How Do You Organize Your Pens?

[BrandonA]

Physically I order my pens within my collector box in year of original release.

 

As for keeping a record of what I have, I have an Excel spreadsheet which includes the serial number/release details.

[phlosar]

Here we go, the case is a Gerstner International GI-532 with matching GI-B532 in red oak:

 

Top - Ink

1 - Ink Drop cards, business cards, paperwork, etc.

2 - Spare converters, cartridges, syringes, etc.

3 - Pens waiting on repair

4 - Miscellaneous repair supplies and tools (tweezers, shellac, silicone, loupe, sacs, etc.)

5,6,7 - Pen storage for 13 pens per drawer

8,9 - Pen storage for 32 pens per drawer

10 - Boxes, spare nibs, misc. large items and tools

11,12 - Notepads and miscellaneous paper items

13 - Pen storage for 34 pens

14 - Watches, Jewelery, other ephemera

 

Total dedicated pen storage as configured (i.e. - drawers with inserts not counting drawer 3) is 137. The drawers are lined with GoPens.com 12x16 Slotted Display Trays cut to 6x16 to fit the 7" deep drawers.

 

 

That is a great-looking case. I may need to get one of those. Where did you get those ink vials and holding tray in your top shelf? I need some smaller ink containers to contain ink once the bottles get low.

[FLJeepGuy]

Here we go, the case is a Gerstner International GI-532 with matching GI-B532 in red oak:

 

Top - Ink

1 - Ink Drop cards, business cards, paperwork, etc.

2 - Spare converters, cartridges, syringes, etc.

3 - Pens waiting on repair

4 - Miscellaneous repair supplies and tools (tweezers, shellac, silicone, loupe, sacs, etc.)

5,6,7 - Pen storage for 13 pens per drawer

8,9 - Pen storage for 32 pens per drawer

10 - Boxes, spare nibs, misc. large items and tools

11,12 - Notepads and miscellaneous paper items

13 - Pen storage for 34 pens

14 - Watches, Jewelery, other ephemera

 

Total dedicated pen storage as configured (i.e. - drawers with inserts not counting drawer 3) is 137. The drawers are lined with GoPens.com 12x16 Slotted Display Trays cut to 6x16 to fit the 7" deep drawers.

 

 

That is a great-looking case. I may need to get one of those. Where did you get those ink vials and holding tray in your top shelf? I need some smaller ink containers to contain ink once the bottles get low.

Thanks for the compliment on my cases!

 

The ink vials and tray are from Goulet Pens. Most of the vials were received through their Ink Drop program which you can check into on their site.

[eliaselrod]

I don't have a lot. I keep 6 of them (Platinum Standard, Sailor Sapporo, Hero 86, Parker Jotter, two Pilot Parallel pens) in a Nomadic Roll Pen Case, along with a Zebra drafting pencil, stick eraser, and 3 Koi water brushes. These are the ones I use regularly. I keep the rest (~15) nestled in a drawer. These are duplicates, out-of-favor, and Chinese pens. Being an engineer, I also keep an Excel spreadsheet with date of purchase, price, and a subjective evaluation.

[OcalaFlGuy]

Organize?

 

We're supposed to flippin' ORGANIZE them?! :blink:

 

How in the world did I ever miss THAT memo??!!

 

Edit; Some VERY beautiful cases there, and oh my! The Wall of Pens...

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL -First I have to FIND them all before I can organize anything

Edited May 18, 2011 by OcalaFlGuy

[sebas0902]

I organized mine on a wall. 2 shelves Eversharp, 1 Parker and Waterman, 1 Sheaffer, then the rest alphabetized by manufacturer:

 

http://www.jonathanveley.com/images/stories/pencils/p1010724.jpg

 

Then I used content management software (CMS) with my web page and created the mechanical pencil museum, half as a resource to others and half to keep things straight in my own mind.

 

Old printers cabinets are great, too. With the dividers removed, what doesn't fit on the wall fits neatly in there.

 

:notworthy1::notworthy1::notworthy1::notworthy1:

Edited May 18, 2011 by sebas0902

[elysee]

http://www.jonathanveley.com/images/stories/pencils/p1010724.jpg

 

 

 

Wow!!!

 

Are they for looking only or do you use them as well?

[andybiotic]

Wow... seems like we've gone back in time for 2 days! I post this before and here it is again.

 

I organise my pens first using the fountain pen database software available here on FPN. I take photos of each pen and shove them all in there. The program is now encrusted with lots of high resolution pictures and is running a bit slow now...

 

I also like to organise my pen in test tube racks because it is cheap (unlike those fancy pen cabinets I can't afford!) and I put pens not in the rotation at the back from expensive / I like the most to the cheapest / those that I dont care for too much... Then those that I am working on or pens that have nibs that I can't use all the time like big broad italics and superflexes. Then lastly, the ones (5-6) that are currently in my rotation and inked are at the front of the test rack for easy access.

[andybiotic]

 

http://www.jonathanveley.com/images/stories/pencils/p1010724.jpg

 

 

 

HOLY

 

I am not putting a photo of my pen collection up after seeing this!!!!!

[jonveley]

http://www.jonathanveley.com/images/stories/pencils/p1010724.jpg

 

 

 

Wow!!!

 

Are they for looking only or do you use them as well?

 

Nearly all of them are in working order, but they rarely leave that room. I'm always researching pens and pencils and I use them to make my notes.

[night0ne]

wall-o-pen!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sailor Kenshin]

No database or anything of that nature (I write down a new purchase in my 'pen/ink' notebook). I keep all pens and inks in a small hutch.

 

Just upright, in glass jars, because I like to see them, and by brand primarily:

 

Faves (like Tombow Zoom Egg, my first self-made italic, a Stypen)

Hero

Other Chinese

Japanese

Sheaffer

Pelikan

Oddities (which includes the Diplomat Butterfly, a turquoise pen the size of my pinky but much skinnier, and a no-name pen bought at Target, heavy as a lead pipe, and covered in red 'jewels.')

[phlosar]

I have many pens stored in this low-cost upright IKEA chest. I have had it for about 8-10 years. I don't know the model name. It cost about $70 at the time. The open drawer shows pen cases from gopens.

 

It came unfinished. I stained the outside and then used orange shellac (French rub/finish technique for application).

 

 

http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g473/phlosar/IMG_2116.jpg

http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g473/phlosar/IMG_2117.jpg

[USMCMom]

I have many pens stored in this low-cost upright IKEA chest. I have had it for about 8-10 years. I don't know the model name. It cost about $70 at the time. The open drawer shows pen cases from gopens.

 

It came unfinished. I stained the outside and then used orange shellac (French rub/finish technique for application).

 

 

http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g473/phlosar/IMG_2116.jpg

http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g473/phlosar/IMG_2117.jpg

 

Very nice ... I like that!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Oh yes.

 

The pink/coral ones caught my eye.

[asaha]

I organized mine on a wall. 2 shelves Eversharp, 1 Parker and Waterman, 1 Sheaffer, then the rest alphabetized by manufacturer:

 

http://www.jonathanveley.com/images/stories/pencils/p1010724.jpg

 

Then I used content management software (CMS) with my web page and created the mechanical pencil museum, half as a resource to others and half to keep things straight in my own mind.

 

Old printers cabinets are great, too. With the dividers removed, what doesn't fit on the wall fits neatly in there.

 

You have a MUSEUM which I really admire

[Maja]

I have many pens stored in this low-cost upright IKEA chest. I have had it for about 8-10 years. I don't know the model name. It cost about $70 at the time. The open drawer shows pen cases from gopens.

 

It came unfinished. I stained the outside and then used orange shellac (French rub/finish technique for application).

 

 

http://i1103.photobucket.com/albums/g473/phlosar/IMG_2116.jpg

Wow! That's a tall chest of drawers!! Nice find.

How tall *is* it?

 

As an aside--at one time IKEA carried a product named Maja, which was a large tablecloth, IIRC

[sadiemagic]

Organize them????

 

I had no idea. Never occurred to me to do more than stick the receipt in the box (assuming it came with a box) and put it in a cabinet. I do have a pen storage case, but I outgrew that about 30 pens ago...

 

Now I feel like an abject failure... Yikes, something else to do!

[phlosar]

I have many pens stored in this low-cost upright IKEA chest. I have had it for about 8-10 years. I don't know the model name. It cost about $70 at the time. The open drawer shows pen cases from gopens.

 

It came unfinished. I stained the outside and then used orange shellac (French rub/finish technique for application).

 

Wow! That's a tall chest of drawers!! Nice find.

How tall *is* it?

 

As an aside--at one time IKEA carried a product named Maja, which was a large tablecloth, IIRC

 

The chest is only about 5 feet high. The photo cropping causes a loss of perspective. It came completely assembled and fit into the back of my hatchback car. I found it by just poking around in the store. The bottom drawers are good for ink, but the unit is meant for light duty, so I try not to load weight into those drawers. It may be discontinued though.

[Markk]

My grandtotal of 9.5 pens is organized with 9 in metal cup on my desk (not even lined with microfibre or foam on the bottom [but I like that idea]) and the 0.5 in it's original plastic case in a drawer. It writes poorly and I never really liked using it.