen, how its look (it's important for me) than I scale back for buy a highly priced pen.

 

Have you ever tried a Parker Frontier? Shares a lot with the Sonnet and is a good beater pen.

[FountainPages]

Every now and again comes a pen that punches way above it's weight class ie, price. For the most part, you generally get what you pay for. After a bunch of midrange disappointments, I put my money into well established brands and in particular, those who still make their own nibs. These brands tend to cost between 250USD to 500USD but I am quite happy. My stable consists of an Aurora Optima, Pelikan M600, 2 GvF-C Intuitions and, a Lamy 2000.

Edited February 15, 2015 by FountainPages

[PolarMoonman]

 

Have you ever tried a Parker Frontier? Shares a lot with the Sonnet and is a good beater pen.

 

+1 Get one!

[ParkersAndPaper]

I've been a "user" for about four years and a "collector" for the last two. Over that time I've amassed thirty or so Parkers of various vintages. Although I do have flagship models like the 51, 61, & Sonnet, none of my pens have cost me over $50.00USD. I got very luck on my 51, snagging a beauty for under $30USD.

 

After my two year exploration I feel like I too am ready to make the move on a silver Cisele Parker75. Of course this means I'll have to cut the small and mid-range purchases for a while.