What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[Teterman2005]

17 minutes ago, Bikerchick said:

You bought a pen on Fleabay that didn't have a picture of the nib? You, sir, are a brave man. 
That pen is GORGEOUS though, you lucky so-and-so. 

Actually as I recall it did have one blurry blurry pic of the nib, but the seller had several other nice pens and seemed to know what he was talking about when the listing said “restored with new sac....writes with a medium-to-fine line”.  Funny, the other pens were much better photographed....this one, I wasn’t even all that sure it was an oversized pen from the photos

[Teterman2005]

4 minutes ago, Bikerchick said:

 

Hahahahahaha. Or maybe we're just weird, Teterman.

I know I am! 

What do you think of this beauty?

 

Sweet!!  Is that a green one or root beer?  Trim is pristine! 
 

I love these....just waiting for a screaming’ deal on a rose-glow-carmine-lifetime-over/long-special-dot 1936 1/2 Miss America made in a Brazilian rainforest imported from Canada version

 

or maybe I’ll just just buy the next one I see

[Bikerchick]

2 hours ago, Teterman2005 said:

Sweet!!  Is that a green one or root beer?  Trim is pristine! 
 

I love these....just waiting for a screaming’ deal on a rose-glow-carmine-lifetime-over/long-special-dot 1936 1/2 Miss America made in a Brazilian rainforest imported from Canada version

 

or maybe I’ll just just buy the next one I see

It's a green one. Looks pretty good, the nib too. A little dirty, but I love the heart-shaped hole:

 

 

It's 80€ + shipping which I think is a fair price. The only thing that has stopped me from pulling the trigger is that the pen is listed as "untested", which to me is code for "it probably doesn't work but don't come crying to me if it doesn't".  I'm not nearly experienced or skilled enough to fix it if it doesn't.

[JonSzanto]

9 hours ago, Teterman2005 said:

Sweet!!  Is that a green one or root beer?  Trim is pristine! 

 

Just as an aside: the striated celluloids you are referring to are called Marine Green and Golden Brown. There was an earlier green marbled material that was *also* called Marine Green that was phased out with the entry of the striated celluloids in the Balance line.

 

BTW, there is lots of information on the Sheaffer Balance pens at Richard Binder's site, if you aren't familiar with the page/site.

[Teterman2005]

2 hours ago, JonSzanto said:

BTW, there is lots of information on the Sheaffer Balance pens at Richard Binder's site, if you aren't familiar with the page/site.

Thanks!  I discovered it pretty much right after I bought my first Snorkel last fall.  Should be called “Binder’s Bible”!!  
 

funny you mention the earlier marine green, that’s a color that pops up a decent amount on eBay, but usually in either crappy condition, really discolored, oddball sizes (anyone ever seen a short full-girth demi pen?!), dark photos, black nibs, lovely translucence (crumbling celluloid anyone?!), or sky high prices.  
 

I’m trying to put together a “set” of later streamlined white-dot balances after seeing that I had already picked up three kinda matchy slender/longs (brown, green stripe, and black/abalone....luckily all lever fillers, before I really knew the difference in restoration costs for vac-fillers).  
 

Looking at Binder’s clip/color timeline, I’m trying to “complete” this set with a silver/black (chrome trim), plain black, and two reds ($$), thereby avoiding the pain associated with lusting after the truly rare/$$ balance patterns and sizes, like YOUR stunning black/pearl.... or the blue-veined...or the marine green...

 

But wait!  It looks like the original marine green was produced into the streamlined era 😫!  Binder has it straddling the two clips styles, but in several months of surfing I had only seen the older clips....until I saw a scrubby/over-priced slender-long (white dot too!) on eBay a few weeks ago.  My target collection/set just got more $$$ and will require a lot more digging.   I mean, at least decent carmines show up every couple of weeks!!

 

I might have to focus on buying my wife a couple of Lamy safaris for awhile.... my wallet needs a rest 😜

[WLSpec]

Just impulsively picked up a Franklin-Christoph model 66 in Antique Glass because they were in stock. Looking forward to receiving the pen in a few days.

[NumberSix]

Browsing Kirk Speer's penrealm.com yesterday, I almost bought a Pelikan 140.

 

But then I noticed he had a brushed steel Sheaffer Targa with gold trim and 14k (M) nib, so I grabbed that one instead. And as if I didn't already have 5 bottles of ink I don't need on the way from Vanness, I added a bottle of Robert Oster True Blue to the Targa order. 

[NumberSix]

9 minutes ago, WLSpec said:

Just impulsively picked up a Franklin-Christoph model 66 in Antique Glass because they were in stock. Looking forward to receiving the pen in a few days.

*googles*

 

Ooh, that is one sharp looking pen!

[rkesey]

14 hours ago, JonSzanto said:

 

What a stunner!

[rkesey]

14 minutes ago, WLSpec said:

Just impulsively picked up a Franklin-Christoph model 66 in Antique Glass because they were in stock. Looking forward to receiving the pen in a few days.

Did exactly the same thing when their model 31 came back in stock 2 weeks ago, and I've had it inked ever since it got here. Such great pens.

[WLSpec]

5 minutes ago, NumberSix said:

*googles*

 

Ooh, that is one sharp looking pen!

Yeah, I love the material, but apparently everyone else does too! They are never in stock, so I bought one right away when I got the email from FC today 🙂

[Bikerchick]

On 3/3/2021 at 8:00 PM, JonSzanto said:

 

Just as an aside: the striated celluloids you are referring to are called Marine Green and Golden Brown. There was an earlier green marbled material that was *also* called Marine Green that was phased out with the entry of the striated celluloids in the Balance line.

 

BTW, there is lots of information on the Sheaffer Balance pens at Richard Binder's site, if you aren't familiar with the page/site.

 

I knew I'd seen that name somewhere before. 

I've been thinking about buying  "The RichardsPens Guide To Fountain Pens, volume 2: Restoration".  Do you know it? And if so, would you recommend it? Thanks!

[Aysedasi]

On 3/3/2021 at 8:15 AM, JonSzanto said:

 

 

That is just too gorgeous!   I am physically drooling........     The only shame is that I could never write with it with that tiny fine nib.....

[JonSzanto]

2 hours ago, Bikerchick said:

I've been thinking about buying  "The RichardsPens Guide To Fountain Pens, volume 2: Restoration".  Do you know it? And if so, would you recommend it? Thanks!

 

Yes, I do. I purchased all 3 volumes, for various reasons, but mostly just to have the ebooks on my iPad for hand reference on the go.

The fact of the matter is... these are mostly, if not 100%, a repackaging of the material on his website. I have not done a page by page comparison, but if you look through the book you realize it is an organized collection of all the various posts already on his site. Probably a little more organized and maybe with introductions. I only say this in case you are expecting a completely different product or set of data. The price is not bad and, as I said, I did it just for convenience.

I still go back to his pages from time to time, both for general reference and if I have a specific need, and my main repair book is "Pen Repair" by Marshall and Oldfield.

[mizgeorge]

I've had a couple of ebay impulses this week

- a navy grey 51 for pennies (part of a lot of 15 pens that I got for £4)

- a pretty green Esterbrook J with a 9218 nib for £15

- an immaculate (never inked) French P45 for a tenner

- a nice John Bull 2 (I have a bit of a thing for John Bulls) for under £15

- another 45 - this time a nice looking Deluxe

and the fabulous Conway Stewart red herringbone 93. These last two are also bringing me another empty Penman Sapphire bottle, which I love, and will join the full bottle I was given earlier in the week! 

 

A very happy pen week - I treated myself as a reward for feeling so dreadful after my Covid jab on Tuesday!

 

[JonSzanto]

2 hours ago, mizgeorge said:

...and the fabulous Conway Stewart red herringbone 93. These last two are also bringing me another empty Penman Sapphire bottle, which I love, and will join the full bottle I was given earlier in the week! 

 

Ok, this is an open demand for a photo when you get the CS in hand! Lovely pens. I doubt you are a member of the Pen Collectors of America, but one of the best reasons for the yearly membership is the Pennant, a thrice-yearly magazine. I mention it because they recently featured a lengthy interview, in 2 parts, with Leighton Davies-Smith, the engineer/chemist who came up with the Parker Penman series formulas. Fascinating... drop me a PM if interested.

 

Sorry about the soreness, both my spouse and I received our 2nd doses in the last week. Some symptoms but not too bad, and glad for the vaccine. Take care!

[Bikerchick]

20 hours ago, JonSzanto said:

 

Yes, I do. I purchased all 3 volumes, for various reasons, but mostly just to have the ebooks on my iPad for hand reference on the go.

The fact of the matter is... these are mostly, if not 100%, a repackaging of the material on his website. I have not done a page by page comparison, but if you look through the book you realize it is an organized collection of all the various posts already on his site. Probably a little more organized and maybe with introductions. I only say this in case you are expecting a completely different product or set of data. The price is not bad and, as I said, I did it just for convenience.

I still go back to his pages from time to time, both for general reference and if I have a specific need, and my main repair book is "Pen Repair" by Marshall and Oldfield.

Thanks so much for the elaborate answer, Jon! I think I'll get Marshall and Oldfield's book instead. I may still get Richard's books in the long run too, I'll see how I get on with his website.

[mizgeorge]

12 hours ago, JonSzanto said:

 

Ok, this is an open demand for a photo when you get the CS in hand! Lovely pens.

Very happy to oblige - I'm absolutely delighted with it - it's even nicer than I expected, in absolutely pristine condition, and the herringbone is even lovelier than I expected. I'll drop you a line about the article as well!

 

 

[rkesey]

43 minutes ago, mizgeorge said:

Very happy to oblige - I'm absolutely delighted with it - it's even nicer than I expected, in absolutely pristine condition, and the herringbone is even lovelier than I expected. I'll drop you a line about the article as well!

 

 

Oh, that's a beauty. Well found!

[carola]

59 minutes ago, mizgeorge said:

Very happy to oblige - I'm absolutely delighted with it - it's even nicer than I expected, in absolutely pristine condition, and the herringbone is even lovelier than I expected. I'll drop you a line about the article as well!

 

 

Uuuuuhuuuuuuh... now THAT is a nice colour and pattern!

Like it very much!