Prioritizing your wants list

[grasshopper]

I’m curious how people have built up their stable of pens (I won’t say collection as most of us here have convinced themselves and others that they are users and not collectors ) and/or are intending to build it up, if at all. I noted that quite a few of us have displayed a wants list (a term us comic geeks use :ph34r: ) or at least have a few more pens they would like to get.

 

So my question is how did you develop that stable or how do you determine what pen to get next?

 

For those with a respectable stable (there’s a mouthful!), how did you get where you are? Was it first come, first bought? Or did it start off like that and then you decided on a focus?

 

For those who are still developing their stable, do you have a wants list? How do you determine which pen(s) to buy first, and which one(s) go further down the list?

 

For those who don’t have a wants list, what principles do you have or criteria are required, if any, that determines, what to buy or not? Does your mood affect your choice?

 

Let’s ignore reality (and therefore our respective financial situations) as well, if you want, and instead assume everyone will get a fixed monthly budget from a mysterious benefactor, of say $500 a month. How will your stable of pens grow?

 

It seemed like an interesting topic when I was typing this, but now, I’m not sure if it makes any sense or has any point at all… Anyway, let’s see what happens…

[ushat]

In my case it just happened. I had quite a few pens that I used daily for work without thinking about them a great deal. They did the job or not. I knew how to do basic repairs and I liked a good pen when I was fortunate enough to have one.

 

A few months ago I came into a little money that for once wasn't immediately allocated to anything else and I've used it to collect (there's that word) some pens that interested me, mostly from fifty or more years ago. No wish list, just browsing through ebay, antique and junk shops and even some found "in the wild" from friends who had heard about my new obsession. So most of my purchases have been made on serendipity - the right pen at the right price at the right time.

 

If I have anything approaching a wish-list now it's for one or two really good examples of BCHR and a good over and under feed. And a Sheaffer Intrigue when the right one comes along.

 

Though I love the pens themselves - probably far too much for a sane human being - the history and development attracts me even more.

[Garageboy]

Impulse buy!

[woodwindmaster06]

Find a good company and build a collection from that start point, for me its Pelikan. After I've gotten the pens from that company that intrigue me move on to a different company or even look for nibs that might be fun: flex, italic, ect... Finding inexpensive but good vintage pens off of ebay is a good way to start, although time consuming.

 

Tim

Music Pen Guy

[Titivillus]

Initially it was whatever pen I could find.

 

 

Then I created a list of pens that at the time were the buzz on several pen boards. These were pens that either people were raving about OR were pens that people were consistently comparing newer pens to ( Pelikan m800, OMAS Paragon, Parker 51, Sheaffer Snorkel...) I went and purchased pens of this core group and found that I liked about 40% of them so I sold the rest.

 

 

After the core group I started making a list of "pens of desire' that is pens that I really liked and wanted to buy. Many of them were out of my budget range but I still kept them on the list. By tirelessly scanning ebay and the several board marketplaces I have been able to get quite a few of those pens second hand for great prices ( actually yesterday I got one that's been on the list for years!). This isn't to say that there are still not impulse buys but they are fewer and far between.

 

As this may indicate I am not a collector of a particular type of pen but use all of my pens creating a collection that is unique to me.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Kurt H

[KCat]

We love to talk about our pens - of course it's an interesting topic.

 

mine has been really haphazard for the most part. Though when I bought my third pelikan - I realized I had developed a distinct liking for that particular type of pen. Understated, piston-filler small-medium size.

 

otherwise I just watched the boards and saw new pens or old that really turned my head. One pen was an obsession for two years before I purcahsed it - my Levenger Verona (has a rather poor reputation but mine has been fine.)

 

I had a wishlist for a while. I pretty much filled it but it was short. I wanted a Namiki Falcon, a VP, a Laban and some sort of smallish "purse pen." I really haven't gotten *the* purse pen I would like. I love my Sports but I don't consider my really cheap pens part of my wishlist as much as minor luxuries. convenient, eh?

 

More recently, I have felt like I have as many pens as I'll ever need or even want for that matter. I have eyed probably 4 or 5 pens in the past year that initially seemed like "gotta have it" pens. But as time goes on and I don't buy them, they are more like "well, it would be nice to have it." The main driver on these pens is not a brand but a style. The style is - something very different from what I already have. So... despite the Piazza Navona whispering to me, calling to me, that Evil Siren... it is not all that different from my other Pelikans. It would be my only 600-size pen if I were to buy one. So it isn't at the top of my list even though I think it's beautiful. Instead I'm looking at the classic Japanese style pen (the Sailor), the purse pen (Bexley Tuck-away), the Big Red copy (Filcao Resin flat-top, button-filler), and some kind of ED. Things like that which have no relatives in my current stable. That's why my last major pen purchase was a VP - it is completely different from all my other pens.

 

Mood doesn't affect my options but it definitely affects whether or not I'll act on a desire that I would otherwise postpone. IOW, most of the time I do not require immediate gratification as I did in my early FP days.

 

with a $500 budget... I think the stable would grow with several Japanese pens (maki-e, urushi) and some M600 Pelikans. I don't have that size Pel at all and would love to.

 

Then I would likely stock up on numerous inexpensive but great little pens to use to infe.. uh encourage potential FP addicts.. uh, enthusiasts. :meow:

[wimg]

Hi grasshopper,

 

Well, I received a very nice pen as a gift, 2 years ago, which is what started it all. First of all, I went through all my drawers and boxes in the attic I never unpacked after one of the many moves I made over the last twenty four years or so (yes I found a box I never unpacked, from that period ).

 

7 years ago I had a disappointing experience with a parker, and I had that one fixed too. Next I bought a couple of pens of eBay, because soon after I discovered PenTrace, just to get burnt a couple of times in the process. I also found out that I am not really fond of vintage pens, with their antiquated filling systems, for daily use anyway.

 

I also (re)discovered specialty nibs, and fell in love with the Etruria nibs with the first Stipula Etruria I saved up. Well, that was it, because now I own about 60 pens, most of them cheapies, because I need a few to get other people hooked, and to write ink reviews with , in order to have a range of nibs, in nib sizes, types and wetness (now that's a good excuse, isn't it?).

 

So by now I have an extended range of Etrurias, and that model in particular I would like to get a complete set of. I just love 'em. I don't know what it is. Very attractive to me. Of course, the more modern ones are very practical, as they allow you to exchange the nibs easily (à la Pelikan), and come standard with 3 filling systems: a big piston converter (really big), which converts them to a true piston filler, an international size converter, and international size cartridges. The section is made such, that it can recieve either of the three. I like that.

 

Then there is the material. Most are made of marvelous celluloid mixes. Just stunning. And finally, they come from italy, and are hand crafted. I lost my heart in Italy, when I worked there for a year, about 25 years ago now.

 

Other than that, my collection is really an accumulation, a big mish mash of anything that is available over here, or to a lesser degree, on the internet. I specifically like sell-out deals, etc. Can you tell I am Dutch?

 

My accumulation consists of a few vintage pens (Onoto, Waterman, Sheaffer, Conway Stuart, Pelikan, Osmiroid), and mostly modern (Waterman, ST Dupont, Lamy, Pelikan, Omas, Filcao, Parker, Delta, Pilot/Namiki, and last but not least, Stipula ).

 

I have calmed down a little, lately, and I maintain a list of pens I would like to add to the accumulation. First and foremost that means Etrurias that I don't have in the collection. After that, well, the list is there, but no specific order yet.

 

Because I enjoy doing nib work, I try to do some nib grinding and repairing, whenever there is a little time. Problem is, I have about 15 projects sitting here on my desk right now, for the last 2-3 months already. Soon, I promise myself, soon..

 

Finally, just like KCat I stock up on cheap pens, for all the budding enthousiasts out there...

 

Well, enough rambling for now.

 

Warm regards, Wim

[Leslie J.]

Prioritizing List: Japanese Maki-E

 

How I got from there to here: WM Phileas led to Pelikan Green Stripe 600, Aurora Ipsilon and WM Charleston and Lamy Safari in one go, as gifts from my husband. More Pelikans (620's, 400's, 250, 200's) followed quickly because the size and weight are perfect for my hand. My husband chose 2 Visconti's for me: Viscontina then the Van Gogh Midi. Then I went for Japanese: Purple Passion Platinum, Nakaya Koi and Namiki VP. Along the way I picked up Senator Windsors (very much like Pelikan 200s), WM 52.5 (vintage nib), Esterbrook (lever filler), and all sorts of cheap pens.

 

I guess my idea in starting was to sample as many brands as possible, from as many countries as possible: German, French, Italian, Japanese. It was all about trying different nibs, and still is to this day, although with the Pelikans it was more of a comfort zone thing, and I ended up getting all custom nib work done on them.

 

My theory is that if I really like the looks of a pen, then most any nib can be modified to suit the way I want it to write.

[antoniosz]

Serendipity and the internet....

I went from a set of Nononsense Sheaffers and a Parker Classic FP as a graduate student in the late 80s, to a Sonnet Cicele and few Waterman as a professional. till 2001 I had about 20-25 pens. Perhaps I only had so few because I hated to pay retail price. And then it was the internet that opened the pen world to me,since through e-bay and the pen boards, I could pay much less .

In the first couple of year of internet frenzy, I was convinced that I had to try every pen under the sun. The reason was that it takes me several days of use to appreciate a pen.

 

And I was almost buying everything under the sun. One protection that I put at that time was a $200. e-bay and the green board were good for me. I learned not to fall for the fad of the week. I learned also to do basic repairs (never graduated successfully to Vacs ).

 

As the time went by, I started discovering pens that enjoy for one reason or the other. Then groups of my pens started to emerge as mini-collections. I started to realize what are the elements that appeal to me. I started to be interested in the history of some companies. Now I got rid of the $200 limit but I self-promised to sell enough pens to keep expenses close to a reasonable amount per year. For the latter I learned to convince myself to let go even pens that I like (like that Waterman 92 , because there will be others coming along the way

 

Whether my mini-collections will still be of interest to me few years later, I do not really know. For the time being I enjoy them....

[Keith with a capital K]

I have always been and will probably continue to be a "magpie" collector in that that I am drawn to attractive looking pens that write nicely or have the potential to be better than they were when I found them.

 

I have a rule not to spend more than $50.00 on any pen and that has served me well enough in that the higher end pens I have were all received through trades, as gifts, or were liberated from e-bay or antique shops for very little money.

 

Variety is the spice of life for me.

[RSVP]

I'm generally an impulse buyer although I havn't bought any pens (except the two from the fleamarket in Geneva, which don't count ) in about two months!

 

I'm trying to cut back as the amount I was spending on pens was becoming rediculous .

 

 

J

[Ann Finley]

Hi Grasshopper,

 

I always have liked fountain pens, but would never has guessed--even a few years ago--that I would accumulate the 79 I now have! My 1st purchase was my Copper Esterbrook SJ with my birthday money at age 11, followed by a light blue Esterbrook CH purse pen when I was 15.

 

After that I didn't think about buying any more pens until I became interested in calligraphy. This was in the early 70's when Osmiroid 65s were popular, so I got a couple of those, followed by the model 75s, a Pelikan 120 with an OM nib, a Parker 75 SS Cisele with an italic nib and a set of Rotring Art Pens.

 

Some years later when I began teaching calligraphy, wouldn't ya know, the pens I wanted to recommend to students were no longer made! So, I had to buy more pens in order to know what to recommend. This happened more than once, as I taught for 3 years, stopped for 10, and then taught for the next 10 years--all the while having to update to what was currently available for students.

 

About two years ago a little voice in my head urged me to Google fountain pens and I found the informative site put up by Glenn Marcus, and from there, found Pentrace and oodles of links. I remain fascinated, and have become the owner of more pens. Like Antonios, I discovered groups of pens that emerged as mini-collections (but in my case these were all cheap pens), and also began to determine what really appeals to me. Now, I'm in the process of deciding what I want to part with.

 

I think a $500. pen budget would last me a very long time. I'd like to have a FP with a medium to fine writing glass nib, a couple of particular Esterbrook models (but have no desire to collect them all), a couple of vintage Rotring models that I like, a couple of pens to go with certain ink colors, and examples of some filling systems that I don't have. That's about it. (But it's enough to keep me frequenting the pen sites!)

 

Ann

[wil]

Fascinating topic!

 

Like everyone else, I started off going in all directions, purchasing anything that caught my eye. As I became more intuned with my own preferences, I slowly built a up a list of pens that I was considering.

 

The list was primarly made up of mostly piston fillers with ink windows. I can spend months noodling over what pen to purchase next and put it off for another few more.

 

Just last weekend, I thought I'd treat myself to a new pen for my upcoming 30th bday, I narrowed down my list to a Pelikan Piazza and a Visconti Van Gogh crystal. I opted for the Visconti because I already have 3 other pelikans and no Visconti's yet. The appeal of my first demonstrator was simply too great. I also like the idea of a CC demostrator so that staining would not be an issue.

 

Thinking back, I wasn't even considering the Van Gogh crystal until I saw images on it on my friends flickr site.

[KendallJ]

Well, I used to have a list, but frankly by the time I'm ready for my next pen, the options change, so after each purchase, I usually, have a single pen I'm interested in selected from the group that I'm interested it at the time.

 

My next pen??? A Conway Stewart 100 I think.... or maybe Visconti Wall Street... or maybe Pelikan Future.... or maybe

Edited June 19, 2005 by KendallJ

[Velma]

If I remember my history correctly, I started with the sort of cheap Platignum calligraphy pens you could get in art supply shops in the 1980s, which had nibs ranging from extra-fine to BBB and obliques; then Sheaffer No Nonsense calligraphy pens. When I took the plunge to a quality fountain pen in 1993, I started with a Pelikan (my journals say that it cost me $90 back then, for a 200, and that was breathtakingly expensive in my eyes then), because I liked the look of it and the way it felt in my hand -- and because it had an extra fine nib..

 

I'm not sure what the next quality pen I bought was, though I was given a Parker Sonnet (again with an extra fine nib) in 1997, after leaving a job I'd been in for ten yeas. I fell into Sheaffers again, and have more of them than anything else... so I think I'm inclined to look at Sheaffers first, then move to other pens in the store/in the display.

 

What I am seriously considering next -- and it would be a serious splurge for me -- is the Pelikan Piazza Navona. I tried it at the Fountain Pen Hospital, and it feels balanced in my hand, and looks subtly beautiful. On the other hand, it's a considerable amount of my discretionary income for a quarter, so I'm thinking about it. And thinking, and thinking.

 

(Actually, I am saving up for the NYC Fountain Pen Show, so that I can perhaps splurge moderately on vintage Sheaffers, which seem to make me very happy. Or Esterbrook nibs.)

 

In other words, I'm no help. I think I do have priorities in terms of price range -- the next $15-$30 pen I buy is not likely to be the same brand as the next $50-$75 one.

[JesseD]

In my past, I wanted to try different pens from the big four of the old American fountain pen companies and I wanted to get pens with a variety of nibs. Started with cheap ones from the greenboard on pentrace and I got a few more expensive ones at the penshows that I could get to.

 

Now I am fairly focused on Waterman pens from the 1910's and 1920's and I still try to get a variety of nibs. By saving my money until the next pen shows I can end up coming home with one or two pens that I love. Every now and then I see a nice pen for sale online that is a must buy if I have the money at the time, but usually I can save up until a pen show.

-Jesse

[KCat]

well, after going on about not buying on impulse anymore and choosing pens after much thought...

 

hubby walked in as I was whimpering about Antonios' Cobalt Glow in the Marketplace and said "go for it."

 

So... totally unplanned purchase.

 

In my defense, I've been admiring the pen ever since he put the sale up. A Balance has never been on my wishlist but now I can say i have actually tried a modern Sheaffer. OR I will be able to say it before too long.

 

so much for my resolve and discipline! Of course, if hubby hadn't walked in and felt sorry for me because I've had a splitting headache all day... so we can blame him, right?

[Karin]

Hi Kcat,

Of course we can blame hubby. What a silly thing for him to do.

I'm so glad that you got the Balance. Now you can start collecting them

Other than the Aspen which is gorgeous beyond belief, but hard to come by, the next pen that you will want is the Crimson Glow. Unbelievable

 

 

btw I confessed my sins to my sweetie. Ya know about the 2 Tamenuri purchases.

She said, "that's ok, I'm buying a new drum.

 

 

Enjoy!!!!

 

Karin :bunny1:

[KCat]

btw I confessed my sins to my sweetie. Ya know about the 2 Tamenuri purchases.

She said, "that's ok, I'm buying a new drum.

 

 

Enjoy!!!!

 

Karin :bunny1:

Too sweet. Paybacks are heck, eh?

 

Yes, that Aspen is gorgeous. I was envious.

 

Hubby may be feeling a little guilty - his PC is acting up and will probably need to be overhauled. Bad timing on that. but whatyagonnado?

[grasshopper]

Thanks for sharing, everyone! I wasn’t actually looking for advice but was simply interested to know my fellow members more, regarding their past and future pen-shopping strategies. I quite like reading other people’s justifications/explanations of how their collections have developed or will be developed – from random/serendipitous purchases to structured/purposeful purchases to combinations of both. Very .

 

I also noticed that for some, these strategies might also change as time goes on – some from random to structured and some vice versa. Again, very .