What do you wish you'd known when you started collecting?

[amk]

Over a few years collecting fountain pens, and looking for the little beasts in the wild, and using them, I've accumulated all sorts of knowledge. Some of which, like dating of Parker 51s, is good to know, some of which is kind of irrelevant but fun, and a few bits of knowledge that arrive with experience and you wonder how you managed without them.

So, if I started all over again, here are the top things I wish I had known.

• What celluloid cracking looks like. And the fact that it's irreversible. And that it will contaminate your other pens.
• That you can always swap a nib. Or make a Frankenpen.
• That warm water + ebonite = oh s**t!!!!!! (I only needed to find that out once)
• That when you're out on 'pen safari' you *always* need to look at the nib, because sometimes, a pen that looks less than even user grade will have the nib of your dreams.
• That the first thing to do when I get a new Paltinum 3776 is pull the converter to bits, silicon grease the piston seal, and put it back together.
• That some pens you thought were really horrible just needed the right ink to make them shine (usually Waterman blue or Pelikan koenigsblau).

What are your top things you wish you'd known when you started?

[carlos.q]

Some of the things that I wish I had known earlier:

1. Shading is nice. It is not a watery line.
2. There is no such thing as the "best black" ink. It all depends on the pen.
3. A vintage Pelikan 100N ebonite collar is very fragile. (ouch!)
4. An ultrasonic cleaner is very useful.
5. It's better to try out new inks with samples than whole bottles.

[Kaputnik]

I still wish I knew more. And I wish I knew what I don't know. But also...

• I wish I'd known that those relatively inexpensive "good starter pens" would almost never be used again. I could have started right off with something like a Pilot Custom Heritage 92.
• There are vintage pens which are easy for me to repair, and others which it is very likely that I will make worse. It would have been nice to have a better handle on my own abilities.
• I have a strong preference for "normal" nibs. If I could have figured this out ahead of time without buying any italics, cursive italics, stubs, and obliques, I could have saved some money. On the other hand, I do like a bit of flex. Is that normal?
• I wish I'd taken more time to learn about the many different types of vintage and semi-vintage pens out there before jumping in and starting to buy.

[mhosea]

I only dabbled in collecting. Despite being on the order of 100 pens (excluding the cheap ones) at one point, my "collection" was really a set of pens to use, with a lot of backups. Consequently, it would be really valuable for me to know what I know now about which pens I would want to keep when I moved on to other hobbies. I could save myself a lot of money that way, but OTOH, that analysis gives short shrift to the pleasures of learning, particularly of restoring and tinkering with vintage fountain pens. I think ultimately, there are only minor things I would tell myself, such as

1. You don't need a collection of Bexley Poseidon Magnum II prototypes -- you'll turn around and sell most of them for a loss, leaving the one that you really wanted.
2. You don't need a collection of Sheaffer Targas -- you'll wish you'd just bought one excellent, solid sterling silver one and left it at that.
3. Parker VS's will eventually fail if you use them, so collect them as a pure collection, not as potential users, and leave them in unused condition if you can.
4. Montblanc 149's, Pelikan 1000's, and Sailor KoP are too big, but you like the penultimate sizes in these lines.
5. BTW, you don't actually write all that much. Just sayin'.

[FredRydr]

...I wish I'd taken more time to learn about the many different types of vintage and semi-vintage pens out there before jumping in and starting to buy.

Yep. And it applies to modern, too.

[Robert]

Mike - - A brilliant, double "entendresque" use of the word "penultimate." Bravo, sir!

[Sammyo]

Wow, this is a good one. I think most of my thoughts will only be echoes of things already stated, but here goes anyway:

1. Don't waste money on cheap pens, they will either break, stop functioning or be put in a draw never to be used again.

2. Many may disagree based on how you see fountain pens, but... you don't need 3,4,5 versions of the same pen. Find the one you like and only get that one, the others will go unused because you will always pick up your favourite.

3. Don't ask others what pen you should buy, only you know your personal tastes. If you ask about two pens and the overwhelming consensus is the one you weren't sure about, you will always think "what if?". They may well be right, but that doesn't stop your head thinking thoughts! Most times, you have to find out on your own.
● Sub-point, always try if you can, learn by trying rather than buying whenever possible.
● Sub-point, This doesn't count if someone say's should I buy a Jinhao 992 or a Sailor 1911 etc... see point 1.

4. Ink is ink, it has purpose and a job to do, it is not magic fluid. Always buy based on properties over colour.

[VertOlive]

Really, I've enjoyed the whole experience so far, including the harmless and interesting missteps and side trips. There's nothing weighty enough to make me wish I'd known it.

The disappointing pens and the too many bottles of sparkle inks were always offloaded easily. So, there's nothing much I wish I'd known at the outset. It's been a great ride.

[AzJon]

I still wish I knew more. And I wish I knew what I don't know. But also...

• I wish I'd known that those relatively inexpensive "good starter pens" would almost never be used again. I could have started right off with something like a Pilot Custom Heritage 92.

Yessir! Couldn't agree more. No, you shouldn't go from a Jinhao to a metro to a TWSBI Eco. Yes, they all work, but you could have spent that money elsewhere.

*dodges shoe thrown from the "but Jinhoa is lyfe" crowd*

5. BTW, you don't actually write all that much. Just sayin'.

Oof. Ouch. So true.

[AzJon]

Honestly, I would say the biggest pieces of advice I can offer are:

1. Try to get the pen you want cheaper than retail cost. Wait for a sale, see if someone else to sell one, etc. If you end up not liking it, the loss on resale will be less.

2. If you weren't already planning to buy a pen don't. I know this one is a bit of a stretch around here, but unless a pen comes up that you were already looking for, give it some time. Come back to it in a few weeks. Still want it? Maybe give it a while longer and see. Impulse buys suck. I know that is different to an extent with vintage, but really. If it can wait, wait.

[top pen]

Get the pen you really want in the first place you'll save more in the long run.

[AzJon]

Get the pen you really want in the first place you'll save more in the long run.

Part of the trick, unless you've got a B&M store near you. I had to go through some trial and error with pens to see what I did/did not like.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Good points! That pen/ink Magic Combo thing would be paramount for me. It's the one thing I really wish I'd known in The Beforetime.

And, how to tinker a reluctant Lamy Safari that I ended up giving away. But I have bought others since. Otherwise, I wish I might coulda stuck with one pen for at least a month, and really get to know it, before buying more willy-nilly, but it's not a serious wish. Just an idle what-if.

[dhd1954]

I only dabbled in collecting. Despite being on the order of 100 pens (excluding the cheap ones) at one point, my "collection" was really a set of pens to use, with a lot of backups. Consequently, it would be really valuable for me to know what I know now about which pens I would want to keep when I moved on to other hobbies. I could save myself a lot of money that way, but OTOH, that analysis gives short shrift to the pleasures of learning, particularly of restoring and tinkering with vintage fountain pens. I think ultimately, there are only minor things I would tell myself, such as

1. You don't need a collection of Bexley Poseidon Magnum II prototypes -- you'll turn around and sell most of them for a loss, leaving the one that you really wanted.
2. You don't need a collection of Sheaffer Targas -- you'll wish you'd just bought one excellent, solid sterling silver one and left it at that.
3. Parker VS's will eventually fail if you use them, so collect them as a pure collection, not as potential users, and leave them in unused condition if you can.
4. Montblanc 149's, Pelikan 1000's, and Sailor KoP are too big, but you like the penultimate sizes in these lines.
5. BTW, you don't actually write all that much. Just sayin'.

I would agree, that the amount of time you actually use the writing instrument is key. When you have more than one, you start to question yourself,"what am I actually doing here"?

Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk

[Runnin_Ute]

For many years I had two pens. A Lamy Al Star and a Waterman Phileas. One or two bottles of ink. Today? Over 30 pens. Still have the same Al Star and a different Phileas. Six Pelikan's, about 10 Parker, six or seven Esterbrook and the remainder are a smattering of different brands. Ones and twos mostly. Part collection, part accumulation. I usually keep about 10 inked at a time. Inks I probably have around 30 bottles. All kinds of fun colors. Before December 2012? Black and Blue Black.



Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[Driften]

Lots of great points made here!
Another thing to remember is taste in pens can change over time. In the last year I have gone from liking fine nibs to only liking Medium to Broad ones especially stubs and cursive italics. I still like round nibs in M but for wider I want a stub/CI.

If I knew I was going to go that way I would not have bought so many F pens last year. Most of them now are sold off.

Early on I had gotten some vintage pens which now have not been inked in 10 years. They are just too thin for me and I hate not being able to tell how much ink is in the sac. I also have three that need sac replacements.

[grainweevil]

Lots of great points made here!
Another thing to remember is taste in pens can change over time. In the last year I have gone from liking fine nibs to only liking Medium to Broad ones especially stubs and cursive italics. I still like round nibs in M but for wider I want a stub/CI.

If I knew I was going to go that way I would not have bought so many F pens last year. Most of them now are sold off.

Probably not the time to observe that tastes can change again, and you may return to finer nibs in the future. I certainly have, but I'm under no illusions that I won't go mad for broads, stubs, etc. again at some point. Maybe tomorrow.

By and large, like VertOlive, I've enjoyed the learning process and wouldn't wish to have known it all before hand. Except, perhaps, every time you come across a lengthy thread concerning model X and all the ways it falls apart and why nobody wants to even attempt to repair it, make a note of it so you never buy one yourself! Oh, and they're not kidding when they say celluloid is pretty easily set on fire...

[Jon Szanto]

Oh, and they're not kidding when they say celluloid is pretty easily set on fire...

[Scooby921]

Things I wish I'd known...

1.) When you can't find any reviews of a pen model, or any of that model on the used market, perhaps you shouldn't buy it. People obviously don't like it. When you come to the same realization there is no one out there who wants to buy the pen from you.

2.) If pens are available for significantly lower cost (like ebay vendors overseas) it's worth the shipping time to save the money. Spending double to get it from a local vendor does nothing for resale value if you decide to sell the pen later. People don't care that you paid full price from a local vendor. They want it for less than the cheapest ebay price.

[penwash]

Things I wish I'd known...

1.) When you can't find any reviews of a pen model, or any of that model on the used market, perhaps you shouldn't buy it. People obviously don't like it. When you come to the same realization there is no one out there who wants to buy the pen from you.

This works exactly the opposite for me. I specialize in finding pens that very few people have heard about.