What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[JonSzanto]

16 minutes ago, boilermaker1975 said:

@JonSzanto and @Penguincollector Thanks for your advice. I went ahead and got my order in. Goldspot is now sold out of all but the broad nibs. I may have gotten the last medium nib!

 

Ah, I'm very happy for you! When someone posted a notice about this pen, I thought it might be a nice addition, and what hooked me was that they had it at Vanness Pen Co, and this gave me a way to give them another holiday sale. I really 💘 those folks.

 

Side-note: about 5 days ago I was going through my folder of pen/related receipts, and came upon my original TWSBI purchase. For a TWSBI, this qualifies as 'vintage', as I still have it!

[PithyProlix]

23 hours ago, JonSzanto said:

Man, I need to start drinking my coffee...

 

What are you currently doing with your coffee? 😅😉

 

20 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

 @JonSzanto means the pens themselves, the swirling acrylic, kind of girthy pens with JoWo or Bock nibs that are being hand turned and sold at pen shows, or made into pens by Leonardo and Laban. 

 

You mean 'clown pens'. (Sorry/not sorry if that offends anyone!) I bought three - a large contemporary Esterbrook, a large Penlux, and a Montegrappa Elmo, all second hand mint - for no other reason that to flip them. That said, I decided to keep the Montegrappa mostly because it has the 1.1 nib but also because it is fairly tasteful for a swirly pen, it's a good match for the beautiful Kyo no oto Hisoku, and to have a token clown pen in my stable. Hopefully it won't become a sad & lonely clown...

 

The colors look similar to this limited Goulet exclusive but the pattern on mine is much less swirly/wavey - closer to the surface of a lake than a turgid sea. When I was trying to ID it online, I couldn't find another like mine. (I will take and post a photo if there is any interest.)

(Photo from https://www.gouletpens.com/blogs/fountain-pen-blog/montegrappa-elmo-limited-edition-history) 

 

20 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

What I’ve found is if you like the look of shimmer inks, but hate the cleanup, try the Sailor Hocoro.

 

Dip pens and brushes for me. Never worry about clogging. I think they need a wide line to bring out the shimmer anyway.

 

I typically like my ink to look calming with interestingly subtle colors and, as such, I am not a 'shimmer guy' (nor am I a 'sheen guy'). But ... I use it to make birthday cards and such plus love letters to my wife - basically stuff for others, not for myself. 

 

- PithyProlix, the swirly, shimmery, sheeny clown (not) 

[PithyProlix]

Ah, I found the seller's photos of my Montegrappa Elmo. Not too garish, I think. 

 

I am not much of a 'celluloid guy' either ... though I do like the striated material Sheaffer used on the Balance. 

 

[JonSzanto]

1 hour ago, PithyProlix said:

What are you currently doing with your coffee? 😅😉

 

At the time, I was watching it get cold. 🙃

 

As to the other, I'll stay with "swirly inksticks". I reserve "clown pens" for stronger stuff...

 

[Penguincollector]

1 hour ago, PithyProlix said:

Ah, I found the seller's photos of my Montegrappa Elmo. Not too garish, I think. 

 

I am not much of a 'celluloid guy' either ... though I do like the striated material Sheaffer used on the Balance. 

 

 

  That is a pretty good match for Hisoku! It’s such a delicate, lovely ink. I would also keep a stub. I don’t mind the swirls, just the repetitive nibs most have, and the size. I like my slim pens. This one is reminiscent of a Fortuny pleated dress, it’s so pretty. 

[Gloucesterman]

6 hours ago, PithyProlix said:

Ah, I found the seller's photos of my Montegrappa Elmo. Not too garish, I think. 

 

I am not much of a 'celluloid guy' either ... though I do like the striated material Sheaffer used on the Balance. 

 

Nice. 

I would not consider that to be a "clown" pen, if that's one of the ones to which you were referring.

[Doug C]

2 hours ago, Gloucesterman said:

Nice. 

I would not consider that to be a "clown" pen, if that's one of the ones to which you were referring.

Agree. It looks great. 

[InkyProf]

On 12/21/2025 at 10:33 AM, Ceramicist said:

You're welcome and no worries! I look forward to seeing your pen!

 

The little Bayard arrived today, along with the Onoto 5601 vac-filler -- here they are (along with today's pen, the Omas 556/F). The Bayard remains mysterious to me: it's small, 112mm capped, and has a PF (Panici Frères) 18k nib with the number 35 under the hallmark. There is a very, very, very faint fragment of an imprint visible: I can make out, on one line: "ALL??? AUTOMATIQUE", quotation marks included; the question marks indicate that there is room for two or three more letters after ALL but before AUTOMATIQUE, but I can't make out what they are or whether there were ever any there. (Professional epigraphers: I feel your pain.) There's also a three-digit number, probably 695, on the next line, roughly centered and in a smaller font. I don't see any other imprints or engravings anywhere. The seller told me that he thinks it's late-1920s, which would make sense, since Panici Frères wasn't renamed Bayard till 1932, I gather, but that he doesn't know a specific model or year. I haven't been able to identify it with the resources @Ceramicist provided, but I'm enjoying reading them!

 

 

[Ceramicist]

23 minutes ago, InkyProf said:

 

The little Bayard arrived today, along with the Onoto 5601 vac-filler -- here they are (along with today's pen, the Omas 556/F). The Bayard remains mysterious to me: it's small, 112mm capped, and has a PF (Panici Frères) 18k nib with the number 35 under the hallmark. There is a very, very, very faint fragment of an imprint visible: I can make out, on one line: "ALL??? AUTOMATIQUE", quotation marks included; the question marks indicate that there is room for two or three more letters after ALL but before AUTOMATIQUE, but I can't make out what they are or whether there were ever any there. (Professional epigraphers: I feel your pain.) There's also a three-digit number, probably 695, on the next line, roughly centered and in a smaller font. I don't see any other imprints or engravings anywhere. The seller told me that he thinks it's late-1920s, which would make sense, since Panici Frères wasn't renamed Bayard till 1932, I gather, but that he doesn't know a specific model or year. I haven't been able to identify it with the resources @Ceramicist provided, but I'm enjoying reading them!

 

 

The Bayard and Onoto are really beautiful pens! I believe the 35 denotes the size of the nib. Now you have me sleuthing concerning your Bayard. I also want an Onoto!

[InkyProf]

9 minutes ago, Ceramicist said:

The Bayard and Onoto are really beautiful pens! I believe the 35 denotes the size of the nib. Now you have me sleuthing concerning your Bayard. I also want an Onoto!

 

Thank you! I'll report back if I learn anything more about the Bayard, and please let me know if you do too!

[Misfit]

Wow, that nib! Very cool with the crossing fountain pens.

[AmandaW]

I am liking the pink Pilot Kakuno Madoromi that was a Christmas gift so much I looked at the Boxing Day sales and ordered a grey one (some sites call it brown, it looks grey 🤷‍♀️). I like grey. And brown. And pink...

 

Anyway, a few weeks ago I had a backlog of cleaning to do and updated my Pen Log as part of that process. I made a list of pens without converters so I could look for them in the sales. That's what caused the Kakuno.

 

[Ceramicist]

2 hours ago, InkyProf said:

 

Thank you! I'll report back if I learn anything more about the Bayard, and please let me know if you do too!

For certain!

[lamarax]

52 minutes ago, AmandaW said:

Anyway, a few weeks ago I had a backlog of cleaning to do and updated my Pen Log as part of that process.

 

Ugh. Please don't remind me the mountain of chores I've amassed ahead! 😜

[camelsuspicious]

7 hours ago, InkyProf said:

 

The little Bayard arrived today, along with the Onoto 5601 vac-filler -- here they are (along with today's pen, the Omas 556/F). The Bayard remains mysterious to me: it's small, 112mm capped, and has a PF (Panici Frères) 18k nib with the number 35 under the hallmark. There is a very, very, very faint fragment of an imprint visible: I can make out, on one line: "ALL??? AUTOMATIQUE", quotation marks included; the question marks indicate that there is room for two or three more letters after ALL but before AUTOMATIQUE, but I can't make out what they are or whether there were ever any there. (Professional epigraphers: I feel your pain.) There's also a three-digit number, probably 695, on the next line, roughly centered and in a smaller font. I don't see any other imprints or engravings anywhere. The seller told me that he thinks it's late-1920s, which would make sense, since Panici Frères wasn't renamed Bayard till 1932, I gather, but that he doesn't know a specific model or year. I haven't been able to identify it with the resources @Ceramicist provided, but I'm enjoying reading them!

 

 

@InkyProf - I am loving that Onoto - beautiful chasing and a nice clean imprint.   How does it write?  

[emetoyer]

On 12/17/2025 at 6:46 PM, camelsuspicious said:

The last 2 weeks I've had a few too many eBay purchases - to the point where I need to remove eBay from my phone!   I snagged a Conway Stewart Dinkie Ring Top, a green marble 479, a CS 15 Pen & Pencil Set, a trio of BCHR early CS Dinkies and a lot of 7 or so pens in various stages of disrepair.   Fortunately these are not at the high end of the price range, but when I also added a Pilot Custom 823 and my wife bought me a new Conway Stewart Churchill LE (and my boss gave me an Onoto Scholar) my collection has grown a little too fast in December!

The Onoto Scholar is a great writer, and the heather green a great color… hope you are enjoying it!

[InkyProf]

10 hours ago, camelsuspicious said:

How does it write?

Thanks! Not sure how it writes yet; I haven’t even dipped it. I’ll try to remember to tag you when I do!

[InkyProf]

@camelsuspicious since you asked! The Onoto is really, really nice, an immediate winner. On closer inspection, I think the Bayard might be a right oblique (or just have been worn down into one by a lefty), which probably accounts for some of its scratchy feel in my hand.

 

[Ceramicist]

10 minutes ago, InkyProf said:

@camelsuspicious since you asked! The Onoto is really, really nice, an immediate winner. On closer inspection, I think the Bayard might be a right oblique (or just have been worn down into one by a lefty), which probably accounts for some of its scratchy feel in my hand.

 

Nice samples. I am really enthralled with that Onoto 5601.

[InkyProf]

17 minutes ago, Ceramicist said:

Nice samples. I am really enthralled with that Onoto 5601.

Thank you, me too! It’s unusually long (132mm uncapped) for such a slender pen (the section maxes out at 9mm), which I appreciate, as it will let me use the pen unposted comfortably. And the chasing really is gorgeous. There was a black chased Conway Stewart for sale earlier in the year at Peyton Street that was similarly fabulous and seemingly unworn, but I waited too long. Didn’t want to make that mistake again.