I've had my Parker 51 for about a week now and I just bought a Sheaffer Imperial II Deluxe. Have I gotten caught in some kind of addiction here too?
Am I Doomed?
- Thread starter ph33nyx
- Start date
Fountain pens can be a bit addicting, especially the vintage ones. Ask me how I know. It started about 10 years ago when my Mom gave me her pen from the 1930's (Conklin flex OM nib) and my grandfathers with his name engraved in it (Shaeffer). I had them both restored.
My advice would be to pace yourself, they are expensive. Get to some regional pen shows to check out some in person. I prefer the unique old nibs like the obliques and like to try them out before I purchase them. I started out fast but for the last few years I limit my self to two pens a year or special events like signing papers on the house etc. I stay away form the expensive collector ones as I use them all.
I do use them at work every day and often get strange looks. I will pass them on to my kids in the future.
Have fun and remember "The heart of a fountain pen is the nib"
Gary
My advice would be to pace yourself, they are expensive. Get to some regional pen shows to check out some in person. I prefer the unique old nibs like the obliques and like to try them out before I purchase them. I started out fast but for the last few years I limit my self to two pens a year or special events like signing papers on the house etc. I stay away form the expensive collector ones as I use them all.
I do use them at work every day and often get strange looks. I will pass them on to my kids in the future.
Have fun and remember "The heart of a fountain pen is the nib"
Gary
Luscombe, I'm not sure if a pen show is a good idea for someone trying to avoid an addiction! 
Shows are wonderful, for sure, but there's more than a little bit of temptation at them. Sometimes there are tens of thousands of temptations owned by kind and personable people you'll end up talking to and buying from. I'm lucky to get out of the LA Pen Show each year with fewer than six or seven new pens. It's a happy addiction.
Like you, I go for actual writers. Some of the new pens are good writers, but I avoid the special editions and ones that are more jewelry than pen. Anything I buy has to be able to be used at work and easily carried in my breast pocket. There's a 51 in there right now.
Anyhow, pen collecting can be as addicting as anything out there. I'm trying to scale back and might unload part of the collection to pay for other toys. We'll see, but I'll probably end up picking up a few each year anyway.
Shows are wonderful, for sure, but there's more than a little bit of temptation at them. Sometimes there are tens of thousands of temptations owned by kind and personable people you'll end up talking to and buying from. I'm lucky to get out of the LA Pen Show each year with fewer than six or seven new pens. It's a happy addiction.
Like you, I go for actual writers. Some of the new pens are good writers, but I avoid the special editions and ones that are more jewelry than pen. Anything I buy has to be able to be used at work and easily carried in my breast pocket. There's a 51 in there right now.
Anyhow, pen collecting can be as addicting as anything out there. I'm trying to scale back and might unload part of the collection to pay for other toys. We'll see, but I'll probably end up picking up a few each year anyway.
Possibly, though I make a distinction between pure AD and buying pens that I actually write with and enjoy. For me the question to answer is: will I use this item for pleasure or productivity, or will it be just another acquisition? I have a couple of fountain pens which are used daily. Those are not an AD symptom. The AD symptom is the drawer full of items which you do not use.
