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Thread: End of the road?

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    Senior Member silverlifter's Avatar
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    Default End of the road?

    Through a combination of luck and patience, I have managed to find myself in the position of having a very stable "collection" (<20 pens, mostly vintage), and around 1000 USD in my pen account.

    I don't need any other pens, but I have always thought that I would close out my collection with a crown jewel. The problem I have (and, yes, as problems go it is not really one that you would lose any sleep over) is that there are only a couple of pens that I pine for1:

    • Conid Flanders Field
    • Leonardo Maestro Arco Verde


    Both of which are unlikely to appear on the market, or be even close to what I would allow myself to spend on a writing instrument.

    So, is this it? Do I spend the rest of my days, perusing pen boards on the off chance that one of these pens, or one sufficiently like them, will appear and I will be able to pounce? Or do I turn my attention to stamps?

    What have the rest of you done at this point?

    1. I suppose, if pressed, there are a couple of other pens that might be more realistic, like a Namiki Emperor or a Nakaya...
    Vintage. Cursive italic. Iron gall.

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    Senior Member SIR's Avatar
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    Default Re: End of the road?

    join the club... now, you must write!

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    Default Re: End of the road?

    I've come nearly to the end of some mini-collections, with almost every Kaweco Sport Art issued, for instance; I sit and wait.

    Sometimes a new pen launches itself on the firmament. The two special edition Edison Colliers I've just bought were an unexpected and unmissable opportunity - very different from the rest of the Colliers, with profoundly glittering Diamondcast material.

    I tweak nibs, I repair and retrofit pens I've had for a while, and I keep hunting at flea markets where I have the occasional exciting find (last weekend an Aurora Talentum, Waterman CF and Parker 75 felt pens, and change out of ten euros!), and I use the pens I've got. I still have to find the right pen to swap my 3 new flex nibs into.

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    Default Re: End of the road?

    Reminds me of my in-laws saying that their purchase of a van would be their last vehicle. If I remember correctly, they bought three more before she died. He bought one afterwards.

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    Default Re: End of the road?

    Well, I am kinda in the same place mentally, though the Covid-19 situation interferes with my hunting pens in-the-wild. But that thread about Sailor and Pilot nibs has piqued my curiosity since I've never tried one.

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    Default Re: End of the road?

    Quote Originally Posted by silverlifter View Post
    So, is this it? Do I spend the rest of my days, perusing pen boards on the off chance that one of these pens, or one sufficiently like them, will appear and I will be able to pounce? Or do I turn my attention to stamps?

    What have the rest of you done at this point?[/SUP]
    I seriously try to imagine myself in the same situation. And failed.

    Maybe it's just the way I see this hobby, as a journey of exploration, so as long as I still can find a pen out there that I've never encountered before (or repeat encounters with pens that I don't mind having repeat encounters with), I'll keep having fun and I will keep enjoying the pens that I have and still yet to see.

    Even when one day (hopefully decades from now) when I finally have "seen them all", I would have enough pens in my collection to continue re-discover and sketch with for the rest of my life.
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

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    Default Re: End of the road?

    Thanks for all the thoughtful replies.

    I should have stated that I do use all of my pens, hence the (relatively) small size of the collection: I'm not interested in pens that sit in drawers.

    Quote Originally Posted by amk View Post
    Sometimes a new pen launches itself on the firmament..
    I guess this is the likeliest scenario. Or, as Will says, I discover another vintage pen that sparks something in me. In the meantime, I can keep myself occupied with the pens I have and hang on to the hope of the sumgai moment!
    Vintage. Cursive italic. Iron gall.

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    Default Re: End of the road?

    I've been there and kind of still am.

    I'm in the process of selling off pens that sit around.

    Now my focus is buying pens made by folks I've met and like. They connect me to my pen friends and remind me of fun at pen shows. It's especially helpful now that we're pen-show-free for a while.

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    Default Re: End of the road?

    Yeh, like the ideal number of bicycles for some people. The ideal number = N+1, where N is the number currently owned.

    Visit Main Street Pens
    A full service pen shop providing professional, thoughtful pen repair....
    Please contact us by email, and not PM for repair inquiries.

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    Senior Member Jon Szanto's Avatar
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    Default Re: End of the road?

    "When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
    and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

    ~ Benjamin Franklin

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    Default Re: End of the road?

    Thanks, Jon. Why buy any other?

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    Senior Member Jon Szanto's Avatar
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    Default Re: End of the road?

    Quote Originally Posted by FredRydr View Post
    Thanks, Jon. Why buy any other?
    Indeed - I always buy the best pen I can!
    "When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
    and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

    ~ Benjamin Franklin

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    Default Re: End of the road?

    I think I'm going to buy a pen today, just to shake things up. It's not like I need one.

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    Default Re: End of the road?

    Quote Originally Posted by silverlifter View Post
    Through a combination of luck and patience, I have managed to find myself in the position of having a very stable "collection" (<20 pens, mostly vintage), and around 1000 USD in my pen account.

    I don't need any other pens, but I have always thought that I would close out my collection with a crown jewel. The problem I have (and, yes, as problems go it is not really one that you would lose any sleep over) is that there are only a couple of pens that I pine for1:

    • Conid Flanders Field
    • Leonardo Maestro Arco Verde


    Both of which are unlikely to appear on the market, or be even close to what I would allow myself to spend on a writing instrument.

    So, is this it? Do I spend the rest of my days, perusing pen boards on the off chance that one of these pens, or one sufficiently like them, will appear and I will be able to pounce? Or do I turn my attention to stamps?

    What have the rest of you done at this point?

    1. I suppose, if pressed, there are a couple of other pens that might be more realistic, like a Namiki Emperor or a Nakaya...
    Turn to stamps. Philately seems to be on the upturn. Stampex goes virtual for a few days starting this Thursday.

    You could combine both hobbies into snail mail, if you use the pens (and ink) and then help with making used postage (they complain the modern commemoratives don't get used).

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    Senior Member Sailor Kenshin's Avatar
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    Default Re: End of the road?

    Oh, great. Now I want a Sheaffer Dolphin.
    My other pen is a Montblanc.

    And my other blog is a tumblr!


    And my latest ebook, for spooky wintery reading:

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CM2NGSSD

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    Senior Member FredRydr's Avatar
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    Default Re: End of the road?

    Quote Originally Posted by Sailor Kenshin View Post
    Oh, great. Now I want a Sheaffer Dolphin.
    Doesn't that urge happen whenever something new pops up on here?

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    Senior Member FredRydr's Avatar
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    Default Re: End of the road?

    Quote Originally Posted by Morgaine View Post
    ...Turn to stamps. Philately seems to be on the upturn. Stampex goes virtual for a few days starting this Thursday.

    You could combine both hobbies into snail mail, if you use the pens (and ink) and then help with making used postage (they complain the modern commemoratives don't get used).
    I'm not a stamp collector, but I snip all the international and older domestic stamps from cards and letters to ship in a box to U.S. Philatelist headquarters in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. They use them for an education course of some sort (Stamp Removal 101?).

    Commemoratives in the US seem to only come out on domestic first-class. Meanwhile, most of my US stamp use is domestic postcard (35¢) and international letter/postcard ($1.20), and stamps for those amounts are about as boring as can be, and only a single version is printed for a year or so. Therefore, I buy old commemoratives at face value and combine those to meet required postage amounts.

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    Default Re: End of the road?

    Quote Originally Posted by FredRydr View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Sailor Kenshin View Post
    Oh, great. Now I want a Sheaffer Dolphin.
    Doesn't that urge happen whenever something new pops up on here?
    Not always. Not if it's metal and/or skinny and/or costs over a certain amount? I have a soft spot for Sheaffers, though.
    My other pen is a Montblanc.

    And my other blog is a tumblr!


    And my latest ebook, for spooky wintery reading:

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CM2NGSSD

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    Default Re: End of the road?

    Quote Originally Posted by Morgaine View Post
    Turn to stamps. Philately seems to be on the upturn. Stampex goes virtual for a few days starting this Thursday.
    Nonsense. Philately will get you nowhere...

    Before I get my coat, I'll just observe it may not be an end of the road so much as a plateau. No doubt the majority of us have gone through a plateau or two at some point and almost hung up our nib wipe for good, but something set us off again.

    And it's funny, while I absolutely don't want a Dolphin, I have been havering over a Sheaffer on and off all afternoon. The power of suggestion is strong on this board.
    In the words of Paul Simon, you can call me Al.

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    Default Re: End of the road?

    Well I was there once in a while and all of a sudden when I see "an Eye-candy" my subconscious mind says wait for a second isn't that one is the best.
    There we go... now I have a problem about which one to use when i write someting or want to start a project.
    Because they are all better than one another, I want to do best with every best pens and the procrastination hits harder not to move on to any better move.
    It is like shooting with a cameras with so many lenses around and trying to choose or figur out a better, right perspective of a image or scene.
    I think it is the right time to say the mantra " little is more ""

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