My Most Excellent Fountain Pens. End Of A Journey?

[katanankes]

 

 

"And the END of all our exploring will be to arrive where we STARTED and know the place for the first time " - TS Eliot

 

 

Love it!

[pankaj]

In the past I I read with interest write-ups about one's collection. I thought to share mine as I am reflecting on the hobby.

 

I have been heavily invested into fountain pens since 2005. Do not ask me why. I just got the bug. Initially focused on collecting, then in more recent years trying to find the perfect writers.

I think I can now narrow down my inseparable fountain pens into the following 15. Let me share with you what makes them special to me.

 

 

Now, reflecting on the hobby, I think that I reached my level of satisfaction. It is more and more difficult to fall for a new pen, especially with a large collection of pens that do not get any use sitting on the side. I do not regret anything about my journey because apart from the occasional adrenaline rush, thanks to this hobby I made friends and I learnt about cultures and crafts.

 

15 year long journey and 15 pride possession !

But I think 25 would be more elegant.

Like Macallan 25 ....No ?

[Mangrove Jack]

Lovely pens. Very nice collection. Perhaps a Parker 51 and Ciselle 75 in there would give it a nice finishing touch.

[peroride]

Thank you for sharing your wonderful journey @katanankes

Your individual acquisition stories and provenance of your impressive collection makes for vicarious enjoyment.

For us newbies, a few questions:

 

During the journey have you ever felt these plateaus or episodic mini-endings only to find yourself enamoured with yet Another Pen (YAP)? Or to put it another way, what was the progression of the acquisition curve ?

 

I am guessing there is no rank order as the clustering of the years noted are more far beyond 2005 when you first started.

 

That suggests not an end but a sustained plateau with another green flash in 2020 that will capture your horizontal slots?

 

If 15 were ranked or rather you had to grab only a third (5), what would be your bug out bag of top 5 pens?

 

Is the challenge of acquisition be it price or rarity, a function of retention? or something else like nostalgia?

 

Other than a few pens on order, I too feel done, but ... that was said a few moons ago...

And finally, now that the pens are "done", how's that ink journey?

[Pensei]

First, thanks for answering my question. I would really like to reduce my number of pens by about 75%, but I can't really figure out how to do it, and I'm a little too tight to just give them away.

[Drawing61]

Thank you katanankes. You describe my situation. I have too many pens, some of which I have never inked. My pen love affair was tempestuous and erratic until I learned what I truly loved. The problem is parting with any of them. They all have their charm.

[Says]

Well I think I stopped the crazed buying phase... rarely does pens catch my eyes now.

However, I think I still will go on for some time! just more prudent now I guess.

[mongrelnomad]

What a wonderful, personal, thread. And what an eclectic set of moderns. Perhaps I should consider doing the same - it has long been clear to me that I use perhaps 10-15 of pens; maybe it is time to formalise this suspicion into fact by putting it into writing. I suspect you and I would have some not inconsiderable crossover in our choices.

 

On an oblique note: I'm headed to Taipei next month with my family, and will be staying at the Shangri-La. I once stayed at the same hotel chain in Tainan, and following an offhand comment they organised the most intricate trip through the East Coast, so that all I had to do was walk (escorted) to the train station. It was so excessively over-the-top, that I am greatly looking forward to visiting their sister property in Taipei. Do you have any recommendations for unusual pen shops (or unusual shops in general) in the capital? I saw a heavily modified MB 149 from Taipiei on here a while back, and would be eager to locate it if possible...

[Namo]

Desire is a strange beast, feeding on its own satisfaction. If you are at peace with your (wonderful) collection, then you are a wise and happy wo.man.