Originally Posted by
penwash
Originally Posted by
Paddler
I once toyed with the idea of attending the pen show in Columbus, Ohio. Then I thought about the two-hour drive and the $25 entrance fee. I don't begrudge the fee; I know hiring the venue costs money. It is just that, for that much money, I could go to the local flea market and buy 5 well-designed pens and spend the drive time (and more) restoring and testing them. Meeting a gang of pen freaks can't compete with that.
As both visitor and now vendor, I've seen (and was able to purchase) pens that I would never see in the flea-market.
My point is this, unless you have been to a pen show and it was a let down, how could you make a one-sided comparison with the flea-market trips?
Also, after meeting a few different groups of "pen freaks", I found that I enjoy meeting them.
Originally Posted by
Jon Szanto
Originally Posted by
Paddler
Meeting a gang of pen freaks can't compete with that.
At this point, you'll never know.
Oh, but I think I can make the comparison and I will know.
I used to be a ham radio enthusiast. I built my station using parts scavenged from junked TVs, flea market finds, and WW II military surplus electronics. When I was able to reliably talk to people on the other side of beyond, the Dayton Hamvention, with its 20 acres of flea market, manufacturer presentations, and workshops, was a complete waste of time.
Guns? When you can manufacture your own ammunition from components and hit the 10-ring at will or bust 100 clay targets in a row, a gun show is an extremely boring event.
Bees? When you can make your own equipment from plain lumber and raise your own queens, a beekeeper moot will put you to sleep.
Canoes and kayaks? Go on a couple of wilderness canoe trips and visit some islands in Nova Scotia or some fjords in Alaska. After that, a canoe or kayak workshop will glaze your eyes over.
Photography? Musical instruments? All the same.
Oh, you can go for the social aspects of these hobbies or even make a living at them, but you will have to endure the clubs with officers and a book of by-laws. There will be the fifth-grade playground politics and the gossips who whisper about who spent last night in which tent. I no longer have the patience for that carp on a cracker.
I can put a new sac in a Snorkel pen and a new diaphragm in a P51 and I can grind a nib to my own satisfaction. A pen show has no attraction for me.
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