What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[ethernautrix]

4 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

Actually there was a woman 'nibmeister if I recall that worked for Sheaffer....

But you didn't have a Sheaffer...

 

I knew Sidney (I think that's how she spelled her name).

 

Maybe Sidney was the customer service rep and ... Letta was the nib repairer? Letta worked on a couple of my nibs through Pendemonium.

 

I've been doing the fountain pen thing for many years. If I'd kept every pen I ever bought, I'd have a vast collection, including many Sheaffers, modern and vintage. I still have one.

[JonSzanto]

5 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

Actually there was a woman 'nibmeister if I recall that worked for Sheaffer and became independent after Sheaffer fled the country.

 

I believe you are referring to Letta Grosekemper, who did retire from Sheaffer and has done nib work for/through Pendemonium (Sam and Frank Fiorella) for a number of years. Last I knew, she still was! I only have one nib done by her, which happened to be a generous M italic put on a Namiki Vanishing Point, purchased from Carmen Rivera. It is a remarkable piece of nibwork.

Here is an excerpt from a fine article by John Mottishaw (originally published in The Pennant) on his trip to the Sheaffer factory in 1999 to do a deep dive into nibdom. Worth a read in it's entirety.

 

Quote

Ted does not know. It was before his time. But he takes me over to woman who is grinding shape into the tip of an inlaid nib. "This is Letta Grosekemper. She has been here at Sheaffer’s for 43 years." I am immediately interested in what she is doing: putting a 30 degree left hand oblique end on a nib. We talk about how difficult it is to know what people mean when they say left oblique: which is the long side and which is the shorter side of the point? We agree that this kind of point is longer on the right. "Like your left foot" I say. She agrees. I tell her that I also grind nibs in order to repair them. Then I ask my question about what it was like before they used pellets.

 

Letta remembers when they used a square bar for tipping material, but I am disappointed to hear that she also was not around before pellets. She goes on to tell me about her early days of grinding, "We used to grind the nibs using mud," carborundum dust mixed in oil, "and that was messy stuff." It was applied to a turning brass wheel that graduated from a one inch drum for coarse cutting, to a medium cut, and finally to a four inch diameter felt wheel for finishing. "The mud would fly off of the wheel and we used to go home with it all over us." Now they are using a diamond wheel for fast cutting, a rubberized carborundum for intermediate shaping, and a felt for final polish, with no mud.

 

She grinds quickly and precisely, frequently flipping up a 10X loupe to check her work. I ask her if she likes what she does. She says yes. She has done almost all of the custom grinding that has come out of Sheaffer’s in recent years. Later I tell Ted that she is a treasure that should be cared for. Ted tells me that she has been grinding nibs for thirty years and never takes any sick time. He tells me that she is thinking of retiring and is training a successor.

 

[A Smug Dill]

On 8/17/2021 at 11:33 PM, A Smug Dill said:

An Aurora Optima with an Italic nib. Finally!

 

I'm still considering whether to keep this not-Italic nib, or send it back for exchange. The retailer has already been informed that this pen is fitted with a nib different from what I ordered and expected, and I checked with him first about testing the nib (which I've temporarily transplanted onto one of my old Aurora pens) to see whether it's a nib that works for me, even though it isn't one I would have knowingly ordered in the first place.

 

…

 

On 8/24/2021 at 7:33 PM, maclink said:

 …‹snip›…, it's a tad uncharacteristic for you to be getting yourself a BB nib.

 

Or a Music nib, for that matter.

 

On 8/28/2021 at 5:04 AM, A Smug Dill said:

A Platinum #3776 Century ‘Black in Black’ (i.e. in plain but very slightly translucent black with gold trim) with a Music nib, at nearly 40% off the retailer's regular list price. Considering that it's effectively a model PNBM-20000, with a tax-inclusive MSRP of ¥22000 in the domestic Japanese market, I paid somewhat less than half of that. Yes, once again, a big enough discount is enough to make me overlook all the things I don't think is first-rate or best-suited to my tastes, just to give it a try.

 

 

Maybe it's because it's in a different ink, or maybe it's because my handwriting technique and/or aesthetic standards have changed, … or maybe it's just old age setting in, but I do find the Platinum #3776 Century pen with a Music nib far more tolerable than the Pilot Custom 74 pen with a Music nib (of which I rid myself) I played with three years ago.

 

 

[iap]

A rather nice Parker 25 MK III from 1982 in the original box with instructions, cartridges and squeeze convertor. The original owner had put one ink cartridge through it, cleaned it and put it away. I'll pick up some new Parker ink cartridges, but plan to use it with a Lamy convertor that I believe fits.

[christam]

The Pilot Custom 845 I mentioned a few days ago was showing as in stock when I ordered it but in fact had been sold to another customer.  I cancelled the order and began to look more seriously for the pen I really wanted ...... the one I'd talked myself out of buying because I was trying to be sensible.  

 

But what fun is sensible?  A Namiki Yukari Royale should be with me tomorrow.

 

*Cough*  And there might be a Taccia in the package as well.  

[maclink]

22 minutes ago, christam said:

But what fun is sensible?  A Namiki Yukari Royale should be with me tomorrow.

 

Haha! Great shot.  I've thought of one of those, but I still haven't been able to break the 1K barrier with price.

 

I'm currently seriously eyeing a Nakaya Decabond twist...... usually when I do this, it eventually ends up in my collection. 

[christam]

21 minutes ago, maclink said:

I'm currently seriously eyeing a Nakaya Decabond twist...... usually when I do this, it eventually ends up in my collection. 

 

Yes, me too.  My only problem with buying a Nakaya is the long lead time but I can see myself getting one at some point.  They're just so beautiful.

[VersoFolio]

I have a 'Centennial' parked up somewhere. I remember the nib being far too thick to be a 'medium' and my writing is just naturally getting 'finer' everyday! Since the pen was part of a $50 'boxed lot' and I don't like Parker pens I've never bother to find a fine nib. It's still there in the pen case so maybe one day...

Btw I love "hapless lamb" with mint sauce and a side salad! Mmmm..hapless laaamb!

[The Mustard]

1 hour ago, christam said:

 

But what fun is sensible?  A Namiki Yukari Royale should be with me tomorrow.

 

 

Bravo and congratulations - a simply magnificent fountain pen. In black? 

[christam]

2 minutes ago, The Mustard said:

Bravo and congratulations - a simply magnificent fountain pen. In black? 

Thank you ☺️.  I was lucky to find it in vermillion with a B nib on the Chatterley site.  I’ve bought (very happily) from there before and Bryant offered a too-good-to-miss deal. (Which is why there’s a Taccia with the Sailor music nib in the same package. TBH I’m not sure which pen I’m more excited about.)

[Arkanabar]

As FPR's latest Pensanity ($8 Indus in either red caps or yellow caps demo) plays out, I finally decided to get one of each -- the yellow with the stub, and the red in fine, with another 3-pack of #5.5 stubs, this time in 2-tone, and a Pilot CON-40 converter, and a 25mm lighted loupe estimated at 15x, but marked at 40x.

[DrDebG]

I made a big mistake!  No, I didn't buy a pen on impulse.  I bought two new nibs for existing pens.  Both nibs were acquired from a well known retailer with a nibmeister on staff. 

 

I have two pens that I like but I am not partial to the nibs.  So, I decided to purchase two new nibs for these pens.  I did my research and I am no stranger to swapping nibs and feeds, etc.  

 

One of the nibs is an extra fine flex nib.  I have never used a flex nib except on my dip pen, so I thought it might be nice to have one on a regular fountain pen.  Big, big mistake.  The nib and feed assembly fit nicely into the section. The nib and feed took up ink as expected, and the nib is nicely wet, which I prefer.  But writing with the nib is like writing with a hard nail.  To get any minor flex, I had to press so hard to put ridges in the paper.  Trying to write two words was exhausting.  And that was to just get a small amount of line variation.  If I pressed any harder I would have dug a hole in the paper.  This really surprised me since I have seen videos where the nib flexes fairly easily.  Not with this beast! 

 

But for me I learned an invaluable lesson - I am not a flex nib person.  I have tried several different flex nibs on my dip pen and have had variable, but similar experiences. I think I just write with too light of a hand.  I have always enjoyed italic and stub nibs.  I think I will stay with them. 

 

I am grateful that I only spend a fraction on the nib for what I would have spent on a full pen.  

 

The second nib does not appear as though it will fit the pen intended.  The new nib is significantly wider at the base than the old nib and it does not fit into the housing securely.  

 

Now, I need to see if the pen retailer will consider my return.  If not, I guess I learned some new things.  

 

 

[nibtip]

When? yesterday, just today or tomorrow?

[Stompie]

Platinum Plaisir with a fine nib. 

 

Quite happy!

[maclink]

55 minutes ago, Stompie said:

Platinum Plaisir with a fine nib. 

 

Quite happy!

I have one of those inked.  Very nice pen!  Darned good bang for the buck.  It looks better in the hand than in pictures and it has great ergonomics.  I bought two, and they both write great.  It's very, very sobering when just before getting them, I had to return a Scribo Piuma Ratio because it did not write properly.  An important thing to note is that the Preppy, Prefonte and Plaisir F nibs do not put down as fine as line as the 3776 and also, the Procyon.

[A Smug Dill]

I've decided to keep the Aurora Oblique nib (and the blue aurolide Optima pen in which it came). It doesn't write perfectly for me right now, because of how I usually hold and orient my pen when writing, and I get dry or skipped entry strokes now and then; but then I remembered that Aurora Stub nibs (and, by extrapolation, Aurora Italic nibs) don't write perfectly for me either, and I don't think it's a nib defect or QC issue, but simply that I haven't quite got the hang of the proper angle and technique for using them. It'll make for an interesting special purpose pen, as opposed to something for everyday writing; but then again, an Italic nib other than a Pilot Plumix F nib (or my customised-by-Dan-Smith Pelikan M600 EF nib) would not be an everyday writer for me either.

 

As for the Leonardo Musis, it's definitely getting returned to the retailer and not coming back, after a three-way ‘conversation’ with it and Leonardo Officina Italiana; I don't want anything more to do with the brand. I may be getting another Italian pen in exchange instead of a refund, though, and the retailer has graciously offered to apply a very generous discount on some pens not on clearance or special sale. Hmmm, what to do? What to do choose? (My wife says it's OK as long as I'm not topping up in spend, and not getting more than one pen in exchange… never mind that I just spent the last three hours neglecting her while busy researching, reading reviews, etc. when I thought I was done with all that for twelve months.)

 

1 hour ago, maclink said:

An important thing to note is that the Preppy, Prefonte and Plaisir F nibs do not put down as fine as line as the 3776 and also, the Procyon.

 

I think the design of the collector and feed in the three cheapest starts-with-P models makes them somehow much more sensitive to the ink used. With some inks, an 03 (nominally F) nib writes finer than an 02 (nominally EF) nib with some other inks.

 

[flaneur]

1 hour ago, A Smug Dill said:

after a three-way ‘conversation’ with it and Leonardo Officina Italiana; I don't want anything more to do with the brand

Unfortunate but all-too imaginable.

 

Will be curious to read about your exchange decision.

[sirgilbert357]

19 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

I've decided to keep the Aurora Oblique nib (and the blue aurolide Optima pen in which it came). It doesn't write perfectly for me right now, because of how I usually hold and orient my pen when writing, and I get dry or skipped entry strokes now and then; but then I remembered that Aurora Stub nibs (and, by extrapolation, Aurora Italic nibs) don't write perfectly for me either, and I don't think it's a nib defect or QC issue, but simply that I haven't quite got the hang of the proper angle and technique for using them. It'll make for an interesting special purpose pen, as opposed to something for everyday writing; but then again, an Italic nib other than a Pilot Plumix F nib (or my customised-by-Dan-Smith Pelikan M600 EF nib) would not be an everyday writer for me either.

 

As for the Leonardo Musis, it's definitely getting returned to the retailer and not coming back, after a three-way ‘conversation’ with it and Leonardo Officina Italiana; I don't want anything more to do with the brand. I may be getting another Italian pen in exchange instead of a refund, though, and the retailer has graciously offered to apply a very generous discount on some pens not on clearance or special sale. Hmmm, what to do? What to do choose? (My wife says it's OK as long as I'm not topping up in spend, and not getting more than one pen in exchange… never mind that I just spent the last three hours neglecting her while busy researching, reading reviews, etc. when I thought I was done with all that for twelve months.)

 

 

I think the design of the collector and feed in the three cheapest starts-with-P models makes them somehow much more sensitive to the ink used. With some inks, an 03 (nominally F) nib writes finer than an 02 (nominally EF) nib with some other inks.

 

 

Smug, I'd just like to know how you got in touch with Leonardo at all!! I have a Momento Zero that needs to be sent in for warranty service and I literally cannot find any information on where to send it or who to contact. The only thing I haven't done yet is called the retailer that sold it to me (its not really their problem, since I got the pen over a year ago) or looked in the pen box for the warranty card (its in storage, and I don't want to have to dig it out).

 

I can't even find Leonardo's corporate website. I see a Facebook page, though...what am I missing?? I really want this pen fixed.

[Gloucesterman]

7 minutes ago, sirgilbert357 said:

 

Smug, I'd just like to know how you got in touch with Leonardo at all!! I have a Momento Zero that needs to be sent in for warranty service and I literally cannot find any information on where to send it or who to contact. The only thing I haven't done yet is called the retailer that sold it to me (its not really their problem, since I got the pen over a year ago) or looked in the pen box for the warranty card (its in storage, and I don't want to have to dig it out).

 

I can't even find Leonardo's corporate website. I see a Facebook page, though...what am I missing?? I really want this pen fixed.

Wow, what a great recommendation for the manufacturer! Although Leonardo is not currently on my priority buy list the above comment would definitely give me pause before purchasing one.

 

If I were in your position I would contact the seller for that information. Even if you don't want to have them manage the return/repair process, they could provide you with the information easily. P.S. they did make a few bucks from the sale, didn't they?

 

Just my two cents worth.

[sirgilbert357]

34 minutes ago, Gloucesterman said:

Wow, what a great recommendation for the manufacturer! Although Leonardo is not currently on my priority buy list the above comment would definitely give me pause before purchasing one.

 

If I were in your position I would contact the seller for that information. Even if you don't want to have them manage the return/repair process, they could provide you with the information easily. P.S. they did make a few bucks from the sale, didn't they?

 

Just my two cents worth.

 

This is pretty much what I've resigned myself to doing. Perhaps my "Google-fu" is weak, though. I keep forgetting to do anything about the situation...until I open my pen box and see the pen sitting there. I always think "Gee, if I got that fixed, I could use it...". I'm just too busy, so it's never on my radar.

 

Edit: and because I was finally thinking about it WITH time to spare, I just reached out to a retailer. We'll see...