What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[JonSzanto]

2 hours ago, Gloucesterman said:

Beautiful pen, She's lucky to have someone as thoughtful and persistent as you. Also, it's wonderful that she shares your appreciation of pens and writing.

Happy New Year...

 

HNY to you, and all, as well! That's kind of you to comment, but my spouse would argue strongly that she "is not a pen person!" but that growing box of pens in pen wraps belies it. Well, it would likely be a lot smaller but for my gifting and "here, try this"... 🥰

[AmandaW]

A brown Opus 88 Picnic with a fine nib. I had been looking around for an extra fine, but couldn't fine one, then watching the fines sell out too. I can get an EF nib unit later. Though really, I'm enjoying my green with fine nib so much, I am sure I'll be perfectly happy.

 

Sort of planned, but impulsive, because it was the last fine or extra fine I could find in this discontinued model - FOMO made me do it.

 

[mke]

On 11/1/2021 at 6:41 PM, A Smug Dill said:

I just ordered a HongDian 1841 supposedly with a 14K gold F nib.

So? It has certainly arrived?

[A Smug Dill]

31 minutes ago, mke said:

So? It has certainly arrived?

 

Why would you say that, in view of:

when you seem to pay such close attention and have such a long memory?

 

[mke]

15 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

have such a long memory

My memory was also "greyed out" - so I tried to search for it. Didn't realize that this was about this pen.

 

Anyway, I have some information: Hongdian lists this pen in their Aliexpress store as having a 14K nib and it is available.

The price is about $29 for each (burgundy, black) in either F or EF.

 

So, I bought them in EF.

 

 

[Noihvo]

 

 

 

 

Images from the store's website (not to scale...).

[essayfaire]

This: Lanbitou 3088.  Trying to get a feel for how the Platinum Curidas would fit my hand.  Bottom line:  It wouldn't, but now I'll know.

[A Smug Dill]

8 hours ago, mke said:

Anyway, I have some information: Hongdian lists this pen in their Aliexpress store as having a 14K nib and it is available.

The price is about $29 for each (burgundy, black) in either F or EF.

 

So, I bought them in EF.

 

Thank you for sharing! Please let us know how you like the pen and nib.

 

…but I can only see the steel-nibbed versions being listed at that price point. I hope you are right. Maybe the store has since taken down the gold-nibbed options from its product listing.

 

[OldTravelingShoe]

 

52 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

 

Thank you for sharing! Please let us know how you like the pen and nib.

 

…but I can only see the steel-nibbed versions being listed at that price point. I hope you are right. Maybe the store has since taken down the gold-nibbed options from its product listing.

 

 

 

Pens Supplier Store seems to have both E and EF-sized 14K nibs, but for about 112€ (my currency). 10-day shipping, too.  

 

Edited January 6, 2022 by OldTravelingShoe
Learning how the FPN editor works.

[A Smug Dill]

1 minute ago, OldTravelingShoe said:

Pens Supplier Store seems to have both E and EF-sized 14K nibs, but for about 112€ (my currency).

 

Thanks; I saw that too. It has long been the only AliExpress seller to actually offer the gold-nibbed ‘colour’ options for the pen model, but never at the <US$30 price point. I certainly am not going to spend ≥US$100 on a Chinese-branded, made-in-China pen, with a gold nib or otherwise, impulsively or coolly. I did pay more than that for a Cross Peerless 125 which has a pen body made in China; and, whatever disagreements I have with that pen, it is not on account of the 18K gold nib on it that was made in Japan by Sailor Pen.

[OldTravelingShoe]

8 minutes ago, A Smug Dill said:

AliExpress seller to actually offer the gold-nibbed ‘colour’ options for the pen model, but never at the <US$30 price point. I certainly am not going to spend ≥US$100 on a Chinese-branded, made-in-China pen, with a gold nib or otherwise, impulsively or coolly. 

Couldn't agree more. I think Chinese makers still have some years until they can produce gold nibs to rival the Big Three of Japan. 

 

In my singular experience, even the "gold nib under 30" ads on AliExpress can turn out to be a scam. The shop, which had been trustworthy until then, sent me a Wing Sung 670 with a steel nib instead of the advertised gold. After disputation, AliExpress sided with me so I paid a steel-nib price for it, on par with Kaigelu and Jinhaos based on Duofolds. (Story with happy ending.) 

[mke]

8 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

Please let us know how you like the pen and nib.

Sorry, I am way too late with my information that I didn't order them. And, just a few minutes ago, Hongdian told me that the gold nibs are out-of-stock.

It is OK, I have enough necessary & much more unnecessary stuff.

 

 

 

[sappie66]

New to the forum and to fountain pens.  My impulse purchase (actually with 2 days of pre-thinking), was done yesterday -- MB Enzo Ferrari Great Characters edition.  I like to post my pens, but can't do it with this one.  That's okay though.  I can forgive it because it is otherwise so satisfying.

[carola]

5 minutes ago, sappie66 said:

New to the forum and to fountain pens.  My impulse purchase (actually with 2 days of pre-thinking), was done yesterday -- MB Enzo Ferrari Great Characters edition.  I like to post my pens, but can't do it with this one.  That's okay though.  I can forgive it because it is otherwise so satisfying.

 

You start into your new hobby with a Montblanc special edition? That´s what I call a quickstart! 😄

[A Smug Dill]

@sappie66 Welcome to FPN.

 

36 minutes ago, carola said:

That´s what I call a quickstart! 😄

 

Hardly surprising, when he/she is driving a Ferrari…

[sappie66]

12 hours ago, carola said:

 

You start into your new hobby with a Montblanc special edition? That´s what I call a quickstart! 😄

I have a friend who always says, "Anything worth doing is worth over-doing."  Seems to have resonated. 😀

[N1003U]

5 hours ago, sappie66 said:

I have a friend who always says, "Anything worth doing is worth over-doing."  Seems to have resonated. 😀

@sappie66:  I can relate to the thinking. My favorite version of a similar thought is, "a lot is good, more is better, and too much is just right..."

 

What are your initial impressions of the pen design? I saw a MB Enzo in the display window of my local shop the other day, but I did not have time to go in and check it out. I am not typically a fan of MB LEs, but anything automotive is potentially interesting to me.

[sappie66]

4 hours ago, N1003U said:

@sappie66:  I can relate to the thinking. My favorite version of a similar thought is, "a lot is good, more is better, and too much is just right..."

 

What are your initial impressions of the pen design? I saw a MB Enzo in the display window of my local shop the other day, but I did not have time to go in and check it out. I am not typically a fan of MB LEs, but anything automotive is potentially interesting to me.

My impressions of the design -- all quite positive with the exception of the clip, which is extremely tight and not spring-loaded or anything more sophisticated than a rigid protuberance.

 

With that out of the way, I quite love it.  So many thoughtful details like the steering-wheel engraving on the nib, the markings on the side of the clip attachment denoting the cylinders of a V12, the quote on the clip, the car-grille Montblanc emblem on yellow background, the prancing-horse engravings, etc.

 

Feels great in hand, the nib (chose the fine nib) is smooth and flowing, writes nicely right off the hop.  Way smoother than the Visconti fine that I have on my Van Gogh Starry Night (which I had to tune up to get it to stop skipping me insane -- still skips a bit).  I find the Fine nib to write like most other brands' medium nibs, which I am told is typical for MB.  So I have to write bigger and more deliberately, but I was fine taking notes with it during a telephone conference when I inked it up after getting back to the office from my pen-shopping break.  Did not get the Special Edition Enzo purple.  Decided on the regular Irish Green -- so with green flowing from the bright red pen, it seemed like Christmas all over again.

 

Ah, another thing, I tend to post my pens.  It seems many of you fountain pen people do not, but I do.  I'll even post my Kaweco Supra -- I understand no one does that!!!  But the Enzo Ferrari doesn't post, which I understand is typical of the MB SEs/LEs.  But like I said in a previous post, it is so nice to use that I can forgive that.  Just have to keep track of the cap or hold it with the other hand.

 

I went into the shop thinking I would pick up the MB 149 Platinum, but left with the Enzo instead.  I will probably get one eventually.

[essayfaire]

24 minutes ago, sappie66 said:

Ah, another thing, I tend to post my pens.  It seems many of you fountain pen people do not, but I do.

I do, unless it's a retractable.  Of course, MB makes a retractable, but that's out of my price range.  I sent back one of the early Narwhal models when it arrived and I discovered it didn't post; they subsequently made one that does post, which I have and am pleased with.  

 

If you do post your pens, it would be wise to pay attention to how long they are when posted, and how posting changes the weight distribution when you try them!

[N1003U]

1 hour ago, sappie66 said:

I'll even post my Kaweco Supra -- I understand no one does that!!! 

That depends: with or without the extension? With the extension, I find a posted Supra is very back-weighted. It is one of the few pens I own that I tend not to post unless I am using it in short mode. I tried posting the Supra with extension, but I found it had too much oversteer. Fun in the corners, but sometimes too unstable to be safe, especially at high speed. 😜

 

I tend to post the majority of my pens. In fact, one of the reasons I think I am such a Pelikan fan is that so many Pelikans balance exquisitely in my hand when they are posted. One might even speculate that they were designed to be posted.

There are others who don’t post their pens for a variety of reasons.