What do you look for in a very expensive pen?

[Waski_the_Squirrel]

I have a few, but I'm not even sure that a $200 pen is "worth it." I've never spent $700 on a pen. I once considered $550 for a Nakaya, but couldn't talk myself into it.

But, I look at it this way: the disposable ballpoint I got for free at my last conference does the same job as my most expensive pen (a Pilot Justus 95). They both write. But something made me by that Pilot.

I want a comfortable pen that makes me forget about the pen and just write. The words appear and I don't even think about the pen. The Pilot does that. Admittedly, so do my Noodler's Konrads. So it must be more than this.

The Pilot looks good. It feels good. It writes well. (Something is making me question the grammar in those sentences: shouldn't they have consistent "good" or "well?") There is a certain amount of craftsmanship to my mass produced Pilot that is not present in the ballpoint or the Noodler's. It's very well made and well balanced. The mechanical aspects of the pen are cool as well.

I could not justify the $550 Nakaya I was looking at a while back. I saved for it, reached my goal early, and never bought it. I still think it's a gorgeous pen, and I would buy it at a lower price. But at $550, there just wasn't enough of that intangible something in that pen to convince me to buy it.

The truth is, there is a lot of emotion tied up in this, and emotion cannot be justified logically. I was willing to buy an overpriced Platinum 3776 Yamanaka. But, for several hundred more, the Nakaya is not worth it.

The way I figure it is that emotionally, I have to feel good about a purchase, whether that makes sense or not. If I don't feel good about it, I will not enjoy it. At this price point, logical thinking is no longer a thing.

[bluesea]

I've been fortunate enough to be able to try a pen that costs a little under $700, which is about 4 times as much as I've ever spent on a pen myself. It's a lovely pen but I'm finding it hard to get my head around the cost. Obviously value for money doesn't come into it, but if you are going to be buying a pen in that kind of price range, what are you looking for in the pen to justify the high cost? What does it need to give you that a $200 pen won't?

Art. The only pens I've ever bought that were more than $300 were (are) works of art. That's why I buy them.

Was about to go into a spiel about ergos and nib selection etc, till I saw your post. Art was the reason I went with Nakaya. The Lamy 2000 as well actually.

[lsmith42]

As I taught in class at the SF Pen Show in August, it's "the eroticism of office supplies."

If you want it, and the idea of owning it pushes your button, then there you go...

I have had only a few that were let-downs after purchasing, and they didn't stay with me long.

I've had a few more that have been divested, and then the divestiture was deeply regretted. I've then hunted down replacements, or, in some cases, the actual pens that I had once owned.

[Paddrino]

The most expensive pens I own we're all due to specific events in my life that I treasure as much as the pen. My Lamy 2000 was bought for me by my wife for our 15th wedding anniversary. My Visconti Homo sapiens florentine hills was bought after I went to a local pen store after a surgical procedure I had earlier that day (it was on sale as well). So, for me, those specific pens were bought for a special occasion or momentous event. I write with both of them every day. The other pens I have are just workhorses or unique feature pens (like my everyday writer twisbi Eco or my noodlers Arab) that I use for specific purposes such as my pathetic attempts at lettering/calligraphy. The 'special' ones are not special just because they are more expensive, they mark events in my life that I will remember every time I pick up that pen. They are unique and I bought them for their beauty and memorable events in my life. I have other pens, but they are simply tools and utilities I use to write. These other pens reflect the story of my life.

Additionally, as to the question of 'worth'. You are the only one that can answer that question. If you are approaching the evaluation from a purely utilitarian point of view, the answer, unfortunately, is usually an 'absolutely not'. Plastic, no matter how pretty, has very little intrinsic worth. If you are approaching the question from an aesthetics point of view, the question could be 'maybe'. Is a Vincent van Goth painting 'worth it'? Some would argue absolutely, others would simply shrug and walk away. In this case, beauty really is simply in the eye of the beholder, and only that individual beholder can determine its worth. To me my Visconti is priceless. Not only for the beautiful green swirls in the acrylic, but for what that pen represents, an event in my life when I made an important decision to have a surgical procedure done to give my wife and I peace of mind. So, just like the van Goth painting, the value goes deeper than simply 'paint on a canvas'. I hope this helps in your decision.

Best of luck, and show us some pictures of your new pen when you get it

[Kaputnik]

There is a price point, admittedly not very well defined, where having paid "that much" for a pen would spoil my enjoyment in the pen itself. Spending $600 on a single pen just feels wrong to me in a way that buying four $150 pens does not. Illogical? Certainly, and there was a time when even $30 seemed ridiculous for "a pen".

But for what I want in a pen, there is currently no need to reach even $200 (and I haven't done so). There are vintage pens that appeal to me esthetically, old celluloids and BCHRs in particular, and some vintage nibs are excellent, but half the fun is finding one for as little as possible. With modern pens I'm more focused on function, and getting a pen that writes the way I want it to doesn't have to cost more than I've already paid. Indeed, here too I look for bargain pricing, buying Pilots from Japanese eBay dealers, for example.

Buying a pen as a work of art is quite understandable, but it's not what I'm in to. And buying a "beautiful" pen only to find out that it writes no better than one costing a fraction of the price is a disappointment I don't need.

[Marsilius]

"What do you look for in a very expensive pen?"

An 80% discount!

Seriously, I know that feeling of guilt/regret after having spent more than I should have. But that feeling could be had over a $100 pen or a $500. The amount is different, the feeling the same.

[gbryal]

The most expensive pen I have, I have because I wrote with it and thought the nib was just about perfect. I didn't and don't really find the pen body, weight, materials, or appearance to be extraordinarily special, in my mind not much different from my Jinhao 159 (which is a superb value).

i don't regret buying it. It's a nice pen (It's a Cross Peerless 125). I wonder sometimes though if I should have just gotten a Sailor 1911, if that would have been a similar nib in a less expensive pen.

The only pens I would consider in the price range of the Peerless or more would be the Nakaya. They are pleasant to look at and have a lot of difficult hand work done to them. So I'd say today, if I bought an expensive pen, it would be in appreciation of individual artistry (but they have to be something I'll really carry with me and use.)

[mirstudio]

Hi Everyone! Fr. the most part, the people I've met that buy expensive pens, $1,000 +, are die hard collectors that love and appreciate the art in a pen; and have the money to indulge. Some buy pens for the sake of collecting a beautiful object. Some are speculators looking for an investment. I've spoken to people that have 1,000+ pens and they show up at most pen conventions looking for that one pen, in the show, that speaks to them amongst the thousands for sale. They look at pens with the same admiration a sculptor studies The David of Michaelangelo. The truth is, some pens are breathtaking!

[Pommel]

The only reason for me to spend more than €200 on a pen is when I really really really want it.

Such an expensive pen I would want to test before buying first anyway. Holding it, feeling the balance, test the nib.

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[Z-Tab]

One thing that I want when I spend hundreds on a pen is to know that there is an established secondary market where I can recover the vast majority of my cost. I like to try different pens and I know that there's a decent chance I'm going to pass along any pen that I buy. If the used market for a pen is 50% lower than the new price, then I'm going to be buying used.

[catbert]

I look for reassuring confirmation that it doesn't appeal to me and that I can ignore it. My wish list is long and expensive enough already.

[dneal]

I look for my emotional response to the aesthetic.

[penwash]

This is such an informative thread, I have to attempt to summarize it:

Q: What do you look for in a very expensive pen?

A:
1. A piece of Art
2. A connection with the seller or maker <--- I have a personal experience on this one also
3. A bargain (where can I get it at a much lower price)
4. Something that makes us smile
5. An embodiment of good characteristics that we know about a pen <-- This will change as our knowledge increases
6. An emotional (aesthetic ?) trigger
7. A challenge <-- read below

For me, if I see an expensive pen that I like, it becomes a challenge to find a way to fund it by trading up for it.
I learn how to do this with my camera collection. I was able to obtain a top-tier model Rolleiflex (for those of you who couldn't care less about cameras, a Rolleiflex is akin to high-end Visconti or Mont Blanc pens) via trading up. It was a lot of fun doing it, and I ended up only having to pay the camera repairman to service the camera. I still use it regularly today.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I've been fortunate enough to be able to try a pen that costs a little under $700, which is about 4 times as much as I've ever spent on a pen myself. It's a lovely pen but I'm finding it hard to get my head around the cost. Obviously value for money doesn't come into it, but if you are going to be buying a pen in that kind of price range, what are you looking for in the pen to justify the high cost? What does it need to give you that a $200 pen won't?

It needs to do my dishes, laundry, and appointments.

[TSherbs]

"What do you look for in a very expensive pen?"

An 80% discount!

At least!

The only other thing I would wish for is a ticket to a foreign land cuz my spouse would not let me return home.

[fly_us]

My most expensive pens are almost hit $700 mark, two Nakayas. And i'm look up to $1000-1500 mark now.

I used to buy pens lesser than $200, and when i said used to, it means i bought a lot of them. Sometime there are 5-6 of them in the mail. I spent most of my hard earn money into the pens, which i think could be nice to have. After a while, i realized that i don't need all of them but only enjoy few pens.

That's is where i start thinking about saving a small amount of money each month to buy the pen that i truly love. The saving time also serves as a buffer to make sure that i really love it, or it is just a hit and miss. When i have enough fund and if i still want it, then it is the true love to me .

So what is look for in an expensive pen is the mutual feeling on am i really love it or not.

[bananamoon]

Thanks so much everyone for such interesting thoughts! Personally, if I was ever to spend this much on a pen it would need to be beautiful, write perfectly and be handmade (at least in part).

The pen in question was a Bespoke British Pens Conway-Stewart Winston, a pen that didn't meet any of these criteria for me, although I know of at least one other person who fell absolutely in love with it and will be buying one.

[rpsyed]

This is an interesting question. I have a handful of pens over $500, including two pens over $1,000, and two more $1,000+ on order and paid for. Firstly, I'm looking for something beyond just a good writing experience. I expect an expensive pen to write wonderfully, but it's not what I'm seeking out. My Danitrio Mikado is a fantastic writer. But then again, so is my Pilot Vanishing Point. I personally look for a pen that meshes with me aesthetically. Simple flat-tops like Romillo pens, are what I'm most often attracted to. I also look for handwork and craftsmanship - I put a lot of value on craftsmanship. I find myself struggling with wanting to pay $700 for a MB 149 or Pelikan M1000. At the same time, I wouldn't hesitate at all to spend twice that amount on a Romillo, Danitrio, Newton, Nakaya, etc.

[inklord]

Here's another idea: sometimes I get emotionally attached to an item because of how at some point in my life's little history I connected with it in a unique way (like through a shopping window, when I was a child...) This kind of emotional bond could make any price point negligible if the necessary funds were available... I only know of three pens like that, and two of them are way below the numbers we talked here, the third is desirable, but currently not at all affordable

[Mags]

I am looking for a pen of good quality. A pen that is unique and has a larger size. I want a piston filler with lower chances it will require repairs. So more heirloom quality. I want a unique aspect such as colour or resin pattern. The pen should have a good working clip that is not tight. The nib should be a number six size or larger and butter smooth. A preference for 14-18kt gold on all pen finishes, clip, bands, and of course the nib. A presentation box is sometimes desired and I think of my Churchill pen from Conway Stewart as an example.