One Red Fountain Pen

[watch_art]

If I remember right that Edison you just got is quite the nice wet writer as well.

[JonB55198]

  On 12/3/2011 at 4:15 AM, watch_art said:

If I remember right that Edison you just got is quite the nice wet writer as well.

 

I heard this as well. I'm excited to use it. But I promised myself I wouldn't start using it until I shipped away the Pelikan 140 to powerbroker. It's all packed and I'm making a trip to the USPS today. So, I should be able to give some initial impressions sometime this weekend.

[JonB55198]

I just started using the Conklin Nozac today. I really like it! I filled it with Noodler's Baystate Blue. What I really like about this pen is that the clip has the fulcrum in the center of the clip instead of on the end. Does conklin make any other pens with clips like this? Is there anywhere I can find the teal version of this after I trade this one away? I like it so much that I might like to get one for myself when all is said and done

[grahamtillotson]

OK -- I just read this whole post and was looking for updates on the TRADES. Enough speculation. Let's get to it. What have you traded and how goes the grand plan?

 

Graham

[JonB55198]

  On 12/7/2011 at 11:41 PM, grahamtillotson said:

OK -- I just read this whole post and was looking for updates on the TRADES. Enough speculation. Let's get to it. What have you traded and how goes the grand plan?

 

Graham

 

Graham,

Glad to have you join us. I've actually been doing the trades for some time now. The trades have gone as follows:

0. Red Wing Sung 322

1. Airmail 69TS Eyedropper

2. Wearever Pennant & Stypen UP!

3. Parker 45 & Waterman Kultur Demonstrator

4. Conklin Endura

5. Pelikan M200 with Steel Nib

6. Peliakn 140 EF Flexible Nib

7. Modern Conlkin Nozac Cursive Italic & Edison Beaumont Brown Ebonite

 

So after 7 trades, there I am. I'm hoping maybe 1 or 2 more trades and I can be at the M1000 with BBB nib.

[grahamtillotson]

Game theory -- I love it. What would be really interesting is to get the strategy for every move. Overall the game is very simple:

 

Your goal is to get to an M1000 in as few trades as possible.

If your strategy is to move UP every time, then of course it is possible given n trades and no time constraints.

The trade-ee's strategy is either a) impulse trade, willingness to support your cause, c) scarcity, or d) ignorance of value.

Mostly I'm guessing it would be B or D.

Your strategy can't really be to trade down in anticipation of a future trade up with a bigger margin, because you can't see that far ahead and I don't think you want to waste the time.

ALTERNATE strategies for you could be to a) find an easy restore job to jump a few levels, trade multiples to get the set value (which you are doing), or c) seek out ignorance to trade up faster.

 

A slightly more philosophical question in all this is the value of YOUR time. After all the trades and the shipping and the waiting and the work, will it have been worth it? And along the way you might fall prey to the "Mary Jane" trap -- what if one of the "neighbor girls" like the Pelikan M200 turn out to be your dream girl, not Yvette the M1000? Maybe part of your strategy should be to NOT write with any of these trade pens. But then we are back to the value of time ;-).

 

Best of luck!

 

Graham

Edited December 8, 2011 by grahamtillotson

[RGH]

  On 12/8/2011 at 2:21 AM, grahamtillotson said:

Game theory -- I love it. What would be really interesting is to get the strategy for every move. Overall the game is very simple:

 

ALTERNATE strategies for you could be to a) find an easy restore job to jump a few levels, trade multiples to get the set value (which you are doing), or c) seek out ignorance to trade up faster.

 

 

 

Graham

 

 

Interesting to look at it as game theory - but if that is the case then alternate strategy a) an easy restore job, might be considered 'breaking the rules' as he would then not be trading pens only, but expertise and possibly purchased repair goods (i.e. doing the repair. I suppose in trading he is also using some expertise to evaluate what an "up" trade is, and to use that expertise in d). Which then brings us to ethics ...

 

ETA. And in the case of strategy B - where it might be looked upon as a real win/win situation, would this be an example of a non-zero-sum game. In which case could one find the Nash equilibrium for this game, and thus optimise trading strategy.

Edited December 8, 2011 by RGH

[JonB55198]

  On 12/8/2011 at 2:21 AM, grahamtillotson said:

Game theory ...

 

Well, I never considered it that way. I think most people here just want to help me out because it is an interesting experiment. Plus, out of all the hobbies that I've participated in, this one has to have the nicest folks around. People are very generous and I've tried to return that generosity where I can.

 

As for the cost of my time, I feel like I would have spent my time on pens anyhow, so may as well spent part of my pen-time allocation on trying this out. My only worry is that it will be hard to get the BBB nib. Maybe I'll have to buy a BBB nib separately someday.

[JonB55198]

Hi FPN,

 

I finally had a chance to finish my review over the weekend of the Pelikan 140 with EF flex nib. I'm a little behind because this pen was the 6th trade I made and I am currently on the 7th trade. But, as promised, I wanted to review each and every pen that I get in this process. Here is a link to the review. Let me know what you think:

 

Pelikan 140 Review

[JonB55198]

FPN,

 

I have some big news that I need your advice on. I have had an offer from a user to trade his black M1000 with OB and M nibs for the Conklin and Edison. But, it is a rather difficult decision since my end goal is a Green M1000 with a 3B nib. So, I was wondering if I could get some advice from the group on this. Should I make the trade and then attempt to use the Black M1000 to get to a green M1000? Or should I hold out for the Green one?

 

I know the 3B nib is a rare one to get, and recently the cost of this nib went up DRASTICALLY from $210 to $330. So, it might be hard to come by. Also, I think this trade might be a good deal because it comes with 2 nibs. Thoughts? Advice?

 

-Jon

Edited December 13, 2011 by JonB55198

[bwDraco]

  On 12/13/2011 at 1:42 AM, JonB55198 said:

I have had an offer from a user to trade his black M1000 with OB and M nibs...

 

:o

 

You've got to be kidding me!

 

Well, I would suggest that you decline at this point, since it's a bit earlier than expected and isn't exactly what you're looking for.

 

--DragonLord

Edited December 13, 2011 by DragonLord

[watch_art]

Decline??? Really? I'd go for it. You can always trade this evenly for the green with the nib later on. Or hope for the trade. I think getting the pen with ANY nib would be good enough - as you might have a bear of a time getting somebody to trade off such a sweet nib as the O3B.

 

DO IT!

[bwDraco]

  On 12/13/2011 at 2:05 AM, watch_art said:

Decline??? Really? I'd go for it. You can always trade this evenly for the green with the nib later on. Or hope for the trade. I think getting the pen with ANY nib would be good enough - as you might have a bear of a time getting somebody to trade off such a sweet nib as the O3B.

 

DO IT!

 

Oh... foolish me!

 

Great point, and I have to agree with what you said. Given that, I would wait a few moments and see what the others have to say.

 

--DragonLord

[JonB55198]

  On 12/13/2011 at 2:05 AM, watch_art said:

Decline??? Really? I'd go for it. You can always trade this evenly for the green with the nib later on. Or hope for the trade. I think getting the pen with ANY nib would be good enough - as you might have a bear of a time getting somebody to trade off such a sweet nib as the O3B.

 

DO IT!

 

That is what I was thinking. Maybe I could just trade the black barrel for a green barrel. Also, I really like the new M1000 with the new logo. So maybe I could somehow trade upward to it. In the end, I can just buy the 3B nib. But the problem is the prices just went WAY out of sight. They went from $210 to $330 which is an insane increase.

[ghorn11]

Excellent thread you have going here! I am brand new to fountain pens, started off with a twsbi 540. Wish I would have thought of this!!!!!

[watch_art]

You could sell your two nibs to fund the O3B nib.

[JonB55198]

  On 12/13/2011 at 2:47 AM, watch_art said:

You could sell your two nibs to fund the O3B nib.

 

Should I get the O3B or the 3B? My initial wish was for the 3B

[watch_art]

Oh whoops. I misread. Yeah totally. 3B!

[OcalaFlGuy]

FWIW, I don't see the pen being a different color as a dis-qualifier for you having completed this quest (or nearly so if you still intend to hold out for the original color).

 

Congratulations! :clap1:

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[watch_art]

Yeah - congratulations are definitely in order.