How Many Pens Do You Have, And How Much Would You Spend On Each...

[Zenistar]

I don't set a limit as I know I would end up breaking it. For pens I have around 60 but only 40 of these are fountain pens, the rest are vintage ballpoints or pencils.

 

In the past I've dropped 4 figure numbers on some specific pens but that does not happen too often. Fountain pens are a hobby, the things I tend to buy do not really go down in value so I'm comfortable spending what I do without really budgeting my spend.

 

Inks are another story as there are currently around 80 on my inventory list.

[georges zaslavsky]

more than 70 pens and prices run from 140€ to 750€

[maus930]

My collection runs a little over 500-- ALL fountain pens except for one ballpoint that matches my MB 149 --amount paid $0.99 to $275

[Chi Town]

I have not limited myself as to how many pens I can have as I am both a collector and a user! I have approx. 435 units in my stable.....

 

How much do I allow myself to spend on a pen?

 

That is debatable as it A) depends on the pen, On the nib, C) The Color, and finally D) What my finances are at that moment.....I have spent as little as 16.50 for a fountain pen and as much as 2295.00.

[JotterAddict62]

I never questioned how much money I spent on booze in the 80's to limit myself on the weekends.

If I could ever figure out how much I spent on that stuff that just went down the toilet and the headache the next

day. So I never question how much I spend each week on pens and other pen items. As long as the bills get paid on time.

Now as a Parker collector/user I'm learning how the game is played on what my limits are.

Now when I go out a pen hunting and I know I will not be back in that shop for 4-6 months well I better pick up all the goodies

that I can find at the right price [ will not over over pay ] and when I get home I see if I had a good day.

Just on Sunday 6/69 I was at a flea market and an auction in one day. Flea market picking was slim pickings but found

12 Parker Jotters for a $1 each and one Sheaffer Touchdown missing nib/section for a $1[ since sold the Sheaffer on ebay for $20 on Monday ] Did pick up a nice Parker Lucky Curve missing the button/press bar for $23. Had competition at the auction [ there were 3 of us there ] the other 2 have deeper pockets than me so I knew who was going to get what. I did pick up 2 vintage Parker tie clips and a few other items.

 

So as how many pens and other pen related items I have well this is what my pen file says [1421 Files 169 folders ]

and I still have to inventory a boat load of pens and other pen items.

The range of what I spend on a pen $1 - $200 but if I do it right no more than $50 on any Parker Vac or P51 for a single and

$100 on a Vac set.

 

By the way I stopped drinking in Oct 1987. I rather spend the money on pens than booze any day now. My drink

of choice at the time was Bacardi & lemonade and Old Style.

 

Ken

P.S. I rather be drunk on Fp's.

[tsdesai]

I already have 10 decent pens. I would avoid buying new ones until I lose some of the. The most expensive pen I bought was Lamy 2000 for Rs.15000. It doesn't go out of the house.

[OmegaMountain]

Top of my collection is currently a Montblanc JFK. Don't know that I could spend more than that. Been eyeing another Nakaya since I sold mine and also an MB Rouge et Noir snake version in black.

[mana]

"No no, no-no, no no, no-no, no no, no-no there's no limit..."
2 Unlimited : No Limit

I do not find the need to impose upon myself fixed limits when it comes to the number of pens I own or the price of a pen I want to buy.

Like with many things in life, it all depends on my overall finances, account balance, future plans, scarcity and desirability of the pen in question etc. I do have a few rules that regulate my pen collecting otherwise, aka. buying only pens of specific brand/model/type and concentrating on the mint/NOS end of the scale (unless the pen in question is a bargain or has other redeeming qualities).

Edited January 9, 2019 by mana

[inkstainedruth]

I see this thread has resurrected....

I've gone way beyond the cost of that M400 BT since then (not doubled, but still a considerable bit more) with the M405 Striated Blue and the M405 Anthracite Stresemann. But I've also acquired a great number of pens since 2014, as well, just in general.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[vicpen123]

I currently have 40 pens both new and vintage. Upper limit should be not much more as I have nearly all my desired pens.

 

Given that I have already acquired my Duofold Centennial and International, I would not expect to spend more than $AU200 on any pen unless I found a good Sheaffer PFM in Australia.

 

I accumulate what I can because I can and there is no self imposed limit.