London Writing Equipment show - my first show

[DickBrowne]

As a keen owner of vintage watches, fishing tackle, bicycles and motorbikes, I am a frequent visitor to shows in the mould of the London Writing Equipment show, albeit with a different subject matter.

I have taken my wife to stand in many a leisure centre, museum or school hall to look at men gently mumbling into their beards whilst counting rivets.

So, despite being a fountain pen user of many years standing (it's the only thing that makes my handwriting legible), and despite owning a number of pens, some reasonably aged, I have never really taken the time to explore the various fori dedicated to the subject. Motorbikes, fishing tackle and watches are all on my regular destination list, but not pens for some reason.

Having decided that various life events should be acknowledged with a new writing instrument or two, I corrected this mistake and was delighted to see that I was just in time for the London Writing Equipment Show. Excellent.

A number of years ago I started to write stories to amuse myself whilst staying in hotels with work. This quickly blossomed into a serious hobby and as a result I have a number of novels published and for sale on Amazon. I promised myself that, when the income from these books reached a certain level I would buy a nice pen. I set my mind on a Mont Blanc, maybe not everybody's favourite brand, but as a man who drives a Mercedes and has a number of vintage Rolex watches, I understand the difference between something nice with a reasonable level of quality, and something which is absolutely top-notch. To be clear, I place my car and watches into the former category - decent quality but not the best of the best, and that's how I view Mont Blanc.

I already had a Mont Blanc pen - I bought a Noblesse a while back and have regretted that purchase - nothing wrong with the pen (a little thin and light for me, but that's personal preference), but the real issue is the nib, which is just too broad, so I decided that the thing to do was to visit the show, find the right pen and exchange my existing MB for the right one. I love plans.

We arrived an hour or so after the show opened, and the first thing I noticed was just how busy it was! I'm used to enthusiasts at specialist shows, but this was a league above - almost unpleasant in some ways, with many pointy elbows and no small amount of pushing-in. I'm used to shows where conduct in gentlemanly and considerate. The reality, of course, is that I'm used to shows that have fewer enthusiasts in more room - the stalls at the pen show were plentiful, lots of stuff to look at, and loads of people looking at that stuff - of course it felt a little hectic and busy - it was! (to avoid doubt, I'm in no way suggesting that pen people are less considerate than, say, watch people, there were just many more of them occupying a smaller space!)

I was delighted to see the variety - lots of new pens (not my first choice) and lots of older ones - a concept I was much happier with, even if the pens weren't really ideal, being mostly smaller and lighter than a modern pen.

My mission for the day was three-fold, I wanted to replace that unsuitable MB, I wanted to buy a nice leather case or two and I wanted a nice leather folio to make the taking of notes at work more pleasurable.

We walked through the aisles and quickly became adept at making enough personal space. We saw some nice cases and some really nice pens - mostly outside of my price range. Mrs. B then drew first blood - she was only there as an observer and my financial conscience, but when she saw an absolutely perfect Mont Blanc Bohemme, massively overpriced and with no movement on the price, she pounced on it and quickly became it's new owner. She then dashed off to buy a leather case for it, and a box of turquoise cartridges.

I was bereft. Usurped by my conscience. This wasn't right...

Then I saw a very nice MB 146 - possibly late seventies, early eighties and with a perfect nib for me. Deal done, but the seller wasn't interested in PX'ing my Noblesse as he already had a couple. I took another leaf from Mrs. B's book and bought a nice two-pen case (not MB, but lovely leather), and some two bottles of ink - violet and turquoise. Lovely.

My other target was a cheap-ish Parker 51, just to see what the fuss was all about and at another stand, I spotted a number of them. Talking to the stall-holder, I spotted another Noblesse and related my tale of nib-woe. He allowed me to test his and the nib was far more what I wanted. Within a couple of minutes, we had negotiated a deal where he swapped the nibs over, and a refreshingly small amount of money changed hands. Followed by slightly more money for a 51.

Then I ran out of money...

So we left...

I've been away with work this week and took both my new 146 and my rejuvenated Noblesse, inked with the new colours, they've had extensive use and, to be honest, I'm delighted.

Since returning home, I've ordered a bottle of Ancient Copper and another of Oxblood from a shop which sells Diamine inks. Once they arrive, the 51 is getting a bladder full of ancient copper and I shall use that for a week or so.

So, that was my first pen show - I suspect it won't be my last (or my wife's - I think she's discovered a whole new interest!)

Richard

[Chrissy]

It sounds like you had a really productive and special first pen show. I'm glad you're both really pleased and delighted with your purchases, and very well done for sorting out your problem with the Mb Noblesse.

You may be interested to learn that Diamine sells their ink directly from their own web-site.

[Morgaine]

I had pondered going but financially, wasn't cost effective (if only the show was not on a Sunday, any other day of the week and it would be a day-trip). However, the money saved not going has partially been spent on stationery... and I will in the next few weeks order more inks from Diamine direct.

[Kulprit]

Man, is there any less romantic way to describe our hobby than “writing equipment?” That’s like “efficient sex.”


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[penwash]

Refreshing. Funny.

What more can you ask from a pen show reportage ?

[FredRydr]

Man, is there any less romantic way to describe our hobby than “writing equipment?” That’s like “efficient sex.”

Well, it was intended to cover more than just fountain pens. Writing Equipment encompasses an era from stylus and clay tablets to quills and parchment and everything in between (and later, of course) with all the accoutrement and accessories. Check out the broad collection of Jim Marshall, the author of the venerable pen repair book.

[DickBrowne]

You're absolutely right Fred - there was more than just pens. Ink, pencils, paper, pads, cases, books, some tools and things like cleaning solution. All sorts.

But, by far, the most common appearance was made by pens. There were all sort of difference ballpoints and derivatives thereof but, again, the most numerous type of pen available was the fountain in all of it's forms. If you are enthusiastic about pens and, as you are reading posts on a pen forum I am going to assume that you are, then a visit to the London Writing Equipment Show will be a delight. You will find many examples of your favourite piece of Writing Equipment. You will find new ones, you will find old ones, you will find them for writing, drawing, calligraphy and other uses besides. You will find cheap ones, expensive ones and "Blimey!" ones. You will almost certainly find one, probably more, that will appeal.

One other guarantee - you will almost certainly find at least one person who knows more about your pen-of-choice than you could ever discover. That person will be absolutely delighted to impart all of his, or her, knowledge onto you. They may also give you an insight into their prejudices too, but that's a small price to pay for knowledge.

Even Mrs. B found one, and that's a real event. When I say she found one, I do of course mean pen. There was no knowledgeable soul to be found when the purchase was made, which may have been a good thing - Mrs. B. loves her pen, but is one of those people who is happy to write with an instrument without needing to know absolutely everything about it. I, on the other hand...

In other news - I have visited the Diamine site and will re-visit when new ink is needed. No, not needed - I have, possibly, enough ink to last for most of the rest of my life. When next ink is wanted. Desired, lusted after. Need really doesn't come into it.