What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[Ceilidh]

On 9/29/2023 at 5:14 PM, JonSzanto said:

I just received a NOS Pelikan M620 Madrid ("Cities of the World" series) from a long-time friend and dealer. I've wanted one of these for a good 10 years, and while they pop up from time to time, the likelihood of an unused, complete boxed set was not something I thought would happen. I didn't hesitate, and it is really lovely. Photo for reference, I will take pics in a day or two.

 

Oooh, drool worthy!

[Ceilidh]

On 10/2/2023 at 7:19 PM, Surlyprof said:

Wow!  That 823 is stunning.  I've often admired the 823 but felt the color range was too limited.  This pen definitely bypasses that issue beautifully.

 

Stunning is the word. It's always fun to run into Jay at the show and check out his finds. This one is really gorgeous!

[AndyYNWA]

I'm waiting for Jinhao X450 with a fude nib. Stubled upon it on EBay.

[Paul-in-SF]

On 10/4/2023 at 11:00 AM, jmccarty3 said:

The Ayas look much better in person. However, they are very large, and would appeal to someone who feels comfortable with an Emperor. The MSRP indeed is quite high--I was offered discounts of $1,000-$1,100.

Yes, I found better (i.e. easier to see some of the finish details) on another pen store site, and they made the pens seem more attractive. I take it the size is between Yukari Royale (#20 nib) and Emperor (#50 nib)? I think I have those sizes right. 

[Doug C]

Schon faceted pocket pen. 

[jmccarty3]

22 hours ago, Paul-in-SF said:

Yes, I found better (i.e. easier to see some of the finish details) on another pen store site, and they made the pens seem more attractive. I take it the size is between Yukari Royale (#20 nib) and Emperor (#50 nib)? I think I have those sizes right. 

Yes, that's correct.

[Gloucesterman]

Ordered yesterday, - Kaco "Sky", EF nib. w/ included black cartridge. $7.50 (inc. tax) w/ free shipping Amazon, just arrived today.

I HAD TO BUY something!

[welch]

Parker 65, medium nib, c/c. Just curious, although I like the P-61 and most often use the P-51. 

[inkstainedruth]

On Saturday morning, I went to a local estate sale company's showroom sale.  The listing only said "Pencils" but one of the photos in the listing sure looked like a pen, and since the place is only about 15 minutes away at that hour I figured it wouldn't hurt to take a look.  Ended up with two vintage Esterbrooks (a black LJ, and a grey mackerel J) -- both with 9xxx nibs; and a no-name lever filler which has a hooded nib (I passed on a few others which looked like junkers -- I have too many pens needing repairs already).  $20 US plus tax for the three.  

Yeah, the two Estie pens had nibs I already have -- but for the price, I figured, "Why not?"   And the tipping looked good on the no-name pen.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[welch]

On 10/10/2023 at 12:39 PM, inkstainedruth said:

On Saturday morning, I went to a local estate sale company's showroom sale.  The listing only said "Pencils" but one of the photos in the listing sure looked like a pen, and since the place is only about 15 minutes away at that hour I figured it wouldn't hurt to take a look.  Ended up with two vintage Esterbrooks (a black LJ, and a grey mackerel J) -- both with 9xxx nibs; and a no-name lever filler which has a hooded nib (I passed on a few others which looked like junkers -- I have too many pens needing repairs already).  $20 US plus tax for the three.  

Yeah, the two Estie pens had nibs I already have -- but for the price, I figured, "Why not?"   And the tipping looked good on the no-name pen.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

I always look for Esterbrook 9xxx nibs, so even if you already had those particular nibs, they are still the nibs you want. I notice that the Andersons don't sell Esterbrook nibs anymore, so maybe Esties are becoming even more popular than when I binged them about 15 years ago. And, wow, $20 for an LJ and a full J! (How come I never find fountain pens at flea markets, garage sales, or estate sales??)

[Gloucesterman]

2 hours ago, welch said:

I notice that the Andersons don't sell Esterbrook nibs anymore

You may want to go back and double check their site. I watched one of their videos a few days ago where they spoke about a recent vintage estate purchases which included Esterbrook flex nibs. After watching, I went to their site and noted some of the "significant" prices for the 9048, 9128 and 9788 along with several 2xxx series nibs too.

 

One of the reasons I checked was to note their prices as I have some of those nibs in pens that I will be looking to sell either here (soon) or on some other sites.

[enuhski]

A Parker 61 made in Argentina turquoise pen and a Nahvalur Nautilus Mousseline Lilas. 😅

[Paul-in-SF]

I ordered a pen that had already sold out and would not be available again for at least a couple of months: the new Esterbrook Estie Raven (matte black) model with their new "button piston" filler. Sigh. I'm such a sucker. 

[inkstainedruth]

On 10/11/2023 at 5:37 PM, welch said:

 

I always look for Esterbrook 9xxx nibs, so even if you already had those particular nibs, they are still the nibs you want. I notice that the Andersons don't sell Esterbrook nibs anymore, so maybe Esties are becoming even more popular than when I binged them about 15 years ago. And, wow, $20 for an LJ and a full J! (How come I never find fountain pens at flea markets, garage sales, or estate sales??)

Well, sometimes I don't either.  

Anymore, I look at estate sale listings ahead of time online (hopefully with photos).  Got lucky on that last one because it didn't actually have pens listed -- just pencils.  And was only about a 15 minute drive at that hour.

But I looked at photos for one that started this morning, and decided it was probably not worth getting up at the crack of dawn, drive 20-30 minutes, and then spend an hour standing on line in the rain, in the hopes that at least one or two of the pens and sets that were in one of the photos weren't ALL just ballpoints.  And a couple of weekends ago, I drove about 2-12 hours each way to go to a big antiques mall northeast of me, only to come home with, well, a Beanie Baby "Punxuatawny Phil" with a top hat and bow tie....  There were a few pens in a couple of booths, but they didn't look to be in great shape or (as in one instance -- a Wherever pen/pencil set) more than I wanted to pay; I already have way too many vintage pens that need repairs that I paid way less for (as much as anything, I just wanted to get out of the house for the day).

As for antiques stores?  You just have to keep going back to them because the merchandise is going to change over time.  There's a place south of me that's in a big several story building (I think originally some warehouse).  The first time I went, I found nothing.  Six months later, though, I found what turned out to be IIRC, a Parker 51 Vacumatic, with the cap for some 3rd tier brand on it; and a 51 Aerometric in another booth that had the cap for a Parker Frontier on it.  The last time I was there (a few months ago)?  Nothing worth buying -- and the time before that?  The booth holder had clearly picked up a bunch of pens I'd passed on at a local-ish antiques fair....  So it's really hit or miss.  You have to just keep checking back at those places.  And I think I'm also somewhat lucky in living in the greater Pittsburgh area, where people don't move around nearly as much as in other parts of the country (a friend of ours literally lives in the house she grew up in, taking care of her mom and then her sister who was mentally challenged after their mom died, and buying out her two older sisters' share of the house in the process (they had both long since gotten married and moved elsewhere).  Plus (while you wouldn't really think that) Pittsburgh ALWAYS -- unlike other places in the Rust Belt -- had money (at one point, it was #3 on the list of US cities that had corporate headquarters in it).

I did find my first semi-vintage pen, a Parker 45 (and also the first pen with a 14K nib), in a small place up in what a friend of mine describes as "Nowhere, PA" (the northern tier counties east of Erie) just as a happenstance find years ago on a weekend drive because I had never been in that part of PA, AFAIK.  I don't even know if the antiques shop (which was on US 6 on the eastern edge of IIRC Coudersport, PA) is even still there, since that was over a decade ago at this point.  But my husband and I walked in, and there was a table by the front door which had some pens in it, and the 45 was the only brand (didn't even know the model back then) I recognized....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[ruby.monkey]

Just grabbed a burgundy Pelikan 140 with EF nib.

[Gloucesterman]

6 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

Well, sometimes I don't either.  

Anymore, I look at estate sale listings ahead of time online (hopefully with photos).  Got lucky on that last one because it didn't actually have pens listed -- just pencils.  And was only about a 15 minute drive at that hour.

But I looked at photos for one that started this morning, and decided it was probably not worth getting up at the crack of dawn, drive 20-30 minutes, and then spend an hour standing on line in the rain, in the hopes that at least one or two of the pens and sets that were in one of the photos weren't ALL just ballpoints.  And a couple of weekends ago, I drove about 2-12 hours each way to go to a big antiques mall northeast of me, only to come home with, well, a Beanie Baby "Punxuatawny Phil" with a top hat and bow tie....  There were a few pens in a couple of booths, but they didn't look to be in great shape or (as in one instance -- a Wherever pen/pencil set) more than I wanted to pay; I already have way too many vintage pens that need repairs that I paid way less for (as much as anything, I just wanted to get out of the house for the day).

As for antiques stores?  You just have to keep going back to them because the merchandise is going to change over time.  There's a place south of me that's in a big several story building (I think originally some warehouse).  The first time I went, I found nothing.  Six months later, though, I found what turned out to be IIRC, a Parker 51 Vacumatic, with the cap for some 3rd tier brand on it; and a 51 Aerometric in another booth that had the cap for a Parker Frontier on it.  The last time I was there (a few months ago)?  Nothing worth buying -- and the time before that?  The booth holder had clearly picked up a bunch of pens I'd passed on at a local-ish antiques fair....  So it's really hit or miss.  You have to just keep checking back at those places.  And I think I'm also somewhat lucky in living in the greater Pittsburgh area, where people don't move around nearly as much as in other parts of the country (a friend of ours literally lives in the house she grew up in, taking care of her mom and then her sister who was mentally challenged after their mom died, and buying out her two older sisters' share of the house in the process (they had both long since gotten married and moved elsewhere).  Plus (while you wouldn't really think that) Pittsburgh ALWAYS -- unlike other places in the Rust Belt -- had money (at one point, it was #3 on the list of US cities that had corporate headquarters in it).

I did find my first semi-vintage pen, a Parker 45 (and also the first pen with a 14K nib), in a small place up in what a friend of mine describes as "Nowhere, PA" (the northern tier counties east of Erie) just as a happenstance find years ago on a weekend drive because I had never been in that part of PA, AFAIK.  I don't even know if the antiques shop (which was on US 6 on the eastern edge of IIRC Coudersport, PA) is even still there, since that was over a decade ago at this point.  But my husband and I walked in, and there was a table by the front door which had some pens in it, and the 45 was the only brand (didn't even know the model back then) I recognized....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

In total agreement with Ruth. My term for it is "tactful persistence". You have to be willing to hear a lot of nos if you want to find anything decent.

The flea mkts I go to are at least 20 miles away. I go almost every week; parking is $5.00 and it usually takes more than 90 minutes to make the complete circuit. An interesting fact in my search experience is that most of my "finds" occur near the end of my "walk about", regardless of which direction I move in to start. Oh, and I usually have one REALLY good find each season! It might be a bunch of pens, or just a couple of them or even one "golden find". Two years ago I found a brand new, Pilot Urushi-maki e, original box, 14k nib for $5.00!, Yes, I said $5.00! After I found out what it was worth (when I went home) I ended up giving the woman $45.00, total when I saw her the following weeks. I ended up selling it for more than $400.00! Not a lot of stories like that and enough for it to fun and somewhat profitable.

Keep in mind, YMWV!

[gweimer1]

13 hours ago, Gloucesterman said:

In total agreement with Ruth. My term for it is "tactful persistence". You have to be willing to hear a lot of nos if you want to find anything decent.

The flea mkts I go to are at least 20 miles away. I go almost every week; parking is $5.00 and it usually takes more than 90 minutes to make the complete circuit. An interesting fact in my search experience is that most of my "finds" occur near the end of my "walk about", regardless of which direction I move in to start. Oh, and I usually have one REALLY good find each season! It might be a bunch of pens, or just a couple of them or even one "golden find". Two years ago I found a brand new, Pilot Urushi-maki e, original box, 14k nib for $5.00!, Yes, I said $5.00! After I found out what it was worth (when I went home) I ended up giving the woman $45.00, total when I saw her the following weeks. I ended up selling it for more than $400.00! Not a lot of stories like that and enough for it to fun and somewhat profitable.

Keep in mind, YMWV!

 

It's the kind of story I tell when people wonder how I managed to find a pen really cheap.   My first big find was a Parker Duofold Sr with a gorgeous nib...it was sitting on a table at my local flea market...I paid $2 for it.    However...that sumgai came after six months or more of wandering through that flea market every Saturday, for that same 90 minute circuit.  You invest far more time than money in this hobby.

My best deal came from a heads up on an estate sale...I got there early, and found a box full of fountain pens.   I paid $100 for 20 pens...Parker 51 (several), Sheaffer snorkels, and a Waterman.  I told the guy running it that they should have charged more, but they were unconcerned (it was his father's estate).   And, I left a bunch of pens behind.   I don't believe in hoarding the good deals; I like to let others have some fun, too.

[inkstainedruth]

16 hours ago, Gloucesterman said:

In total agreement with Ruth. My term for it is "tactful persistence". You have to be willing to hear a lot of nos if you want to find anything decent.

The flea mkts I go to are at least 20 miles away. I go almost every week; parking is $5.00 and it usually takes more than 90 minutes to make the complete circuit. An interesting fact in my search experience is that most of my "finds" occur near the end of my "walk about", regardless of which direction I move in to start. Oh, and I usually have one REALLY good find each season! It might be a bunch of pens, or just a couple of them or even one "golden find". Two years ago I found a brand new, Pilot Urushi-maki e, original box, 14k nib for $5.00!, Yes, I said $5.00! After I found out what it was worth (when I went home) I ended up giving the woman $45.00, total when I saw her the following weeks. I ended up selling it for more than $400.00! Not a lot of stories like that and enough for it to fun and somewhat profitable.

Keep in mind, YMWV!

I almost NEVER have any luck at flea markets.  One of the closest I got was one time a few years ago when I went out to the Rogers Flea Market and Auction, out in Rogers, Ohio, on the advice of someone near the PA/OH state line in an antiques store -- saw a few overpriced IMO pens, but did see a Parker 45, IIRC.

Oh, there was the one time when I went to the one that's held in the summer down in Washington, PA in the parking lot of the Washington Wild Things stadium.  I had pretty much given up -- it was a Sunday morning in May, and there was NO shade in the parking lot, of course.  Was heading back to where I was parked, and got in on a conversation with one vendor and another customer about how hard it was sometimes to find information about stuff online as far as what the stuff was and how much it was worth.  So I started talking to the vendor about a music box that my great uncle had given my mom when she was little, and how much trouble I'd had finding info about it (although when I had had it appraised, it was worth a couple of hundred bucks, having been made around the 1920s by some German company that made music boxes and toy pianos).  

So then I got talking to the vendor some more, and had said I'd been looking for old pens.  And the guy said, "Hang on!"  And turned around and started digging through the cab of his truck and comes out with a box that turned out to have a Wearever in it.  So I was looking over the pen, going, "Okay, it's a 3rd tier brand, but the nib and tipping look okay...."  And started to hand it back to the guy, only he said "Keep it!  I can't sell it!"  (I didn't know why, other than maybe because there was a name engraved on it....)

When I got home, I tried looking up the name on the pen, and it traced to a jewelry store in Canonsburg, PA (north of Washington, PA).  I found some website that posted images of old newspapers and there was a Christmas sale ad for the business, and the pen had the owner's name on it.  (The building the business had been in, right along on the main drag) had since become an antiques place, but I never got back down there to show off the pen before the place either closed or went to online-only -- I thought it would have been neat to show the pen around to the people who ran it....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

[Gloucesterman]

Went back to a usual haunt this morning and turned down two pens. A Cross gold filled 14k nib that had no converter and was pretty scratched up and a combo that had decent material but would need a bar, a sac and probably a nib. The sellers wanted $35.00 and #30.00 respectively for them. Ended up buying a NOS Mont Blanc black ink (shoe style) bottle (full) labelled Made in W. Germany for $5.00. Also spoke with several sellers about pens in general. I see that activity as a process of planting seeds for them to look for pens for me in the future.

YMMV.

[Muchacho]

This Snorkel. I always wanted one and Sheaffer is my favourite brand.

Got it from Ebay and it's fully serviced and also waxed so it's extra shiny.

I was planning to buy a cheap snorkel and do it myself considering it's an easy pen to repair but this one was at about the same price for less the burden.