What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[mivox]

Both of which imply a new opportunity for a "last impulsive"...

😂 I definitely mean "last" as in "most recent," not "final." I know myself well enough. lol

[NumberSix]

New impulse buy just now: TWSBI 580AL (red rose edition) - apparently, some old limited edition pens have briefly become available again

 

Then when discussing it on reddit, someone mention that the Prussian Blue 580 could be had from TWSBI's website. So I went there and ordered one, along with a white Eco.

 

Yesterday I canceled the big PenBBS order because it was a lot of money to spend on something I wouldn't have for a long time. So much for not spending that money. . .

[tommym]

My last impulsive buy was back in 1999; my Montblanc 75th anniversary fountain pen. I still have it.

 

Tommy

[bemon]

So we're nearly ready to sign on a hew home, and I figured 'what better pen to sign documents with than...'

 

 

Of course it's Montblanc, so I have to send it back to get one that writes properly. Sigh. 4 Montblancs deep and I haven't learned. Durn pretty though.

Edited July 31, 2020 by bemon

[maclink]

I decided to give a Waterman Carene a try, something that I had delayed for years. I like it and recommend it. It's a very well made pen and among the best tuned nibs that I have ever written with. There's attention to little usability details that make it clear that Waterman has been around for a long time.

[cleosmama]

I bought a Walltown Violet Abalone pen from Instagram for myself on my birthday. I've been wanting one since I first saw them.

[padams2359]

Back in April - Visconti Midnight in Florence

July - MB 149

[bemon]

I decided to give a Waterman Carene a try, something that I had delayed for years. I like it and recommend it. It's a very well made pen and among the best tuned nibs that I have ever written with. There's attention to little usability details that make it clear that Waterman has been around for a long time.

Interesting pens. I’ve had 5 or 6 over the years. The only issue I’ve had is only really an issue for me- that some of them are dry writers. I’ve still got two. A medium “Black Seas” which writes perfectly. The pen is weighted well, and the nib is smooth and wet. My Contemporary Gunmetal though is on the dry side.

 

It’s actually with Salman from Toronto Pen Co. Now, and he’s going to do what he can to make it wetter.

[AL01]

Good 'ole Endlesspens had a flash sale and I jus' couldn't resist...

 

A Lamy Studio in Brushed Steel with an EF nib is on its way.

[Mysterious Mose]

Well, I tried, but didn't succeed.

 

A Sheaffer Snorkel Statesman was listed on eBay. The auction had several bidders. I tried sniping it (bid with less than a minute remaining) for $40.00 but someone else snuck in and got it for $41. The purchase was risky -- condition unknown, maybe or maybe not restored; the seller does not have other pens for sale so doesn't know much about fountain pens.

 

So I'll be sensible and when I get my stimulus check, will buy it restored from a known reputable dealer, at 3 or 4 times this price. Hah!

[inkstainedruth]

Well, I paid $50 US plus the cost of repairs for the Aqua Blue Statesman, but only $20 plus repairs for the black one with the factory stub semi-flex nib. So the person who sniped you for a buck was still in the right ballpark. Mind you, I don't have any of the really exotic Snorkel colors -- those can get very pricy.

If you DO end up getting a Snorkel in the wild or on the Bay of Evil, I'll tell you the same thing I told a friend who inherited one a couple of years ago and said "Hey, you know about these things, right?". I told her, "It's not working, but that's okay, because I know a guy -- and in fact I know a COUPLE of guys...." Her pen cost a little more to repair than the estimate I'd quoted her, because the spring was shot. So the other thing I'll tell you is if you DO get one, make sure you have a pro check it out before you try filling it. Because if the spring has rusted, it's gonna be $20 to replace that ALONE, on top of any other repair charges (the springs are really fragile if they get rusted).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Mysterious Mose]

Well, I paid $50 US plus the cost of repairs for the Aqua Blue Statesman, but only $20 plus repairs for the black one with the factory stub semi-flex nib. So the person who sniped you for a buck was still in the right ballpark. Mind you, I don't have any of the really exotic Snorkel colors -- those can get very pricy.

If you DO end up getting a Snorkel in the wild or on the Bay of Evil, I'll tell you the same thing I told a friend who inherited one a couple of years ago and said "Hey, you know about these things, right?". I told her, "It's not working, but that's okay, because I know a guy -- and in fact I know a COUPLE of guys...." Her pen cost a little more to repair than the estimate I'd quoted her, because the spring was shot. So the other thing I'll tell you is if you DO get one, make sure you have a pro check it out before you try filling it. Because if the spring has rusted, it's gonna be $20 to replace that ALONE, on top of any other repair charges (the springs are really fragile if they get rusted).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Thanks for the advice, Ruth.

 

By the conclusion of the auction, I decided $40. was my limit, although I had bid earlier for $25., $30. and $35, I think. You hafta set a maximum or you'll regret it. We don't know the sniper's limit. It might have been higher than $41.

 

So, to nurse my wounds, I bought another Sheaffer, a Silver Brush M Prelude. This is new, modern, and from a dealer who seems to know something about pens. $38.

 

So now I have 4 Sheffers, of which two are school pens. The others are Sagaris and Prelude. Two months ago, I had none.

[Gloucesterman]

Oh, do you meant the Pelikan M600 Vibrant Orange I just bought here on FPN (arrived and it is beautiful) or the burgundy MB 144 (waiting for it to be shipped) that I won on the bay yesterday?

[inkstainedruth]

By the conclusion of the auction, I decided $40. was my limit, although I had bid earlier for $25., $30. and $35, I think. You hafta set a maximum or you'll regret it. We don't know the sniper's limit. It might have been higher than $41.

True words, there. Early on, I got sniped with seconds to go on a Cordovan Brown 51 Vac. I would ask the seller a question and the seller would comeback a day later with the answer, gotten from the pen's original owner. We had a lovely rapport going. And then I got sniped, and that was before we had FIOS, so I wasn't able to respond fast enough. And yet a couple of months later I apparently had the best poker face EVAH, and never got outbid on the Plus Demi 51 (I was going around going "What is this "snipe" of which you speak? I'm just gonna plain get outbid and someone ELSE is gonna get sniped..." because I wasn't going to be home when that auction ended; and then after all that, I didn't even hit the intermediate maximum I'd put up when I got nervous watching the price creep up over the course of the week...).

OTOH, one of my purchases this year was a sterling silver Parker 75 Ciselé. I got outbid on one with a F nib by WAY more than it should have, IMO, gone for. Then, a couple of weeks later I saw another listing for one with a B nib (later model, with the dished tassies) and was agonizing on what to put for a maximum (I had asked the seller some questions and gotten pretty straightforward answers). Then I realized NOBODY but me was apparently looking at that listing.... Don't understand to this day why not. So I waited till a minute or two left, and bid the minimum and got it. Go figure. Yeah, the one with the F nib was an early one with the flat ends, but I saw nothing about the pen other than that and the nib width to justify its hammer price other than maybe a couple of people getting into a bidding war. I got what I considered a more interesting nib and a pen from the early 1970s, as far as I could tell, which had the original squeeze converter on it and saved enough money on the price to then be able to afford TWO other pens (Lamy Safari Violet SE, and a clearance priced Lamy al-Star Vibrant Pink) -- plus some ink samples -- about a month later from Vanness.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[fplover5]

good post

Edited August 4, 2020 by The-Fountainpen-Researcher

[Mysterious Mose]

"By the conclusion of the auction, I decided $40. was my limit, although I had bid earlier for $25., $30. and $35, I think. You hafta set a maximum or you'll regret it. We don't know the sniper's limit. It might have been higher than $41."

 

What I wrote could use some clarification. I meant two separate concepts. 1) By the conclusion of the auction, I decided $40. was my limit, although I had bid earlier for $25., $30. and $35, I think. You hafta set a maximum or you'll regret it. 2) We don't know the sniper's limit. It might have been higher than $41.

 

1) I could have gotten it for more - maybe $50. or even $100., but I chose a maximum of $40.00. I did my own sniping. The bid was $35., I think. At 40 seconds to go, I put in a bid for $40.00. That was the winning bid for a few seconds, then the final sniper came in with a higher bid. So he entered his winning bid with only seconds to go. There wasn't time after that for more bids. But if I had really really wanted this pen, money no object, I would have put in a sniper bid of $100. rather than $40.

 

2) If I had bid $41., there's a good chance the final sniper would have won it for $42. If I had bid $42., ... and so on. But it doesn't matter to me -- he won the auction fair and square. As I noted above, I'm pretty confident that he wouldn't have gone as high as $100.

 

Something interesting about this auction is that although there were around 6 earlier bidders, the winning bidder was not one of them. He waited until the very end before making his move. That takes a lot of will-power.

 

I've bid in auctions where an early bid wins. However, this one called for sniping.

 

 

[BaronWulfraed]

I've not done much on eBay but...

 

I've always felt one should specify one's maximum limit from the start, and letting the automatic bidding system handle the increments.

[CraigN]

I watched an Aurora 88 roller ball on the 'bay. It has a black barrel with gold cap, which appears to be a discontinued model. After a day I clicked "Buy it now". Condition is good, not great, but the price was excellent. I did not need a second roller ball but this will go with my small gathering of Aurora fountain pens.

 

It took a Waterman roller ball refill and writes quite well. My itch has been scratched (for now, of course).

 

Regards,

Craig

 

Hi All!

 

OK, I scratched another itch. Perhaps this was because the DC pen show was here (though cancelled). Anyway I was able to acquire a pair of Aurora 88 pens for about the cost of 2 nights stay in the Falls Church Marriott for the DC show.

 

In addition to the rollerball mentioned earlier, I purchased the 88 fountain pen, listed as 811 and 871 on the following Aurora link:

https://www.aurorapen.it/en/categoria-prodotto/pens/ottantotto-en/

 

I mentioned earlier that I thought that the line had been canceled, but this appears to be incorrect. It is a small fountain pen, and is slightly smaller than my wife's MB145. The fountain pen arrived yesterday afternoon, shortly before tropical storm Isaias came for a relatively brief visit to southern Maryland. The pen has (I believe) an italic broad nib. It is currently inked with Diamine Imperial Purple ink in a used Parker cartridge. It is somewhat position sensitive, but writes with a wet and very broad line with good line variation. While the rollerball is in very good condition, the fountain pen is in excellent shape. I need to write larger text to accommodate this wider nib, but will learn to do this with time.

 

I miss the DC pen show but understand why the show was cancelled. Please take care and be safe at all times.

 

Folks, I hope that you enjoy your pens.

 

Regards,

Craig

[Runnin_Ute]

Newton Townsend (small) in dark purple ripple ebonite. F nib.

[ENewton]

Newton Townsend (small) in dark purple ripple ebonite. F nib.

 

That would be tempting!