What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[Bikerchick]

11 hours ago, AmandaW said:

Is it impulsive if one was trying to ignore the discount code since it arrived in one's inbox and then caved in at the last moment before it expired? And the occasion was unplanned, but became the finishing touch on an impulsive project. Thankfully no regret this morning after.

 

I have made a writing nook by squeezing the smallest desk I could find (sold by Ikea as a dressing table) into the (sort of) bay window so I can look out at the flowers, the morning sun and the dancing mini-beasts instead of staring at the wall on the other side of the room. It has book cases either side, a new suspended light above it and even a little clock suspended on a home-made hanger because the desk is so small I couldn't spare the space for a lamp and clock. The only things sitting on the desk are a coaster for my tea mug and a tiny pen stand. I had intended the pen stand to be empty - a place to put my pen du jour (is that a thing?). But it got to me, how can one have an empty pen stand? Many of my existing pens tried for the permanent role: back lit by the window the opaques all looked black. The gold-hued stand didn't work with silver trimmed pens. The curtain colour excluded many others. And there was the small matter of that discount code.

 

The solution: a Sailor Shikiori Tsukuyo-no-Minamo Yodaki - a translucent dark red / burgundy. I am hoping the pen will glow like a jewel with the sun shining through it, the colour look well against the roses on the curtain and the gold trim match the stand. And of course an ink to go in it: Diamine Writer's Blood... I write here every morning now, look forward to it and have been getting up an hour earlier to do so. It has lifted my spirits so much I wish I had done it years ago, it would have saved me a lot of procrastination!

 

You're a romantic at heart, Amanda, and I'm loving your spirit and your set-up. 

[Paul-in-SF]

13 hours ago, AmandaW said:

I have made a writing nook

 

I love your writing nook, the lamp and clock, and the vase of flowers on the floor. 

 

I have no place like that, so I use my desk. It is why I have a cordless keyboard and mouse, so I can move them aside seamlessly when the writing mood strikes. Sadly, the only windows are way up under the ceiling, and frosted, so I can't look out of them. As teeny compensation, I keep my PCA "Year In Pens" calendar on the wall in front of me, to fuel my lust for more pens. 

[brokenclay]

1 hour ago, Bikerchick said:

You're a romantic at heart, Amanda, and I'm loving your spirit and your set-up. 

I admire your separation of analog and electronic writing. I think that's important. 

[JonSzanto]

13 hours ago, AmandaW said:

 

This is a beautiful thing, and I hope peace and inspiration spring forth from its installation.

[NumberSix]

Just ordered a Pilot TOW on ebay. It's a 1990s made-in-Korea-for-Pilot stainless steel Targa clone, best I can tell. Never heard of it before a few minutes ago, but I am a sucker for the Sheaffer Targa form factor. 

 

It's coming from Asia on the slow boat, though, so I will have to likely wait quite awhile. Maybe I will get lucky, and it will be faster. 

 

(won't beat the Montblanc 220 I ordered the other day from Japan, though - that one's out for delivery today, after about 4 business days)

[AmandaW]

On 9/21/2021 at 10:38 PM, NgunnawalJack said:

Looks great! Just a little envious, my writing nook looks crowded

 

But it works. And it's yours!

 

***

 

Thankyou all for the kind words. This morning I have the tracking number for my impulsive red pen and the sun is shining again!

 

 

[gweimer1]

I finally did this.

[N1003U]

1 minute ago, gweimer1 said:

I finally did this.

Beautiful!

[NumberSix]

1 hour ago, gweimer1 said:

I finally did this.

Art Deco AF

 

What is it?

[essayfaire]

3 hours ago, gweimer1 said:

I finally did this.

Whatever it is (I can't tell, other than deco lever fill) it's lovely!  The "finally" leads me to think this is a rare and expensive find. Enjoy! What kind of nib does it have?

[gweimer1]

It's a Conway Stewart 22.

[essayfaire]

5 hours ago, gweimer1 said:

It's a Conway Stewart 22.

How funny - I just used Seamus Heaney's poem "The Conway Stewart" at family poetry night on Monday! 

 

[ParramattaPaul]

47 minutes ago, essayfaire said:

How funny - I just used Seamus Heaney's poem "The Conway Stewart" at family poetry night on Monday! 

 

That poem was the impetus behind the special edition.

[essayfaire]

17 hours ago, ParramattaPaul said:

That poem was the impetus behind the special edition.

I saw the special edition advertised, which made me look up the poem and decide to use it! His translation of Beowoulf is my favorite.

[essayfaire]

Here is my non-impulsive, impulsive pen acquisition, which I dip-tested last night.  It's a keeper.  Sailor 1911 S M in what I consider Covid red.

[ParramattaPaul]

I'm awaiting the Conway Stewart Seamus Heaney special edition I pre-ordered.  It is the last impulse buy I ordered. 

 

The last to arrive -- yesterday in fact -- is the Stilform aluminium pen with a broad nib.  I inked it and tried it out, and I will say it is nicely appointed, has a wonderfully smooth nib, lays a nice line, and is a total win.  It won't replace my Onoto or any of the CS pens I have as my favourite, but I am impressed with it.  It will be a good 'travel pen' choice.

[sirgilbert357]

I went to the Dallas Pen Show yesterday and spent a couple of hours slowly working my way through everything of interest. As I was tiring out and running out of time, I came to Ryan Krusac's table.

 

Oof.

 

After seeing nearly nothing I was interested in or willing to spend money on for the entire previous two hours, I suddenly couldn't stop looking at his pens and asking questions. I was a bit frustrated I didn't find his table FIRST. I was out of time, but still ended up staying even later, asking questions, trying to figure out what I was going to do...I wanted 4 or 5 of them and didn't have enough time to go through my usual decision making process.

 

I had to leave, but I couldn't stop thinking about what I had seen. I live locally, and after looking at his website and realizing I had no idea what the various woods I saw were named, I knew there was no way I could competently place a custom order and verbalize what I wanted.

 

My wife graciously understood my need to go back to the pen show and talk to Ryan some more. I was determined to pick out a wood, memorize it's species name, determine the size of the pen (and section -- because you can put a smaller pen's section into a bigger pen!), and talk the pros and cons of having a clip added. I figured I would just custom order a pen...but...

 

I just couldn't leave without this:

 

 

And one more pic in indoor light from a window:

 

 

This is an L16 sized Legend with a broad nib. It's a very large pen, but so light. Well balanced and GORGEOUS. I could have bought several other pens, but my eyes and hands just kept coming back to this pen.

 

Ryan was so patient with me as I spent my time verbally processing this decision. He answered all my questions and was a delight to talk to. He really knows his woods and I am pretty sure this won't be my only pen by him. I usually plan out larger purchases, but not this time...so it was quite impulsive, but I love it.

 

The only negative is it doesn't fit in any pen case I currently have, so it will have to travel in the pen kimono it came with for now. I'll probably use it mostly at home for the foreseeable future since it doesn't have a clip either.

 

More pics of some of the other pens I almost bought:

 

 

And in this pic, we have the pen I ended up buying on the right -- but the one on the left was tempting too because of the uniqueness of the cap.

 

 

[sansenri]

those woods are lovely!

[Misfit]

[NumberSix]

A lovely-looking Vac 51 showed up on pen_swap earlier today.

 

After a quick confirmation that, no, I do not yet have a black Vac 51, I grabbed it. 😜

 

It helped that I had a little money still in my paypal account from some pens I sold last night. D'oh!

 

I really ought to keep a spreadsheet or build an Access database or something. . .