Does Anyone on here limit there collection by size?

[top pen]

This thread follows on from a thread I posted back in September. The concept of fixed a size of seems to be fairly uncommon in pen collecting compared to similar hobbies such as watch collecting. On here or on FPN members mainly come across people who seem to lack direction or any goal with pen collecting and just acquire pen after pens willy nilly (nothing wrong with this of course). To be honest I was doing the same until about 6 months ago when I decided to get rid of the pens I didn't use and to try to start refining the jumble of pens I had acquired which I'm still doing however is close to completion. The idea of having a fixed quantity limit on fountain pens seems appealing as if anything it would offer some boundaries and mean that my collection wouldn't become stale and be constantly evolving as my tastes change that acquiring with no particular goal in mind doesn't offer.

So does anyone have limit on there collection size? Or have an explanation why this concept is so infrequently seen?

[tandaina]

I tried that once and it just didn't work for me.

I think the assumption in your post is that what we all have is a "collection." IE we have a specific focus in what we buy based on brand, era, color, or something. Some people collect spoons from Germany, some people collect dolls from the 1890s, some people collect all the Parker 51 models, etc.

For myself (and I think many here) what I have is *not* a traditional collection. While it may have themes in part, it basically consists of pens that I like to use, simple as that. Ones I don't like get resold or given away, ones I do find a permanent (or semi-permanent) place in the pen cabinet. I once tried to limit it by size but I just found that too constraining, I have lots of pens I like for many different moods and styles and when trying to say things like "20 pens max" I found myself having to get rid of pens I really loved using, which made no sense to me. Some of my pens haven't been in rotation in a year or more. But if they are pens I like to use, eventually they'll be back in rotation.

So... long story short, that sort of focus didn't work for me, any more than the collector style focus. About half my pens *are* in fact German because those pens, from the 40s and 50s, tend to have nibs I like. But another good 1/4 of my pens are Japanese pens with polar *opposite* nibs that I like for entirely different purposes. It's a jumble, but I like it that way. I am at this point sort of limited by space to the pens that fit in my cabinet, but that's a lot of pens so not something I worry about much.

[Jon Szanto]

I refuse to collect any pens longer than 12 feet in length. There is no minimum size.

[AltecGreen]

So does anyone have limit on there collection size? Or have an explanation why this concept is so infrequently seen?

The sum total of all fountain pens produced in the whole of human history is a finite number. This is a limit albeit a large one. We are all bound by this limit even if it does grow day by day.


I'm pretty focused in my collecting and many know what my focus is. Based on my focus one can come up with a limit. It is just that the number is quite large although much much less than the sum total of all fountain pens. I'll likely never acquire all of the pens I want thus I will never reach my limit. So in your eyes I might not have a limit but I do. Also, I don't have to use a pen I buy. In fact most of the pens I buy I have no intention of using. This point always confuses a large number of people on FPN and FPGeeks who tend to be more users than collectors.

If you want to get a different perspective on collecting go hang out on the Fountain Pen Board. It is a very different community than FPN and FPGeeks since most are dedicated collectors with very specific areas of focus. For example, some people there like to collect every pen in every variation made by a certain company. Depending on the company, that can be a huge number especially if you include prototype pens and special orders. I would consider that a limit. This idea clashes with the idea that one should own only X number of pens.

In the end, everyone has their own approach to this hobby. There is no right way or wrong way to do it.

[fountainpenkid]

I think that if you are actually interested in frequently using the pens you own, a set and limited collection can be very hard to have, because you are always wanting to try something new to get a new experience--the hobby as such is experiential, not logical. But it can be both of course, and for some it is.

[david i]

I hope to cap it at around 10,000.

-d

[Dreck]

I do. I prefer pens at least 5" in length, and with a section of ~.5" so that limits the size of the pens I buy. I've also set a numerical limit on the number of pens, which is no more than I can reasonably use. I know this sounds flippant and capricious, but it isn't. I own a total of 5 fountain pens; all of various subdued colors in the dimensions mentioned above. Personally, I think 5 pens is 2 or 3 too many, since I have one for grading, one for daily writing, and one for doing fancy (for my meagre abilities) lettering with the 1.1mm stub italic nib.

[AltecGreen]

I hope to cap it at around 10,000.

-d

You're thinking too small David.

[mhosea]

I hope to cap it at around 10,000.

-d

You're thinking too small David.

He's also lying.

[david i]

I hope to cap it at around 10,000.

-d

You're thinking too small David.

He's also lying.

Nope. I really don't wanna go beyond that number...

-d

[Laura N]

I refuse to collect any pens longer than 12 feet in length. There is no minimum size.

Hmm, your ideas are intriguing to me, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

[VertOlive]

In just my second year of pen collecting, I've noticed that pens come and go as I sell off those that aren't completely pleasing and try other pens. There seems to be a homeostasis at work that keeps the number of pens I own at around two dozen. I didn't select that number, it may be all the pens I can hold in limited brain space at once.

I guess I could say my pens self limit to a pack of 24.

[jar]

See my signature.

[ilangai]

I had a similar question few months ago. What I was thinking to myself is that I have too many pens I don't use and I need to stop "just buying more".. So I sold many pens and got to a very pleasant 12 inside a Franklin-Christoph CPT.
But, as I see it now, limiting my pens is not the answer. I will still want to compare different nibs/feeds/capacities/filing systems.. Don't forget about the looks of a pen.
So, I just slowed down my purchase habit.
I'm now already passing 20. Some I use regularly, and some on different occasions, but they all get inked..
When will it stop? I think never.

[Bold2013]

I'm trying to limit it to 6. However I still have lustful eyes and will probably switch/upgrade 2 of the 6 over the next 6 months.

[Quantum Sailor]

I don't really worry about the number of pens I have. In writing this I just realized I don't actually know how many pens I have...not that the number is too large to count I just haven't.

[writingrav]

I have both a budding collection (Kaweco Sport) and a haphazard accumulation of pens I mostly use and a collection of pens I don't use buy am too lazy to consider selling. I have begun giving those away in acts of penvangelism and I'm enjoying that. I also don't know exactly how many pens I have, but I know the number will grow no matter what I say.

[manoeuver]

swingin pendulum.

[jar]

swingin pendulum.

Is that like a Metro Gnome?

[manoeuver]

swingin pendulum.

Is that like a Metro Gnome?

[stomp]
no, but I'm glad you asked.