What Is A Sane Number Of Pens?

[Alex2014]

Do not ask here, many of us are not at all 'sane' regarding such a subject. I for one, am not.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Alex2014

[CSG]

I'm changing my answer to eight...

[Tancred]

 

Ah, I see! Indeed, 30 pens in original boxes take up a lot of space. Many of my pens are old and didn't come with a box when I got them.

 

I only buy brand new modern pens.

[maus930]

I have more than 500 in my collection, 0ne (1) ballpoint, a companion to my MB149

A sane number is one more than you have at any point in time

[sirgilbert357]

Funny that I originally posted I thought 3 - 5 for me would be ideal. My current "I'm gonna buy these" list sits at 5. This is in addition to the 3 I currently own and the 2 I just ordered that should be coming soon...hmmm. Oh, and I have one more that I THINK I'm going to either give away or sell...not sure.

[betweenthelens]

Maybe someone has said this but my husband just said, "There's no such thing. It's like having too much money," and he doesn't even collect them!

[82Greg]

FYI - Sanity is way overrated. Asking how many to a pen person is like asking an artist how many blue colored paints is enough?

 

Truer words were never typed on a keyboard!

 

Oddly enough, there is a period in Japanese history, where the rulers dictated that artists only paint in blue. This resulted in a multitude of shades of blue. (I can't find any references to this, so I may be confused.)

[LuckyKate]

Two pens is sane. And then maybe one a year thereafter.

 

But I am not sane.

[VivienR]

Restarted using fountain pens almost one year ago, now I have 10 fountain pen 7 are the same line, just in different color... and I planning to buy a new ones really soon.... Be advised: the person wrote this article is insane.

[BillZ]

I have 30 inked right now. That seems to be approaching the number I wish to keep as I write with each of them at least once/week to keep the ink flowing. I had more pens but as my tastes got better, I got rid of some of my less-expensive pens by donation to the teacher in Utah. I may continue to rotate my stock of those that are less desirable if I find something that I HAVE to have.

[Princeps Anglorum]

 

The quoted has been the only complete answer to the initial question. This fact is itself quite interesting. Perhaps it shows the impossibility of an answer to the question posed in terms of quantity. Viewed in these terms, I might more or less agree with the quoted numbers, although my personal case introduces variations. But of course the important issue is qualitative. For a simple user, for a hobbiest, for a passionate (this includes a collector, of course), even for an obsessed, the rational ideal (which is also debatable) is, I submit, that each pen acquired should hold some sense, some meaning, some value, some purpose for its owner. I think "disease" or "disorder" starts when pens (or any other object, by the way) are acquired precisely in a quantitative way, just for having "one more", and not for its intrinsic quality (sense, value, meaning, purpose). I can have one or I can have one thousand. If each one of them is cherished, appreciated, valued, for something that it and only it has (and provided, also, that this acquisition does not affect or interfere with other duties or responsibilities in my life), then I move within rational bounds. If I buy pens compulsorily, just for having one more, and this one more pen has for me just the value of being "new" and nothing more, then I should start to think in some way to recover. --- I am sorry for this quite serious answer. Perhaps it is not in the spirit of the initial question, as it is certainly not in the same spirit of most of the answers given (answers which I have really enjoyed). But I could not stop myself. Being a philosopher, this is a sort of professional distortion.

 

Possibly the only complete answer because it is attempting to overanalyze something which is very subjective ? That's not to say it isn't an interesting question (ie when does a hoppy become an obsession) and the responses have been interesting. amusing and thought provoking in equal part. What will also be interesting in due course will be Islandink's own self analysis in the light of all these suggestions .......

[Quintane]

 

Possibly the only complete answer because it is attempting to overanalyze something which is very subjective ? That's not to say it isn't an interesting question (ie when does a hoppy become an obsession) and the responses have been interesting. amusing and thought provoking in equal part. What will also be interesting in due course will be Islandink's own self analysis in the light of all these suggestions .......

 

I agree entirely. What do you think, Islandink?

[peterg]

The answer is quite simple. It is either

a. 42 or

b. I haven't counted them, so can't give a difinitive reply.

 

Just added four more to the total. Oh dear......

Edited November 22, 2014 by peterg

[yamborghini]

You know you have an obsession if when you buy a pen you have no intention to use or display. You just want it, just because.

[Helen350]

Even after answering this question before in a philosophical manner, I am now in trouble. I've got 8 pens that I am awaiting arrival, and thinking of another Esterbrook. I really felt I had a handle on this. Doctor has certified that I am sane, however, friends & family want a 2nd opinion

Edited November 23, 2014 by Helen350

[napalm]

Any number of pens is sane. The problem is with insane people that want to limit said number

[SockAddict]

I dunno, I'll let you know when I get there.

 

Seriously? Continuing to want more pens because, duh, it's a fountain pen, is probably a little obsessive. Wanting a pen for a characteristic? Possibly more practical. From a user point of view, I am in the process of exploring what I truly like in a pen, and in finding out how many I want inked at a time. (I have … um … 9? right now.) From there I plan to try to balance number of pens in use with characteristics I want. Maybe try to thin some out. And, I imagine somewhere along the line I'll discover a type I want to collect, and then I'll end up with a lot of those.

[PabloAU]

The upper limit for sane is one pen more than you already have.

 

Then why do I have three coming in the mail? One for each of us. Who said that?

[WaskiSquirrel]

I gave a flip one-character reply way back in this thread, but now that this thread is turning more philosophical, here is how I operate:

 

I can pick up free ballpoints and never buy a single pen. I choose instead to use fountain pens. That said, I find that if I have too many pens I don't use them and then start wondering why I have them. So, I cull the collection every so often. Right now, I'm getting annoyed by some Platinum Preppies that are inked with samples that someone sent me. They aren't really part of my collection: I regard them as temporary pens: eventually they'll crack and I'll toss them, even if they get refilled several times in the interim. But, they interfere with my use of my regular pens. On the other hand, I am trying out the ink in them. I'd clean them out and move on, but I actually like the samples in them right now so...

 

But, as a number, right now it's 20, but there is no reason for that, just that my pen case has 40 slots. (No, that's not a typo) I like some variety: stub nibs, flex nibs, fine nibs, variety in manufacturers, variety in colors, variety in filling mechanisms, and so on. But, if I have too many pens, some are not being used. If I have too few, I'm missing out on some versatility.

 

I let my pens select themselves. The ones I don't write with get culled from the collection. I don't have a system to ensure that they all get used. I just use what I want. My Jinhao 950 and Lamy ABC are leaving my collection because I never use them.

[Medsen Fey]

I believe the number is supposed to be ½ your age + 7, right?