What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[PAKMAN]

It was at the Dallas pen show in September. A lady was selling off her husbands pen collection and I picked these up:

 

- Parker Duofold flat top luckycurve big red

- Parker Duofold streamlined burgundy/black stickered

- Parker Azure blue Vacumatic '46

 

I had no intention of buying any of these until I wandered by the table and saw the feeding frenzy of others buying the lady's pens.

[Ciaran1602]

I'm a relative newbie to this world but been writing with fountain pens since I was old enough to write. They suit my italic handwriting down to the ground.

Beyond a Parker 45 Flighter that I spotted on eBay for a steal that I couldn't say no to, my latest impulse was £1.70 or so on a chinese Jinhao 911. Blow me down the ruddy thing writes better than the 45 by quite some margin. It's not up there with my favourite pen, a Sheaffer Prelude, but it's not far off.

[putteringpenman]

I bought a Pelikan M120 Iconic Blue on Black Friday when the Birmingham Pen Company slashed the price by $60. I had my eye on that pen for a while and couldn't pass on it at that price.

[Pentode]

There have been several recently:

 

I picked up several '70s-era Pilots (3 school pens and a steel-nibbed Elite) after someone was telling me they tend to be really good writers.

 

I picked up a couple of old Rapidograph 3060s after finding out they can be fitted with Esterbrook nibs (who knew?!?).

 

Last, but not least, I purchased a Wahl Doric in a grey criss-cross pattern that's in very nice shape. I saw it at the Philly pen show and didn't buy it but then I kept wishing I had so I emailed the vendor and he still had it. I'm not sure this last one qualifies as an impulse purchase, but I had the impulse at the show and then it just wouldn't go away!

[inkandseeds]

I have been interested in the filling system of the Pelikan Level pens for a while. Wasting time on ebay one night i just happened to search for them. Amongst all the hundred dollar Levels, there were four auctions by the same person for pens and the special ink bottles. Starting bid was really low so i bid on three of them hoping to pick one up cheap. Ended up with two. They are interesting pens with large ink capacities (4 ml).

[SoulSamurai]

I have been interested in the filling system of the Pelikan Level pens for a while. Wasting time on ebay one night i just happened to search for them. Amongst all the hundred dollar Levels, there were four auctions by the same person for pens and the special ink bottles. Starting bid was really low so i bid on three of them hoping to pick one up cheap. Ended up with two. They are interesting pens with large ink capacities (4 ml).

I love the Level, it's such a unique and innovative pen!

[ParkerDuofold]

It was at the Dallas pen show in September. A lady was selling off her husbands pen collection and I picked these up:

 

- Parker Duofold flat top luckycurve big red

- Parker Duofold streamlined burgundy/black stickered

- Parker Azure blue Vacumatic '46

 

Hi Pakman,

 

Wow. Congratulations, what a great haul.

 

 

Hi all,

 

For me, it's a Sheaffer Targa 1001, (stainless steel), pen/pencil set; NOS, boxed.

 

I think it's due for delivery today... if the USPS goes through with it... ...last I heard, Jersey wasn't on the "frozen delivery" list, so I'm hoping...

 

 

Be well all and stay warm.

 

 

- Anthony

[ParkerDuofold]

I bought a Pelikan M120 Iconic Blue on Black Friday when the Birmingham Pen Company slashed the price by $60. I had my eye on that pen for a while and couldn't pass on it at that price.

That was a great sale... I picked up a couple more Aurora's.

 

 

- Anthony

[Bo Bo Olson]

All my pens were impulse bought....outside the 4-5 inherited pens that started this journey for me.

 

I only became One Man, One Pen by impulse.***

Once a Jotter cost $3.50.....may have been cheaper before, but I wanted a good ball point, this was back when free ball points were scarce....outside a Government issued Skillcraft. I'd gone over to the BX, foolishly with much money in my pocket, to buy the high status thin matt black and gold $8.00 Cross ball point.

 

I drooled over a classic black and gold Snorkel, when I got mugged by the P-75 brothers. If I recall, I'd looked at the $18 :yikes:Cisele sterling silver ball point which was just as thin as the Cross. Which was suddenly cheap and had lost all Status Points. If one is going to Put on the Dog, might as well be the big silver dog.

That Snorkel had me remembering my vow as a child to get one when I grew up.....I think it was @ $14....which was still big money back in $1.00-1.25 minimum wage day.

Impulse = a P-75 set.

I had planned to take that fountain pen set with me to Collage. My mother told me not to do that. I walked away from a cafeteria table, leaving it on the table. Luckily some 4-5 paces away, I remembered. Never did trust that guy on the table again, for not calling to me. The pen went home....and I really didn't ever use it much.

 

How odd, my journey into fountain pens actually started with a thin Parker Cisele P-75 ball point.

 

I knew how to fill a P-75 fountain pen. Open it up and squeeze it like a P-51...So I opened the box, tossed the box immediately.

So it wasn't until I got on the Com, did I find out the P-75 would take cartridges too. I'd tossed them out, in they were hidden inside the pen box; with the instructions. That was so long ago, it was pre-converter. So a P-75 besides having great balance posted, is a triple threat.

 

 

***Wife locked up my P-75 set in her jewelry box prison. I hadn't missed it....free ball points had come in big time.

[ParkerDuofold]

You've convinced me, Bo... I'm gonna look for a nice 75.

 

 

- Anthony

[Bo Bo Olson]

Anthony, look for a French one. They don't have that built in tripod grip of the American P-75....which is like the Safari. Outside the section they are the same.

Many don't like that tripod section.

 

The P-75 has a twist to fit nib to how you want to cant your nib. It was a big selling point back in the day.

Personally, I don't see any advantage to twist nib to fit your cant, when one cants the pen anyway. ...well, if one 'knows' one has twisted the nib to cant, one can post it so...but I find it just as easy to decide to cant it and post it with out any twisting........actually, I don't cant my P-75....but could.

 

If you are going to cant it, look for an oblique nib and get a slight tad of line variation. Get a better fitting cant.

As far as I know the nib is semi-nail. US Parker was not into making regular flex.

I am not sure of the French nib. I'd ask a few questions over in the Parker section. (Unfortunately most folks don'e seem to know what a regular flex nib is any more, so ask if the French Parker factory made a 'soft' nib.) It is my understanding French Parker is made at the Waterman factory.

 

Back when I was a twenty pen 'noobie', it was one of my three perfectly balanced pens. Each very different from the other. The standard sized MB 234 1/2 Deluxe semi-flex KOB, has a thicker girth, and had a brass piston unit, so is back heavy. The rolled gold trimmed Geha 725 F is a thin medium-long pen with an inlaid nib. The P-75 M** is also standard sized. The medium-long 400nn maxi-semi-flex OF, finished 4th back then.

Today I must have 15 top five perfectly balanced pens.

 

There are many nib units for the P-75 but they are $$$$$...last I looked $75 but that was long ago, to say the least, so pick the nib on your French P-75 well.

Having one, didn't pick up any $75 silver spares that could be had back in the Last Depression.

 

There are a good number of P-75's.....

In 1981 the lacquer collection consisted of:
Thuya (brown and black) (Had one, but had to send it back, in he'd shipped me one with a nib in it as a mistake, in I was buying only the Thuya body.....had a stupid anger attack, so sent the whole pen back, when he wouldn't give me a fair deal on the nib unit. ) Honesty can be painful, but at least I don't have a morality conflict, I would have had every time I used the pen. What ever width of nib that was on the pen I liked, obviously, or I'd just done as planned, swap nibs between the two pens.
Lapis Lazulii (blue)
Red Quartz (red on dark red)
Malachite (green)

And in 1983:

Blue
Burgundy
Black
Matte black

 

One does need two....one a classic Cisele sterling silver, and which ever of the others strikes your fancy.

Look for French ones...if you don't like an inbuilt tripod grip.

Edited January 31, 2019 by Bo Bo Olson

[chravagni]

My eleventh Pelikan m2XX, the 205 Olivine, EF nib, bought yesterday after seeing it on Amazon for 20 euro less than the other nibs. An EF cheaper than F, M and so on? Yeah! Given the fact that I mostly use thin nibs, bought. Now waiting for it: probably without box, but it's not important, I'm interested in the pen!

[sirgilbert357]

I have been interested in the filling system of the Pelikan Level pens for a while. Wasting time on ebay one night i just happened to search for them. Amongst all the hundred dollar Levels, there were four auctions by the same person for pens and the special ink bottles. Starting bid was really low so i bid on three of them hoping to pick one up cheap. Ended up with two. They are interesting pens with large ink capacities (4 ml).

 

 

I have almost bought a Level several times. If I ever get one, I will try to figure out a way to take the old Level ink bottles and adapt the metal hardware in them to something modern (like a blunt tip syringe) so that I wouldn't be dependent on the bottle to fill the pen. Would be a fun side project!

[ParkerDuofold]

Anthony, look for a French one. They don't have that built in tripod grip of the American P-75....which is like the Safari. Outside the section they are the same.

Many don't like that tripod section.

 

The P-75 has a twist to fit nib to how you want to cant your nib. It was a big selling point back in the day.

Personally, I don't see any advantage to twist nib to fit your cant, when one cants the pen anyway. ...well, if one 'knows' one has twisted the nib to cant, one can post it so...but I find it just as easy to decide to cant it and post it with out any twisting........actually, I don't cant my P-75....but could.

 

If you are going to cant it, look for an oblique nib and get a slight tad of line variation. Get a better fitting cant.

As far as I know the nib is semi-nail. US Parker was not into making regular flex.

I am not sure of the French nib. I'd ask a few questions over in the Parker section. (Unfortunately most folks don'e seem to know what a regular flex nib is any more, so ask if the French Parker factory made a 'soft' nib.) It is my understanding French Parker is made at the Waterman factory.

 

Back when I was a twenty pen 'noobie', it was one of my three perfectly balanced pens. Each very different from the other. The standard sized MB 234 1/2 Deluxe semi-flex KOB, has a thicker girth, and had a brass piston unit, so is back heavy. The rolled gold trimmed Geha 725 F is a thin medium-long pen with an inlaid nib. The P-75 M** is also standard sized. The medium-long 400nn maxi-semi-flex OF, finished 4th back then.

Today I must have 15 top five perfectly balanced pens.

 

There are many nib units for the P-75 but they are $$$$$...last I looked $75 but that was long ago, to say the least, so pick the nib on your French P-75 well.

Having one, didn't pick up any $75 silver spares that could be had back in the Last Depression.

 

There are a good number of P-75's.....

In 1981 the lacquer collection consisted of:

Thuya (brown and black) (Had one, but had to send it back, in he'd shipped me one with a nib in it as a mistake, in I was buying only the Thuya body.....had a stupid anger attack, so sent the whole pen back, when he wouldn't give me a fair deal on the nib unit. ) Honesty can be painful, but at least I don't have a morality conflict, I would have had every time I used the pen. What ever width of nib that was on the pen I liked, obviously, or I'd just done as planned, swap nibs between the two pens.

Lapis Lazulii (blue)

Red Quartz (red on dark red)

Malachite (green)

 

And in 1983:

Blue

Burgundy

Black

Matte black

 

One does need two....one a classic Cisele sterling silver, and which ever of the others strikes your fancy.

Look for French ones...if you don't like an inbuilt tripod grip.

Hi BoBo,

 

Okay... a French 75 it shall be... ...thank you much for all the great info.

 

Be well.

 

 

- Anthony

[SoulSamurai]

 

 

I have almost bought a Level several times. If I ever get one, I will try to figure out a way to take the old Level ink bottles and adapt the metal hardware in them to something modern (like a blunt tip syringe) so that I wouldn't be dependent on the bottle to fill the pen. Would be a fun side project!

I have heard that you can fill them with a blunt syringe. Never tried it, but it should be possible with the right diameter needle - the bottle isn't exactly complicated.

[sansenri]

It was at the Dallas pen show in September. A lady was selling off her husbands pen collection and I picked these up:

 

- Parker Duofold flat top luckycurve big red

- Parker Duofold streamlined burgundy/black stickered

- Parker Azure blue Vacumatic '46

 

I had no intention of buying any of these until I wandered by the table and saw the feeding frenzy of others buying the lady's pens.

 

Did the poor guy know what on earth she was doing?!

[A Smug Dill]

What did Dan do with it (the M500)?

Sorry, I didn't notice the typo until now. Of course I was referring to the M600; my mistake.

 

Can nib mechanics grind to hundredths resolution. Seems 0.21 +/-0.3 X 0.31 +/- 0.03 is pretty tight. I would have thought that the selection of both paper and ink (or the combination of paper and ink) could change the line width by well more than 0.03 mm.

I had been wanting a Diplomat Aero ...‹snip›... it is a great pen. Perhaps not so much an impulse buy as acting at the right time.

I love how my Diplomat Aero with the (unmodified) steel EF nib writes, and in fact sent Dan photos of how I usually hold it, as well as writing samples using it, for him to better calibrate what I wanted, in case I didn't express myself too well in words. Anyway, this is the result, with which I'm very pleased:

 

 

Link to higher-resolution image

Edited February 1, 2019 by A Smug Dill

[Pentode]

I was ordering some ballpoint refills from Jet Pens for my wife earlier this evening when a Pilot Prera in Slate Grey (medium nib) and a bottle of Noodlers Zhivago accidentally fell into my shopping cart.

 

I swear I have no idea how that happened.

[furious]

1937 Parker Vacumatic Standard (first generation) in black with a beautiful two tone XF nib.

[WLSpec]

Well, I had just made a vow not to get another pen until the Baltimore show... and naturally I was skimming Amazon to check on any great deals. I found an amazing deal on a 3776 Bourgogne, and after trying to convince myself not to cave in for ten minutes or so, I caved in. It just arrived and I inked it, and I no longer regret purchasing it. Time to make another vow...