When Do You Know You Have Had Enough?

[pajaro]

I must be there -- I do not want to buy any more pens.

[miwishi63]

I recently began winnowing my collection down to the pens I enjoy using as well as a handful of heirlooms. I still have too many, but I'm getting closer to whatever my magic number will be.

[Charles Rice]

You know you have enough when you can't aford any more beer.

[miwishi63]

You know you have enough when you can't aford any more beer.

 

LOL - or bourbon, but point taken!!!

[JotterAddict62]

I will be satisfied only when there are no more Parkers left in the basements of living former Parker Pen employees in Janesvile WI.

[Parker51]

When actively obtaining them no longer has an appeal.

I enjoy finding them "in the wild".

As such I seldom buy them off EBay and in recent years, also not from online sellers.

I have enough pens that I would be happy to purchase no more pens, but likely will, but I will also likely sell or trade some.

[rluka]

When I know I'm enough with satisfying my curiosity through trying pen in pen meetup, but not enough drive to think "I want to have this myself"

 

Still have the curiosity about many pens, how they feel in hand, how they write.

But it's just that. No desire for owning my own copy more than the pens I already have.

 

So, I think it's in the gut feeling category.

[mitto]

I don't know how I would be able to stop buying pens.

[Pensei]

One person's opinion:

 

1. Some people just have a moment. Blake said something like, You can't know how much is enough until you know how much is too much. So, in some cases, people get a pen and then, perhaps to their surprise, they say, I'm not really excited about this. I don't want it. So some people have one more pen than they need, and that's where it stops.

 

2. Shifting gears a bit here, but an opinion from a somewhat different angle: If you have enough money, and your purchase of pens does not take food off the table or keep you from paying your bills or saving money for retirement, then knock yourself out. You can buy as many pens as you want. Stop when you get tired of finding a place to put them. If, on the other hand, pen-buying squeezes you financially, then just stop. Two or three or certainly 11 pens represent a full collection. Everyone has their own way of figuring financial judgment, but I'd say never, never buy a pen with a credit card or just if it makes you feel squirmy. This leads to . . .

 

3, Maintain an awareness that there can be an element of obsession, compulsion, addiction, or whatever word you want to use for it in collecting pens or anything else. I don't think that gets discussed enough around here. I'm no psychologist, but it's well know that reckless spending can be related to bipolar mania and some other mental health issues. The rush of having the package arrive in the mail can be soothing for depression, when a healthier cure should be found. Obviously, I'm not suggesting that any of this applies to the OP, I'm just addressing the general question, which is an interesting one, of, when do I stop? And in some, probably rare, cases, that would be a good question to ask one's therapist.

[JotterAddict62]

I don't know how I would be able to stop buying pens.

Same here..

[JotterAddict62]

When actively obtaining them no longer has an appeal.

I enjoy finding them "in the wild".

As such I seldom buy them off EBay and in recent years, also not from online sellers.

I have enough pens that I would be happy to purchase no more pens, but likely will, but I will also likely sell or trade some.

I to like to find them in the wild and then restore them. The fun is in the hunt. It is also fun to go to the Parker Pen Preserve in Janesville and wait

2-4 hours just to bag a heard of P51's at one of the estate auctions. These days I pick my battles that I know that I have an 80% of bagging a Parker.

[langere]

I have enough pens. But I still keep buying them. At least I can pay the mortgage and buy good food, beer and wine. I have enough saved up for retirement.

 

Life is good.

 

Contradictions abound.

 

Erick

[peroride]

Thank you all for your enlightened responses

 

It's reassuring to hear everyone's personal thresholds and experiences.

 

Today, I saw this video about collecting from Pelahale and whew! looks like I'm still in shallow waters.

 

I only got into this FPness last year when I was searching for a rollerball refill for a Montblanc my old boss gifted me.

 

Dismayed by the cost, I searched YouTube for any videos on refilling Montblanc refills which led to: "What are those pens that CAN be refilled?" In turn, that sparked a decades memory of hurriedly puncturing a Sheaffer cartridge refill prior to a pop quiz. Back onto the InterTubes and a whirlwind of sites, reviews, articles, podcasts, vendors trying to grok my grail with this current line up makes me wonder if it would have all been cheaper to be satisfied with expensive refills for that one old rollerball?!

 

But then again that experience of learning and sharing this wonderful hobby with others would not have come to pass.

 

It is a road well traveled and still lots to see.

 

I'm grateful for my modest appetite but I do have a concern if I ever attend a pen show...

 

Here's to anticipation!

Edited January 17, 2019 by peroride

[vicpen123]

 

If you have enough money, and your purchase of pens does not take food off the table or keep you from paying your bills or saving money for retirement, then knock yourself out. You can buy as many pens as you want.

 

I comply so I seek out pens at relatively minor cost (<$200) no more than 2-3 times a year. They take up small spaces, are easy to transport and so much better to use. +1

 

I have enough pens. But I still keep buying them. At least I can pay the mortgage and buy good food, beer and wine. I have enough saved up for retirement.

 

Life is good.

 

Contradictions abound.

 

Erick

 

Except for the wine and beer (teetotaler), +1

Edited January 17, 2019 by vicpen123

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I am not an addictive person.

 

I own 11 fountain pens...

Are you sated yet?

 

Well, to start with, I have quite a few more than that.

 

You will know when you have had enough. You won't want to buy any more pens. You won't want to do a lot of maintenance. You might still enjoy using just a few of your pens, and it might be just a few core pens. That's about where I am. Can't even summon up the energy to sell the unwanted scores of pens.

 

 

...It's quite simple... when you look at pens... and you don't want to buy any... you've got enough.

 

What they said. It's been a little over a year now since I bought a pen. I have bought one bottle of ink and some paper since then.

 

I had definite plans to buy a specific pen this year, and of course, most of the year is still left. But I find, when it comes down to it, that I have no interest in buying that pen now, nor any other.

 

I enjoy writing with the pens I have. And although my regular rotation of favorite pens is fairly small, I will also browse through my cases, occasionally, and take out something which I haven't used in a long time. I still hang around FPN and a couple of other forums and sound off about this and that. As you can see.

 

There have been no resolutions, and very likely at some point something will get my attention. But for now, I'm just a writer with a large selection of pens.

[sandy101]

I started a collection, rather than an accumulation by getting one example of a pen from each country.

 

So, I got a Visconti Rembrandt, a Diplomat, a Platinum, a Cross and some Italix.

 

This meant I had a collection of cheap - mid priced pens - ranged from £20 -£100.

 

Then I bought a 2nd hand MB 146 that was a lovely writer, went on and bought a Shakespeare Writer's Edition.

 

The last pen I bought was an S T Dupont Leonardo da Vinci in their July sale.

 

Since then, I haven't really felt the "need" to buy another pen. The Dupont, being a metal pen, goes with me in a case - and is my daily writer. It's nicely balanced and writers extremely well. At home, I use the MB's and a couple of others in the collection.

 

To answer your question, I have about 5 pens out of the thirty in my collection in weekly use. As a writer, I now have the pens, inks and paper that I find most comfortable to write with. It's the pens that get out of the way, and let me write in a comfortable manner with a reliable line. Nice writing materials inspires more writing - and because I've got these "ideal, inspirational writers," I don't feel the need to go out and buy another pen right away. I have "enough"

 

I set up a regular savings account (which gets a little more interest) and put £25 a month into it. It matures around the time of my birthday - which means I have some funds to buy a birthday pen, should I decide to do so. Doing this has meant I'm not randomly accumulating pens as I seemed to do previously - there's a discipline to it and I'm in no hurry to buy another pen today.

 

One quality pen (and it is for you to decide the quality yourself - not the price) is worth more than twenty randomly accumulated pens. Part of the quality is matching the pen with ink and paper that suit it best.

 

Getting to know the pens you already have is key. I tried the one pen one month challenge a couple of years ago - and from this I would suggest taking one of your pens and use it exclusively for at least two weeks. You will find that your hand adapts to the pen as you get to know it better, and the pen's inkflow will probably improve and the nib will smooth a little too.

 

Keep some notes on what it felt like when you started, in the middle and at the end. This will help inform you of what your hand likes, or doesn't like and may even surprise you. I found that the weight of the pen was less important as your hand gets used to it over a period of time - and the pen I was using became more lubricated and was a much nicer writer at the end. I wouldn't have known this if I'd continued using one pen for one afternoon and another for the evening.

 

Do this with different types of pens in your collection if possible, and this will tell you much more about what you like.

[pajaro]

 

Well, to start with, I have quite a few more than that.

 

 

 

 

What they said. It's been a little over a year now since I bought a pen. I have bought one bottle of ink and some paper since then.

 

I had definite plans to buy a specific pen this year, and of course, most of the year is still left. But I find, when it comes down to it, that I have no interest in buying that pen now, nor any other.

 

I enjoy writing with the pens I have. And although my regular rotation of favorite pens is fairly small, I will also browse through my cases, occasionally, and take out something which I haven't used in a long time. I still hang around FPN and a couple of other forums and sound off about this and that. As you can see.

 

There have been no resolutions, and very likely at some point something will get my attention. But for now, I'm just a writer with a large selection of pens.

 

Give it time. You might or might not get interested again. I don't sell or dispose of my collections, pens, stamps, trains, coins, because I might again have a glimmer of interest. Generally it doesn't happen to me, but you might have a different experience.

[A Smug Dill]

I am not an addictive person.

I am. The focus of my obsession shifts from time to time: fountain pens, camera equipment, running shoes, breathable yet water-resistant insulating jackets, (fountain pen) inks, and now back to fountain pens themselves again – for now. I can feel it waning somewhat.

 

I own 11 fountain pens.

I went from 30 different inks and 40 fountain pens (let's call it between my fiancée and myself, even though I do all the research and the buying) to about 175 inks and 180 pens these past 'round' over several months.

 

Does a Pilot Kakuno count?

Sure.

 

I think I covered the major countries: Japan, Germany, Italy

Some Chinese pens these days aren't bad. I wasn't thrilled when I bought a box of Hero 395 pens on eBay (unbeknownst to me that some folk here on FPN raved highly about its steel nib's ability to 'semi-flex', as if that makes a pen a good pen) back in 2013, before I knew about this forum. However, I've been quite impressed with some of the relatively cheap Delike, Moonman and Wing Sung pens I acquired in this last round.

 

American pens are what hasn't yet 'earned' a look in. I came this close to ordering a Kara Customs because some UK retailer was offering the clipless version on special (as run-out stock?) with free international shipping to Australia, but I knew that for the same price I can buy some well-regarded Japanese and Chinese pens instead – and so I did the latter. I'm still waiting to be 'enlightened' as to where American pens (abstractly, or generally) beat Japanese pens, German pens, Italian pens and Chinese pens – and then I might spend some money to buy a few just to have a look-see. I'm not hearing how US manufacturers are taking the world on with its precision in manufacturing process, innovative/functional design of writing instruments, sheer artistry/craftmanship in the material and finishing of pen bodies, robustness (as in 'built like a tank' such as the Delike Alpha in brass) or value-for-money. However, my mind is open to be changed when American pen manufacturers successfully play catch-up.

 

When is enough?

When one's interest wanes organically. I'm close to that point now, at least for this round. I'm closing out on getting a Pelikan (already on order, from two days ago) because so many here are fans of the brand, and I entrusted an American nibsmith to fix the most questionable aspect of Pelikan pens before sending what I bought to me. I also bought a Diplomat (a brand which disappointed me previously, but has since redeemed itself somewhat) and a bunch of Aurora pens. The Sailor kabazaiku simply isn't mine to have; I've ordered it four times (from Japanese and Dutch retailers) in the past six months, and four times the order could not be fulfilled and had to be cancelled; that's a mild regret. I'm happy to have bought both available kanazawa-haku models of the Platinum #3776, both available models of the Sailor koshu-inden pens, twelve of the too-many-to-count Pilot Capless pen models, and so on; but I hardly even know what I have any more.

 

Is it a number? Is it a gut feeling (like when your spouse reminds you in the love handles)

I'd say it's a feeling. I'm still 'missing' the new slightly see-through Laurel Green Platinum #3776 Century pen, but the fact is I hardly use my Chartres Blue and Bourgogne red ones (which perform admirably). If anything is going to prompt me into committing to ordering it, it's because there's a too-good-to-miss deal (especially given the black, blue and red models with gold trim will be priced higher soon to match the green and the white), and not because the green one is a must-have.

 

Is it a limit on brand/model acquisition?

A limit on my (really fluid) 'budget', maybe.

 

My collection ranges from stinky Ahab to brightly sweet Aurora 88

I have three-dollar Jinhao pens (which actually write OK), four-dollar Wing Sung 3008 piston-fill demonstrators (which is about the only piston-fill pen that I would/could heartily endorse and recommend to other budding fountain pen enthusiasts), as well as some (now, thanks to inflation) thousand-dollar pens. I also have an uninked Aurora 88 which I'm still debating whether to keep or return. (I'm leaning towards keeping it.)

 

I don't intend to sell my pens and all bought with hard earned dough.

*high-five*

 

I'd say there's no irresponsible spending and yet some start a pause because they cost more than a laptop.

A faster, beefier and/or more portable laptop won't realistically give me more pleasure or pride of ownership than my mid-2012 MacBook Pro which I'm using to post this. (I used to build PCs for a living, then became a software engineer, and an 'enterprise architect' with an IT bias.)

 

Yet every time I think this is the last, very last, final, ultimate, "one", some thing else pops up.

 

Are you sated yet?

If Sailor introduces a third koshu-inden design, I might be interested in buying that.

 

If the only Platinum #3776 briar model I don't have is offered on super-super-special (with the finest nib it was ever offered with, of course) I could be interested. ('Long story' as to why I don't already have it.)

 

If Pilot starts to be sensible (outside of whatever fancy models of Vanishing Point capless pens it puts on the market), I may well be happy to buy more.

 

Oh, and the Namiki Falcon with chrome trim and Soft Extra Fine nib, if it becomes available for US$200 or less through Amazon.com.

 

But otherwise I'm nearly done this time around. I struggle to spend time on reading my calligraphy manuals and practising my handwriting skills, if I spend all/most of my time looking for bargains with a consumer mindset.