What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[HogwldFLTR]

3 hours ago, JonSzanto said:

 

I didn't notice if, earlier, you said what size (tip) the nib was, as that can sometimes affect what ink I use. However, the Bexley pens have good nib units in them, and I would expect pretty much any good, standard fountain pen ink to work well (I'm setting aside shimmer/glitter inks from this).

Mine was an M type and had a generous flow without being too wet. I had it for a couple months and then a year ago, at the LA Pen Show, I had Gena Salorino put an italic grind on it. I really love it this way and eventually settled on Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-guri, which is a chestnut brown with a hint of grey. I don't always try to go matchy-matchy but I like this ink for correspondence and it looks very nice inside the pen in that tank. The design of the section makes it easy to flush the nib and feed, so you can experiment with a few inks. Enjoy!

Mine is a fine. Thanks!!!

Edited January 25, 2021 by HogwldFLTR

[inkstainedruth]

Well, I did it again yesterday.  Went to the antiques place where I got the Waterman Exclusive (and the click window Parker Jotter I traded to JotterAddict62) and found what may be a NOS Sheaffer calligraphy set.  Pen looks like it might be a No Nonsense (blue), and comes with three italic nib units and four Skrip cartridges.  The cartridges might be somewhat evaporated (the brown is about a third empty; the red is more than half empty).  Guessing from the mid to late 1980s (possibly later) -- the instructions have a copyright date of 1985. But for eight bucks plus sales tax?  Sort of a no brainer. 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Misfit]

This might not be too impulsive as I knew I would order this pen if the Chiefs won the AFC championship to go to the Super Bowl. That just happened, so I bought a red Lamy Safari with 1.1mm nib from Vanness.  
 

I got a Kaweco red Ice Sport with 1.1mm nib  last year because the red Safari was sold out. Red is the main team color. 

[Dylan Skolnick]

On 1/23/2021 at 3:05 AM, carola said:

The silver one or the black striped one?

The silver one. Medium nib.

[jchch1950]

Lamy Studio Glacier. An incredible colour and a proven design.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Essayfaire,...just to show the picture of a pretty pen.

A few months ago....could be a year ago, I got a brown marbled 200, but in EF needing something for editing. The pen is prettier than the picture. With permission of Fritz.

 

[N1003U]

1 hour ago, jchch1950 said:

Lamy Studio Glacier. An incredible colour and a proven design.

Nice pen. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it when I ordered it, but it has become my most-used Lamy. Yes, a very nice colo(u)r, that Glacier.

[N1003U]

27 minutes ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

Essayfaire,...just to show the picture of a pretty pen.

A few months ago....could be a year ago, I got a brown marbled 200, but in EF needing something for editing. The pen is prettier than the picture. With permission of Fritz.

 

Thanks for the temptation. Every time I see this pen, I talk to myself and ask, "yes, it is pretty, but do I need another Pelikan M200?"

 

A very similar conversation occurs when I go in and stand in front of the counter at my local ice cream stand. More often than not, I come out with more ice cream. It is not about need...sometimes impulses are what life is made of.

 

...and just like that, my latest impulsive pen acquisition is--a Pelikan M200 Brown Marbled...

[Karmachanic]

3 hours ago, N1003U said:

Thanks for the temptation. Every time I see this pen, I talk to myself and ask, "yes, it is pretty, but do I need another Pelikan M200?"..

 

I've learned to ask 'what does this pen do that my existing pens don't'?  In this instance, what is this M200 going to do that my existing M200 does not. Nothing. Well OK, more money for ice cream!

[twigletzone]

Sheaffer Prelude. Nothing fancy but it was a lovely matte grey colourway with gunmetal trim and I knew I wanted to buy a Prelude at *some* point because they're so well liked. (I always seem to get on with Sheaffer pens.)

[mizgeorge]

A Pelikan Celebry - just such a pretty nib and I've never had a c/c Pelikan. 

And a few vintage bits and pieces.

[N1003U]

4 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

 

I've learned to ask 'what does this pen do that my existing pens don't'?  In this instance, what is this M200 going to do that my existing M200 does not. Nothing. Well OK, more money for ice cream!

Good point. The price of an M200 will buy a LOT of ice cream.

 

On the other hand, if I phrase the question too restrictively, I might never buy another fountain pen, ever. It can get dangerous when one starts acting rationally... 😛 

[WhiteStarPens]

I have a Parker Little Red on its way to me this week - perhaps when it arrives some of the Parker buffs can help me pin-point exactly which Duofold Jr. variation it is?

 

2 hours ago, twigletzone said:

Sheaffer Prelude. Nothing fancy but it was a lovely matte grey colourway with gunmetal trim and I knew I wanted to buy a Prelude at *some* point because they're so well liked. (I always seem to get on with Sheaffer pens.)

My first fountain pen proper was an iridescent red & chrome Sheaffer 300 (I believe the Preludes are similar), bought for me as a gift in the Ypres stationers Boudry (not far from the Menin Gate) alongside some Sheaffer emerald cartridges and a bottle of Herbin Eclat de Saphir, back in 2011 and it has served me supremely and continuously ever since.

 

Boudry continue to trade to this day and may they continue to do so! - I've never bought Herbin from anywhere else.

[WhiteStarPens]

4 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

 

I've learned to ask 'what does this pen do that my existing pens don't'?  In this instance, what is this M200 going to do that my existing M200 does not. Nothing. Well OK, more money for ice cream!

My chocolate brown M200 also came from Boudry (see above) and I'm wondering whether or not I should try installing an M400 nib - I've never tried a Pelikan gold nib, so I'm on the fence about this very question. Any thoughts on the subject?

[N1003U]

1 minute ago, WhiteStarPens said:

I'm wondering whether or not I should try installing an M400 nib - I've never tried a Pelikan gold nib, so I'm on the fence about this very question. Any thoughts on the subject?

Pelikan gold nibs, IME, do tend toward "fat and blobby," but they sure are smooth and fun to skid around with on smooth paper. My latest one, an M, is a little bit stubby and has a bit of character.

 

The gold nibs are pretty and well-polished (very little feedback), but given the choice, I almost prefer the springiness and minor feedback of the steel nibs.

 

My opinion: if the price of the nib is not for you a significant investment, give one a try and compare to the steel. You can always sell it again if you don't like it.

[WhiteStarPens]

12 minutes ago, N1003U said:

Pelikan gold nibs, IME, do tend toward "fat and blobby," but they sure are smooth and fun to skid around with on smooth paper. My latest one, an M, is a little bit stubby and has a bit of character.

 

The gold nibs are pretty and well-polished (very little feedback), but given the choice, I almost prefer the springiness and minor feedback of the steel nibs.

 

My opinion: if the price of the nib is not for you a significant investment, give one a try and compare to the steel. You can always sell it again if you don't like it.

Hello! Many thanks for your reply, it does sound like fun to try one out. As you say, the springiness and slight tooth are part of the steel nib's appeal; I might have to shop around for another Pelikan now!

[Karmachanic]

51 minutes ago, N1003U said:

Good point. The price of an M200 will buy a LOT of ice cream.

 

On the other hand, if I phrase the question too restrictively, I might never buy another fountain pen, ever. It can get dangerous when one starts acting rationally... 😛 

 

Irrationality will lead to far more horrors.

 

As far as no more pens;  do you have a Nayaka, Danitro, Eboya, Manu Propia, Delta, Omas, MB 139, 1930s Duofold, Yard O Lead, Conid, Hakase, Soennecken Präsident .................?

[N1003U]

1 hour ago, Karmachanic said:

 

Irrationality will lead to far more horrors.

 

As far as no more pens;  do you have a Nayaka, Danitro, Eboya, Manu Propia, Delta, Omas, MB 139, 1930s Duofold, Yard O Lead, Conid, Hakase, Soennecken Präsident .................?

 

Indeed, irrationality has already wrought horror for me (and probably will continue to in the future) in one way or another.

 

To answer the direct question: some yes, some no, but in general, yes, for most of what carries interest for me. I got elbowed out or my mother's classic Duofold by one of my siblings (not sure of the year, but it is pre-war), but I made up for it by buying a custom pen in Parker Orange that is color-wise a dead ringer for the vintage real thing, and I think of both my mother and my greedy sibling (who doesn't even use the Duofold) every time I use it.

 

My collection is a little light on Japanese Urushi models, and there is of course the limited-edition Montegrappa Saturn V, but that will have to wait for a bit more irrational exuberance.

 

Since this is a thread on impulsive acquisitions, I would just put it this way, most of the pens listed above, in my household, require CFO approval, and probably would not count as impulsive. Fortunately, the executive with purchasing approval authority is as corrupt as I am, and can be bribed into acquiescence.

[essayfaire]

7 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

Essayfaire,...just to show the picture of a pretty pen.

A few months ago....could be a year ago, I got a brown marbled 200, but in EF needing something for editing. The pen is prettier than the picture. With permission of Fritz.

 

This looks even prettier than in the picture I saw.  To make it even better, I won a pen by placing an order than day and it looks to be a pretty nice one!  I love brown inks, so I have many things I can imagine pairing with this!  Maybe Diamine Cocoa Shimmer.

7 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

 

I've learned to ask 'what does this pen do that my existing pens don't'?  In this instance, what is this M200 going to do that my existing M200 does not. Nothing. Well OK, more money for ice cream!

This pen is a bold; my other M200 is an EF. So I'm good with the justification!

[carola]

3 hours ago, WhiteStarPens said:

My chocolate brown M200 also came from Boudry (see above) and I'm wondering whether or not I should try installing an M400 nib - I've never tried a Pelikan gold nib, so I'm on the fence about this very question. Any thoughts on the subject?

Or you could buy a vintage 400/400NN nib. These are REALLY nice gold nibs, many of them with a lot of flex and the broad ones rather stubby. They should fit a modern M200 or M400 allright if you make sure they are screw-in models and not friction-fit ones, but most of those still around are screw-in ones.

 

As for the nib width, they tend to be a little bit narrower than the modern gold nibs, which should correspond to the modern steel nibs.