Ideas where I might find a PenBBS "Hidden Path" 480 or 456 to buy?

[jonathan7007]

Hi All,

I'd like to find one of these. The color is the thing so if that acrylic was used for a PenBBS model I might do that. I'm aware that Moonman used some of the same acrylics but do not know if they issued a pen (that I want to stretch the budget to buy) in this particular color. Making the section the same color is a real visual benefit. I think that's PenBBS only.

 

I'll change nibs. I use mostly stubs, italics, inexpensive flex nibs.

 

Besides Etsy and eBay, where are other sources? Other reliable "classified" sites?

 

Thanks, in advance, for suggestions.

[OCArt]

Is this the same material??

 

 

[jonathan7007]

Yes. ChrisRap speculated in this video that the acrylic blocks were the same raw material for the two pen lines/companies. I had seen this video at the time of release: I've wanted a pen with the "check" pattern since. PenBBS's design implementation uses a section of the same material and color scheme as the pen body, and I think that's a standout difference. That's why I mentioned it in my OP.

 

I have no other PenBBS pens.

 

Looks like the color was not manufactured after 2019.

 

Thanks for posting the video for reference, but I hope it doesn't send too many others out scrounging around for the few in the used market! <grin>

 

[OCArt]

There's a blue one here evil bay and Aliexpress has them in two different colors.

[jonathan7007]

Thanks, but that ocher/cream/gold is the one I want. "Hidden Path" is offered by Chris as the official English name for the BBSpen color.

 

And the Jinhao has a black section, not carrying the color down to the nib.

[jonathan7007]

Found a seller of a "Hidden Path" PenBBS #308 on a very general sales-by-individuals site offered for no more than it would be at usual suspects' pages - by what I guess is one person. Fingers crossed what's delivered fits the pictures, is the named model, and NOS condition. Same seller had a NOS Cardinal Darkness Ahab for $15 so I bought that, too.

[jonathan7007]

On 11/9/2021 at 2:38 PM, jonathan7007 said:

Found a seller of a "Hidden Path" PenBBS #308 on a very general sales-by-individuals site offered for no more than it would be at usual suspects' pages - by what I guess is one person. Fingers crossed what's delivered fits the pictures, is the named model, and NOS condition. Same seller had a NOS Cardinal Darkness Ahab for $15 so I bought that, too.

I'm back to write that there is *no* contact back from the "seller" or the website entity. Purchase (PayPal) on November 9. Message November 13th from me to website and "seller".

 

Crickets.

 

So filed a claim with PayPal.

 

The website, it turns out, is just two months old. Sadly I don't get my PenBBS unit in that fun color. Or that inexpensive Ahab. Pretty sure I'll get my money back, though. And I'll keep looking.

 

So, if you stumble on the website, "learkeso.com" in search results, keep moving. (BTW, I looked them up on WHOIS and the newer ICANN info grid,; all contact info (like which country...) redacted except nameservers.

 

Sketchy.

 

 

[Ted A]

That checkerboard pattern appears fairly often. There is a Parker Duofold with it. Way more expensive. As pointed out above Jinnao. Either Conklin or Monteverde has used that. Conklin I’m pretty sure. I seem to recall another Chinese company, Duke maybe, who had that also

[jonathan7007]

2 hours ago, Ted A said:

That checkerboard pattern appears fairly often. There is a Parker Duofold with it. Way more expensive. As pointed out above Jinnao. Either Conklin or Monteverde has used that. Conklin I’m pretty sure. I seem to recall another Chinese company, Duke maybe, who had that also

Yes, thanks, I had seen those other offerings, although the name "Duke" is new to me. I appreciate the info. Moonman has a green one... As I've written above, the distinctive feature of the PenBBS implementation was first the specific color palette of "Hidden Path", same-pattern section, and a very reasonable price.

 

My usual pen-adding-dollars are devoted to expanding nib or ink options to add interesting handwriting experiences. (I write letters and cards, so paper for that purpose requires $$. Further, I keep handwritten notes all day in MiquelRius notebooks.) A #6 nib section often gets something interesting like a Noodler's, Fountain Pen Revolution Flex, Super-Flex, or stubby item to try out. Many feeds get flow-improvement "excavations", although I don't have the success rate of a well-trained surgeon. I also grind things as fun experiments.

 

So I keep my eye on interesting pen bodies in the bargain aisle to allocate more resources to nibs and feeds.

Again, thanks for the suggestions. See the next post for "The Rest of the Story"

[jonathan7007]

PapyPal has already come to the same conclusion I began to suspect: I was visiting ScammerVille.

 

Refund on its way.

To repeat: add the sales site "learkeso" dot com to your blacklist.

 

Embarrassed Me here. I usually spot this before pony-up-money-time.