Color Paralysis!

[tonybelding]

I want a Karas Kustoms Fountain-K pen. They are sold through Goulet now, so that should be easy, right?

 

Wrong!

 

They are offered in many choices of material and finish: copper, brass, raw tumbled aluminum, and aluminum anodized in a wide range of colors. I know I don't want the copper or brass, but what color of aluminum I should get is driving me nuts.

 

There are several that look really good to me, although exactly how dark these colors look in "real life" is hard to discern exactly from photos shot under varied lighting. I almost went for olive green, but then saw that color is out of stock. Blue, gold or gray all look good to me. Silver, black, or tumbled raw are viable options. They don't even have a photo of the orange one yet. . .

 

I almost went for blue, then thought. . . If I got blue, I would find myself only wanting to use blue ink in it. But then I thought, I like blue ink. I have a lot of blue ink here. Is that so bad?

 

I think this would be a good looking pen almost without regard to the chosen color. There is no "wrong" choice here, and that somehow makes it so much harder.

 

[Kataphract]

Copper or brass for the win...Ahhhhh, oops, you ruled those out. Blue or red, then. Nothing wrong with getting a blue pen and always having some shade of blue in it.

[Hallel]

That's true. The pen that you end up choosing will become your signature colour whether it was your signature colour before or not. Your treasured Karas Kustom in ______ finish. I fall into this paradox of choice occasionally when it comes to new purchases and have found some ways to cope with it.

 

First I ask myself, if a specific option were taken away from me would I really miss it? Olive green is out of stock but that doesn't bother you enough to wait for it to come back in stock again right? So apply that thought to the remaining options and if the thought of _______ colour being unavailable gives you a pang, then there you go. You've found your preference.

 

But if that doesn't work then it's time to narrow down your options. The ones that really appeal to you are Blue, Gold and Grey, so focus on those for now. Pretend for a second that you have been given a genie in a bottle who will grant you one pen of your choice a month. (Never mind wishing for your Grail pen or whatever, lol) Which colour would you get first if you knew that a month later you could get a second colour? How would you rank them in terms of preference? Also tell yourself, that if you really love this pen it's totally possible to get a second in a different finish. Or return the pen if you don't like it. You aren't making a decision once and for all time with this purchase. Lessens the pressure right?

 

Finally It seems that you are getting several thought processes mixed up in your decision making and that's complicating things. You like the blue finish but you worry that choosing it will limit how you use the pen. Ie, using only blue ink, etc.. If you take your hypothetical/theoretically imposed restrictions off your choice, then would you say you really like the blue one? Or would you feel more comfortable with the grey?

 

And if none of these tricks work, ask someone else to pick for you, that way if the pen isn't magically all the answers to your hopes and dreams you can blame them!

[Water Ouzel]

I showed the pens this morning to my wife, asking her which color she liked best.

 

Turned to be about half the possibilities.

 

This is not helping.

[Old_Inkyhand]

When I buy - or plan to buy - another pen for my tiny collection and I want to find out which color suits me best, I try to answer a few questions. What makes the pen unique? Does this particular model offer some options which please me and are seldom seen in other pens? If I don't seek a typical business FP, I want my pen to be distinctive. And when I'm not sure what ink I would like to use in it, I tend to choose a relatively calm colour.

I wouldn't choose gold, but this is my personal opinion. To make me happy, golden pens with silver elements must be designed specially to join these two worlds. I don't like 'accidental' fusion of the two, like if someone said 'Hey, we have a pen, let's paint it gold'. And I don't like things that are relatively cheap and golden, I find them a little bit too... I don't know. Pretentious? Like if the golden colour was making the low price of the pen even more 'visible', just like in some Jinhao pens. But I am very picky.

I would personally choose tumbled raw aluminium. It enhances its industrial look, stainless steel elements look very nice with it and the finger prints won't be very visible. That finish is quite untypical and the pen's colour wouldn't impose any particular colour of ink.

But well, it is solely a matter of taste and all of my suggestions are very personal. These pens are all very nice and I hope you will enjoy your Karas irrespective of its colour.

 

All the best for you all!

[tonybelding]

And I don't like things that are relatively cheap and golden, I find them a little bit too... I don't know. Pretentious? Like if the golden colour was making the low price of the pen even more 'visible', just like in some Jinhao pens. But I am very picky.

 

I happen to have a golden anodized aluminum ruler right here. It doesn't look anything like gold metal. It looks like... anodized aluminum. In yellow.

 

I also have a blue aluminum ruler, and aluminum flashlights in black, silver and pink(!).

 

Your thoughts on tumbled raw aluminum are interesting. I'll ponder that.

Edited January 28, 2016 by tonybelding

[Old_Inkyhand]

Well, if it is not a very golden gold, it may be nice

They are all very pleasant, I would be happy to receive any of these (maybe not really the pink one, but who knows?).

 

Thank you for the feedback!

[inkstainedruth]

Wow. Just looked at those, and I can see how hard it would be to make a decision....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[oregano]

That's true. The pen that you end up choosing will become your signature colour whether it was your signature colour before or not. Your treasured Karas Kustom in ______ finish. I fall into this paradox of choice occasionally when it comes to new purchases and have found some ways to cope with it.

 

First I ask myself, if a specific option were taken away from me would I really miss it? Olive green is out of stock but that doesn't bother you enough to wait for it to come back in stock again right? So apply that thought to the remaining options and if the thought of _______ colour being unavailable gives you a pang, then there you go. You've found your preference.

 

But if that doesn't work then it's time to narrow down your options. The ones that really appeal to you are Blue, Gold and Grey, so focus on those for now. Pretend for a second that you have been given a genie in a bottle who will grant you one pen of your choice a month. (Never mind wishing for your Grail pen or whatever, lol) Which colour would you get first if you knew that a month later you could get a second colour? How would you rank them in terms of preference? Also tell yourself, that if you really love this pen it's totally possible to get a second in a different finish. Or return the pen if you don't like it. You aren't making a decision once and for all time with this purchase. Lessens the pressure right?

 

Finally It seems that you are getting several thought processes mixed up in your decision making and that's complicating things. You like the blue finish but you worry that choosing it will limit how you use the pen. Ie, using only blue ink, etc.. If you take your hypothetical/theoretically imposed restrictions off your choice, then would you say you really like the blue one? Or would you feel more comfortable with the grey?

 

And if none of these tricks work, ask someone else to pick for you, that way if the pen isn't magically all the answers to your hopes and dreams you can blame them!

 

This is remarkably awesome advice! I will be keeping it in mind for next time I fall into this paralysis...

[proton007]

My initial reaction:

 

:gaah: :gaah:

 

So... many...colors... :drool:

 

So hard to choose

 

I like gray and brown, very classy.

 

But the shades of red and blue, !

 

Back to square one.

 

Which one to choose?

[Bo Bo Olson]

No pen should be limited to a color of an ink, because of it's color...there is also contrasting and compatible color inks to think of.

 

Get the one that flashes in your eye best.

[tonybelding]

They must be selling briskly. Gray and tumbled raw aluminum are now out of stock, but the new green and orange colors are in!

[LuckyKate]

I think all these colors are gorgeous so you can't go wrong--and I would have a hard time choosing between blue and gold as well.

 

I found it incredibly liberating to stop matching inks and pens. I now routinely put blue inks in brown pens and vice versa.

[Blurred_Memories]

i'd have to cast a vote for the raw tumbled one too... not only will it not show prints as badly as was previously mentioned... but dents, dings and scratches would probably blend in alot better as well. i've always had a love / hate relationship with anodized aluminium. no matter the supposed quality of the process used, it's always shown wear over time that makes it look cheap to me.

 

i can totally sympathize with the ocd tendency to restrict ink colour to the pen colour, which is another reason to love demonstrators!

 

~b

[crescent2]

Well, if you can narrow it down to two's, just flip a coin. When the coin's up in the air, you'll suddenly know which one you want!

[shea2812]

Are Karas going to be the new Lamy??? I am more the type that concern more about how the combo of nib, feed and build perform in my hand rather than color knowing full well that if I go into that will give me a lot of headache. On the other hand I did hunt for a Safari Charcoal though for the matte finish.

[martinbir]

We are always being told how good it is to have more choice. Here is yet another example of simply too much choice.

 

For what it's worth, I would choose a brass or copper section and aluminium barrel because I like nose heavy weighting - I am suer that is why the Lamy 2000 is so good.

[tonybelding]

Are Karas going to be the new Lamy??? I am more the type that concern more about how the combo of nib, feed and build perform in my hand rather than color knowing full well that if I go into that will give me a lot of headache.

 

 

I have my own concerns. The nib, feed and converter are all off-the-shelf German parts, so I don't expect any surprises there. I'm more worried about whether the pocket clip is practical and whether the cap will seal well and stay screwed on.

 

It'll have to perform well to supplant the Bexley that I've been carrying, or my stainless steel Targa.