Pen Collectors?

I have five fountain pens. I don't have 6 because I lost one on vacation two years ago and can't afford to replace it yet.

That's also the reason I only have five.

I start each book with a new pen.

What? I'm not addicted! I can quit anytime... ooh, look! Another email from Swisher!

I very much enjoy using fountain pens, but that's not why I'm here. I'd just like to mention a site that might be of interest: vintagepens dot com

It's run by a high-school friend of mine and her husband. She's also renowned for her work in the study of illuminated manuscripts. Quite an amazing person.

My FP collection started when I bought a discontinued Waterman model for $10 at one of those stores that sells discontinued merchandise cheap. I found I really liked writing longhand with it and bought a few more FPs, then for several years I added more to the collection.

Mine is a working collection; that is, I use almost all of my pens on occasion so none are in mint condition, only near-mint at best. I just like owning them and having a large number of pens to choose from (and, um, also a large number of inks: 15 at last count!) when I want to write longhand.

For actual writing, I'm partial to Waterman pens, so most of my collection is Watermans. But my prize is an Agatha Christie Montblanc. I used to breed snakes, and I adore that pen!

Spika said:

I'm surprised at how clueless I am at the responses. I really want to try out a fountain pen, basically, perhaps even start up a collection, but after my allowance got discontinued for no valid reason and I have so many things on my Amazon wishlist, I'm not sure if I'll ever get one.
Does anyone know of a good - starting fountain pen that won't really leak on me that much?

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Well, I'm partial to Watermans.

Check eBay, where you can find good deals. And hey, you can always ask for a gift certificate to a physical or online pen shop for your birthday or Christmas.

Your main problem with buying online is that if you're new to FPs, you don't yet know what size of nib you'll prefer (and the same-name sizes even differ from manufacturer to manufacturer), what size pen will fit best in your hand, what balance and weight work for you, and so on. If you live near a physical pen shop, go in and try out pens to find out what you like. What works well for me might be horrible for you.

A popular pen for writers is the Parker Sonnet. I have one, and while it's physically beautiful and I like the balance and weight, it just doesn't write to my satisfaction. (In this case, I'm talking about the way the ink flows onto the paper.) I've even had the nib serviced, and still no go. But I have several writer friends who adore their Sonnets. So I would suggest that you start your test drives with one of those if you can get to a shop.

Lamy offers some fairly nice inexpensive pens in the Safari series. I use one of these at work because it writes quite well and wasn't so expensive that I'd be heartbroken if it, um, grew legs.

I'd also suggest that you invest in a converter if your pen doesn't come with one. It's much less expensive to use bottled ink than to use cartridges, plus it's less waste.

I've never had a major leak with any of my pens. I do often end up with ink on my fingers, especially after a long writing session, but ink is water soluable and will come off skin and out of most fabric, so it's really not that big of a problem. I carry three FPs in my purse nearly constantly and have never had one leak.

HTH!

I bought my first fountain pen while in college over 20 years ago. It was a very low-end Parker. I've since collected several more expensive pens (Waterman, Cross, and a copper-plated Sensa) though I almost always grab my Parker when I'm working in longhand. When I first started collecting, I was naive and usually made my purchase based on the pen's look. I now realize balance and comfort are more important. Some pens simply fit different hands and writing styles better.

I have a Swan FP that has a glass nib, inherited from paternal g'mother, which I have used about twice. I have various pens with various nibs. I love writing with the Shaeffer italic nib but the pen leaks. All my Shaeffers do. Did not like the Waterman to write with, but it looks good sitting next to the other pens in the pot. Parker are really smooth and none of them leak.

Most of my pens are stainless steel or silver coloured metal so there is a sort of uniformity in colour but the design and shape of the pens can vary greatly.

Terie has made excellent points about what works well for one person may not for another. I always try a pen before I buy it. Unless it is a really cheap one.

Spika said:

I'm surprised at how clueless I am at the responses. I really want to try out a fountain pen, basically, perhaps even start up a collection, but after my allowance got discontinued for no valid reason and I have so many things on my Amazon wishlist, I'm not sure if I'll ever get one.
Does anyone know of a good - starting fountain pen that won't really leak on me that much?

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If you're completely new and money is an issue, try a Parker Varsity. They're disposable fountain pens, and can be bought on Amazone for less than $3. If you find you really do like it, then I'd recommend a Lamy Safari. I have one and absolutely love it. They're about $30, very durable, and I've yet to have mine leak.

On the subject of collections, I scored a vintage fountain pen from around 1895 a few years ago on ebay. It writes beautifully, but also leaks like crazy if you're not careful with it.

Shakesbear said:

Parker are really smooth and none of them leak.

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I my Parker.

I have 12 fountain pens. My prize is 1912 a solid gold body and gold nib designed by Walter Shaeffer himself. Shaeffer was a jeweler.
My pen is beautifully embossed and gleams as it did the day it was made. My others are fancy celluloid with steel or chrome plated nibs.

There are pen hospitals where nib and bladders are replaced and/or repaired. The one I go to is on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. Some are online.
BTW I use my pens all the time. The secret of keeping a fp in good working order is, never let the bladder wear out, keep the nib clean of ink residue, and don't use water to clean the nib.

I have a modest collection, but I can't afford many of the ones I'd like to have, either. Right now, the most expensive pen I own is worth about $750, but a couple of pens I'd love to own are in excess of $15,000. I simply can't afford them.

Collecting fountain pens can get very expensive, very fast. The best way to go about it is usually to keep your eyes open at rummage sales, estate sales, and the like. You can sometimes find incredible steals doing this.

Waterman does make some very good fountain pens, and you can pick up a decent starter for thirty-five bucks or so, but if you can swing eighty bucks, you can get a Waterman that will last a lifetime, with just a little care.

I refer to myself as a pen accumulator, rather than collector: I try only to buy pens that I will use, and that are not so precious that I will be heartbroken if they get a little dinged up from traveling in my bags. That said, I've developed a fondness for vintage striated Sheaffer 375s, and now have one in each of the colors (silver, tobacco, marine green, carmine, and the much rarer roseglow striated). I'm trying to convince myself that I am not going to collect Sheaffer Targas, even though they're really comfortable, they have the great inlaid nibs, and they come in so many amazing finishes. Two Targas, even three, is okay; four would lead down the slippery slope of collecting.

That said, I have around *mumble* sixty fountain pens, and am culling my collection (Spika, check for a PM from me), hoping to get down to thirty pens that I will actually rotate through on a regular basis. I carry about six with me regularly: two Parker Sonnets, one Sheaffer Legacy Heritage, one Cross Century, one Waterman Ici et La, and one Pelikan 200 (in the rare Telekom magenta-and-grey marbled finish) -- all of which have customized super-needlepoint and tiny cursive italic nibs.

As Jamesaritchie observes, fountain pens will last. My oldest pen, as far as I can tell, is a roseglow striated Sheaffer 375, from the late 1930s. It's had its sac replaced once, but still works excellently.

When I was a kid, my mother bought me a fountain pen and ink for Christmas one year. I think it was reasonably priced (since we were pretty poor), and I wrote with it all the time. I sure wish I would have held onto it.

My fifth grade teacher made everyone use a fountain pen for--well, I can't remember for which subject anymore. It was fun, but a huge mess. I'm sure the parents hated ink all over hands and probably clothes. At least I learned about penwipers <G>.

I have a Parker, a Waterman, a Namiki, and a Montblanc. The Montblanc writes by far the nicest and is my favorite. The Waterman I never liked, so I had it reground with an italic nib by Pendemonium.com and am using it while copying favorite passages of Tolkien into a journal in modified uncial.

I have a few nice pens and pencils in general. Somewhere is my black matte Cross set I got for HS graduation - I have no idea where it is and wish I did, because it's pretty.

I have a silver parker that my husbands grandmother gave me for college graduation. It's got a nice weight, and if I wasn't afraid of losing it, I'd write with it all the time.

And I have a gorgeous green Waterman ball point my sister gave me one year for Christmas after my first book came out. It mostly sits in the box, because I love it so and can't bear to use it.

DreamWeaver said:

My fifth grade teacher made everyone use a fountain pen for--well, I can't remember for which subject anymore. It was fun, but a huge mess.

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We HAD to write with fountain pens in grade school. Not sure why (maybe ball points weren't reliable?), but yeah, it was a mess and I have such a heavy hand I was tearing papers, bending nibs, making giant ink splots. I'm the reason people went to ball point pens.

I used fountain pens in art class. I also used fountain pens in junior high voluntarily. My parents gave me a calligraphy set and I ran out of pens in the middle of eighth grade so. . . . Yeah. My writing got really clear and clean because of that. Been musing to get another fountain pen or quill (dipped fountain pen) set.

Shadow_Ferret said:

We HAD to write with fountain pens in grade school. Not sure why (maybe ball points weren't reliable?), but yeah, it was a mess and I have such a heavy hand I was tearing papers, bending nibs, making giant ink splots. I'm the reason people went to ball point pens.

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I saw a story on the BBC quite a few years ago where they said that the reason they make kids in school use fountain pens is because it makes them write more neatly.



If you saw my writing notebooks, you'd know exactly how true that is.....NOT!

(Chicken scratch written with the most expensive jewelled fountain pen is still chicken scratch!)

Spika said:

I've recently been looking into fountain pens, and then realized that people actually collect this stuff and there are websites dedicated to good pens!

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There are collectors for absolutely everything:
http://www.sicksack.com/

Sadly, the days are gone when every airline had their own unique designs.

I collect parker jotters, just for daily use... you can't get them in Australia any more so I tend to buy them on ebay.

They're only $10 or so each but they're nicer than regular pens. I have an assortment of pinks and creams, since they're my favourites.

I find fountain pens messy, inky, and irritating to write with, although I love the look of some of the designs. My dad has a few, and I do know how to write with ink and nib pens, since he taught me.

I don't collect them - I use them. They're tools - my pen case is my toolbox.

(And I should note, here, *ahem* that I'm interviewed/profiled in the new issue of PenWorld that's either just out, or just coming out. I'm sort of curious as to how it reads...)

My collection of pens is small. Nothing to boast about, really.

I've got one very nice pen; it's a Cross ballpoint. It's got a stainless steel finish and it writes quite well. I've got large hands however, and the finish is so smooth that it slips out of my hands. I tend to do more fumbling than writing with it. I always joke with my wife that one day, when I hit it big, that'll be the pen I use to sign autographs.

Personally, I'm partial to Pilot's line of G2s. They flow very nicely and they're affordable. I tend to buy em in bulk. Also, I picked up one of these just recently, and I have to say that it makes it easier to handwrite my work for longer periods of time: http://www.penagain.com/
It looks like a dumb gimmick, but I highly recommend them for anyone who does a lot of writing by hand.

Shadow_Ferret said:

We HAD to write with fountain pens in grade school. Not sure why (maybe ball points weren't reliable?), but yeah, it was a mess and I have such a heavy hand I was tearing papers, bending nibs, making giant ink splots. I'm the reason people went to ball point pens.

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We had to use fountain pens at school too. I like them, but my best mate is a lefty and had to develop a very strange manner of holding his pen to avoid his hand smudging over what he'd written.