What kind of FP Collector, User or Both are you?

[maclink]

2 hours ago, mitto said:

I am earnestly pursuing the goal of reaching 10000 TRUE vintage (at least pre 1970s) fountain pens in my possession. And, then, establishing a vintage fountain pen museum. Have no interest in lone BPs or RBs. 

 

So not sure what I am. But yes, I do use a few dozens of my vintage pens. 

Blimey.... you likely hold a record.  Congratulations on your mighty collection.

[agaric]

Hi, I'm new here, and also to the fp world. Not sure if everyone goes through this, but I'm enamored exclusively of pocket-sized pens. A steel Kaweco Liliput and a titanium/aluminum Spoke Axle S are the only two fp's I have ever owned in my 2 months of newfound enthusiasm, and probably will not buy (m)any more.

 

In terms of use, I'm trying to adopt the GTD methodology using paper notebooks, so a lot of happy opportunity to use fountain pens there. So not a collector, just a user of small fp's for notetaking and journaling. Oh, and with a permanent ink, so the notebooks last longer.

[rudyhou]

I'm most certainly a user.  I always use the fountain pens that I buy.  I won't buy what I can't or won't use.  

Years of collection allow me to better compare the performance of different fountain pens, and I end up either selling or donating the ones I don't like or not comfortable for my hand.

I downsize my collection to the ones that I want to keep as part of my rotation.

[inkstainedruth]

17 hours ago, maclink said:

Blimey.... you likely hold a record.  Congratulations on your mighty collection.

I'm surprised that his goal wasn't 10000 Parker 51s....   Because he's got WAY more of those than I do....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[AmandaW]

I would have said I'm a user because I only buy pens I will actually use and have mostly looked for different nib experiences.

 

Now I'm not so sure that's true any more. I bought a colourful school pen on a whim because it was marked down and discovered I really like it. A few more colours are already on their way. So now I'm thinking I could easily get the rest of the range there aren't that many. They're in a cart, I'm thinking about it and there are Fountain Pen Day discounts as well. Do I or don't I? I definitely don't need them. Then I think: life's short and they make me smile. Then: I don't need a dozen colours of a particular pen. Sigh.

[Aysedasi]

Definitely a user here, rather than a collector, although I have about 60-70 fountain pens.  The idea of having a collection of expensive fountains pens, pristine in their boxes is anathema to me.  All have been inked and used.  Some liked more than others, of course.  Sadly, since retiring from work, my use of a fountain pen has reduced dramatically as despite the onward march of technology, I was still able to use a pen regularly at work.  Now it's just ocassional notes and jottings.  Can't resist them though.  Just bought a Taccia Covenant second hand, as I liked the unusual design (and on arrival, I still do).  I have a Jinhao 100 coming as well, plus one of my 'Grail' pens, an Omas 360.  

[N1003U]

On 10/29/2021 at 5:07 AM, agaric said:

Hi, I'm new here, and also to the fp world. Not sure if everyone goes through this, but I'm enamored exclusively of pocket-sized pens. A steel Kaweco Liliput and a titanium/aluminum Spoke Axle S are the only two fp's I have ever owned in my 2 months of newfound enthusiasm, and probably will not buy (m)any more.

 

In terms of use, I'm trying to adopt the GTD methodology using paper notebooks, so a lot of happy opportunity to use fountain pens there. So not a collector, just a user of small fp's for notetaking and journaling. Oh, and with a permanent ink, so the notebooks last longer.

 

Welcome to FPN @agaric!

 

Keep hanging out here. There are plenty of shameless enablers who will eventually corrupt you. I see cracks in your willpower already. The word "(m)any" has slippery, relativistic connotations. 😛 

 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy your time with the other FP enthusiasts here in the Forum.

How do you like the Liliput? I have a Supra, but I am beginning to think another pen in copper (after a few other higher-priorities), and the Liliput is interesting (since Kaweco has chosen for whatever reason to not offer the Supra in pure copper, only brass.

[agaric]

15 hours ago, N1003U said:

Welcome

...

How do you like the Liliput?

Thanks N1003U! FPN is an awesome place.

 

"Slippery" indeed. I already got another pen (a transparent Sport) before even a fortnight has passed since my post. But I swear this will be the last one. "Last", meaning "pen-ultimate" 😸

 

Brief comments on the Liliput follow:

 

The steel Liliput is my first fp ever, so my perception will most likely be skewed -- but I love the pen.

 

Your question probably doesn't warrant a whole review, so I'll just say that the fit, finish, feel, look of the steel Liliput is very very good. In fact, it's so good and sturdy that the pen almost feels not-pen-like; it feels more like a well-crafted, little, generic tool. Well, the Supra probably feels the same way. Also, I haven't tried any of the other Liliput versions, so I can't speak to the copper version.

 

I should also mention the size: Yes, the Liliput is very small in terms of diameter. If you use slender pencils and ballpoints all the time, like I had been doing three months ago, you wouldn't mind. But if you are used to a diameter closer to, say, the Supra or Sport, the Liliput may feel a little cramped and take a minute or two to adjust. Between my Liliput and my Spoke Axle S (which has 11.5mm grip diameter & #6 nib), I still prefer holding and interacting with the Liliput, even though the other pen is more comfortable to grip and writes smoother. To jot down notes, I pick up the Liliput. When writing longer text or glyphs that require more confidence and precision, I go for the Axle. When wasting time watching videos, I invariably fiddle with the Liliput 🙂

Edited November 10, 2021 by agaric
include measurement

[N1003U]

8 hours ago, agaric said:

Thanks N1003U! FPN is an awesome place.

 

"Slippery" indeed. I already got another pen (a transparent Sport) before even a fortnight has passed since my post. But I swear this will be the last one. "Last", meaning "pen-ultimate" 😸

 

Brief comments on the Liliput follow:

 

The steel Liliput is my first fp ever, so my perception will most likely be skewed -- but I love the pen.

 

Your question probably doesn't warrant a whole review, so I'll just say that the fit, finish, feel, look of the steel Liliput is very very good. In fact, it's so good and sturdy that the pen almost feels not-pen-like; it feels more like a well-crafted, little, generic tool. Well, the Supra probably feels the same way. Also, I haven't tried any of the other Liliput versions, so I can't speak to the copper version.

 

I should also mention the size: Yes, the Liliput is very small in terms of diameter. If you use slender pencils and ballpoints all the time, like I had been doing three months ago, you wouldn't mind. But if you are used to a diameter closer to, say, the Supra or Sport, the Liliput may feel a little cramped and take a minute or two to adjust. Between my Liliput and my Spoke Axle S (which has 11.5mm grip diameter & #6 nib), I still prefer holding and interacting with the Liliput, even though the other pen is more comfortable to grip and writes smoother. To jot down notes, I pick up the Liliput. When writing longer text or glyphs that require more confidence and precision, I go for the Axle. When wasting time watching videos, I invariably fiddle with the Liliput 🙂

Thanks for the comparison. The feel of the diameter compared to the Supra was my main interest. It sounds like I need to try a Liliput in my hand. I could use a good slim pen once in a while, and my experience with Kaweco pens has been a good one.

 

Yes, quite. It seems every new pen I buy these days is the “pen-ultimate” one…😉. Then I see something else I like. But I, too, am pretty much at equilibrium (pens exiting my accumulation =~ pens entering) I don’t want pens around anymore I don’t have time to use. I find a good exercise when evaluating a new purchase is to ask myself which pen I will dispose of to make room for the new one.

[Antenociticus]

I'm principally a user – I work with text and for years (decades!) I've been keeping notebooks. I'm also interested in colour.

 

Until few years ago, my fountain pen "collection" comprised nothing but a few Kaweco Sports, an old Parker Sonnet, a Pelikan M400 and a Rotring 700 I had bought in the mid-90s but never got along with (too thin for my hand, too long for my pocket). Then several things came into conjunction. I began to conceive of a colour-related text I'd been working on as a sort of art piece, with different strands of argument written in different colours and with nibs of different characters. Then I discovered both an excellent B&M pen/paper/ink shop in my neighbourhood and the fact that I could buy interesting and inexpensive Chinese pens online. I began to indulge my curiosity about both pens and inks, and experienced this as a welcome distraction from a depressing political landscape and its effects on my daily life. I also came across FPN.

 

Since then I have accumulated an absurd amount of pens. Some apects of this accumulation could be probably described as "collecting" (a bunch of Sailors, a whole lot of PenBBS, and many pocket pens), but much of which is me just buying something because it catches my eye. In various ways (pandemic, Brexit, changes in EU VAT regulations), it has now become more difficult to purchase pens from afar online, which has slowed me down somewhat. Probably a good thing.

[Noihvo]

[agaric]

On 11/14/2021 at 4:31 AM, Antenociticus said:

and many pocket pens

 

As a fellow admirer of pocket pens, I'm curious if you have a favorite pocket pen that you like(d) to use, or that more than "caught your eye" in some other way. I'm new to fountain pens and currently the Sailor Pro Gear Slim Mini is something of a grail for me ⚓

Edited November 15, 2021 by agaric
hopefully, asking this is within the scope of this topic

[awaking]

I am a user working very hard to resist my natural urge to become a collector...

 

I have set myself a 3 month consideration time on purchases an quite a small storage box because it feels like a very slippery slope underfoot. 😄

[maclink]

4 hours ago, awaking said:

I have set myself a 3 month consideration time on purchases an quite a small storage box because it feels like a very slippery slope underfoot. 😄

I recently got myself a 40 pen storage case and didn’t realise how available storage would influence pen purchases. 

[Vpen]

On 11/15/2021 at 3:58 AM, maclink said:

I recently got myself a 40 pen storage case and didn’t realise how available storage would influence pen purchases. 

Thanks for the heads up, I was also planning to buy a big pen case 🙂