What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[Gloucesterman]

8 minutes ago, jmccarty3 said:

When he said $25, I was quite surprised that it was so low.

$25.00 in 1990 is worth about $60.00 today. I would have thought it was more but that's what the online inflation calculator showed.

[USG]

6 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

Not exactly an acquisition as yet, but I placed an impulsive order for a yet to be made custom limited edition.  Photos to follow upon arrival.

 

Hi KMC

Very enigmatic of you.....  Any hints?

[Runnin_Ute]

5 hours ago, amberleadavis said:

 

Is the drawing included?  Just Wow.  I can't draw anything like that no matter the pen.

Hasn't been to date.

[Runnin_Ute]

I have had two Phileas. The first one, a red marbled with a Fine nib I bought new as my second pen (after a Lamy Al Star) sometime between 1998-2000. Bought from Levenger, probably between $30-$50. The Fine nib was really nice. Pen number three was a black one with M nib bought around December 2012, right after I joined FPN. I think I bought it from Joshua Lax. Sometime a bit after, the marbled went missing. Ebay searches showed $70-$100 prices. I thought that was nuts. I tried finding a Fine - but they seemed to run higher than the Mediums.

 

It doesn't get much use anymore, but every now and then I will pull it out and ink it up.

[USG]

5 hours ago, amberleadavis said:

So, I was wandering by a table at a pen show, when this little beauty demanded my attention.  All three of the nibs have been custom ground by Richard Binder and it has never been inked.  I can't decide if I'm going to ink it or save it for a graduation present for my mentee.

 

 

Beautiful pen.  That's really something ALD.  How could you not want to check out those nibs?  Tough call.  Ink it or save it...  maybe just dip it... (to make sure everything working properly)  😁  CluelessMe, you've thought of that too!

 

Meanwhile your unusual keyboard caught my eye.  What is it?

[JonSzanto]

1 hour ago, USG said:

Meanwhile your unusual keyboard caught my eye.  What is it?

 

Yeah, that steampunk baby caught my eye, too! I've seen them advertised before, pretty cool, but have no idea how they feel. I know how bad all of the steampunk fountain pens have been, tho... 😉

[amberleadavis]

18 hours ago, USG said:

 

Beautiful pen.  That's really something ALD.  How could you not want to check out those nibs?  Tough call.  Ink it or save it...  maybe just dip it... (to make sure everything working properly)  😁  CluelessMe, you've thought of that too!

 

Meanwhile your unusual keyboard caught my eye.  What is it?

 

This keyboard is my second one. The first was stolen. I loved the keyboard so much that I replaced it.

https://www.aziocorp.com/products/retro-classic-bt?variant=10731896537131

[inkstainedruth]

On 11/14/2023 at 12:51 PM, JonSzanto said:

Unfortunately, the raised interest in fountain pens, as well as people spending money on objects during the pandemic, etc, have caused prices to rise, as well as new sellers thinking they can make a killing. 

Ironically, a couple of months back, I went to to an appraisal show which was a fire department's fundraiser in one of the suburbs in the Pittsburgh area.  And one of the pens I brought with me was the Parker 41 I'd paid 50¢ US for, digging through a box of mostly ballpoints at an estate sale a few years before.  The day after I'd bought it, I went to a thing that was like _Antiques Road Show_ only local, and was absolutely staggered by the appraisal price on that pen ALONE (the overall value of everything I'd brought was more than I'd paid, including repairs on some of them).  So I KNEW what that pen *had* been appraised at.  Only this time around, it was not much more than the low end of what the first appraisal range had been, and the guy at the second show said that stuff like that wasn't getting much traction in the market -- what with COVID lockdowns and supply chain issues, people were *not* spending as much money on things that weren't "necessities" (such as food, medication, fuel, utility bills, etc.) -- they were holding off on purchases of stuff that were deemed "not necessities".....  

So now, in a couple of years, I may see about getting that 41 appraised a 3rd time and see what I get told then.  Of course, as far as I'm concerned, the pen is *technically* worth 50¢ (the price I paid for it) but also, since it was in good condition without any cracking, and its M nib makes it a lovely writer -- although I *do* baby the pen a LOT because of the potential for cracks -- I also consider it along the lines of "priceless"..... 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[inkstainedruth]

22 hours ago, Gloucesterman said:

$25.00 in 1990 is worth about $60.00 today. I would have thought it was more but that's what the online inflation calculator showed.

Yeah, I was highly amused by the price I paid about a year or so ago August, at an area estate sale company's warehouse sale which had a pens advertised in the listing (but no pix).  Got a Senator Windsor for a buck, in a box bottom that had a lot of ballpoints in it for a buck -- and it's a nice writer for a piston filler I paid a buck for, BTW!   Also, at the same sale, got a Parker 45 in what I presume was the original box, for five bucks -- which was the price on the box for when the pen was brand new....  Plugged the original price on the box into an inflation calculator website (on the assumption that the pen was from 1965), and it said that the current value was nearly $49 US; when I plugged in 1970 for the original year, the price if bought new in 2023 was $39.65....  I'd have to dig the pen and its box out to see if I can find an actual date code on it (I don't remember OH when Parker started putting date codes on pens again, so I don't know if I can find the info for that pen or not).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

 

[Ceilidh]

On 11/14/2023 at 11:51 AM, JonSzanto said:

Regarding the Phileas:

 

I purchased my first in 1990, when the line was relatively new. It lasted forever, was my only real fp, and after it had been unused for a few years, I came to FPN to ask how to get it running again. This was in 2010 or so. They were relatively inexpensive, a good size (good for larger hands) and just plain worked. The nibs write nicely and it was reliable. I've always considered them one of the best 'first good pen' ever, or even a beginning pen. As such, I've always kept track of them on the used market over the last decade+, and always have a few on hand that I can get into the hands of new pen people.

 

 

 

Agreed! A very underrated and underappreciated pen!

[AmandaW]

A Parker calligraphy set... very impulsive. More details and a picture when it arrives, for now all I can say is it's a black Vector, with a bunch of cartridges (one has been used) and a converter in an attractive box with a book in the lid. My first Vector.

[inkstainedruth]

I picked up one on eBay a few years ago.  Don't remember about the cartridges one way or the other, but it came with 4 nib units.  Of course I've only ever used the IF nib on it....  Right now that pen got some Diamine Monboddo's Hat in it, thanks to a sample vial of the ink from FPN member Jayebird.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Penguincollector]

I found a  matte grey Sheaffer/Sailor Sentinel for $15, so in the cart it went. PayPal was having issues with my card, and they wanted me to make a purchase with them on the phone to make sure it went through, and I had been eyeing this Fashion adjacent pen with the heart hole nib. It was sorta impulsive, but necessary at the same time.

[ruby.monkey]

I just bought a user-condition red striped Conklin Glider - all looks intact but the gilding is all but gone. Interestingly its nib isn't a Cushon Point, which I think is usual for this model, but is just marked Conklin Chicago. Might be original, might be a later replacement, but either way I'm looking forward to giving it a try.

[Gloucesterman]

59 minutes ago, ruby.monkey said:

I just bought a user-condition red striped Conklin Glider - all looks intact but the gilding is all but gone. Interestingly its nib isn't a Cushon Point, which I think is usual for this model, but is just marked Conklin Chicago. Might be original, might be a later replacement, but either way I'm looking forward to giving it a try.

A while back I acquired and subsequently sold a similar pen. the major difference was that the nib I had was 14k gold and said, IIRC, (Conklin?) Toledo. The Conklin brand was purchased by a Chicago based company (late 30's, I think, and they, as I recall, went down-scale as far as quality. You may have one of those pens. As for me, I ended up quickly selling my pen to a friend (he made me an offer) for $60.00 as it was in good condition on the outside and he was planning to clean it a put in a new sac anyway.

My dip test was nice and it was a good writer. My original purchase of the pen was at a flea market, with a bunch of other pens) and I intended to clean/restore the pen and sell it at local pen show. It was a nice looking pen with most of the plating still intact.

 

Enjoy you new pen.

[AmandaW]

My bid for a Lamy Safari fountain pen and matching ballpoint won with no competition. I'm surprised cos, even though they were listed as purple with not-great photos, the black clip and nib mean... Dark Lilac? 💜

[A Smug Dill]

23 minutes ago, AmandaW said:

… no competition. I'm surprised cos, …

 

Maybe others are just less observant and less tuned in than you expect.

 

Congratulations!

[Misfit]

@AmandaW I hope you scored a Dark Lilac. I have one, and got the ink when they were originally sold. 

[PithyProlix]

2 days, 4 pens, 3 continents:

• Pilot Super 250 (Elite series), Signature nib
• Sailor Hoscal F in red/black spiral finish 
• Esterbrook Safari Plunger-fill light blue, 1555 Gregg nib (but will switch for one of my Osmiroid calligraphy-oriented nibs) 
• S. T. Dupont Classique first version, which has a Pelikan-made nib/feed, in a beautiful amber urushi

Alas, I was previously doing a pretty good job decreasing the size of my collection... 

 

[Misfit]

@PithyProlix decreasing the size of a pen collection does not compute.