What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[kirkwrites]

TODAY, I bought a hand-turned African Ebony pen with a Jowo medium nib from a young craftsman here in Louisville, Ky. His brand is Roots And Jones . I ran into a display of his pens at the flagship store of Clayton & Crume, a leather goods retailer here in the Nulu neighborhood of Louisville.  Ryan Jones, the owner of Roots And Jones pens, agreed to help me find parts for a hand-turned pen my mom gave me years ago. it's a great looking pen made of cocobolo wood. The only problem is that the feed/nib/section never worked. I fiddled with it every way I know how. No go. So, when I met Ryan this morning, he showed me a whole portfolio of pens he makes. They're all pretty cool, but the African Ebony pen caught my eye and I had to buy it on the spot.  Here in Bourbon Whiskey country, we have a lot of used barrels. All the staves are charred. That's what gives Bourbon its rich caramel color. Well, Ryan has been turning pens from used Bourbon barrel staves, leaving a bit of the char on one side.  The charred side is a little flat, which keeps the pen from rolling away if you order it with no clip, which I JUST DID!  So, soon I will have a second impulse pen from Roots And Jones. As soon as I arrived home this morning, I loaded the African Ebony pen with J. Herbin Éclat De Saphir ink. I'm glad Ryan had a Jowo medium nib to install.  It's a very smooth and juicy medium for sure.  By the way, I made another impulse buy (COVID Retail Therapy?). I've been looking high and low for a leather cover that will accomodate a B6-slim Café note (see nanamipaper.com). Well, wouldn't you know it. Clayton and Crume stock a lovely Dark Brown Leather Day Journal that's a perfect fit. How could I resist? Can you blame me? I haven't been out of the house for nearly a year. 

 

FFAB1757-58A5-4F76-BB23-7FAEF667800D_1_201_a.heicFetching info...

[enuhski]

Late last year, a Lamy Dialog 3 because my only experience with a retractable pen was the Pilot Vanishing point. Unfortunately it's too big and chunky for me. 😕 

[mauckcg]

Payed for an Arco Bronze Leonardo at 1am this morning.  I didn't really think this through...

[rkesey]

  On 2/7/2021 at 6:53 PM, mauckcg said:

Payed for an Arco Bronze Leonardo at 1am this morning.  I didn't really think this through...

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Oh, I've heard that's a stunner. Looking forward to pics!

[inkstainedruth]

  On 2/7/2021 at 3:37 PM, enuhski said:

Late last year, a Lamy Dialog 3 because my only experience with a retractable pen was the Pilot Vanishing point. Unfortunately it's too big and chunky for me. 😕 

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Have you looked at the Pilot Decimo?  Those are smaller and lighter (and also less expensive) than the full size Vanishing Points (I had the same problem with VPs as you) -- I have small hands and the Decimos are a much better size for me, and take the same nib assembly as the VPs [well, in theory anyway -- I had bought a used VP, gave it to my husband, and then ordered a Decimo with an EF nib to swap out for the F nib which he didn't like; I did have some problems with the pen drying out, took it back to the guy I ordered it through and he had someone grind the shoulders down a little for me...  then promptly lost it and had to get a replacement].  I have two of them now -- one with an F nib and one with a stub nib.  The only real complaint I have with them is that they don't come in nearly as many colors and finishes (except for the occasional super-expensive limited edition ones) -- and for some reason, they don't sell all the colors in the US (when I first looked into them, I had to order from a 3rd party vendor in Japan to get the Light Grey after losing the first one -- my first choice (they now do sell the Dark Blue/Navy here).  I even contacted Pilot USA about it and got told that it was "a marketing decision".   So it was their loss: I saved money (even with economy airmail shipping), got exactly what I wanted, and it came in 11 days.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[JonSzanto]

  On 2/4/2021 at 4:44 PM, Carrau said:

I like everything about it, especially at the price. 

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Based on your positive review, having an affinity for dark ebonites, and wanting to check out a promising, modest-cost piston filler. I ordered one late last Thursday evening from Dromgooles. It just arrived now, which is pretty remarkable service. Put a standard first ink in it and this is a very, very nice pen. The cap is too long/heavy for comfortable posting but it can be done. I took you at your word that the ebonite gives it just a bit more heft and between that and a generous barrel length, it is comfortable un-posted. You are also correct: the threads are essentially unnoticeable, which along with the generous section makes for comfortable writing.

With the limited edition packaging of the wooden box and leather case, this is an excellent purchase, and one I'm going to mention to some friends. Thanks for the heads-up!  Here's a quick phone-cam shot of the entire package:

 

[inkandseeds]

I would like to thank all of you who post your purchases here, especially when you post a photo.  While I no longer feel the need or impulse to buy another pen, I do really enjoy living vicariously through your purchases.  Thank you.

[Switala]

  On 2/8/2021 at 10:43 PM, JonSzanto said:

 

Com base em sua avaliação positiva, tenho afinidade com ebonites escuros e desejo verificar um enchimento de pistão promissor e de custo modesto. Eu pedi um no final da noite de quinta-feira passada em Dromgooles. Acabou de chegar agora, o que é um serviço bastante notável. Coloque uma primeira tinta padrão nela e esta é uma caneta muito, muito boa. A tampa é muito longa / pesada para uma postagem confortável, mas isso pode ser feito. Aceitei a sua palavra de que a ebonite lhe dá um pouco mais de peso e, entre isso e um comprimento generoso de cano, é confortável sem colocação. Você também está correto: os fios são essencialmente imperceptíveis, o que, junto com a seção generosa, torna a escrita confortável.

Com a embalagem de edição limitada da caixa de madeira e estojo de couro, esta é uma excelente compra, que irei citar para alguns amigos. Obrigado pelo aviso! Aqui está uma rápida foto da câmera do telefone de todo o pacote:

 

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Beautiful fountain pen, congratulations!

I'll look more closely, it has many interesting attributes, mainly piston filling.

Thanks for sharing.

[A Smug Dill]

• More than a handful of Moonman 80 mini pens in different colours
  
  As I'm wont to do, I was looking for something other than what I was really shopping for to buy, just to pad my AliExpress order and qualify for free international shipping (even when it'd only be US$3 in postage!), and came across the Moonman 80 mini, which caught my eye the first time a long while back Before COVID Era, but I passed on it then because of absence of a supplied converter and also its requirement of non-standard ink cartridges (not any of 3.4mm-, 2.6mm- or 2.4mm-bore).
  
  By now, everyone on AliExpress seems to have sold out of the ‘lake blue’ resin body that has the same attractive lack of saturation as the first series in the Sailor Professional Gear Slim Mini re-release, and rarity makes the heart grow fonder; but I found one on eBay that's still a reasonable price including shipping, although it has a resin cap (which is OK by me) and the stupid arrow-shaped pen clip (which I dislike, because of Parker and even on a Parker, but especially on Chinese ‘imitations’ of an utter disappointment of a once-relevant brand), and only comes with a single short cartridge and no converter. I then found a seller on AliExpress selling the metal-capped versions (which thankfully have pen clips that aren't made to look like Parker's), who for whatever reason chose to split the total price for a pen and shipping 60-40, but allows for much lower incremental shipping per unit, so I was ‘incentivised’ to buy multiple units — one in each of the two colours remaining in stock, another as a metal cap donor for the lake blue pen, then one for my wife to carry in her handbag since she doesn't like risking her Sailor Professional Gear Slim Mini, and one to give away ‘randomly’ — because I'm just a sucker for ‘saving’ money on shipping.
   
• A bunch of cheap matt black Chinese pens — two Picasso 916 pens with different cap rings and different nibs, a HongDian 517D, a Kaco Edge (which regrettably has a silver-coloured fin of a pen clip)
   
• Two Jinhao 9035 pens, with rosewood and walnut finishes respectively
  
  I already know most pens with wooden bodies are bad on a scale of good-to-bad for cap seal effectiveness, but these look like they may have a metal inner shell under a thin wooden exterior shell in the pen cap; so, for less than US$10 all up for the pair, I'm willing to give them  a chance, after my terrible experience with the Moonman M6 (which I finally threw out in the trash yesterday).
   
• A Jinhao 51A with a maple barrel
  
  I already have Jinhao 51A pens with the other five types of wooden bodies, but I don't recall seeing the maple version when I was shopping for them 18 months ago. Oh, for the folly of completist tendencies!
   
• A bunch of Hero 329 pens sold in packs of ten
  
  One can't go too wrong for <US$11 inclusive of shipping for a pack of ten, and I want to see how fine (and scratchy or not) those nibs are, and whether the cap seal effectiveness is as good as on the Jinhao 51A.
   
• Another Moonman 800, this one in green (which seems to be the colour that is out of stock from most AliExpress sellers), fitted with a Moonman nib
   
• and a pile of loose/spare Wing Sung nibs, Jinhao nibs, Moonman nib units, etc.

… and, after all that, I didn't buy a single thing from ‘Bobby’ even though the intent to do so was what got me started. The practice of including a totally different product (e.g. bunch of converters only, or a single worthless pen sleeve in black felt) as an ‘option’ in an item listing, just so the price for the main product customers are searching for appears really low in order to gain position in the sorted-by-ascending-price list of results, is something I despise, especially when the seller's price is far, far higher than competitors', and with shipping not included besides. I was led up the garden path that way several times by his HongDian pen listings, and I could not find any pen (many listed above) in his shop for which I thought a good price or deal was on offer. Then, when I tried to put through the order for just the spare nibs (and just cop the shipping charges), the system said the item was not available, even though it continues to be listed as addable to one's cart refresh after refresh after the failed ordering process; rinse and repeat. Oh well.

[Carrau]

  On 2/8/2021 at 10:43 PM, JonSzanto said:

 

Based on your positive review, having an affinity for dark ebonites, and wanting to check out a promising, modest-cost piston filler. I ordered one late last Thursday evening from Dromgooles. It just arrived now, which is pretty remarkable service. Put a standard first ink in it and this is a very, very nice pen. The cap is too long/heavy for comfortable posting but it can be done. I took you at your word that the ebonite gives it just a bit more heft and between that and a generous barrel length, it is comfortable un-posted. You are also correct: the threads are essentially unnoticeable, which along with the generous section makes for comfortable writing.

With the limited edition packaging of the wooden box and leather case, this is an excellent purchase, and one I'm going to mention to some friends. Thanks for the heads-up!  Here's a quick phone-cam shot of the entire package:

 

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I’m glad my comments were helpful to you.  What nib did you choose, and what do you think of its performance at this early date?

[JonSzanto]

  On 2/10/2021 at 1:01 PM, Carrau said:

I’m glad my comments were helpful to you.  What nib did you choose, and what do you think of its performance at this early date?

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The only nibs that were available when I ordered were M, which was not a big issue. It is about 95% ok, with very occasional thinner/drier strokes with moving directly l/r. I'm not overly concerned as it would be something I could adjust myself, but I will likely be doing one of two things: either sending the pen to a favorite nib person for an italic grind on it, or using it to host a vintage Sheaffer nib. The look, feel, and operation of the pen in all other regards is excellent.

[mauckcg]

  On 2/7/2021 at 7:28 PM, rkesey said:

Oh, I've heard that's a stunner. Looking forward to pics!

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Ask and ye shall receive.  Need to get this out in the sun with something other than my phone but this'll do for now.

 

[Chinchy]

A Leonardo Momento Zero Grande in Primary Manipulation 4 (second wave)...  Sour grapes for missing out on the Stromboli/Vesuvius from Primary Manipulation 1 blanks..

[christam]

  On 2/11/2021 at 7:45 AM, Chinchy said:

A Leonardo Momento Zero Grande in Primary Manipulation 4 (second wave)...  Sour grapes for missing out on the Stromboli/Vesuvius from Primary Manipulation 1 blanks..

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I thought I'd managed to secure one of the 70 in the initial release but had, in fact, been put on the pre-order list for the second batch.  I cancelled the order.  I've got a Stromboli with the stub nib and love everything about it, even the fact that it's less green overall than the publicity shots suggested.  I also really like the colours in the Primary Manipulation 4 and might well re-order after the second batch has been released but won't be desperately upset if I don't manage to buy one. At the moment, a couple of other pens are higher on my "want" list.

 

Looking forward to seeing pics of yours when you receive it though!

[Chinchy]

  On 2/11/2021 at 5:36 PM, christam said:

 

I thought I'd managed to secure one of the 70 in the initial release but had, in fact, been put on the pre-order list for the second batch.  I cancelled the order.  I've got a Stromboli with the stub nib and love everything about it, even the fact that it's less green overall than the publicity shots suggested.  I also really like the colours in the Primary Manipulation 4 and might well re-order after the second batch has been released but won't be desperately upset if I don't manage to buy one. At the moment, a couple of other pens are higher on my "want" list.

 

Looking forward to seeing pics of yours when you receive it though!

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I got back into the fountain pen hobby too late to get the Stromboli...  That pen looks so beautiful, and it's on my want list.  I'm a little worried about the PM4 as there aren't a lot of photos around that show what types of variations I can be expecting.  But I did check out some other pen makers that used the PM4 blanks, and some look better than others.  I really love the solid white resin used in PM1, which is one of the things that differentiates it from PM4, so I'm a little afraid that I'll be less satisfied with the PM4.  But then again, I know the PM1 ones came out a little bit differently from the initial stock photos...  I'll probably post photos once I get it in the Leonardo photos thread in the Italian pen subforum...

[writerlydoohickey]

A Parker Vacuumatic Debutante.

[rkesey]

  On 2/10/2021 at 9:59 PM, mauckcg said:

Ask and ye shall receive.  Need to get this out in the sun with something other than my phone but this'll do for now.

 

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Wow--that's magnificent. Write in health!

[mizgeorge]

I just went for the Ranga bulk buy - Sterling was pretty good today, so it made it a very easy decision and I've yet to be disappointed by one of their pens.

[christam]

I finally caved after nearly pressing the button several times during the past few weeks, so I'm counting this as an "impulsive" order.  Extra 1930 in Tortoiseshell Celluloid.  

[carola]

  On 2/15/2021 at 7:02 PM, christam said:

I finally caved after nearly pressing the button several times during the past few weeks, so I'm counting this as an "impulsive" order.  Extra 1930 in Tortoiseshell Celluloid.  

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Any chance of getting pictures?