Do You Prefer One Expensive Pen Or Several Less Expensive One?

[Colonel Jake]

I suppose that once you've been bitten by the fountain pen bug, it's difficult to just decide and buy ONE "expensive" fountain pen.

Part of the allure of fountain pens is the search, the learning,and the writing experiences from using as many pens (and inks) as one can possibly imagine (or afford). It can become scary and crazy, for sure.

 

So, I think having many cheap ones would be the more fun way to go.

 

Just wondering, if you want to have just one expensive one, what would it be?

[FountainPages]

Over time I have come to prefer a few expensive, well made pens than the inexpensive one I started with. I prefer companies with long and continuous history, companies that make their nibs. This often precludes the buying of inexpensive pens and having too many pens, which btw, can be very easy to do.

[sotto2]

Old pen + new nib=Great fun

[lzykramer]

I suppose that once you've been bitten by the fountain pen bug, it's difficult to just decide and buy ONE "expensive" fountain pen.

Part of the allure of fountain pens is the search, the learning,and the writing experiences from using as many pens (and inks) as one can possibly imagine (or afford). It can become scary and crazy, for sure.

 

So, I think having many cheap ones would be the more fun way to go.

 

Just wondering, if you want to have just one expensive one, what would it be?

Omas nib is my favourite....Sailor for daily writing... take a look

[Colonel Jake]

Been hearing great things about the Sailor pens. Someday ...

[Lordarka]

I have 1 pen I would consider "cheap," a Lamy Studio. It's a decent pen, and I don't worry about leaving it at the office. However, it's not nearly as nice to use as most of my other pens, which range from mid-range Pilots, Lamys, and Faber-Castells to a Namiki Maki-e and some Montblanc limited editions (the OBB nib is delectable!). To be fair, I think I could've gotten similar nibs on cheaper pens than the ones I ultimately collected, but I am a sucker for fine materials and craftsmanship (silver or metal barrels, hand-construction and artwork, etc.). For these reasons, I gravitate toward the more expensive pens, and usually don't see much point in wasting money on cheap pens that don't satisfy my desire for heft, solid construction, and decadent writing/drawing ability. I'd rather save for the good stuff than buy a bunch of cheap "variety" items. I've also developed a reasonable sense of what attributes I like in a pen, which vary depending upon whether I plan to use it for drawing or writing.

 

I think my next pen will definitely be a Nakaya.

Edited June 8, 2014 by Lordarka

[da vinci]

I would prefer 1 costly pen to a bunch of cheaper pens. But ultimately if I had to sell all my pens and only keep 1 I suspect that times would be tough.

 

Therefore i would be keeping my wonderful Pilot 78g in fine and selling the rest.

 

That said like everyone, I am on a quest to find the perfect pen/nib. Romillo and an mb Hemmingway are on my grail list. Theoretically, if either of them were THE pen, I guess I might feasibly sell the rest.

[lzykramer]

But the thing is when selling pens we make huge losses, from now on, I am just going to save up for the big guy, and I find that I tend to take better care of more expensive pens.

[Mezzie]

I like one expensive pen AND several cheap pens. The expensive one is special and gets lots of use at home. The cheap ones get toted around everwhere I go, and while I try to protect them, I don't have to clutch my bag in fear of a purse-snatching on the bus that will lead to a several-hundred dollar loss.

 

I do have one medium-priced pen that I'm kind of in limbo about taking around as it was just damaged at work, so maybe it's better to stick to the two extremes.

[WaskiSquirrel]

My first car was a $4000 used 1990 Geo Prizm. The second car was a $10,000 used 2000 Toyota Camry. I'm still on #2, so I'll stop there.

 

My point is that early in life, we buy cheaper things. As we get older (especially if you're as cheap as I can be), we have the resources to buy more expensive things. I will say that that Prizm made a bigger dent in my bank account than the Camry.

 

Pens are the same way. Sometimes I look back on all the books or pens I've owned and thought, "If only I'd waited for..." But then I remember that I wasn't in that place in my life then. I didn't know what I know now. I didn't have the resources I have now. I didn't have the experience I have now. So, present day me wouldn't have bothered with a lot of the cheap pens I bought, but the experience with those cheap pens refined my taste to what it is now. Also, when I bought those cheaper pens, I'd have been waiting a long time to buy any pen at all if I set my heart on an expensive pen. Better that I got to write with a fountain pen at all while I still had the excitement.

 

The cheap pens kept that fountain pen excitement alive until I could afford better. Also, some of the cheap pens are still my favorites.

[tedd]

I buy whatever I can afford and strikes my fancy. Like lately, I bought a bunch of Pilot Parallel Pens for a side project, along with a few Platinum Preppies. Right now I don't have the desire to buy a expensive pen (anything north of $50 is expensive to me) as I am enjoying the ones that I have- the used expensive ones, the ones I bought as parts and put together, and a couple of expensive ones that I like to write with. Eventually I am going to get that Pilot Custom Herritage 823 Piston filler (that is the one with the piston filler, right?) or a Pelikan m400 when I have earned it and saved up some extra dough for it.

[sirach]

This is an odd comparison... but it IS on topic... I think. I am a school teacher and I am hard on everything I have. I am on my feet all day, I work with younger kids so I am running around quite a bit, and I write... a LOT... When I started, years ago, my thought was that I would buy cheap and replace as needed, because I would go through everything quickly. The problem is... cheap only get you so far... and isn't always cheap and cheerful in the long run. Cheap shoes hurt your feet, and have to be replaced all the time. I don't buy the REALLY expensive stuff... but a couple pairs of Allen Edmond or Alden shoes, a good swiss watch, a couple pens with quality gold nibs will last a LOT longer, and provide pleasure with every use. A cheap pair of discount brogues, a timex, and a fist full $20 will have to be replaced at the end of the year, and won't be as much fun.

 

I'm not saying cheap pens don't have their place... they do... but in the long run, if you are careful with your money, you can have SEVERAL expensive pens, and be happier for it!

Edited June 9, 2014 by sirach

[Chi Town]

That is a very tough call! I have gone both ways.......and to tell you the truth I just don't know for sure which is the correct way to go? So I go with the pen that turns my insides, inside out! If that happens to be a 800 dollar pen, then so be it, Right now I am using a 16.50 pen from jet pens that writes like there is no tomorrow...... AND it meets all my needs for the moment; it fits in my Right front pocket jeans pocket, it is very small, it is attractive, it lays down a good line! AND it is very inexpensive, which for the moment meets a need! The ONLY need it does NOT meet? It does not have a converter that fit's it as it is too small...... It is the ONTO ROOK pen....

[Snorkels]

I've chosen many pens to one very expensive pen, and have been so happy with the many pens I own now I'd have a difficult time naming my top 10 favorites, let alone one! they have such different personalities, none of them are perfect for every situation; for example I don't use my most elegant expensive pen to write my grocery list, or carry it in my purse, I don't draw with it, or underline in books, or write in narrow margins.

 

My top 10 favs don't even include the pen I used at work everyday for about 15 years, but if I needed to take a lot of notes again I'm sure that's the one I grab, a gunbarrel grey Waterman Hemisphere I think is the model....it's a bit too thin, the balance not quite perfect, what the heck I like taking notes with it, and if it isn't an exquisite nib, it writes smooth and makes my scribble note taking handwriting look halfway decent, so 1 really expensive pen for me would be ridiculous.

 

I heard a fella say just the other day how much he loved one of his pens, that he was proudly and lovingly showing off, but added sadly that he was afraid to take it to work for fear he'd set it down and leave it somewhere (or have it stollen).

 

Also, my idea of really expensive has creeped up over the years; and then too I don't want my art objects in pen form, I don't want a pen too ornate to write with. Do you want one to occasionally use and admire, or use? that's what it boils down to.

[Coop]

Both I guess...

 

I love to experiment with chinese cheapies, If you get a dud, no worries as it didn't cost much to begin with and it still might be a decent pen after some tweaking. And it's nice to have enough pens for all my inks

 

I currently own 2 pens that most muggles would consider expensive (but are on the cheaper side of the peniverse for many folks here). My TWSBI Vac 700 and TWSBI Mini. These are the 2 pens I use most. They are great writers and cheap enough to replace if lost or damaged (although I'd be seriously bummed about the Vac 700 if anything happens to it, as it was a gift from my wife & son).

 

The reason I got back into using fountain pens is because I have a little self-improvement project to improve my handwriting going on. I promised myself a really nice pen as a reward once I reach all my handwriting related goals. This probably still will only be a $200-$300 pen, which I will only be using at my desk at home. But it should be an excellent writer and of such quality that I can hand it over to my son while on my deathbed (so should be quite substantial quality as I have no intention of dying anytime soon ).

[Algester]

I buy whatever I can afford and strikes my fancy. Like lately, I bought a bunch of Pilot Parallel Pens for a side project, along with a few Platinum Preppies. Right now I don't have the desire to buy a expensive pen (anything north of $50 is expensive to me) as I am enjoying the ones that I have- the used expensive ones, the ones I bought as parts and put together, and a couple of expensive ones that I like to write with. Eventually I am going to get that Pilot Custom Herritage 823 Piston filler (that is the one with the piston filler, right?) or a Pelikan m400 when I have earned it and saved up some extra dough for it.

Custom 823 is a Vac Filler CH 92 is the piston filler

and if going to get an expensive one I'll get that Aurora Diamante pen and break it in half :< and tell the world THIS IS NOT HOW TO MAKE PENS :< I wonder what would happen if I make a pen from Tamahagane folded steel... will it be light or heavy... and how much will it be worth

Edited June 10, 2014 by Algester

[lzykramer]

went to the UK pen show and talked to some of the pen collectors, they agreed with me the fact that towards later stage of collection, they prefer one expensive pen that holds the value well.

[lzykramer]

Custom 823 is a Vac Filler CH 92 is the piston filler

and if going to get an expensive one I'll get that Aurora Diamante pen and break it in half :< and tell the world THIS IS NOT HOW TO MAKE PENS :< I wonder what would happen if I make a pen from Tamahagane folded steel... will it be light or heavy... and how much will it be worth

I know GVFC is on your list, i think you will not regret trying one in a pen shop, so smooth is ridiculous, medium nib i .

[Blade Runner]

I'd choose quality over quantity.

[mikeschu]

I'm now arriving at a point where I would rather have less pens and prefer expensive pens, but it took a lot of buying relatively cheap pens to get there.

 

I think what makes this more difficult is the lack of ability to try a pen out before you buy it. I don't have any pen shops or stationery stores within easy driving distance (have to go to LA), so I typically have to buy blind over the Internet or rely on reviews of the pen. This is doubly so for custom producers; while I like buying from someone who made a pen for me, sometimes I don't know what I want.

 

Now that I'm clearer on what I want in a pen, and what my priorities are in terms of owning pens, I won't feel as bad if I start saving up for the expensive ones.