New to the Pen World, but I'm Admittedly Addicted...

[moonamongus]

Hey everyone!

As the title suggests, I'm early on in my pen-addict journey as late last year I inherited a couple really nice pens (one of which I've been too scared to ink) and, after doing research and becoming enamored with the history, beauty, engineering, and everything else that goes into these things, I subsequently purchased the collection of a man who passed away after collecting for 40+ years (in July of this year) and was officially hooked. Then I bought several different inks...and a Rhodia notebook...and a couple boxes for pens...and a Murano glass pen....and now am looking at how to restore pens.

Also, in the past few weeks I've purchased a few lots of pens from local estate sales, but have realized I can't even identify a lot of them. Some of them may be identifiable, but there is little to no information on them...so hopefully you guys won't get tired of me asking questions in one form or another (whether it be for restoration, pen identification, or whatever else may pop up). I'm looking forward to soaking up all the knowledge you guys are willing to offer and have already had a high learning curve as I've been reading the archived threads on this site. Happy to be here!

James

[Empty_of_Clouds]

:welcome:

Please post photos of your unidentified pens, there are tons of knowledgeable people on here (not me) who could no doubt figure out what they are.

[Chrissy]

Welcome. :)

[FredRydr]

James, I’d say you dove into the deep end! A whole collection as starters!

[manoeuver]

woah. whoa. yes, post photes, we'll have some fun.

[jar]

Welcome home. Pull up a stump but don't set a spell. Instead get the hence to Dromgoole's on Rice Blvd.

[moonamongus]

James, I’d say you dove into the deep end! A whole collection as starters!

I most certainly did dive right in! My intent was to get a few pens to start, just didn't think it would be 40+ all at once. The opportunity and value was too good to pass up and as a result I've got all sorts of interesting stuff (the man whose collection I was fortunate enough to acquire was an engineer who loved the technical aspects of just about everything, according to his wife). After cataloguing and researching all of those pens/pencils and learning even more about them, the bug bit me HARD and now I've got pens everywhere. My wife has an affinity for writing instruments as well, and already did prior to meeting me, so she's actually encouraging this behavior.

Thanks for the warm welcome, everybody!

James

[moonamongus]

woah. whoa. yes, post photes, we'll have some fun.

I most definitely will! My photography skills won't do most of these beautiful pens justice, but I'll do my best.

[moonamongus]

Welcome home. Pull up a stump but don't set a spell. Instead get the hence to Dromgoole's on Rice Blvd.

Actually, I've visited there once just to browse (before the entire collection purchase occurred). Will probably go back at some point, but it's a solid 1.5 hour round trip drive from my home and I've got my first child arriving some time this week!

[FredRydr]

...My wife has an affinity for writing instruments as well, and already did prior to meeting me, so she's actually encouraging this behavior....
An enabler, too! (BTDT)

[Hawker800]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200916/046ff950a61cc25ba7ec51866c080131.jpg

[azkid]

Welcome from Colorado. Sounds like you went all in there. Happy to help ID if I can but others here know lots more than I do. :D

[jar]

Welcome home. Pull up a stump but don't set a spell. Instead get the hence to Dromgoole's on Rice Blvd.

Actually, I've visited there once just to browse (before the entire collection purchase occurred). Will probably go back at some point, but it's a solid 1.5 hour round trip drive from my home and I've got my first child arriving some time this week!

They are truly good folk and once you get a break from the first child (say in two or three decades) head over there. Bring what you can't identify and I bet they will rattle off names faster than you can write.

[noahs_ark]

Welcome from Dallas

[Mags]

Welcome from Saskatoon, Canada. Full immersion in to the pursuit or hobby is an excellent way to fully commit to a new passion. Good for you.

The next challenge with 40, 50 or more pens is what to do to display them or store them or insure them. Do share how you tackle these challenges along with restoration, use and acquisition as you enjoy the fountain pen hobby. Perhaps your wife’s affinity for writing instruments is due to some creative writing ability and she can create some rhymes or poems about the journey that will chronicle your journey and entertain us as we read some writing should you choose to share a sample.

[moonamongus]

Welcome from Saskatoon, Canada. Full immersion in to the pursuit or hobby is an excellent way to fully commit to a new passion. Good for you.

The next challenge with 40, 50 or more pens is what to do to display them or store them or insure them. Do share how you tackle these challenges along with restoration, use and acquisition as you enjoy the fountain pen hobby. Perhaps your wife’s affinity for writing instruments is due to some creative writing ability and she can create some rhymes or poems about the journey that will chronicle your journey and entertain us as we read some writing should you choose to share a sample.

Thank you, I'm happy to be here! About 2-3 weeks after securing that collection, I was extremely fortunate in stumbling upon a local estate sale of a man who was extremely fond of leather goods (Levenger was his favorite). I've never seen anything quite like it, with this entire house stacked full of leather folios and planners, briefcases, luggage, phone and pad cases, etc. He was essentially a leather hoarder. Anyhow, there was a full box of leather pen holders priced at $1 apiece and I snatched about 30 of them including a couple 2-pen vintage Mont Blanc (one burgundy clip and one black one that closes), 3-pen Pelikan, 4-pen red leather Lamy, 5-pen Levenger, 3-pen Franklin Christoph, and multiple other 1-2 pen Cross/Levenger/Taccia/Di Loro holders...so for now the majority of the nicest pen acquisitions are housed in these. The estate sale lady had also put all the pens/pencils in a big tub and I spent an hour digging through it since they were priced at 25 cents each - found an Elysee, some Cross pens (including an all black rollerball which I've yet to identify), a bunch of vintage drafting pencils, a few Parkers, and a Sheaffer calligraphy pen (in my wife's possession now).

As far as future storage beyond the cases, my sister does resin art and we've talked about her creating some sort of wooden shelves with red/black/gold swirl resin and a vertical pen stand. I'd also like a nice 20+ pen box with a drawer eventually, but so far I've balked at the price of something like that.

My wife started watching calligraphy vids on YouTube after I got going on this, so perhaps there will be some writing samples to share in the future. Hard to believe I'm starting this journey at almost the exact same time as my son is being born. There will be a lot of documentation going on here shortly. Looking forward to all of it!

[Tiny]

Have I missed a post or haven't you posted any photo yet

newbee
Tiny

[moonamongus]

Have I missed a post or haven't you posted any photo yet

newbee
Tiny

There is a new thread under the "Pens in General" area where there are a few pictures of some of the obscure pens mentioned. I'll add three more today which I'm having a hard time with pinpointing, but wanted to clean them before taking pictures for optimal ID'ing purposes. A lot of the estate pens are in need of a little TLC and I'm doing the best I can with basic room temperature distilled water and polishing pads. The man whose collection I got kept his pens in great shape, so most of those were restored and ready to go right out of the box. After going through the lesser knowns, there will be posts of the "good" stuff. Admittedly, "the collection" as it will be so lovingly referred to for now, was heavy on rollerballs and mechanical pencils, which intrigued the guy since he was an engineer...not sure if the fountain pen enthusiasts will care much about many of them.

[Wahl]

:welcome:

[Morgaine]

Hello and welcome.