What's the current state of the hobby? Is it still growing rapidly?

[Bristol24]

While I have 60+ fountain pens, I do not consider myself a collector in the sense that there is not much rhyme or reason to the pens that I have, other than to say that I enjoy messing around with vintage pens and getting them back into writing condition.  Since I have never been to a pen show and rarely venture to the other forums, I would still have to say that there is an large interest in fountain pens out there.  I say this simply because there is a good supply of inks, and new pens being sold. but things are different now.  We are in a state of flux both in cultural shift and social behavior.  Everyone is doing their best to put on a "normal," if not a "happy" face but things are simply not the same.  Each one of us knows this and we sense that it is not over by a long shot.  Most everyone suppresses thoughts like that but those underlying concerns impact everything and change a person's priorities.  All of this makes it difficult to assess where our hobby is at, where business is heading, what major purchases should be made...or put off.   As Dorothy said to her dog, Toto, in the motion picture classic, "The Wizard of Oz," "we're not in Kansas anymore."

 

Cliff

[Estycollector]

We are living in constant contradictions. The same people who would say don’t smoke, exercise, and eat a balanced diet to improve health will also refuse to take a life saving vaccine.

 

We can look around or read about the obvious, yet some people deny.

 

I think being able to focus on something frivolous is a way of coping with these contradictions. 

 

 

[TSherbs]

"Interest" and sales and new launches and Google searches and Reddit memberships are all different things. I don't think that we have any idea, and even the term "hobby" is unclear.

 

I can ask my two in-the-flesh friends (yes, I have a few) who own a fountain pen and get back to you. Just to add another data point.

[mouse2cat]

I couldn't say since I am new to the hobby. 

I got into fountain pens during the pandemic mainly as a drawing tool. Because I was too depressed to do my larger work so watercolor sketchbooks with fountain pens felt like less pressure. 

 

For me the extreme waterproofness of certain modern inks (platinum carbon <3) is very much keeping me around. Although now that I essentially have the pens I need I will probably just stop buying pens and use the ones I have. I ended up with about 10 pens? More than I need but I do like to ink them all up in different colors. 

 

I have given fountain pens to 2 different friends so maybe I am enabling a few others. 

[chromantic]

I recently asked my 88 yo dad if he used fountain pens. He said he had a MB. I asked him if he'd like an Etruria and he said no thanks.