What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[Surlyprof]

12 minutes ago, Lam1 said:

 

 

 

You guys want to make me poor! (Maybe poorer is more accurate) 🤣🤣.

 

I’ve only been to Novelli so far (arrived today), but I’m seriously considering skipping all others, since whenever I’m at a pen store I have this “strange compulsion” to buy another pen 🤣 (and at the moment I have 5 on order/shipped). 
 

@Surlyprof indeed, the Glauco Cambon is way prettier in person. You should check out Novelli, they still have quite a few of the Glauco.

Have fun in Rome!

 

@Claes thanks!

Hard not to have fun in such a wonderful place, isn’t it?

The people at Stilo e Stile are very nice but it is WAY out on the outskirts of Rome.  Made for a fun walk through various neighborhoods but took quite a while.  Stilograph Corsani was a nice store but seemed less accommodating when I was there but must have been an off day.  They seem very accommodating online and on IG.  They have nice collaborative pens with various manufacturers.  Their current matte blue Leonardo is gorgeous!  I haven’t been to Stilo Fetti but I want to this trip.  They have an interesting series of pens called 753 (with Leonardo).  I really want to check out the latest.  It’s wood with a mosaico section and cap ring.  The Novelli people were always nice every time I went (We stayed nearby).  
 

Enjoy the rest of your trip.  If you’re in an AirBnB, we can highly recommend their experiences.  We had a guy name Carlo come over and teach us how to make spaghetti carbonara properly (as well as other Italian dishes).  He was a longtime photographer who does this on the side.  Very fun!  We also really enjoyed the Angel golf cart tour (surprised us) and, if you like cocktails, there’s a great speakeasy called Jerry Thomas.

[deuter]

1 hour ago, Lam1 said:

 

 

There you go: 

 

 

 

 

Thank you @Penguincollector for kindly teaching me how to post the photos!!

Nice looking pen.

[Doug C]

I went crazy and got a Benu Astrogem

[sandy101]

1 hour ago, Lam1 said:

 

 

There you go: 

 

 

 

 

Thank you @Penguincollector for kindly teaching me how to post the photos!!

Thank you. That does look nice. 

 

I'm off to Verona in August. I may find a nice pen for myself there. 

[sirgilbert357]

Here is my impulse buy. I couldn't have timed this much worse, as I was unemployed at the time, and really shouldn't have, but once I saw it, I just knew I'd never get another chance to hold one in my hands, so I bought it. There's a much longer story on how I found this and ended up getting it, but I won't bore everyone with the details (and I have my old job back now, so hooray! - everything worked out and I'm so glad I didn't pass this up because of money).

 

This is an Omas Paragon T2 75th Anniversary Limited Edition. Made out of titanium, it is #70 of 750 made. It appeared to be uninked when I got it...uh, I fixed that pretty quick, LOL. I just had to know how it writes - and I was not disappointed!

 

The only downside is no papers or outer cardboard box. Bummer, right? For such a rare pen, I really hoped to have everything, but I'm not complaining. The engraving on the cap was rather difficult to photograph.

 

 

 

[Surlyprof]

6 minutes ago, sirgilbert357 said:

Here is my impulse buy. I couldn't have timed this much worse, as I was unemployed at the time, and really shouldn't have, but once I saw it, I just knew I'd never get another chance to hold one in my hands, so I bought it. There's a much longer story on how I found this and ended up getting it, but I won't bore everyone with the details (and I have my old job back now, so hooray! - everything worked out and I'm so glad I didn't pass this up because of money).

 

This is an Omas Paragon T2 75th Anniversary Limited Edition. Made out of titanium, it is #70 of 750 made. It appeared to be uninked when I got it...uh, I fixed that pretty quick, LOL. I just had to know how it writes - and I was not disappointed!

 

The only downside is no papers or outer cardboard box. Bummer, right? For such a rare pen, I really hoped to have everything, but I'm not complaining. The engraving on the cap was rather difficult to photograph.

 

 

 

Wow!  That is a beautiful pen!  Is it at all heavy?  I know titanium is lighter but I’ve always found that the wall thicknesses always play a big role in how much lighter.

[sirgilbert357]

12 minutes ago, Surlyprof said:

Wow!  That is a beautiful pen!  Is it at all heavy?  I know titanium is lighter but I’ve always found that the wall thicknesses always play a big role in how much lighter.

 

The titanium is somewhat thick, so it's got some heft to it, but heavy pens don't bother me at all (I do not post though, which helps). My kitchen scale says it is 37 g. Here's some quick and dirty comparisons of other pens in my collection (all pens are uninked):

 

Omas Paragon T2 Titanium - 37 g

Pelikan M800 - 29 g

Diplomat Aero - 41 g

Lamy 2000 Stainless Steel - 54g

[Penguincollector]

@Surlyprof and @Lam1, how are the actual fountains by where you are visiting? That’s what I really want to see in Rome.

  Your pen is beautiful,  @Lam1- those feel really nice in hand and the color is lovely.

  
  Wow, @sirgilbert357, that OMAS is really something! 

 

[Surlyprof]

3 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

@Surlyprof and @Lam1, how are the actual fountains by where you are visiting? That’s what I really want to see in Rome.

  Your pen is beautiful,  @Lam1- those feel really nice ijn hand and the color is lovely.

  
  Wow, @sirgilbert357, that OMAS is really something! 

 

The Trevi Fountain is pretty spectacular (and huge!).  Unfortunately, during the day, the people are 5-8 rows deep around it.  I have gone by early in the morning before the shops open and there are much smaller groups of people (usually shooting marriage, honeymoon or IG photos).  20 years ago, pre-Instagram, we had it to ourselves one night.  It was lovely.  Although I haven’t taken it, I guess there is also a tour you can go on underneath the fountain.  
 

The public drinking fountains are pretty wild, too.  Little tubs along the sidewalks with a spout trickling potable water into the tub.  When you block the spout with your finger, it reroutes the water out a hole on the top.  It results in a water arc that you drink from.  Pretty cool and they’re everywhere.

[Surlyprof]

4 hours ago, sirgilbert357 said:

 

The titanium is somewhat thick, so it's got some heft to it, but heavy pens don't bother me at all (I do not post though, which helps). My kitchen scale says it is 37 g. Here's some quick and dirty comparisons of other pens in my collection (all pens are uninked):

 

Omas Paragon T2 Titanium - 37 g

Pelikan M800 - 29 g

Diplomat Aero - 41 g

Lamy 2000 Stainless Steel - 54g

37g is a nice weight.  I think my titanium Gravitas is about 39g with a steel section.  Gives it great balance that I love.  Your Omas, with its gold and black details against the warm silver titanium is really quite striking.

[Penguincollector]

18 minutes ago, Surlyprof said:

The Trevi Fountain is pretty spectacular (and huge!).  Unfortunately, during the day, the people are 5-8 rows deep around it.  I have gone by early in the morning before the shops open and there are much smaller groups of people (usually shooting marriage, honeymoon or IG photos).  20 years ago, pre-Instagram, we had it to ourselves one night.  It was lovely.  Although I haven’t taken it, I guess there is also a tour you can go on underneath the fountain.  
 

The public drinking fountains are pretty wild, too.  Little tubs along the sidewalks with a spout trickling potable water into the tub.  When you block the spout with your finger, it reroutes the water out a hole on the top.  It results in a water arc that you drink from.  Pretty cool and they’re everywhere.

  That sounds lovely 🥰.

[sirgilbert357]

11 hours ago, Surlyprof said:

37g is a nice weight.  I think my titanium Gravitas is about 39g with a steel section.  Gives it great balance that I love.  Your Omas, with its gold and black details against the warm silver titanium is really quite striking.

 

Thank you, I agree.

 

I had never even seen one of these in pics before I came across it, and it really hit me because of the looks (the rarity didn't hurt either, lol). I just love titanium. It's a truly fascinating material to me and I wish more things were made from it. It is very difficult to machine, though, which makes it expensive.

 

If you haven't seen the Omas 360 made from titanium, look it up. It is also stunning. I'll probably never see one of those for sale, but if I do, I might have to snap it up. I have a black resin Omas 360 rollerball and it would be cool to have a titanium version of the same pen.

[Lam1]

On 5/25/2024 at 12:06 AM, Surlyprof said:

The people at Stilo e Stile are very nice but it is WAY out on the outskirts of Rome.  Made for a fun walk through various neighborhoods but took quite a while.  Stilograph Corsani was a nice store but seemed less accommodating when I was there but must have been an off day.  They seem very accommodating online and on IG.  They have nice collaborative pens with various manufacturers.  Their current matte blue Leonardo is gorgeous!  I haven’t been to Stilo Fetti but I want to this trip.  They have an interesting series of pens called 753 (with Leonardo).  I really want to check out the latest.  It’s wood with a mosaico section and cap ring.  The Novelli people were always nice every time I went (We stayed nearby).  
 

Enjoy the rest of your trip.  If you’re in an AirBnB, we can highly recommend their experiences.  We had a guy name Carlo come over and teach us how to make spaghetti carbonara properly (as well as other Italian dishes).  He was a longtime photographer who does this on the side.  Very fun!  We also really enjoyed the Angel golf cart tour (surprised us) and, if you like cocktails, there’s a great speakeasy called Jerry Thomas.

Thanks for the hints.

 

I think I might go to Stilo Fetti, which is close to where I’m staying. The other two are a bit of a long walk…

I have ordered from all of them at one point or another online, although Novelli is my go to seller in Italy.

 

i might use the Angel golf cart tour, since we are tired of walking so much 😊. But, unfortunately, we are not at an Airbnb (we totally forgot about it until we booked everything 🤦🏻‍♂️); I’d have loved a cooking class, particularly about pizza.

 

[Lam1]

On 5/25/2024 at 1:15 AM, sandy101 said:

Thank you. That does look nice. 

 

I'm off to Verona in August. I may find a nice pen for myself there. 

Thank you.

 

I hope you find a nice pen in Verona.

 

Sometimes one can find some really nice and out of production pens in these trips!! I love when that happens.
 

On 5/25/2024 at 3:20 AM, Penguincollector said:

@Surlyprof and @Lam1, how are the actual fountains by where you are visiting? That’s what I really want to see in Rome.

  Your pen is beautiful,  @Lam1- those feel really nice in hand and the color is lovely.

  
  Wow, @sirgilbert357, that OMAS is really something! 

 

Thank you, @Penguincollector. The HS are, indeed, very nice in the hand.

As for the fountains, they are gorgeous and impressive, of course. But as @Surlyprof said, they are always packed with people. It seems that there are even more people there at night. Still, well worth the trip.

 

@sirgilbert357, wow, that Oma’s is simply fantastic!! Congratulations!

and I’m glad everything worked out in the end. Enjoy your beautiful new pen!

[Merrick]

On 5/21/2024 at 5:53 PM, Merrick said:

Just nabbed an ēnsso Piuma turned in NOS Mazzuchelli Festival Cellulose Acetate. Only 10 were made. Comes with a gold Bock nib. Thinking of getting a custom grind on this when I attend the PNW Pen Show in July. 
 

https://www.ensso.com/collections/frontpage/products/piuma-minimalist-fountain-pen-mazzuchelli-festival-14k-gold-nib

I received the pen today and the celluloid is even more beautiful than I thought it would be. I’ve never see. Such depth in a pen, it feels like there are so many layers hidden within it. It has that distinctive celluloid feel that is so satisfying to hold and write with. 
 

Sadly the Bock gold nib it comes with is entirely pedestrian, completely stiff and not discernible in the slightest from a Bock steel nib. While I feel a pen of this rarity does deserve a gold nib, it deserves a gold nib that is as exceptional as the body housing that nib. 
 

I may be a bit spoiled here as I’m comparing it to some incredible gold nibs in my collection—two Sailor 21k nibs, two vintage Pelikan semi-flex nibs, Lamy 2000—but even my Vanishing Point nib, not one I hold in the highest regard, writes better than this gold Bock nib. 
 

I’m hoping that one of the nibmeisters at the PNW Pen Show can transform this nib for me. 

[Misfit]

On 5/24/2024 at 3:20 PM, JonSzanto said:

When you have mini-focus areas in a collection, even those can branch: I like to collect Moore pens, and a small number of them came in unusual celluloid... which kept me looking at other pens that were similar. I had a couple of Cascade pens that seem to be made from the same basic material but were different colors. I just jumped on the middle Cascade pen on the left group of three because you'll notice it is the exact same celluloid as the middle Moore on the right, the only identical multi-color-stripe stuff I've found. But I'll keep hunting - *another* sub-focus!

 

All of these pens are beautiful. 

[JonSzanto]

3 hours ago, Misfit said:

All of these pens are beautiful. 

 

Thank you. I realize they aren't titanium or modern, but I hoped someone would appreciate them.

[Karmachanic]

12 hours ago, Merrick said:

the Bock gold nib it comes with is entirely pedestrian, completely stiff and not discernible in the slightest from a Bock steel nib.

 

Recently read the same observation about well regarded ONOTO nibs, and have come to understand that this is often the case with modern nibs.

[Merrick]

18 minutes ago, Karmachanic said:

 

Recently read the same observation about well regarded ONOTO nibs, and have come to understand that this is often the case with modern nibs.

I don’t necessarily mind stiff gold nibs, I do have two Sailors which are my personal favorite nibs in my collection and they’re stiff. But those nibs have a unique feel to them. This feels indistinguishable from steel nibs from the same manufacturer. Seems like a waste of money. 

[ParramattaPaul]

1 hour ago, Karmachanic said:

 

Recently read the same observation about well regarded ONOTO nibs, and have come to understand that this is often the case with modern nibs.

Quite a long time ago, I read that pen manufacturers started making stiffer nibs sometime in the early 1950s as Biros became more common.  The same article stated that people were bending flexible nibs by pressing down too hard as they became used to the force needed to  write efficiently with a Biro.

 I suppose today's nibs are produced with the assumption that they may be abused by users unfamiliar with how to write with a fountain pen.