Do you use your best (grail) pens or store them and use the lowly ones?

[kestrel]

Two of the three pens I spent the most time seeking and had the biggest adrenaline rush when purchasing (two online auctions and one sumgai) get used.  I have been an admirer of Mark Twain's writing for more than 50 years and part of the reason I entered the vintage rabbit hole was the chance to own pen models like the ones he used.  The vintage Conklin S5 gets used but it doesn't leave the house.  Twain used an S5 and I like to think mine writes just as well as his did.  I lusted after the Conklin Halloween or Clown pen from the moment I first saw a picture of one.  I stumbled across one in an antique mall in the "Everything in this box is $10.00 box" and grabbed it.  It had a lot of serious issues but Ron Zorn returned it to almost like new condition.  It gets used but doesn't leave the house.

 

The first pen Twain endorsed was the MacKinnon Stylograph.  It took years but I finally found one and won the auction.  It is roughly 150 years old, in near mint condition, and lives in its original velvet-lined gift box.  Twain got so mad at his MacKinnon with its skipping and blobbing and otherwise bad behavior that he threw it out the window onto the lawn, called his household staff together, and informed them that any employee who brought that (not safe for FPN words) evil thing back into the house would be fired.  I inked my Stylograph once and my pen is every bit as fun to use as Twain's was.  I did not, however, throw it out the window.  This one gets looked at but I will never ink it again.

[inkstainedruth]

Hmmm.  Now I'm guessing where that quote of his about the "cussedness" of fountain pens maybe came from....

Thanks for the story!

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Lam1]

2 hours ago, kestrel said:

Two of the three pens I spent the most time seeking and had the biggest adrenaline rush when purchasing (two online auctions and one sumgai) get used.  I have been an admirer of Mark Twain's writing for more than 50 years and part of the reason I entered the vintage rabbit hole was the chance to own pen models like the ones he used.  The vintage Conklin S5 gets used but it doesn't leave the house.  Twain used an S5 and I like to think mine writes just as well as his did.  I lusted after the Conklin Halloween or Clown pen from the moment I first saw a picture of one.  I stumbled across one in an antique mall in the "Everything in this box is $10.00 box" and grabbed it.  It had a lot of serious issues but Ron Zorn returned it to almost like new condition.  It gets used but doesn't leave the house.

 

The first pen Twain endorsed was the MacKinnon Stylograph.  It took years but I finally found one and won the auction.  It is roughly 150 years old, in near mint condition, and lives in its original velvet-lined gift box.  Twain got so mad at his MacKinnon with its skipping and blobbing and otherwise bad behavior that he threw it out the window onto the lawn, called his household staff together, and informed them that any employee who brought that (not safe for FPN words) evil thing back into the house would be fired.  I inked my Stylograph once and my pen is every bit as fun to use as Twain's was.  I did not, however, throw it out the window.  This one gets looked at but I will never ink it again.

Thank you for the nice story!

 

Now, a Conklin Halloween/clown for $10 !!! That’s quite the sumgai!!!!

[boilermaker1975]

We are always changing. That has certainly been the case for me. I am still very much influenced by my parents who were young adults during the great depression. My wife calls me cheap, but I say I am economical in the use of my resources, lol.

 

A year ago, I would have never thought of paying much more than $100 for a pen. Then I saw a post by @ParramattaPaul of an Onoto Scholar ceramic in BRG and I had to have it. With shipping it cost about $200.

 

I loved how the Onoto wrote and I really loved the pens I saw on the Onoto web site. I am an electrical engineer, I teach electromagnetics, so I loved the Onoto’s “The Faraday” pen, someone I talk about in my classes. 

 

I’m 72 and still working and can’t imagine not working. I changed, I realized paying $600 for this pen was not going to change anything for me but would give me a pen I would love, and use!

 

Since that first purchase of the Onoto Scholar back in March, I now have three more, much more expensive, Onoto’s (The Faraday, The Pi, and the Ebonite Magna) plus my first Pelikan M800. I have them all inked, carry them to work every day in a nice hard Galen case, and use them all the time. (A year ago, I would never have even considered a Galen case because of the cost!)

 

The one thing I am careful about is the ink I use, mainly because I am still learning. So I figured I was safe with Diamine ink and that is the only ink my Onotos and Pelikan have seen.

[Detman101]

My "Grail Pen" is just like my "Grail Car"....was a dream until I actually used it and found out that neither really fit me.

 

-DM-

[GlenV]

It's fun to read all of your opinions and your favorite pens.  I feel lucky to have some of my pens, those of some value oddly have been gifts and I don't really use them.  Some of my favorite pens really aren't the ones of the most value, although most of mine don't have much selling value.  I do like having all of my pens ready for use, and get them out and use them time to time except for 2, a 149 that is in it's wrapper (gift) and a WW2 relic recovered from a ship by a diver.

[Ted Nashe]

4 hours ago, boilermaker1975 said:

My wife calls me cheap, but I say I am economical in the use of my resources, lol.

 

🤣🤣🤣

[Karmachanic]

Pens are for writing.  I have inexpensive pens, two in particulaR, that I much prefer over some that cost 30x ± as much.  

 

As for "grail", that  would be, by definition, a single object. Personally that might be a £30 Indian Ebonite pen with a £70 nib.  No names will be mentioned.

[Penguincollector]

   One of my grails isn’t just one pen, it’s a collection of really inexpensive Sheaffer TRX and Fashion pens from the late 1970s-‘80s. I was fascinated by this collection as a child- before I knew anything about value and gold or steel nibs, when I was just learning to write cursive with my dad’s Parker 45. I had forgotten about them until a few years ago, when Teri had a powder blue TRX for sale. All of a sudden, I was that little girl standing by the pen counter again. Now I buy them when I see them. I used to imagine myself as a smartly dressed professional, matching her pens to her outfit, writing checks and signing credit card bills. 

[ParramattaPaul]

The pens I had growing up and into my 30s were pauper-priced Platignun pens. They were at the upper limits of my economics when I was at school, and considered an unnecessary extravagance in my early adulthood. I was happy with the Platignum pens that passed through my hands one at a time one especially that had a gold washed or plated nib was a joy to use.

 

Senator Diplomat pens became available in Australia in about 1981, and were sold at hugely discounted prices when they entered the market. That was the first step up for me.

 

It wasn't until the early 2000s, after I had retired for what in reality was the third time that I 'got into pens' and started collecting pre-1950 vintage pens that especially appealed to me, an amateur historian. Obviously, Conway Stewart pens were amongst those I now have.

 

Having and using vintage Conways compelled me to want a modern one --- one just one. I bought a Churchill.

 

It was then that I discovered  'Potato Chip Theorem' ('One cannot eat just one.')also applies to Conway Stewart pens. 

 

Having succumbed to the allure of the Conways, I had to have one of their premier rival's offering.   An Onoto Magna was the obvious choice.

 

The Magna, its balance and the glass-like smooth- writing of its nib opened my ears to the 'Siren's song'.  It now seems that the only pens I use (and want to buy) are Onoto and Conway Stewart pens.

 

So yes, I do use my 'grail pen/s'.

 

Having said that I might have to get out the Churchill and ink it when the Belliver is empty.

[boilermaker1975]

@ParramattaPaul You got me started on the Onotos and I love them! Thank you! The ebonite Magna I have is just like you say, glass-like smooth-writing with Diamine Oxford blue ink.  I have looked on the Conway Stewart web site but so far resisted. At the top of my current wish list is the Onoto Ebonite Heritage. But I would not be surprised to have a Conway Stewart one day. That dark green with gold Churchill is tempting.

[sandy101]

I use the grail pens all the time. 

 

However, I work in a very busy college, where any stationery that isn't nailed down goes for a walk. 

 

So, most of my grail pens do not follow me to the office, but are allowed out at the week-ends. 

 

The general rule is that if it isn't easily replaceable, it doesn't leave the house. 

 

 

 

 

[ParramattaPaul]

2 hours ago, boilermaker1975 said:

@ParramattaPaul You got me started on the Onotos and I love them! Thank you! The ebonite Magna I have is just like you say, glass-like smooth-writing with Diamine Oxford blue ink.  I have looked on the Conway Stewart web site but so far resisted. At the top of my current wish list is the Onoto Ebonite Heritage. But I would not be surprised to have a Conway Stewart one day. That dark green with gold Churchill is tempting.

👍🙂👍

[ParramattaPaul]

3 minutes ago, sandy101 said:

The general rule is that if it isn't easily replaceable, it doesn't leave the house.

That is a good guideline.  One I follow with those things that have sentimental value as well.

[Ceramicist]

4 hours ago, Penguincollector said:

   One of my grails isn’t just one pen, it’s a collection of really inexpensive Sheaffer TRX and Fashion pens from the late 1970s-‘80s. I was fascinated by this collection as a child- before I knew anything about value and gold or steel nibs, when I was just learning to write cursive with my dad’s Parker 45. I had forgotten about them until a few years ago, when Teri had a powder blue TRX for sale. All of a sudden, I was that little girl standing by the pen counter again. Now I buy them when I see them. I used to imagine myself as a smartly dressed professional, matching her pens to her outfit, writing checks and signing credit card bills. 

I love this! 

[Estycollector]

24 years ago, we had a house first that destroyed lots of irreplaceable items. I think it had a positive effect on all of us. What we didn't lose is a family member. In that fire I lost a MB 149 that I had had for about a decade. Honestly, that it was gone never entered my mind for months. Not to say it was not important, but there were other more important considerations. 

 

My advice is, if you enjoy it more just looking at it, that's great. If you enjoy it more using, that's just as fine. 

[Amberjack]

With one exception, all my pens get used, just some more than others.

 

The one exception is an orange Parker Duofold Centennial I bought 10 or so years ago.

It just looks so good resting on it's pillow in pristine condition. 

 

I'm not even sure what ink I'd choose if I did ink it up.  

 

Jack

[ptexpress]

I use my grails. Except for the two that came to me new-in-box, never having been inked. They just look so pristine and I feel intimidated and unworthy. I am saving them for future milestones.

[psimpson130]

My grail is a Parker 51 series that was my late father's. It was presented to him in 1962 by my mother when he became the master of his masonic lodge. I have had it since he passed in 1980 and never written a word with it. My own "grails" are 3 Phileas fountain pens I got many years ago. They are more or less in holding. My daily pens are several Lamy Safaris, and a couple of Pilots, one of which is a retractable. My stick in the pocket and go pen is a Kaweco Sport.

[PAKMAN]

I've reached the age that I realize that if I don't use the "Good Stuff" it is a waste to have it.  So I am journaling today with a $125O MSRP pen. If not now, when?