Worst Fountain Pen Mistake?

[alvarez57]

Worst mistake? I don't know. There was that time I spilled the better part of an entire bottle of ink and spent the following three hours scrubbing the floor and the walls and the doors and the cabinets with bleach. And then there was that time I managed to launch my Pilot 823 amber demonstrator (with a perfect 0.7mm cursive italic nib ground by Richard Binder) across my bathroom. It hit the ceramic tile floor at high speed and broke into pieces. I eventually replaced the pen (and the new nib from Richard is just as nice as the old one). That one is probably my most expensive pen-related mistake. And then there was that time I thought I would increase the flow of my Aurora Optima's nib (why? it was a great writer! why did I do it?)... yeah, that one still needs to be fixed by a nibmeister.

 

Have you ever launched a Visconti travelling inkwell with black ink at the nice white walls in a hotel? I don't think they did appreciate my Pollock imitation.

Edited March 30, 2011 by alvarez57

[inkthefinks]

I just cracked the section and feed on a Waterman Ideal 52! A decent one that I got a deal on...

 

That's what I get for being in a hurry and using too much force... Pen repair requires patience and calm - don't forget that like I did!

[DAYoung]

Worst mistake? Buying a new Waterman.

[SnowLeopard]

Not going back to the flea market where I purchased a P 51 demi set for 8$ and adding the vintage Parker Duo for another 20....even though I already owned one. Close second...giving my last bottle of Sapphire to a closet ball pt. user.

Edited June 6, 2011 by SnowLeopard

[Conz]

Buying some of my pens just because the price was right, thinking that I could always sell them if I didn't use them anymore. (Might even make some money!)

 

Discovering that I have a pack rat mentality when it comes to fountain pens.

 

Besides, it's a whole easier to buy than to sell generally.

[Dark_Severus]

Ascribing more to any fountain pen, by any maker, as being more than just a pen.Thanks

 

Wait... you mean that my Edson Diamond Black doesn't actually make me smarter, more sophisticated, more handsome, more funny and more attractive?

 

 

 

+1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(I already figured out it doesn't make me richer)

[Dark_Severus]

Letting a brand new Parker Duofold Centennial escape...not once but 3 times!!

 

Was on Ebay for $190, and was really tempted to bid each time, but something kept stopping me.....

 

To date I don't own a single Duofold, and this was one of the first pens on my hitlist. I don't know why, every time I decide I am definitely going to buy it, I ALWAYS end up buying something else.

 

I feel like I will never write with a Duofold

[saskia_madding]

Buying a NOS, uninked, vintage Aurora 88P. It's gorgeous, but the ostensibly medium nib is thinner than an XF. I can't stand writing with it, but I'm hesitant to part with it. I frankly just wish I had never bought it in the first place.

 

http://i997.photobucket.com/albums/af97/Saskia_Madding/Aurora%2088p%20example%20photos/DSC08450.jpg?t=1302876303

[Alieanor]

Mine is losing fountain pens.

 

I've lost the following:

 

4 Watermans including 2 Laureats.

 

1 Parker that was my first FP. It was a gift from my ex, so it's possible I chucked it in a moment of anger :embarrassed_smile:

 

A Sheaffer school pen

 

Yes, I need to buy a pen case to take them to work. I have been telling myself that for years.

[Markk]

I remember rummaging through my parents boxes and found a few FP's. Probably Parkers, can't remember exactly. But I do remember that after playing with one I accidentally snapped it half. Only now, so many years later, have I realized the atrocity of my crime

[fncll]

Taking so long to discover that a $10 cheapie or a $20-$50 vintage pen not only could write as well as a $500 pen, but in many cases even better. I got into FPs in a way similar to the way I got lost in hi-fi audio land, unaware that the high-end wasn't about the user qualities (for the most part), particularly since I, like most, don't have "golden ears" or, apparently, a golden touch with the pen. Just as $1000 interconnect cables are lost on me, so are most $1000 pens, though at least the latter I can sometimes appreciate as mostly jewelry!

[Guest Subvet642]

My worst pen mistake was buying a Sonnet.

[orfew]

Ascribing more to any fountain pen, by any maker, as being more than just a pen.Thanks

 

You just reminded me of one of my favorite scenes from Henry V.

 

DAUPHIN

 

What a long night is this! I will not change my

horse with any that treads but on four pasterns.

Ca, ha! he bounds from the earth, as if his

entrails were hairs; le cheval volant, the Pegasus,

chez les narines de feu! When I bestride him, I

soar, I am a hawk: he trots the air; the earth

sings when he touches it; the basest horn of his

hoof is more musical than the pipe of Hermes.

 

ORLEANS

 

He's of the colour of the nutmeg.

 

DAUPHIN

 

And of the heat of the ginger. It is a beast for

Perseus: he is pure air and fire; and the dull

elements of earth and water never appear in him, but

only in Patient stillness while his rider mounts

him: he is indeed a horse; and all other jades you

may call beasts.

 

Constable

 

Indeed, my lord, it is a most absolute and excellent horse.

[The Tool Guy]

Simonerodrigue, your's is an easy problem to fix. Simply send the pen to one of our nibmeisters. He'll grind & smooth that nib to your desired width.

[pajaro]

Selling any of the many Parker 51s I have sold.

 

Trading any of the Parker 51s for anything else.

 

Keeping anything else, except for my MB Generation and 144s.

[Chevalier]

Mine was taking a good part of my collection to my office, to show them to a friend, and leaving them there, because I was in a hurry. That day someone broke into my office...

 

The worst point is, that I had most of my dad's pens with me. You can get similar pens again, but there's no way to replace the lost ones. It was an expensive mistake anyway, but the last point is a lot worse.

[Scrawler]

I switched to fountain pens from my prior hobby, thinking fountain pens would be a cheaper hobby

:ltcapd:

[JefferyS]

Mine was taking a good part of my collection to my office, to show them to a friend, and leaving them there, because I was in a hurry. That day someone broke into my office...

 

The worst point is, that I had most of my dad's pens with me. You can get similar pens again, but there's no way to replace the lost ones. It was an expensive mistake anyway, but the last point is a lot worse.

I guess that would reflect my biggest mistake, though I hadn't thought of it when i first saw this post. I kept assortment of good fountain pens in my office prior to Katrina. Having already experienced a lot of hurricanes, I didn't expect what would happen. When we were locked out of the office building due to major mold hazards, my office went unattended for 3 months. All of my pens were stolen, and virtually nothing else. Lost all of my Sheaffers. Now all of my eggs are in one basket...at home.

 

 

 

[Blizzard42]

Buying a NOS, uninked, vintage Aurora 88P. It's gorgeous, but the ostensibly medium nib is thinner than an XF. I can't stand writing with it, but I'm hesitant to part with it. I frankly just wish I had never bought it in the first place.

What kind of ink do you have on the vintage Aurora 88P on the picture? It looks very nice!

[Ladynib302]

With great intentions, purchasing resources telling me how to effectively downsize, de-clutter and economize; followed by discovering the lure of fountain pens, writing and pen shows. Now I have less space and less $. BUT, I am happy