I’ve just registered here on the site in the hope that you’re a friendly lot, and will have patience with a typical forum newbie like me just getting into a new hobby. I have but a single fountain pen now – a girthy but finely crafted sterling silver Asprey retailed pen that my research suggests was manufactured by Onoto in the 80s or 90s.
My collecting passion is vintage wristwatches (chronographs), and have been active on forums in that world for a long time, a buyer and sometimes seller as my collection evolved, and have amassed quite a nice collection over the years, but the thing that I find unrewarding from watch collecting is that it doesn’t cater very well to my Make, Do and Mend personality. Watchmaking is a high complexity job requiring schooling/apprenticeship, years of training, with tiny parts, good eyesight, and a steady hand required. I have to send things to my watchmaker and wait for them to be returned. However, I’m really interested in how things work, love to repair and polish, like the smell and the feel of materials in my hands, and get real satisfaction by rescuing things forgotten by others and turning them into little gems for myself. I’m hoping that fountain pens might be an interesting world for me. I’m not planning to look at anything except vintage pens, as I love having unique things you can’t just walk into a shop and buy. There’s a luxury in vintage items that need not always cost a fortune, but comes from scholarly learning, patience, and time.
So, I’ve been watching YouTube videos, bought some basic refurb supplies of micromesh, wax, polish, some brushes and tweezers, small ultrasonic cleaner, and a copy of the 4thedition of Pen Repair by Marshall and Oldfield. Then I’ve done which I’m sure most people would say is a bad idea – I’ve bought about 50 fountain pens (marbled and striped celluloid pens from the 30s & 40s I think) in a few bulk lots from some local auction houses, that will no doubt have a big variety of makers, filling mechanisms, states of decay and quality – and plan to spend the summer going over them and posting here for help (advanced warning!). Photo of some of them attached - if anything interesting left me know! Might be a pile of junk....
You can find me on eBay and Instagram as dbuddman.
Best Regards
David
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