Losing interest in pens

[D.C. in PA]

Rotomobees,

Isn't it interesting how the expression of a feeling gives rise to such a range of reactions and developments?

May I express my respect for your choice to convert your shift in interest into a series of untethered gifts that have made a widespread impact on many who have read your posts.

Indeed, the world has been greatly impacted by those who have (figuratively) kicked a few bits of gravel down a hill, to gather other stones with them as they roll, resulting in an irresistible landslide. I do not mean to imply that you intended to 'change the world' with your decision to gift your collection, only that it has obviously had an impact on others, who have given it strength and passed it on, in word and deed. No matter the intent, well done.

By the way, thank you for your attention to those little inhabitants of the hives, we all need our advocates.

D.C.

[Lachesis]

Inka,

 

That's great! I requested a VP myself, and can't wait until mine arrives. It doesn't matter how long it takes, just as long as it gets here.

I'll be reviewing it with some J.Herbin ink that might arrive in a few weeks from FPN member Caligula.

 

And Anton, your doodle made me smile, too.

 

Lachesis

[kazushizuku]

 

Hehe, this is sooo cool.

 

And someone said this before, but this thread makes me absurdly happy. Especially since I've been seeing a lot of selfishness and unkindness this last couple of months. I don't think there's anything wrong with Rotomobees, or think it's fake-- I figure with so many people trying to to hang on to what they don't want, don't need, and don't even own-- there's gotta be a few like him to balance it up.

 

[Inka]

Inka,

 

That's great! I requested a VP myself, and can't wait until mine arrives. It doesn't matter how long it takes, just as long as it gets here.

I'll be reviewing it with some J.Herbin ink that might arrive in a few weeks from FPN member Caligula.

Cool! If you have a digital camera I would really like to see your new VP when it arrives!

I got some J. Herbin cartridge samples from a FPN member to evaluate for my pen-maker friend to see if he’d like to carry them on his pen Website. The samples given me are all International cartridges so they won’t fit the VPs. The VP cartridge, I’ve found, is at least 2-3x longer than the Int’s are, holding far more ink. They also have a very large hole that’s nothing like the pencil-lead thin Int’s @ the nipple/connector end. Besides the three new, unopened Pilot ink cartridges I got with my NOS pen, mine also came with a empty Pilot cartridge attached, so all I had to do was use a small glass eye-dropper [or syringe I’d used this time] to fill it with the ink of my choice. I never dump inks from cartridges; I’m much too thrifty to waste anything, so I was really happy that I could use the ink of my choice for the VPs’ first fill [Noodler’s Habanero is the perfect ink, IMO, for the Mustard pen color]. Are you getting J. Herbin cartridges or bottled ink? If cartridges, you’ll have to remove the ink from them somehow and transfer to an empty VP cartridge to use the ink. If bottled ink, just a glass eye-dropper will do the trick if you don’t have an ink syringe handy.

 

 

… I've been seeing a lot of selfishness and unkindness this last couple of months.

My wife and I have seen that same selfishness and unkindness for many years in our lives. I am 51; she is 49, so we’ve been around long enough to have nearly seen it all. We are kind, considerate, giving, and trusting souls by nature and as such we’ve been taken advantage of way too many times in our lives. Even a few of those we’ve considered as being our good friends have burned us badly, yet we still try to keep the faith, do our best to continue to trust people, unless proven by a few they cannot be trusted. It’s been a roller coaster, trusting, being betrayed, learning to trust again, burned again,… You get the idea, I’m sure.

 

I really hope others are not betrayed as we have been, especially those in this thread that have given freely and generously, not asking anything in return but recipients enjoying what they get and never sell what the get for free, unless financial hardships get so bad they may have no other choice. I can honestly say we’ve seen financial hardships, even now we’re facing one of the worst in our lifetimes, yet we still never sell gifts given [never have, never will, God willing]. We continue to give generously and feed the hungry [including our local missionaries] when we have little to eat ourselves at times, we even tithe regularly even when we had only $51 in our bank account just last week. We give all of the time, so it’s nice to get something in return once in awhile despite almost never asking [seldom asking] for anything, as it is always better to receive freely when those wishing to give freely mean so from the heart.

[kazushizuku]

… I've been seeing a lot of selfishness and unkindness this last couple of months.

it is always better to receive freely when those wishing to give freely mean so from the heart.

 

And like the OP and others in this thread, you've just added a little more to my 'hope and happy' bank. Thank you very much for sharing this and confirming what I've been thinking (despite having been told so many times I was wrong).

[Rotomobees]

Dear FPN Friends,

 

Please excuse me for being a little overwhelmed. With the start of school (I'm an administrator among other things, and I've had a principal change to deal with) and pouring cement around my workshop, I've been a little busy. So I've not been able to keep up with my aspiration to send out two pens a day. Please be patient with me as I try to catch up with work, family, and fishing. My brother, my dad, and I are going to Flaming Gorge to catch some big trout for a few days, and I am very much looking forward to a few days of rest. Be assured that I will be answering your requests and sending out pens ASAP. Don't assume that because I haven't responded to your PMs that I'm ignoring your request. I will get to each person in time. It took me ten years to collect all these pens, so it should be no surprise that it will take me some time to dispatch them.

 

Also I discourage you from characterizing me as some kind of saint for giving things away. In fact, I acquired all these pens because I have strong streak of greed, and now I'm trying to rectify my wayward character defects. Believe me, I'm getting more out of giving the pens than those who receive them. I'm not really that good of a human being; I've been given a lot of opportunities and have failed to give much in return. Giving the pens is just a step I'm taking in the right direction, and I'm thrilled that some people can benefit from actions.

 

Rob

[Anton Emdin]

Hi Rob - don't worry, you're human. We all have streaks of all sorts of things. I'm wittling away my vices continually; it's all part of being human I think.

 

Sorry if my saintly bee illo upset you at all. I thought it summed up the flavour of the topic. I'm a cartoonist, and we use visual metaphors all the time, as it conveys messages easily.

 

There are a few of us out there that think of you very favourably indeed - saint or not!

 

Ps. Happy fishing. I wouldn't stress about getting the pens out. That sort of thing should take a backseat to the good things in life, like relaxing with friends and family (and fishing!).

Edited August 20, 2009 by Anton Emdin

[Rotomobees]

Hi Rob - don't worry, you're human. We all have streaks of all sorts of things. I'm wittling away my vices continually; it's all part of being human I think.

 

Sorry if my saintly bee illo upset you at all. I thought it summed up the flavour of the topic. I'm a cartoonist, and we use visual metaphors all the time, as it conveys messages easily.

 

There are a few of us out there that think of you very favourably indeed - saint or not!

 

Ps. Happy fishing. I wouldn't stress about getting the pens out. That sort of thing should take a backseat to the good things in life, like relaxing with friends and family (and fishing!).

Thank you. I'm not offended. I just don't want people to get the wrong idea. I love the pen-carrying bee. By the way, the Latin name of the honeybee is apis mellifera, literally "bee that carries honey."

[Anton Emdin]

Good stuff!

Edited August 20, 2009 by Anton Emdin

[Lachesis]

@Rotombees--not at all. We know you're human, and that's perfectly okay.

 

@Inka: Yes, I do have a digital camera, and am looking forward to reviewing the pen when it arrives, along with the J.Herbin ink (although they may not arrive together, but oh well. xD)

 

I bought some J.Herbin ink bottles, Cafe de les Isles and Rouge d'le Opera. Apologies if I didn't type it correctly--I'm typing from memory.

 

I agree, I never dump inks from their cartridges, I'd rather write with them until they ran out, then flush the ink from them and then buy a syringe and refill it with ink.

 

Lachesis

[Ghost Plane]

I want to hear more about the trout fishing. I'm over on the deep water side of things and it sounds like fun. So tell us, what do you use for bait, what sort of water are they found in, etc?

[ihimlen]

Once. I even managed to part with some of my pens (and a few of them were my favourites and holy grails!) but in the last minute I thought better of it and so I'm still collecting Wahl-Eversharps!

[buttonfiller]

How about trying calligraphy? I've just discovered it :roflmho:

[Inka]

How about trying calligraphy? I've just discovered it :roflmho:

That's actually a good idea, for anyone interested in using a fountain pen, great training and exercise!

Same here on just discovering it [if you're being serious; I am], I've been doing my best with inexpensive dip-nibs and holder, not making much progress but I am trying.

I can write much better than I can type, making fewer mistakes, Calligraphy is more of a discipline that takes even more time and thought so I figured it can only help.

Sometimes what I type looks like I'm in another country than the U.S., as if I'm using language conversion software that makes mistakes from the English language, but nope it's all me.

I can proof-read before posting until I'm blue in the face and still overlook type-os constantly, no idea why, it just happens, almost embarrassingly so.

Writing with a fountain pen I'm more aware of every word, knowing I can't just go back and click to change or erase makes it work better for me in particular.

Writing by hand also forces me to look up words in a Dictionary, since typing even with Spell-Check is not capable of pointing out words spelled correctly but out of context.

Calligraphy has always caught my eye; I’ve seen some amazing works by others that I can only hope to get close to doing myself some day.

[Rotomobees]

I want to hear more about the trout fishing. I'm over on the deep water side of things and it sounds like fun. So tell us, what do you use for bait, what sort of water are they found in, etc?

 

At the Gorge we use Rapala lures for the rainbows and bass, but I really don't like to catch bass. We jig for the lake trout, which are the truly big fish, some over 30 pounds. Then there are the the kokanee, which use a special lure that resembles a school of fish. All this is done in 40-200 feet of water, so we use downriggers attached to the boat to establish the right depth. Of course, we have fish finders to locate the fish and determine the right depth to troll. Sometimes we use a little bait (night crawlers or minnows), but since it interferes with action of the lure, it usually is ineffective. Finally, just below the Flaming Gorge dam is the Green River, which is a world class trout fishery. Bait is prohibited on the initial stretch of the river, so the best alternative is fly fishing using little nymph and egg patterns. This is not the elegant kind of fly fishing you see pictured with the angler gently arcing yards of line over his back, but a style called nymphing which involves dragging the flies through holes created by the action of the river's current. You have the be on a lake or a big river to that really classy stuff; I'm more of a "blue collar" fisherman.

[Inka]

I have never fished for trout; have wanted to for years, Rainbows being especially tasty but catch-&-release would be fun too.

I had an offer @ 20+ years ago to go to Canada, to a place where even the use of barbed hooks was outlawed, strictly catch-&-release.

I really wish I had gone now, as the times I've gone fishing are among the most lasting memories [and the best] I have.

While I’ve done similar and enjoy fishing, I also like to catch, clean and eat my catch while they’re still fresh [Mmmm, tasty!].

Not much better than returning to a camp and having a fresh-catch meal at the end of a long day of fishing, it’s icing on the cake.

Thank you for sharing your stories and methodology.

[coco]

I've been jumping around this thread, a bit in awe of Rotomobees honesty and sincerity. Made me think of this quote I saw recently (which I jotted down because I liked it so much):

 

Need Little

Want Less

Love More

[jniforat]

sorry for the fast reply, i'll write more in the next day or two (school is starting monday, so prepping for that).

 

I just received in the mail a package from Rotomobees (aka Rob), and when i opened the package i found the following: a pilot 2a fountain pen and a...yes...Pelikan 1931 LE Originals of Their Time fountain peN!!!!! WOW!!!!!!!!!! OMg....i will post pictures ASAP (give me a day or two). It's beautiful, gold, and, best of all, i found a pen design that i really like. So much so, in fact, that i will save up for either a pelikan 100 or bexley tea time (the Poseidon eventually). it is so beautiful, and it means so much to me.

 

i will write much, much more about my experience getting this pen, what the pen is like, and what it means to me.

 

this is the first time in a number a years (since i can remember) i have received something so nice....wow *speechless*

[Deirdre]

Wow, what a stunning gift!

[jniforat]

Wow, what a stunning gift!

 

oh boy...it is. i just looked at it yesterday, when it came in, for what seemed like forever!