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What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?


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The prototypical impulsive pen-purchasing act, for me, is to go on eBay, search for "vintage fountain pens" and then sort the list by "ending soonest," seeing something that is ending in less that 5 minutes and with few or no bids, and going for it. I haven't done that in quite a while now, but I did it yesterday. The result: a large Wearever orange flat-top with a GP nib, as a possible new home for a gold Warranted nib I have floating bodiless on my desk. 

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17 hours ago, Paul-in-SF said:

The prototypical impulsive pen-purchasing act, for me, is to go on eBay, search for "vintage fountain pens" and then sort the list by "ending soonest," seeing something that is ending in less that 5 minutes and with few or no bids, and going for it. I haven't done that in quite a while now, but I did it yesterday. The result: a large Wearever orange flat-top with a GP nib, as a possible new home for a gold Warranted nib I have floating bodiless on my desk. 

 

Oh that is impulsive indeed! And probably a little exciting as you never know what you are going to see when you run the search! Sounds fun, but I will have no experience with vintage stuff, so I tend to only buy new or lightly used (are the Classifieds EVER coming back??).

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On 4/16/2022 at 1:46 AM, A Smug Dill said:

A Marlen Aleph with a flexible steel nib. I suspect I'll regret that one.

 

That didn't work out, and I ended up pulling the plug before the item was shipped. Now considering spending the refund (and then some!) on getting a Pelikan M605 Black-Tortoiseshell instead, which I guess would make it the opposite of impulsive?

I endeavour to be frank and truthful in what I write, show or otherwise present, when I relate my first-hand experiences that are not independently verifiable; and link to third-party content where I can, when I make a claim or refute a statement of fact in a thread. If there is something you can verify for yourself, I entreat you to do so, and judge for yourself what is right, correct, and valid. I may be wrong, and my position or say-so is no more authoritative and carries no more weight than anyone else's here.

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21 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

Now considering spending the refund (and then some!) on getting a Pelikan M605 Black-Tortoiseshell instead, which I guess would make it the opposite of impulsive?

Not if you end up buying on a whim a Waterman 0552, @A Smug Dill... 🤪

Edited by OldTravelingShoe
Corrected the Waterman identifier.
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3 hours ago, sirgilbert357 said:

are the Classifieds EVER coming back??).

I'm wondering if they ever existed or if they were just a collective mirage. 

Festina lente

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence

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4 hours ago, essayfaire said:

I'm wondering if they ever existed or if they were just a collective mirage. 

 

My current phrase is "Are we there yet?".

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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My most recent impulse was a nib for the M800, but I shouldn't think of it as impulsive, because I've been looking for months.

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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"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

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5 hours ago, JonSzanto said:

spacer.png

 

 

Oh my, what is it? Other than BEAUTIFUL???

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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TL;DR: An Akkerman fountain pen that I believe was made in the Netherlands in the 1930s or 1940s. Button filler, 18k gold nib with quite a bit of flex (say, EF-B). Bought in the Delft market, a bit ago. Currently with a pen expert to replace the l-bar and add a rubber sac. Pics follow. 

 

Request: if anyone knows something about this pen, model, when and where it was made with more accuracy than my guess, etc., please share. 

 

large.1077930766_FPAkkerman18KFnib03Unpackupward.jpg.9316afc2241a5b6a5d706c44c95d5435.jpg

Figure 1. The Akkerman fountain pen in its glory. 

 

large.1755080805_FPAkkerman18KFnib02Nib.jpg.e4197734b62557439224cc6289d28554.jpg

Figure 2. Zoom-in on the nib. 

 

large.371445949_FPAkkerman18KFnib04BodyEngraving.jpg.4e683ebb6263db34f4c1cea4ec06874f.jpg

Figure 3. Engraving "P. W. Akkerman" and "Amsterdam - Den Haag", where the shops used to be. May be useful for dating the pen. 

 

large.868345221_FPAkkerman18KFnib01Size.jpg.27272732eb29302ac2c576469f951531.jpg

(top) 

large.203732595_FPAkkerman18KFnib01bSizePosted.jpg.bbebe322d401931ca87652294c7af210.jpg

(middle) 

large.1372514863_FPAkkerman18KFnib01cSizeComparison.jpg.ccb5b17fda0cd258e44ae3c5eb05d228.jpg

(bottom) 

Figure 4. Sizing the Akkerman pen: (top) Alone, pen body, uncapped; (middle) Alone, capped; (bottom) The size of the Akkerman pen compared to a Ranga Splendour (giant pen), Platinum 1970s pocket pen, and Kaweco Sport Classic (red, tiny pen). 

 

For more pics, see my album OldTravelingShoe's Random Pics of European Fountain Pens: nib side-view, nib and feed view, pen unpacked

 

Comments are most welcome. More historical info about Akkerman pens, too. Note I cannot take more photos or do more tests until the pen returns from the repair shop. 

 

Because I have seen repeatedly several people around Dutch-made pens, I will tag them here. If this is intrusive, I apologize and will not repeat. Here it goes: @wimg, @DvdRiet@TheDutchGuy, @RMN, @Dutchpen, etc. 

 

 

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6 hours ago, amberleadavis said:

 

 

Oh my, what is it? Other than BEAUTIFUL???

 

Looks like a Franklin-Christoph with a Bock nib? *squinting*

 

Edit: Ah, yes, it is. Just click on the picture.

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6 hours ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

TL;DR: An Akkerman fountain pen that I believe was made in the Netherlands in the 1930s or 1940s. Button filler, 18k gold nib with quite a bit of flex (say, EF-B). Bought in the Delft market, a bit ago. Currently with a pen expert to replace the l-bar and add a rubber sac. Pics follow. 

 

Request: if anyone knows something about this pen, model, when and where it was made with more accuracy than my guess, etc., please share. 

 

large.1077930766_FPAkkerman18KFnib03Unpackupward.jpg.9316afc2241a5b6a5d706c44c95d5435.jpg

Figure 1. The Akkerman fountain pen in its glory. 

 

large.1755080805_FPAkkerman18KFnib02Nib.jpg.e4197734b62557439224cc6289d28554.jpg

Figure 2. Zoom-in on the nib. 

 

large.371445949_FPAkkerman18KFnib04BodyEngraving.jpg.4e683ebb6263db34f4c1cea4ec06874f.jpg

Figure 3. Engraving "P. W. Akkerman" and "Amsterdam - Den Haag", where the shops used to be. May be useful for dating the pen. 

 

large.868345221_FPAkkerman18KFnib01Size.jpg.27272732eb29302ac2c576469f951531.jpg

(top) 

large.203732595_FPAkkerman18KFnib01bSizePosted.jpg.bbebe322d401931ca87652294c7af210.jpg

(middle) 

large.1372514863_FPAkkerman18KFnib01cSizeComparison.jpg.ccb5b17fda0cd258e44ae3c5eb05d228.jpg

(bottom) 

Figure 4. Sizing the Akkerman pen: (top) Alone, pen body, uncapped; (middle) Alone, capped; (bottom) The size of the Akkerman pen compared to a Ranga Splendour (giant pen), Platinum 1970s pocket pen, and Kaweco Sport Classic (red, tiny pen). 

 

For more pics, see my album OldTravelingShoe's Random Pics of European Fountain Pens: nib side-view, nib and feed view, pen unpacked

 

Comments are most welcome. More historical info about Akkerman pens, too. Note I cannot take more photos or do more tests until the pen returns from the repair shop. 

 

Because I have seen repeatedly several people around Dutch-made pens, I will tag them here. If this is intrusive, I apologize and will not repeat. Here it goes: @wimg, @DvdRiet@TheDutchGuy, @RMN, @Dutchpen, etc. 

 

 

 

I actually have this exact same Akkerman pen and would also like to know more about it. Mine happens to have an Akkerman branded nib on it. It writes a lot like the vintage Bock nib that came on a tiny Duchesse pen I have. I got this one together with another Akkerman pen that was quite a bit larger and a very nice blue candy-striped. Both had Akkerman nibs. But the bigger blue one turned out to be unusable because someone had removed too much of the barrel material, including the threads, trying to get rid of an inscription. So the cap no longer fit, unfortunately. (I gave it to Carlo for parts ;) )

 

I don't know anything about Akkerman pens, unfortunately. I have only heard that the two shops used to be the same company but split apart at some point (no idea when) and the Amsterdam shop is now, from what I understand, completely unrelated to the shop in The Hague.

 

So, I'm just as curious as you are about this little pen!

 

Edit to add nib photo:

large.IMG_2617.jpg.230b99bed73f3c36ce2f4d33d1387d71.jpg

Edited by DvdRiet
add photo

Co-founded the Netherlands Pen Club. DM me if you would like to know about our meetups and join our Discord!

 

Currently attempting to collect the history of Diplomat pens.

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1 hour ago, carola said:

 

Looks like a Franklin-Christoph with a Bock nib? *squinting*

 

Edit: Ah, yes, it is. Just click on the picture.

ooooh!  I'm debating doing a weekend roadtrip to Franklin Christophe.  Has anyone worked with them in Raleigh or at a pen show?

Festina lente

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence

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8 hours ago, amberleadavis said:

Oh my, what is it? Other than BEAUTIFUL???

 

AmberLea, I didn't mean to be especially sneaky or vague, just didn't get back after the teaser. As Carola mentioned, it is a Franklin-Christoph pen, the Model 20. it is one of the few modern slip cap pens, meaning that there are no threads whatsoever. They have spent time on the design and have very exacting machining standards, which means that the cap holds very securely both to close as well as to post. Additionally, they put in a certain taper such that when the cap is pulled off, there is no vacuum lock that would pull drops of ink out of the nib, somewhat common in slip caps of 100 years ago. It is very well balanced and superb in finish.

 

The reason is is in an impulse buy thread is that while I had two others, purchased used for curious interest sake, once I knew I like this pen I put my eye on a particular material, the one shown: Earthstone. Naturally, it was a short-run batch of pens, a limited edition (FC is known for this) and was long gone. Fortunately, a pen friend remembered I was looking and pinged me when she decided to sell hers!

 

47 minutes ago, essayfaire said:

ooooh!  I'm debating doing a weekend roadtrip to Franklin Christophe.  Has anyone worked with them in Raleigh or at a pen show?

 

Well, they are a pretty well-known company and are very popular with a certain segment (newer) of the pen world. They are regulars at many US pen shows and not only have a wonderful display, including inked testers with each of their nib offerings, but also usually have a good number of 'prototypes' or trial pens in new materials, which usually leads to a feeding frenzy the first hours of the show. I don't know if they take visitors to their facility, but they have a very nice web site and you can contact them from there to ask.

 

 

"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

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29 minutes ago, JonSzanto said:

usually leads to a feeding frenzy the first hours of the show.

Hmmmm.  I usually avoid feeding frenzies, even when we're not in Covidland.  I think I will find out if they take visitors by appointment.  

 

30 minutes ago, JonSzanto said:

Well, they are a pretty well-known company and are very popular with a certain segment (newer) of the pen world.

That's interesting, given they aren't a new company.  

Festina lente

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence

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9 hours ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

TL;DR: An Akkerman fountain pen that I believe was made in the Netherlands in the 1930s or 1940s. Button filler, 18k gold nib with quite a bit of flex (say, EF-B). Bought in the Delft market, a bit ago. Currently with a pen expert to replace the l-bar and add a rubber sac. Pics follow. 

 

Request: if anyone knows something about this pen, model, when and where it was made with more accuracy than my guess, etc., please share. 

 

 

Figure 1. The Akkerman fountain pen in its glory. 

 

 

Figure 2. Zoom-in on the nib. 

 

large.371445949_FPAkkerman18KFnib04BodyEngraving.jpg.4e683ebb6263db34f4c1cea4ec06874f.jpg

Figure 3. Engraving "P. W. Akkerman" and "Amsterdam - Den Haag", where the shops used to be. May be useful for dating the pen. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WOW WOW WOW that is a beautiful pen and those are wonderful pictures. Thank you for sharing!

 

42 minutes ago, JonSzanto said:

 

AmberLea, I didn't mean to be especially sneaky or vague, just didn't get back after the teaser. As Carola mentioned, it is a Franklin-Christoph pen, the Model 20. it is one of the few modern slip cap pens, meaning that there are no threads whatsoever. They have spent time on the design and have very exacting machining standards, which means that the cap holds very securely both to close as well as to post. Additionally, they put in a certain taper such that when the cap is pulled off, there is no vacuum lock that would pull drops of ink out of the nib, somewhat common in slip caps of 100 years ago. It is very well balanced and superb in finish.

 

The reason is is in an impulse buy thread is that while I had two others, purchased used for curious interest sake, once I knew I like this pen I put my eye on a particular material, the one shown: Earthstone. Naturally, it was a short-run batch of pens, a limited edition (FC is known for this) and was long gone. Fortunately, a pen friend remembered I was looking and pinged me when she decided to sell hers!

 

 

 

 

 

I figured it was an FC, but I didn't recognize it and now I know why.  CONGRATS!  That is a beautiful pen and again, nice pictures!

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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i was at a very large out of town yard sale recently and one of the tables had this pen in a light wooden box among a bunch of other (not pen) stuff. After a quick look where I noticed the "Pilot' name on the clip, I asked how much. The woman said $5.00. I gave here the money and walked away with the pen. A few  moments later I checked out the pen more closely and found what I recognized as a Pilot maki-e, urushi pen with a 14K #5 gold (M) nib and a CON 70 converter. I went back to the woman and gave her more money. I asked for her phone # and said that if the pen was what I thought it was I would contact her and send more money. At home I did some checking at the Pilot site, eB, etsy, etc. and found this thing is worth maybe $200-$300. When I decide whether to keep it for me or sell it I will contact her and send some more money. i love doing crazy things.

That was the only "buy" at the sale and I am still floating!

 

Oh, one more thing. After I bought the pen I ran into a pen friend and showed him the pen. I said, "I think this might be a maki-e'. He looked at it and said, "nope, I don't think this is maki-e."

 

Hope the pictures are good enough to see that the pen is, in fact, a Pilot Namiki Hira Urushi Maki-E Ume Plum Fountain Pen.

 

Impulse Buy view 1.jpg

Impulse Buy view 2.jpg

“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!”

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OH MY GOODNESS that is BEAUTIFUL!!!

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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39 minutes ago, Gloucesterman said:

i was at a very large out of town yard sale recently and one of the tables had this pen in a light wooden box among a bunch of other (not pen) stuff. After a quick look where I noticed the "Pilot' name on the clip, I asked how much. The woman said $5.00. I gave here the money and walked away with the pen. A few  moments later I checked out the pen more closely and found what I recognized as a Pilot maki-e, urushi pen with a 14K #5 gold (M) nib and a CON 70 converter. I went back to the woman and gave her more money. I asked for her phone # and said that if the pen was what I thought it was I would contact her and send more money. At home I did some checking at the Pilot site, eB, etsy, etc. and found this thing is worth maybe $200-$300. When I decide whether to keep it for me or sell it I will contact her and send some more money. i love doing crazy things.

That was the only "buy" at the sale and I am still floating!

 

Oh, one more thing. After I bought the pen I ran into a pen friend and showed him the pen. I said, "I think this might be a maki-e'. He looked at it and said, "nope, I don't think this is maki-e."

 

Hope the pictures are good enough to see that the pen is, in fact, a Pilot Namiki Hira Urushi Maki-E Ume Plum Fountain Pen.

 

Impulse Buy view 1.jpg

Impulse Buy view 2.jpg

 

I think you are mistaken, I think it is closer to $700 and it is this one.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/133422152655?hash=item1f10947bcf:g:dn8AAMXQwMdRESNN

 

Fountain pens are my preferred COLOR DELIVERY SYSTEM (in part because crayons melt in Las Vegas).

Create a Ghostly Avatar and I'll send you a letter. Check out some Ink comparisons: The Great PPS Comparison 

Don't know where to start?  Look at the Inky Topics O'day.  Then, see inks sorted by color: Blue Purple Brown Red Green Dark Green Orange Black Pinks Yellows Blue-Blacks Grey/Gray UVInks Turquoise/Teal MURKY

 

 

 

 

 

 

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10 hours ago, essayfaire said:

Hmmmm.  I usually avoid feeding frenzies, even when we're not in Covidland.  I think I will find out if they take visitors by appointment.  

 

I had my first experience with "feeding frenzy" last August at the SF pen show. They are very strict about not opening until 10:00 am, and so anyone who wants first grabs at the prototypes tends to hover very close nearby. There's no line or anything, so when the flag goes up it's every person for themself. As far as I could tell, it's fairly polite, even with people reaching over your shoulder to snag the one they want. I was a few minutes behind so that part was mostly over and I could take a good look at what was left. In fact I got a 65 in a really nice material that I hadn't seen before, and had them put a fine SIG on it, which was ready in a couple of hours. On the whole, I highly recommend it, as an experience even if you don't find a pen you like. 

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