Should Your Highly Desirable Pen Be Used Or Never Used?

[Radium]

I once bought a limited edition fountain pen and while I was inspecting my pen at the pen store a passer by mentioned that he had bought the same type of pen as I just did. He asked me if I was going to be using my pen? My immediate knee jerk reaction to myself was of course I will be using it!? He said he will never be using his pen and judging by his gestures towards me he thought I was nuts to be inking up my pen. I regret not asking him at the time about why he won`t be using his pen ever but my immediate priority was giving my new pen a good look over inspection. He walked away and left me be. Again I would of loved to ask him his views on why he had chosen not to use his coveted pens?
Rhody in another thread mentioned he won`t be using his pride and joy limited edition Cross pen set and his comment reminded me of this conversation that I briefly had with someone at the pen shop. I`m kicking myself for not asking him his take on why not using his pens. It`s kind of been haunting me his pen question that he asked me. Here are some of my thoughts on why I use things that I really like. I respect people`s decisions if they do not ever want to say crack open that $10 000 bottle of wine and drink it so to speak. My nightmare is to keep anything that is very special to me unused and heaven forbid the day I meet my maker that it ends up at a pawn shop sold cheaply. The new owner doesn`t give it any thoughts and inks up that special pen that I`ve saved for such a long time and it`s been deflowered. It`s kind of like taking a lot of effort in stacking up all those thousands of dominos and after all that effort and time someone just gives it one quick push and swoosh off they all go down.
Thanks Rhody for reminding me of that pen store incident.
I`d love to hear your thoughts on should one use their special limited edition pen(s) or any pens for that matter or should it be preserved unused and enjoyed as well? I wish to stress this I respect people who do not wish to use their pens and keep it in perfect condition because they are happy doing it this way.

 

[Mullen88]

Use everything you have. I used to be of the mind that something expensive or limited should be left in its package. But about a year ago I came to the conclusion that I should be enjoying my luxury products and giving myself the satisfaction that comes with utilizing high end offerings. Unless you are buying to resell and make a profit, I'd say ink it up and enjoy. Life's too short for something to sit on a shelf when its purpose is to be used and enjoyed.

 

[Vacumatic]

A few years ago I was given a Parker 51 to restore, it had the box with it. It was a gift from Ike to the Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, an English Commander. My advice to the family was that it shouldnt be restored but given to the Greenwich Naval Museum, which is where it is today.

My father stopped using his Vacumatic in 1951 when he saw the Parker 51 for the first time. I still have that Vacumatic.

My grandmother was given a Platignum pen in 1935 when she was a schoolgirl, I still have that pen.

Over the weekend I bought a gold Parker 51 that had been owned by Martin Fox of the Tropecana Night Club in Havana, inscribed with his name. At some point in the 1950s he gave it to Che Guevara who used it whenever he made use of the office space at the Tropecana. The pen found its way to Miami and was sold around 1962, I bought the pen from that buyer.

There are pens that are too important to use.

Not every precious thing is measured in monetary value or whether it has luxury or limited status/.

 

[BigLeegr]

If you bought the pen because of the visual appeal (historical or aesthetics), then don't use it. Every use will damage it slightly. If, however, you bought it for the performance (you get a thrill using it/works better than others) then the reason for owning it is to use it. In the end, it is up to the owner to decide why they bought an item. Display? Use? Which gives you greater joy?

 

[Slivovitz]

I can imagine someone else buying a pen without any intention of using it. I can't imagine myself doing so. If I buy a pen at all, then I mean to write with it. Appearance is often a factor in deciding whether to buy a pen, but buying a pen just to look at it is not the way I think. It's conceivable that an unused limited edition might appreciate in value over the years, but there are better investments. And if you do sell it at a profit, the buyer might want to write with it.

I can see donating a pen of historical value to a museum, but if it was in condition to write, I would probably try it out before I did. Why not? In any case, I'm not sure that that situation was really intended by the original question.

I might leave a vintage pen of historical or personal sentimental value unused if I thought it was too fragile to risk writing with. Again, though, I'm not sure that that's what the question was.

Or I might keep it for the sentimental value even though it wasn't very good for writing. But I'd know it wasn't that good because I'd tried it.

Collectors have their priorities; I have mine.

 

[Heckle]

Why not use it? That would be like having a 1965 Mustang and letting it sit in the garage undriven.

 

[Mick]

I use every pen I own.

I do not have any of historic merit and never will.

Interesting side note to your wine analogy

A friend and I were at a demolition sale of a house on the river. Most of what there was architectural bits.

Deep in the basement he came across a sealed cask (wine type). When the top was pried open what appeared was a dry barrel packed with excelsior. In that started to appear bottles of very old booze. Cuban Bacardi. Irish whisky. AND one bottle of Courvoisier Napoleon with a date of 1918 (created 1818 bottled in 1918). My friend asked the person running the sale "you don't want those old booze bottles do you?"

When we got home we divided things up and he ended up with the Cognac since he had found the bootlegger's stash

All of the bottles were down 10-15%

My friend grabbed a cork screw and despite my crys of anguish opened the Napoleon.

Once it was opened the first thing I said was get me a tumbler.

We did not drink it all that night but I would wager we downed several thousand dollars worth of pure gold

I'll have to postscript this with the disclaimer that we were teenagers and did not know better but it is something that I will always look back on with fondness

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[jar_]

I use them. And I enjoy them. Others don't use them. And they enjoy them. Life is good.

 

[Runnin_Ute]

Generally speaking, fountain pens (and watches) are horrible financial investments. I buy pens to use. Of course, my most expensive has been less than $150 too.....

 

[Jut]

I use every pen I own...others might see folly in that, and I might see folly in their choice not to use their pens....whatever gets you through the night!

 

[Doc4]

I buy them to use, but I can understand a collector wanting to maintain mintyness in his collection. I wouldn't buy one of those pens, though.

One note on the wine analogy ... open the bottle of wine and ... that's it, it's got to be finished now. Ink a pen and you still have generations of careful use left there. And yes, if I got a bottle of 45 Latour ... I'd drink it.

 

[oc_in_fw]

I am not rich enough to buy things I will never use

 

[Vacumatic]

It is difficult.

My problem is twofold. It takes me a long time to dial in a nib to be just how I like it, shaping and smoothing and getting it right. I am then reluctant to put that to one side. On top of that is that I dont buy many modern pens, most of what I buy is before 1960 that needed a lot of work when I bought them, I make them as good as new, try them out for a day and then they join their 200 friends until the day comes around when it is their turn.

Even though I write daily I cannot use all of my pens on a regular basis, just not possible.

They say if you have one pen you are an enthusiast, two and you are a collector, have three and intend to sell one then you are an investor. The implication is that being an investor is less nice than being an enthusiast.

 

[Radium]

Use everything you have. I used to be of the mind that something expensive or limited should be left in its package. But about a year ago I came to the conclusion that I should be enjoying my luxury products and giving myself the satisfaction that comes with utilizing high end offerings. Unless you are buying to resell and make a profit, I'd say ink it up and enjoy. Life's too short for something to sit on a shelf when its purpose is to be used and enjoyed.

that`s great you`ve tried it both ways to either preserve nice things and now to enjoy them and you found your answer on what you prefer to do with nice things... Indeed life is too short.

 

[Radium]

A few years ago I was given a Parker 51 to restore, it had the box with it. It was a gift from Ike to the Commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, an English Commander. My advice to the family was that it shouldnt be restored but given to the Greenwich Naval Museum, which is where it is today.

My father stopped using his Vacumatic in 1951 when he saw the Parker 51 for the first time. I still have that Vacumatic.

My grandmother was given a Platignum pen in 1935 when she was a schoolgirl, I still have that pen.

Over the weekend I bought a gold Parker 51 that had been owned by Martin Fox of the Tropecana Night Club in Havana, inscribed with his name. At some point in the 1950s he gave it to Che Guevara who used it whenever he made use of the office space at the Tropecana. The pen found its way to Miami and was sold around 1962, I bought the pen from that buyer.

There are pens that are too important to use.

Not every precious thing is measured in monetary value or whether it has luxury or limited status/.

It is difficult.

My problem is twofold. It takes me a long time to dial in a nib to be just how I like it, shaping and smoothing and getting it right. I am then reluctant to put that to one side. On top of that is that I dont buy many modern pens, most of what I buy is before 1960 that needed a lot of work when I bought them, I make them as good as new, try them out for a day and then they join their 200 friends until the day comes around when it is their turn.

Even though I write daily I cannot use all of my pens on a regular basis, just not possible.

They say if you have one pen you are an enthusiast, two and you are a collector, have three and intend to sell one then you are an investor. The implication is that being an investor is less nice than being an enthusiast.

We`ve seen some of your nice pens that you`ve shared with us all. You`re lucky to of handled some historical pens and helped people on your advices. I can certainly sense your pen enthusiasm Vacumatic!

 

[Radium]

If you bought the pen because of the visual appeal (historical or aesthetics), then don't use it. Every use will damage it slightly. If, however, you bought it for the performance (you get a thrill using it/works better than others) then the reason for owning it is to use it. In the end, it is up to the owner to decide why they bought an item. Display? Use? Which gives you greater joy?

What`s that saying? Whatever floats your boat? Good points!

 

[Radium]

I can imagine someone else buying a pen without any intention of using it. I can't imagine myself doing so. If I buy a pen at all, then I mean to write with it. Appearance is often a factor in deciding whether to buy a pen, but buying a pen just to look at it is not the way I think. It's conceivable that an unused limited edition might appreciate in value over the years, but there are better investments. And if you do sell it at a profit, the buyer might want to write with it.

I can see donating a pen of historical value to a museum, but if it was in condition to write, I would probably try it out before I did. Why not? In any case, I'm not sure that that situation was really intended by the original question.

I might leave a vintage pen of historical or personal sentimental value unused if I thought it was too fragile to risk writing with. Again, though, I'm not sure that that's what the question was.

Or I might keep it for the sentimental value even though it wasn't very good for writing. But I'd know it wasn't that good because I'd tried it.

Collectors have their priorities; I have mine.

The question is to see what people plan to do with their pens when they buy their pens especially on their limited edition pens..use them or store them? "Or I might keep it for the sentimental value even though it wasn't very good for writing. But I'd know it wasn't that good because I'd tried it." Indeed you`d never know if the pen is faulty say suffering nib creep or baby bottom if you didn`t try it out and oh yes even very expensive pens suffer these things..shudder.

 

[Radium]

Why not use it? That would be like having a 1965 Mustang and letting it sit in the garage undriven.

Oh! I know someone who did something like this! But hey he`s happy about it

 

[bberg100]

I can't talk myself into buying "collector" pieces. Everything I buy - guns, pens, razors, radios, on and on - get used, and used frequently. I do use some items others would set aside, but that is part of the joy of ownership to me.

 

[Radium]

I use every pen I own.

I do not have any of historic merit and never will.

Interesting side note to your wine analogy

A friend and I were at a demolition sale of a house on the river. Most of what there was architectural bits.

Deep in the basement he came across a sealed cask (wine type). When the top was pried open what appeared was a dry barrel packed with excelsior. In that started to appear bottles of very old booze. Cuban Bacardi. Irish whisky. AND one bottle of Courvoisier Napoleon with a date of 1918 (created 1818 bottled in 1918). My friend asked the person running the sale "you don't want those old booze bottles do you?"

When we got home we divided things up and he ended up with the Cognac since he had found the bootlegger's stash

All of the bottles were down 10-15%

My friend grabbed a cork screw and despite my crys of anguish opened the Napoleon.

Once it was opened the first thing I said was get me a tumbler.

We did not drink it all that night but I would wager we downed several thousand dollars worth of pure gold

I'll have to postscript this with the disclaimer that we were teenagers and did not know better but it is something that I will always look back on with fondness

.
.

Man o man nice! You both stumbled upon pure liquid gold and no doubt you all had a smile drinking them booze and now smiling thinking about the fond memory of those booze. Your story kind of reminds me of those champagne they found in the Titanic wreck.