What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[ParkerDuofold]

Yes, "Matte Btack"... not everyone has mastered cursive.

Hi Surprise,

 

If you think THAT VP is a fire hose... you'll never be comfortable with that 51 Stub you just got... you better just send it to me and spare yourself all the grief.

 

Mind you, I usually don't make such generous offers, but I'm making an exception because I like your style... ...I think its great that you're teaching yourself cursive writing.

 

 

- Anthony

 

 

EDITED to add text.

Edited January 24, 2019 by ParkerDuofold

[ParkerDuofold]

a double impulse early this year...

I was checking Indian pens and had come to conclusion I would like to buy a Gama Eyas

you know when you leave your browsers open on a million pages and the go do something else?

well Firefox actually managed to remain open on those pages (without crashing!) for about 10 days...

so sometimes later I went back to the open page and bought the pen

then I had a deja vu...checked paypal and found out I had bought the pen already about 10 days earlier...

shikes...one has already reached me... I'm waiting for the other one now...

lucky they were reasonably cheap...

 

_{second Gama Eyas just got here...}

Hi Sansenri,

 

I have a hard and fast rule... I never laugh at another's misfortune...

 

...but you're not making easy... ...

 

...but look on the bright side... you didn't double-order a Homo Sapiens.

 

Be well... and enjoy both pens... if they're both good writers you didn't really lose anything.

 

 

- Anthony

[ParkerDuofold]

I almost did an impulse purchase yesterday -- an aqua blue Sheaffer Snorkel in an antiques mall a couple of hours away...

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Oooo... that was my impulse buy... it's a shame you couldn't work a deal on yours.

 

Here's a pic of mine... I just got it and inked it up... the pic sucks... I'll try to post a better one later tonight or tomorrow...

 

http://i.imgur.com/uG3vAQu.jpg

 

But I gotta tell you... it's so GREAT to be enjoying vintage pens!!! :D

 

Up until recently, my luck with them hasn't been the greatest.

 

Be well.

 

 

- Anthony

 

 

EDITED to add pic and text.

Edited January 24, 2019 by ParkerDuofold

[WLSpec]

Probably that Pelikan 400 in my profile picture. Impulse buy at the D.C. pen show. It has served me very well.

[inkstainedruth]

Oooo... that was my impulse buy... it's a shame you couldn't work a deal on yours.

 

Here's a pic of mine... I just got it and inked it up... the pic sucks... I'll try to post a better one later tonight or tomorrow...

 

http://i.imgur.com/uG3vAQu.jpg

 

But I gotta tell you... it's so GREAT to be enjoying vintage pens!!! :D

 

Up until recently, my luck with them hasn't been the greatest.

 

Be well.

 

 

- Anthony

 

 

EDITED to add pic and text.

 

Well, at the discounted price I thought I had enough cash to pay for it -- but wasn't sure I'd have enough left over to pay the sales tax, too. And of course I already have a blue one, and then there's the repair charge cost to factor in....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[surprise123]

Hi Surprise,

 

If you think THAT VP is a fire hose... you'll never be comfortable with that 51 Stub you just got... you better just send it to me and spare yourself all the grief.

 

Mind you, I usually don't make such generous offers, but I'm making an exception because I like your style... ...I think its great that you're teaching yourself cursive writing.

 

 

- Anthony

 

 

EDITED to add text.

Oh, yes, very generous indeed. Keep in touch, I don't have much use for stub nibs (just wanted to see what one was like), so I might shoot you a PM in the next weeks regarding handing over the gusher.

 

Also, what do you think about having that medium nib ground to an architect or a cursive italic? The Baltimore Pen Show isn't far off, I might go.

[surprise123]

Yes... it looks grimy but beautiful. Too bad my school buys cheap copy paper.

 

Edit: The seller told me it was OCTANIUM just now since it is a Parker 51 Special. Hmm. I highly doubt it was steel. We shall see.

Edited January 24, 2019 by surprise123

[A Smug Dill]

Also, what do you think about having that medium nib ground to an architect or a cursive italic?

Perhaps you should simply think about how you want to write with your pens and how you want your handwriting to look coming out of them, instead of subscribing to categorical labels? I recently ordered a Pelikan M600 Vibrant Orange (yes, yes, do tell me how I've always been vocal about not preferring piston-fillers and wouldn't spend that much on one), and I just took a video (from which I obtained some stills as 'candid' photos) of how I write with my favourite nibs, then told Dan Smith as part of the ordering process what I liked and wanted from the nib on the M500. It really doesn't matter whether the general shape of what you want in a nib is often known as the 'togi', 'architect', 'bricklayer' or 'stub'; you can just tell the nibmeister/nibsmith taking your commission what you actually want.

[surprise123]

Perhaps you should simply think about how you want to write with your pens and how you want your handwriting to look coming out of them, instead of subscribing to categorical labels? I recently ordered a Pelikan M600 Vibrant Orange (yes, yes, do tell me how I've always been vocal about not preferring piston-fillers and wouldn't spend that much on one), and I just took a video (from which I obtained some stills as 'candid' photos) of how I write with my favourite nibs, then told Dan Smith as part of the ordering process what I liked and wanted from the nib on the M500. It really doesn't matter whether the general shape of what you want in a nib is often known as the 'togi', 'architect', 'bricklayer' or 'stub'; you can just tell the nibmeister/nibsmith taking your commission what you actually want.

Hmm. I do have some preferences, many of which are extremely picky due to the paper I get force-fed at school. I once left a Sheaffer Balance nib lying on a worksheet at home and came back to a blob and a half-empty sac.

 

Perhaps I should let the nib technician see me write before asking for any types of grinds at the pen show?

 

By the way, Pelikan Vibrant Orange is a great colour.

 

EDIT: What did Dan do with it (the M500)?

Edited January 24, 2019 by surprise123

[A Smug Dill]

EDIT: What did Dan do with it (the M500)?

I haven't received it yet. The delays are one of the reasons why I don't like buying from retailers in the USA; in my experience, UK, Japanese and Malaysian sellers are much faster in terms of lead time from accepting orders to physical delivery. (American sellers also seem more reluctant than the others in servicing customers outside of continental US with free shipping past certain order amount thresholds.)

 

What I said to Dan is that I don't trust Pelikan (thanks to all the warnings and caution I've been given by fellow FPN forum members and experienced Pelikan buyerd) with regards to nib width, so “please grind the nib such that the lines left by horizontal strokes are approximately 0.18mm-0.24mm wide, and the lines left by vertical strokes are approximately 0.28mm-0.34mm wide”. I also captured video footage, from the side and from directly above my writing pad, of how I write with the Diplomat Aero steel EF nib that I think unintentionally delivered what I wanted in a nib, and from that footage I prepared a number of still images to send Dan as reference material.

 

I also emphasised that my handwriting has very crisp 'tails' at the end of pen strokes (whether I'm writing in Chinese kaishu or in cursive English), and showed what I wanted in the writing sample I did while shooting the video footage.

Edited January 24, 2019 by A Smug Dill

[surprise123]

I haven't received it yet. The delays are one of the reasons why I don't like buying from retailers in the USA; in my experience, UK, Japanese and Malaysian sellers are much faster in terms of lead time from accepting orders to physical delivery. (American sellers also seem more reluctant than the others in servicing customers outside of continental US with free shipping past certain order amount thresholds.)

 

What I said to Dan is that I don't trust Pelikan (thanks to all the warnings and caution I've been given by fellow FPN forum members and experienced Pelikan buyerd) with regards to nib width, so “please grind the nib such that the lines left by horizontal strokes are approximately 0.18mm-0.24mm wide, and the lines left by vertical strokes are approximately 0.28mm-0.34mm wide”. I also captured video footage, from the side and from directly above my writing pad, of how I write with the Diplomat Aero steel EF nib that I think unintentionally delivered what I wanted in a nib, and from that footage I prepared a number of still images to send Dan as reference material.

 

I also emphasised that my handwriting has very crisp 'tails' at the end of pen strokes (whether I'm writing in Chinese kaishu or in cursive English), and showed what I wanted in the writing sample I did while shooting the video footage.

Most of the time, US sellers are reluctant to deal with internationals due to higher shipping fees, and the dangerously high rate of packages simply disappearing.

 

Pelikan has been a little inconsistent with their nibs, I saw two M120's at the DC Pen Show (one vintage, one modern) both labeled EF. The vintage one was much thinner and had rectangular/oval tipping instead of spherical ball tipping.

[FarmBoy]

I haven't received it yet. The delays are one of the reasons why I don't like buying from retailers in the USA; in my experience, UK, Japanese and Malaysian sellers are much faster in terms of lead time from accepting orders to physical delivery. (American sellers also seem more reluctant than the others in servicing customers outside of continental US with free shipping past certain order amount thresholds.)

 

What I said to Dan is that I don't trust Pelikan (thanks to all the warnings and caution I've been given by fellow FPN forum members and experienced Pelikan buyerd) with regards to nib width, so “please grind the nib such that the lines left by horizontal strokes are approximately 0.18mm-0.24mm wide, and the lines left by vertical strokes are approximately 0.28mm-0.34mm wide”. I also captured video footage, from the side and from directly above my writing pad, of how I write with the Diplomat Aero steel EF nib that I think unintentionally delivered what I wanted in a nib, and from that footage I prepared a number of still images to send Dan as reference material.

 

I also emphasised that my handwriting has very crisp 'tails' at the end of pen strokes (whether I'm writing in Chinese kaishu or in cursive English), and showed what I wanted in the writing sample I did while shooting the video footage.

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 am impressed.

[gillum51]

I had been wanting a Diplomat Aero for a long time but the price tag was too much for me. then I saw it on sale on an on line pen store, plus I had a 10% off coupon, so I got it for around $105. it arrived today and it is a great pen. Perhaps not so much an impulse buy as acting at the right time.

[A Smug Dill]

Can nib mechanics grind to hundredths resolution. Seems 0.21 +/-0.3 X 0.31 +/- 0.03 is pretty tight.

I took the ranges from Platinum's standard of nib width grades. I had to communicate my request/expectations to Dan in objective terms somehow, and I thought specifying ranges is a more reasonable thing to do than single absolute measurements.

 

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.

Sure.

 

I had been wanting a Diplomat Aero for a long time but the price tag was too much for me. then I saw it on sale on an on line pen store, plus I had a 10% off coupon, so I got it for around $105.

I was quite tempted to get the brown one as well, because I like my orange one so much, but US$22 shipping on a US$105 item just killed the bargain for me.

Edited January 24, 2019 by A Smug Dill

[mitto]

I was in Peshawar - the capital of KPK Province - on sunday. Saw an elderly person selling used items on roadside. No pens were seen on the surface. But then I stopped and asked if he has any pen(s). And he said, yes. And brought out some from a dirty can. Well, it was a pile of mostly junk pens and I was about to leave. But then I thought why not see if I may find some part pens. And I found these three pens from the bottom of the can. He asked Rs.20 for all three. Then he said he also has a couple pen pouches. Again Rs. 20 for the two leather pouches. As per today's exchange rate Rs.40 equal to a whooping amount of $0.29

 

Pens and pouches.

 

 

Edited January 24, 2019 by mitto

[Carrau]

Unlike most here (myself included), Mitto, your impulse was to stop and chat with the fellow, then dig deeper when opportunity presented itself. Nice haul-I particularly like the gray and wine pen. Good hunting!

[mulrich]

I tried making an impulsive eBay purchase today but was (fortunately) outbid. I was too focused on getting the top bid and didn't pay enough attention to what the price actually was. I don't know the seller but (s)he has me to thank for pushing the final price up a goodly amount.

[Montanez]

After a couple of months not buying anything, and being convinced that I had enough pens, I bought impulsively an Esterbrook SJ vintage black fountain pen. It is supposed to arrive next week...

[ParkerDuofold]

Oh, yes, very generous indeed. Keep in touch, I don't have much use for stub nibs (just wanted to see what one was like), so I might shoot you a PM in the next weeks regarding handing over the gusher.

 

Okay. Please do.

 

 

Also, what do you think about having that medium nib ground to an architect or a cursive italic? The Baltimore Pen Show isn't far off, I might go.

 

Well, like Smug said, it depends what you plan to use it for,... but I think you already answered your own question when you decided to let the nibsmith watch the way you write and then discuss your options...

 

...an excellent idea.

 

That said, IIRC, an architect nib might be a bit too sharp-edged for general writing... as well as any true italics... like Aurora's... I think you're on the right track with something like a cursive italic... or cursive stub, if possible.

 

...bottom line... I think discussing your goals and objectives with the nibsmith and letting him watch you write is the BEST way to go, bar none.

 

Be well.

 

 

- Anthony

EDITED for typos. Edited January 25, 2019 by ParkerDuofold

[mitto]

Unlike most here (myself included), Mitto, your impulse was to stop and chat with the fellow, then dig deeper when opportunity presented itself. Nice haul-I particularly like the gray and wine pen. Good hunting!

The gray and wine pen is a Canada made Parker 'thrift time pen' Premier (Duette Sr.) with a very soft and wet Canada made #4 nib. The pen in the middle is a English made button filled Summit pen - again with a soft wet nib - while the pen on the right is a Wyvern that has a smallish wet noodle nib.