What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[Gloucesterman]

2 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

What a lovely pen!  Too bad urushi and I don't get along....  Of course, early on I found some website chockfull of absolutely drop-dead gorgeous maki-e pens, and told my husband "Look dear!  I just saved you twenty THOUSAND dollars...." (the Philistine did NOT truly appreciate my self-sacrifice... ; oh, and BTW, that was 20K per PEN.... 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Thanks for that last clarification, Ruth. I almost missed it myself. LOL

[willl]

21 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

What a lovely pen!  Too bad urushi and I don't get along....  Of course, early on I found some website chockfull of absolutely drop-dead gorgeous maki-e pens, and told my husband "Look dear!  I just saved you twenty THOUSAND dollars...." (the Philistine did NOT truly appreciate my self-sacrifice... ; oh, and BTW, that was 20K per PEN.... 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

 

Yea, urushiol and I have a mixed history as well (though nothing like your descriptions I've read in other threads). I won't even touch mangos with bare hands now. Thankfully I seem to not have an issue with cured urushi - granted I haven't had the sort of "prolonged" contact that I'm likely to have with a pen, but I suppose worst case scenario I can put it in a display case to "ooohhh" and "ahh" at (or give it to my wife who has been known to inadvertently hug trees covered in poison ivy [city people!] with no reaction...)

 

Speaking of Philistines, I was ogling a number of various Namiki pens the other day on ebay (including some eye-wateringly expensive Dunhill-Namiki's) and forgot to log out. The next day my wife went to ebay to look for something else and was promptly greeted with my "recently viewed" items. Thankfully we have implied trust with money so I had no questions to answer, but she was still gob-smacked at the prospect of $20k+ pens (let alone the $150k+ ones I saw !) The artistry, skill, and work to create these crazy expensive pens is awe-inspiring, but thankfully I don't tend to find myself very "drawn" to them. I have yet to see a pen over ~$1200 where I've thought "I'd like to own that...". Who knows, maybe I'm a Philistine? 

[essayfaire]

On 5/9/2021 at 4:51 PM, inkstainedruth said:

What a lovely pen!  Too bad urushi and I don't get along....  Of course, early on I found some website chockfull of absolutely drop-dead gorgeous maki-e pens, and told my husband "Look dear!  I just saved you twenty THOUSAND dollars...." (the Philistine did NOT truly appreciate my self-sacrifice... ; oh, and BTW, that was 20K per PEN.... 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Is this because of the urishol?  Though they are beautiful, I have refrained from buying urushi on the presumption that I would be that one person who has a reaction... princess and the pea and all that.

 

And of course you saved him 20K; I've said quite similar things.

[Mercian]

I pseudo-impulsively bought a NOS Parker 45, with a ‘M’ nib.

 

Now, I certainly don’t need to own any more low-mid-range Parker c/c pens (the new 45 takes me up-to twelve of them 😮), and I even already have a 45 with a ‘M’ nib.

The one that I already own and the one I that just bought are also both stainless-steel ‘flighters’ from the 1970s.

 

So, what the ecky thump do I think that I’m playing-at?
 

In my defence, Your Honour, the one that I just bought has a 14k gold nib, whereas the one that I already own has a nib made from stainless steel.

So, I am justifying its purchase to myself on the grounds that I can now perform a reasonably-fair comparison of the two nib materials; is there any difference at all in the wetness/thickness/‘writing-feel’ exhibited by these two pens?

 

Probably not; and I do know that I’m a numpty for buying it, but it was NOS, which means that it’s a Shiny Thing 😀

Edited May 11, 2021 by Mercian
To replace a nastyrudesailorword with less-nasty one.

[Detman101]

Got tired of waiting on USPS to deliver my Vanness order.
Ordered a small bottle of "Diamine - Tobacco Sunburst" that will arrive in a fraction of the time of the Vanness order.
Useless USPS...

[mehandiratta]

Wality 71JT

This is my latest impulsive purchase ... Because COVID is ravaging and ripping apart India and we were stuck at home...

 

I thought to brighten my week with a random pen purchase ...

 

 

[Sk33t3r]

I'm still on the entry level so my latest was a Pilot Prera.

[rkesey]

On 5/5/2021 at 12:33 PM, rookie85 said:

I received my first Leonardo MZG and my first Arco Bronze. Brand new, direct from Leonardo. A splurge but I felt I couldn't pass this up. I'm stunned. Absolutely beautiful and check out that big Broad nib! Now the question is what do I ink it with? I've narrowed it down to  Akkerman SBRE Brown or Diamine Ancient Copper. 

What a beautiful pen! I haven't had the chance to try the Akkerman yet, but I think AC would look great coming from that nib. (I know others have found the residue irritating, but it's never bothered me much--one of my favorite inks.)

[rkesey]

On 5/8/2021 at 5:41 AM, como said:

My impulse purchases from before Christmas 2019 finally arrived! Two Franklin Christoph Pocket 66, in Antique Glass (SIG M steel nib) and Solid Ice (Masuyama Stub M steel nib). I had them shipped to a friend in the US who was planning to visit Switzerland in 2020. The Covid made it impossible. I didn't want to bother my friend with pen shipping among life's challenges in a pandemic. Finally everyone was ok and got a break, and my pens are here! Cool little guys and the nibs are very nice too.

Beautiful pens! I love the Model 31 in antique glass, which I picked up right before the 66 became available. Now I'm wondering if what I really need is both...

[rookie85]

Thanks @rkesey. AC is one of my favorite inks but it has been relegated to TWSBIs so far. I should say I have not noticed any "gunking"  issues with it. I did notice it from Diamine Oxblood but that was a few years' back. I wonder if Diamine changed their formula or something? I've yet to ink the Leonardo lol. 

[rkesey]

Just now, rookie85 said:

Thanks @rkesey. AC is one of my favorite inks but it has been relegated to TWSBIs so far. I should say I have not noticed any "gunking"  issues with it. I did notice it from Diamine Oxblood but that was a few years' back. I wonder if Diamine changed their formula or something? I've yet to ink the Leonardo lol. 

That's interesting! I've never had any trouble from Oxblood that I remember. Let us know how the Leonardo writes!

[SpecTP]

Just picked up a Curidas in Urban Green and EF nib. Always been a fan of retractable fp's. Goes nicely with my VP's.

[como]

5 hours ago, rkesey said:

Beautiful pens! I love the Model 31 in antique glass, which I picked up right before the 66 became available. Now I'm wondering if what I really need is both...

Thank you! The three finishes of clear demonstrators are quite nice: antique glass, solid ice and Italian ice. I had the Italian ice on model 46. Still trying to decide if I should eyedrop them, probably not. I really like the clean look.

[brokenclay]

7 hours ago, Sk33t3r said:

I'm still on the entry level so my latest was a Pilot Prera.

Nicely done! I hope you're enjoying it. Which nib did you get?

[rkesey]

2 hours ago, como said:

Thank you! The three finishes of clear demonstrators are quite nice: antique glass, solid ice and Italian ice. I had the Italian ice on model 46. Still trying to decide if I should eyedrop them, probably not. I really like the clean look.

I eyedroppered mine--love the added capacity, and prefer the look, but I get that it's not for everyone.

[inkstainedruth]

On 5/10/2021 at 6:41 PM, essayfaire said:

Is this because of the urishol?  Though they are beautiful, I have refrained from buying urushi on the presumption that I would be that one person who has a reaction... princess and the pea and all that.

 

And of course you saved him 20K; I've said quite similar things.

No, you're not only that "one person" -- the last time I had poison ivy, it took several months and three rounds of steroids to knock out completely.  And I had a $400 water bill for that quarter because I was doing so much extra laundry (for fear I'd reinfect myself with the sheets).  Not an experience I want to repeat.  

Which reminds me that I have to go around my yard spraying again soon (when we first bought our house, the poison ivy growing up the side of a fence had stems a couple of inches in diameter (!) -- yes, the diameter of a grown person's wrist ).  My husband took to brushing undiluted weed killer on it after slicing chunks out of the stem (then throwing the box cutter blades and the foam brushes away), just to try to knock it back down to the roots: merely spraying it wouldn't have done the trick at that point.   

People keep telling me that I'm a fear monger, and that the pen finish is "cured".  But after reading someone's post a few years ago where that person kept getting a rash the underside of his/her chin -- and realized it was from rubbing the end of the pen there while stopping to think?  That was enough to tell me that for me it wouldn't be "just a rash"....   Because the last time I had poison ivy?  It started as a place on my arm that I thought was just a spider bite.  And within about four hours it was all over both arms, both legs, my face and my stomach.  

And if you ever get poison ivy/oak/sumac, and the doctor tries prescribing "prednisolone"?  Trust me -- that stuff (prescribed by some ER 3rd year) did NOTHING.  After that my regular doctor prescribed prednisone -- which suppressed it, but it then it came back.  So he sent me to an allergist, who said "Oh, you just weren't given a big enough dosage for long enough..." and the SECOND run of prednisone started at five pills a day and worked down to half a pill a day....  And that FINALLY knocked it out of my system.  

So maki-e pens?  I admire those from afar.  There's a guy in my local pen club who collects those and he is really good about ALWAYS warning me not to touch them, because he knows JUST how allergic I am.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[inkstainedruth]

On 5/11/2021 at 12:05 AM, Detman101 said:

Got tired of waiting on USPS to deliver my Vanness order.
Ordered a small bottle of "Diamine - Tobacco Sunburst" that will arrive in a fraction of the time of the Vanness order.
Useless USPS...

At least USPS provides tracking, once you get the # from the seller.  I ordered a CD a couple of years ago from a 3rd party vendor on Amazon, who claimed DHL didn't provide tracking....  (Of course I'm thinking, what delivery service in its collective right mind DOESN'T provide tracking in this day and age...).  Of course I suspect that the DHL part was them ordering from the slightly cheaper vendor in Germany.  Because they ignored my request to have the package put inside my storm door due to the potential for bad weather (and of course the potential of porch thieves, although I didn't say that...).  And the package?  Got delivered by USPS for the final leg, and arrived on top of the rest of the mail delivered after being held over Thanksgiving when we were visiting family. 🤬  And NOT inside the storm door as requested; and from the posts on the company's FB wall from other customers (who are probably all now FORMER customers)?  I'm lucky that I got the thing at ALL....  

Ironically, a pen I bought on eBay from a vendor in Japan?  Came two days later; I was able to track it via Japan Post, then (after it got out of US Customs) by USPS, and then my mailman knocked on the door because I had to sign for it.  And the real joke?  The seller warned me that because of the time of year it might take longer than the normal 10-14 days with economy airmail shipping.  It took (drumroll please)... 11.  Eleven days from Japan, and less time than the CD took to get from what turned out to be the next county....  Funny, but I don't think that seller may be on Amazon any longer; I posted what I had considered the appropriate feedback, and THEN got offered a partial refund if I amended my review.....  Oh I amended it, alright --(*after* making sure the money was back in my PayPal account).  Told the world exact the stunt they had pulled, trying to bribe me....  Heh heh. (Joke was on them -- because I had some rewards points, that $14 CD ended up costing ME a whole whopping 68¢ after the partial refund.)

The eBay seller in Japan?  Still has his 100% positive feedback, as far as I know.  

A couple of years ago I got talking to Pierre Miller of Desiderata Pens at a pen show, and his "guy in Japan on eBay" turned out to be pisuke2005 -- MY "guy in Japan on eBay", too. 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Mercian]

43 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

My husband took to brushing undiluted weed killer on it after slicing chunks out of the stem (then throwing the box cutter blades and the foam brushes away), just to try to knock it back down to the roots: merely spraying it wouldn't have done the trick at that point.

I'm thread hijacking here a bit, but:

If 'Poison Ivy' is a kind of tree, wouldn't banging some copper nails in to its stem/roots cause it to take-up copper in to itself, and die?
Can your husband get hold of any?

 

EDIT TO ADD:
Although, obviously you shouldn't try to do that if it's illegal where you live.

[Detman101]

1 hour ago, inkstainedruth said:

At least USPS provides tracking, once you get the # from the seller.  I ordered a CD a couple of years ago from a 3rd party vendor on Amazon, who claimed DHL didn't provide tracking....  (Of course I'm thinking, what delivery service in its collective right mind DOESN'T provide tracking in this day and age...).  Of course I suspect that the DHL part was them ordering from the slightly cheaper vendor in Germany.  Because they ignored my request to have the package put inside my storm door due to the potential for bad weather (and of course the potential of porch thieves, although I didn't say that...).  And the package?  Got delivered by USPS for the final leg, and arrived on top of the rest of the mail delivered after being held over Thanksgiving when we were visiting family. 🤬  And NOT inside the storm door as requested; and from the posts on the company's FB wall from other customers (who are probably all now FORMER customers)?  I'm lucky that I got the thing at ALL....  

Ironically, a pen I bought on eBay from a vendor in Japan?  Came two days later; I was able to track it via Japan Post, then (after it got out of US Customs) by USPS, and then my mailman knocked on the door because I had to sign for it.  And the real joke?  The seller warned me that because of the time of year it might take longer than the normal 10-14 days with economy airmail shipping.  It took (drumroll please)... 11.  Eleven days from Japan, and less time than the CD took to get from what turned out to be the next county....  Funny, but I don't think that seller may be on Amazon any longer; I posted what I had considered the appropriate feedback, and THEN got offered a partial refund if I amended my review.....  Oh I amended it, alright --(*after* making sure the money was back in my PayPal account).  Told the world exact the stunt they had pulled, trying to bribe me....  Heh heh. (Joke was on them -- because I had some rewards points, that $14 CD ended up costing ME a whole whopping 68¢ after the partial refund.)

The eBay seller in Japan?  Still has his 100% positive feedback, as far as I know.  

A couple of years ago I got talking to Pierre Miller of Desiderata Pens at a pen show, and his "guy in Japan on eBay" turned out to be pisuke2005 -- MY "guy in Japan on eBay", too. 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Oh wow...adventures in package delivery! 😁

[Detman101]

1 hour ago, Mercian said:

I'm thread hijacking here a bit, but:

If 'Poison Ivy' is a kind of tree, wouldn't banging some copper nails in to its stem/roots cause it to take-up copper in to itself, and die?
Can your husband get hold of any?

 

EDIT TO ADD:
Although, obviously you shouldn't try to do that if it's illegal where you live.

Adding that to my bag of tricks.
Now to find out where to get copper nails....