What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[mitto]

I believe no 'vow' would ever work.

[ParkerDuofold]

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

Hi Sansenri,

 

You know, I just automatically assumed she was a widow... now you got me wondering... ...oh, boy!

 

 

- Anthony

[ParkerDuofold]

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...

Hi WLS,

 

Well, don't let it worry you... as long as you didn't make the vow in the presence of your local bishop, it doesn't count.

 

Enjoy your Century.

 

 

- Anthony

[ParkerDuofold]

Hi all,

 

My latest impulsive purchase arrived today... a Targa pen/pencil set... $65 NOS...

 

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

 

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

 

I haven't got around to inking it up yet, but I will.

 

Be well all.

 

 

- Anthony

[A Smug Dill]

You know, I just automatically assumed she was a widow... now you got me wondering... ...oh, boy!

Calls to mind the story of a woman who sold her husband's prized vintage Jaguar automobile for $50...

 

in the throes of divvying and (unnecessarily) liquidating the 'shared' assets post-divorce.

[ParkerDuofold]

Calls to mind the story of a woman who sold her husband's prized vintage Jaguar automobile for $50...

 

in the throes of divvying and (unnecessarily) liquidating the 'shared' assets post-divorce.

Hi Smug,

 

That is painful to read... ...I actually knew a guy who got a 1-year-old Mercedes 560 SEL for $5,000 the very same way.

 

Fortunately, I've never been put to that test... but it would very difficult to take the moral high ground and not take advantage of a deal like that.

 

Be well, Smug.

 

 

- Anthony

[sansenri]

Hi Sansenri,

 

You know, I just automatically assumed she was a widow... now you got me wondering... ...oh, boy!

 

 

- Anthony

 

me too, at first...

imagine if it weren't

I hope I'll never seriously quarrel with my wife...

[inkstainedruth]

Calls to mind the story of a woman who sold her husband's prized vintage Jaguar automobile for $50...

 

in the throes of divvying and (unnecessarily) liquidating the 'shared' assets post-divorce.

 

The version I heard was that it was a Mercedes-Benz, and $75 (but this was back in the 1980s) -- and is supposedly true (my dad's co-worker's daughter had a friend who bought the car in question...). Not a divorce, just a woman who got dumped when her boyfriend moved out of state and he *stupidly* told her to get what she could for the car -- and she decided she could get $75 for it. And *then* asked the buyer to mail the envelope with the check in it on her way home after signing the title over....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Of course, I wonder what the heirs to the owner of the Forest Green Aero would say if they knew I only paid two bucks for it at the estate sale last fall....

Edited February 1, 2019 by inkstainedruth

[inkstainedruth]

Most recent impulse buys for me? The pens I got in November at the Ohio Pen Show -- a grey Parker 45 with a B nib, and a grey Parker 61 with what I think is an F nib. The grey Decimo I ordered from a Japanese seller on eBay doesn't count as an "impulse" because that was replacing the Decimo I lost at OPS, and because I researched prices and reviews of sellers.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Oh, I forgot about the blue Cross Solo, B nib that I also picked up at OPS. There was a seller in the hallway, just where the corner turned, who'd had a bunch of different colors. And on Sunday morning, going from the small ballroom to the large one and back, I noticed he only had the one left.... And it looked lonely.... (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.... )

Edited February 1, 2019 by inkstainedruth

[Ink Stained Wretch]

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.

 

IMG_20190124_190658.jpg

 

From what I can see in that photograph, and the price, you were SUMGAI that day !

[VivaTerlingua]

I know almost nothing about vintage pens, but the one thing I do know is that I find the Parker Vacumatics absolutely gorgeous, and I finally pulled the trigger on my first one late last night: Golden Pearl colorway with a medium nib restored by Peyton Street Pens. I have a neglected bottle of Waterman Serenity Blue in the back of my ink drawer, so since I understand that these are kind of hard to clean, it now has a dedicated bottle of ink!

 

I am really looking forward to learning more about vintage pens.

[Tseg]

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...

 

Good to hear the outcome of the 3776 impulse. I never owned a Platinum and had thought about it for some time. Likewise, I don't have a super extra fine pen... Somehow I stumbled upon some UEF blogs and videos, then found out how reasonable the 3776 was priced in certain places, then came across numerous reviews of those singing praises for the 3776 in general, and in the last day or two pulled the trigger on the blue Chartres 3776 with UEF nib. When it arrives later this week hopefully I will not regret. This was on top of a planned purchase for which I'm also waiting on delivery, which is a new nib. Amazing how I go months without a purchase then in a couple weeks make 3-4 acquisitions, some that I had in the back of my mind, some not. I guess it is what being a(n) **-aholic is all about. I'm on a bit of a bender right now.

[A Smug Dill]

Somehow I stumbled upon some UEF blogs and videos, then found out how reasonable the 3776 was priced in certain places, then came across numerous reviews of those singing praises for the 3776 in general, and in the last day or two pulled the trigger on the blue Chartres 3776 with UEF nib.

With a #3776 Century Bourgogne, and also a Chartres Blue with rhodium finish, both fitted with SF nibs, I was tossing and turning over whether to order a new Laurel Green one with SF (which I remember as being quite versatile in terms of line width capabilities), EF (as I already have many other #3776 pens with 'regular' F nibs), or UEF (since no other factory seems to offer it, which make it the stand out) nib from Japan while I could get it for less than JPY 10,000 due a limited-time-only discount code. (You Style, which was the cheapest seller on Rakuten Global Market for it, has put up its prices significantly since the Laurel Green and the Chenonceau White were first offered.)

 

To help make my mind up, I pulled out one of the SF-nibbed ones and started scribbling with it. (Yes, many of my pens get neglected for long stretches, with so many new pens coming in all the time demanding attention and winning on freshness and novelty.) To my utter shock, I found myself enjoying the writing experience with it much less than I remembered. The pen felt a tad too light with the cap unposted, slightly top-heavy and unbalanced with the cap posted, and while I have no problem with feedback or even 'noise' from the nib when writing, the plastic on the #3776 Century pens seems to squeak when I write with a light hand. (I've also recently written with various #3776 pens with other types of pen bodies and 'regular' F nibs; no such issue there.) So much for that.

 

That just freed up some 'budget' to (partially) fund the purchase of a Delta Seawood light iroko wood fountain pen with a Fusion EF nib, that I didn't ever thought of buying (a Delta, especially now that it's gone out of business), and another one with Fusion F nib. Impulse appeased! I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the latter, or whether I'd even like and enjoy using the former; I suppose I could sell it as NOS, or give it to the guy who's going to be the best man at my wedding later this year. However, after trying my EF-nibbed one (and I'm very pleased with the line width it lays down), my fiancée decided she wouldn't mind having the other one.

 

I guess it is what being a(n) **-aholic is all about. I'm on a bit of a bender right now.

Tell me about it. I'm now waiting on the arrival of three Aurora pens from LCdC (finally!), and just placed an order for a Pelikan M605 White Transparent from FPNibs, spurred by the combination of:

• having enjoyed writing with the nib Dan Smith delivered for my Pelikan M600 Vibrant Orange so very much, I'm now emboldened to consider Pelikan pens as candidates for purchase, and that the brand can be redeemed (or the risk of unsatisfactory nibs mitigated) in my mind;
• Pablo has such a good reputation among FPN users who bought from him or used his regrinding service, I want to see what he can do with a Pelikan nib, and the regrinding service surcharge is less than Pelikan's 'EF tax';
• the M605 White Transparent being priced lower than all the other M60x models listed, and seems to have been the case from the get-go, with or without the 30%-off discount applied across the brand; and
• for some reason I was offered free shipping of that pen to Australia – but not if I add anything else to the cart – and that 'discount' clinched the deal. (Out of curiosity, just now I tried placing another of those pens in a new cart, and there is no free shipping on offer; the cheapest delivery option on offer would cost me in excess of €30.)

It takes so little to make me open my wallet for objects for which I have no need at all. I really should have waited until my Aurora Optima 365 to arrive, to see whether I like the aurolide Optima pens significantly better than the M60x (I imagine so), but then the M605 I ordered is so much cheaper and will have a customised nib to boot...

[bongo47]

Been on a two month binge, starting with an Opus 88 Koloro, which —maddeningly—massdrop has yet to ship. But also in December ordered a Hero 52 off eBay just to see it (all of 2.69 and turns out to actually write) but my son has now adopted it, so I may have to order another cause I actually wanted a little cheap pen. Then in January a PenBBS 309. I’ve never had a PenBBS before and was really impressed with it, so just ordered a 456 from the Etsy shop because ...vacuum filler.

[SoulSamurai]

I just picked up a pen part on ebay hoping to be able to Frankenstien a pen out of. Already regretting it slightly; the last time I did something like this it didn't work out.

[Barkingpig]

A Kaweco Dia Amber fountain pen, which I had admired but was not interested in when I saw that it only was being in fine or medium nibs. A Member here posted on another Forum a thread which led to a discussion of the ease of switching the nibs & I changed my mind.

 

I was fortunate to find a Seller offering the fountain pen separately from the ballpoint & ordered it on Amazon. I received the pen today & thank Seitz Kreuznach (Seitz-Global) for making it possible to purchase only the pen, without the ballpoint. I had a 14KT bb nib I was using in another Kaweco Art Sport & it was an easy exchange for the fine nib, which arrived in the pen.

 

Surely not my first impulsive purchase but one that was enhanced by the interchange of Members, who shared their experience of switching nibs in pens of interest. Lets hope my next arrival, a Benu pen, assuredly another impulsive purchase, will be as positive.

Edited February 4, 2019 by Barkingpig

[ScarletWoodland]

Impulsively for me (in that I spent less that two hours researching it), I grabbed one of those super cheap, Manuscript pen + 3 nib calligraphy sets. I've finally given up on fixing my Nib Creaper's dodgy nib and have heard tell that the Manuscript nibs will fit.

 

It was only £4.45 so if they don't fit it's no big deal. I'll either have some broader calligraphy nibs to play with on a cheapy pen body, or can use them to practice adjusting italic nibs.

 

If they do fit, I might have to finally grab that bottle of Heart Of Darkness and slap one nib on the Charlie 🙂.

 

Edit: Annoyingly I actually had one of these sets but binned the whole thing a year ago, when the section snapped off and jammed in the barrel. Hindsight and all that.

Edited February 4, 2019 by ScarletWoodland

[Eveach]

A Visconti Rembrandt (Azure) from GPC, right before I purchased a limited edition pen from Ryan Krusac Studios

[Aysedasi]

A Pilot Volex.

 

And I have an Elite on the way from Japan as well.

[pkotrcka]

A Pilot Volex.

 

And I have an Elite on the way from Japan as well.

 

I am waiting for E95s (gold nib, but Elite on body, so... ) from Japan too. We can almost create a "Elite waiting" club :-)