Barriers to participation

[TSherbs]

One additional barrier I encounter (apologies if it's already been mentioned) is a disapproving spouse. Collections of any kind (books being the barely tolerable exception) are frowned upon and actively eliminated in our household. In part, this is to dissuade kiddo from developing the practice of collecting stuff, but it is also a large part my wife's behavioral DNA. That I have more than one fountain pen at all is often the source of arguments, let alone pursuit of the hobby which would include new pens or exploration. I've worked through all manner of justifications, some more reasonable and real than others. But, I avoid the pull of building a collection mostly for the sake of household harmony and keeping my word.

This may be atypical as a barrier, but it is one for me.

I'm with you. My wife is better now, but there was a rough patch where I got some grief. Probably some spillover tension from some other issues, in my case. Topics and concerns tend to conflate in relationships, if you know what I mean.

Sent from my moto g power using Tapatalk

[christof]

...
This may be atypical as a barrier, but it is one for me.

It's a pity, of course, but basically, if I had to choose between my beloved wife and my collection, my choice would be the human individual, not things. So I feel wirh you.

[Fermata]

...
This may be atypical as a barrier, but it is one for me.

It's a pity, of course, but basically, if I had to choose between my beloved wife and my collection, my choice would be the human individual, not things. So I feel wirh you.

Here is a TV advertisement that sums it up for me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHA4-5N5AzA

[TFarnon]

After kicking around Empty of Clouds' original post in my head for several days, all I came up with was more complexity. Yes, the things mentioned can be or are barriers to participation. On the other hand, the thing that may be a barrier to participation may not be perceived as a barrier to another. Case in point: I haven't had any face-to-face interaction with any other fountain pen collectors or users. COVID is partly responsible, but so is my work schedule, and to be honest, so is my overall temperament. It's not that I'm afraid of strangers, or of people I've never met in person before. I don't particularly suffer from social anxiety. However, I am very much a person who likes to be alone and is comfortable with being alone. For a person who is more socially oriented, the current environment (COVID) definitely presents barriers to participation. That's just one example.

Of all the barriers mentioned, I personally find most of those barriers irrelevant. That doesn't make the barriers themselves irrelevant to a great many people. If anything, it just makes considering those barriers as brain-stretching as one of those "Jill can't sit next to Bob, Jack only eats peas, and the house on the left is green" puzzles.

[Detman101]

My only barrier has been access to pens and samples.
I can afford the pens...but I'm not going to "Blind buy" every time I see something I like...then have to worry about reselling it. I can't find any local samples of "Vintage" or regular fountain pens to try out.
Two things I do not have much of are patience and longsuffering. That puts me out of the game of "buying to try...then hope to resell".
I just can't man...
I've found two FP shops that are about an hour away, but they have a limited supply of pens and none that I actually liked at the time (Though now that i'm into stubs, cartridge-converter pens are an option again!)
After errantly attempting to attend pen shows and failing to complete a mail-order monthly "Trade" with a guy on youtube (One of Nathan Tardiffs buddies) to try out vintage pens, I have given up and settled on an oversize japanese eyedropper demonstrator (Opus-88 Demo).
I have even given up on finding the perfect "Flex Nib" and have settled comfortably into the world of "Stub Nibs" which require no tinkering (Lack of longsuffering and patience...again).
I realize that I don't have what it takes to endure any sort of barriers in this arena, when it comes to my hobbies I don't always like to fight for every step forward...I'd hoped this would be an easier hobby, however...such is not the case.

[Bold2013]

I like barriers in life. They make success all the more satisfying.

[An old bloke]

I like barriers in life. They make success all the more satisfying.

Hear! Hear!

[Chip]

Not a good analogy. Recycling isn't the same as collecting. Or using.

I have a flip phone, bought last year, cheap. But I use it only for a few actual phone calls: not texts or emails or web browsing or games or music or photographs or videos.

Does anyone collect old mobile phones? Restore them?

[VertOlive]

My current limitation is space. We’ve been living on a boat since Spring this year and space is at a premium. The few pens I have aboard are not the problem so much as my letter writing supplies. It all adds up to a large plastic tote box. Fitting even that into our space requires advanced geometric calculations, negotiations (that spouse factor), and trade-offs along the lines of “toaster or pen box?”. So I just get toast if we have breakfast out these days.

But we have a vast back yard. ☺️

[Detman101]

My only barrier has been access.
I can afford the pens...but I'm not going to "Blind buy" every time I see something I like...then have to worry about reselling it.
Two things I do not have much of are patience and longsuffering.
After errantly attempting to attend pen shows and failing to complete a mail-order monthly "Trade" with a guy on youtube (One of Nathan Tardiffs buddies) to try out vintage pens, I have given up and settled on an oversize japanese eyedropper demonstrator.
I have even given up on finding the perfect "Flex Nib" and have settled comfortably into the world of "Stub Nibs" which require no tinkering (Lack of longsuffering and patience...again).

Stick a fork in me...I'm done.

I thought you had settled in with the old Secretary of de Flex?

I have...and I definitely still love that nib...but I believe my issue is really with Ebonite.
See...I carry my pen with me in my pocket...everywhere, and apparently the heat of my thigh is enough to slowly heat-deform the ebonite to the point that I have to re-"Heat-set" the feed every 3-4 months.
And outside of that, I find I have to re-align the SODF nib-tines at least weekly if I want to have a smooth writing experience.
I tire of even that weekly chore nowadays...I just do not have the time.
So...for the time being, I've settled into using stub nibs that allow for line-variation without the hassle.
I'm pretty sure I remember Jon Szanto recommending that to me waaaaay back in the beginning of this Flex-journey...but of course, I wanted what I wanted.
I still use my SODF nib, it's just not my mainstay anymore. I moved that unit to my "JS-Penbbs-355 M1-Demo" and I've ground the stock Opus-88 EF nib down to a 0.4 Stub.
The flow is nice, line variation nice and no worries about tinkering. I've got the Opus-88 1.4 Stub unit coming in the mail this week. That one, I'll grind down to 1.0 and use it when I need wider line variation.

[Detman101]

My current limitation is space. We’ve been living on a boat since Spring this year and space is at a premium. The few pens I have aboard are not the problem so much as my letter writing supplies. It all adds up to a large plastic tote box. Fitting even that into our space requires advanced geometric calculations, negotiations (that spouse factor), and trade-offs along the lines of “toaster or pen box?”. So I just get toast if we have breakfast out these days.

But we have a vast back yard. ☺️

Do they make trailers for boats?

That may not be the safest idea actually...lol.

[Bold2013]

Not a good analogy. Recycling isn't the same as collecting. Or using.

I have a flip phone, bought last year, cheap. But I use it only for a few actual phone calls: not texts or emails or web browsing or games or music or photographs or videos.

Does anyone collect old mobile phones? Restore them?

My only phone is a flip phone. I don’t collect them but I always have a back up

[Bold2013]

My only barrier has been access.
I can afford the pens...but I'm not going to "Blind buy" every time I see something I like...then have to worry about reselling it.
Two things I do not have much of are patience and longsuffering.
After errantly attempting to attend pen shows and failing to complete a mail-order monthly "Trade" with a guy on youtube (One of Nathan Tardiffs buddies) to try out vintage pens, I have given up and settled on an oversize japanese eyedropper demonstrator.
I have even given up on finding the perfect "Flex Nib" and have settled comfortably into the world of "Stub Nibs" which require no tinkering (Lack of longsuffering and patience...again).

Stick a fork in me...I'm done.

I thought you had settled in with the old Secretary of de Flex?

I have...and I definitely still love that nib...but I believe my issue is really with Ebonite.
See...I carry my pen with me in my pocket...everywhere, and apparently the heat of my thigh is enough to slowly heat-deform the ebonite to the point that I have to re-"Heat-set" the feed every 3-4 months.
And outside of that, I find I have to re-align the SODF nib-tines at least weekly if I want to have a smooth writing experience.
I tire of even that weekly chore nowadays...I just do not have the time.
So...for the time being, I've settled into using stub nibs that allow for line-variation without the hassle.
I'm pretty sure I remember Jon Szanto recommending that to me waaaaay back in the beginning of this Flex-journey...but of course, I wanted what I wanted.
I still use my SODF nib, it's just not my mainstay anymore. I moved that unit to my "JS-Penbbs-355 M1-Demo" and I've ground the stock Opus-88 EF nib down to a 0.4 Stub.
The flow is nice, line variation nice and no worries about tinkering. I've got the Opus-88 1.4 Stub unit coming in the mail this week. That one, I'll grind down to 1.0 and use it when I need wider line variation.

Look into a stylosuite Neponset with stub flex grind. Might be the best nib ever… or the opus 88 he does with the flex stub

[Detman101]

My only barrier has been access.
I can afford the pens...but I'm not going to "Blind buy" every time I see something I like...then have to worry about reselling it.
Two things I do not have much of are patience and longsuffering.
After errantly attempting to attend pen shows and failing to complete a mail-order monthly "Trade" with a guy on youtube (One of Nathan Tardiffs buddies) to try out vintage pens, I have given up and settled on an oversize japanese eyedropper demonstrator.
I have even given up on finding the perfect "Flex Nib" and have settled comfortably into the world of "Stub Nibs" which require no tinkering (Lack of longsuffering and patience...again).

Stick a fork in me...I'm done.

I thought you had settled in with the old Secretary of de Flex?

I have...and I definitely still love that nib...but I believe my issue is really with Ebonite.
See...I carry my pen with me in my pocket...everywhere, and apparently the heat of my thigh is enough to slowly heat-deform the ebonite to the point that I have to re-"Heat-set" the feed every 3-4 months.
And outside of that, I find I have to re-align the SODF nib-tines at least weekly if I want to have a smooth writing experience.
I tire of even that weekly chore nowadays...I just do not have the time.
So...for the time being, I've settled into using stub nibs that allow for line-variation without the hassle.
I'm pretty sure I remember Jon Szanto recommending that to me waaaaay back in the beginning of this Flex-journey...but of course, I wanted what I wanted.
I still use my SODF nib, it's just not my mainstay anymore. I moved that unit to my "JS-Penbbs-355 M1-Demo" and I've ground the stock Opus-88 EF nib down to a 0.4 Stub.
The flow is nice, line variation nice and no worries about tinkering. I've got the Opus-88 1.4 Stub unit coming in the mail this week. That one, I'll grind down to 1.0 and use it when I need wider line variation.

Look into a stylosuite Neponset with stub flex grind. Might be the best nib ever… or the opus 88 he does with the flex stub

Sounds nice. As long as it's a stiffer flex (stub function primary) , I'd be game to try one.
Thanks for the info!

[Bold2013]

They are steel so semi flex at best. Never misaligned. Perfectly wet.

[Detman101]

They are steel so semi flex at best. Never misaligned. Perfectly wet.

Hmmm...my SODF is steel...gets misaligned after 4-5 months of use.
But stub is thicker broader metal...might work.

[Chip]

We’ve been living on a boat since Spring this year and space is at a premium. But we have a vast back yard. ☺️

What sort of boat? Did some cruising from New Zealand, rebuilt a couple wood sailboats, and am mad about boats in general.

[PenInvestigations]

One additional barrier I encounter (apologies if it's already been mentioned) is a disapproving spouse. Collections of any kind (books being the barely tolerable exception) are frowned upon and actively eliminated in our household. In part, this is to dissuade kiddo from developing the practice of collecting stuff, but it is also a large part my wife's behavioral DNA. That I have more than one fountain pen at all is often the source of arguments, let alone pursuit of the hobby which would include new pens or exploration. I've worked through all manner of justifications, some more reasonable and real than others. But, I avoid the pull of building a collection mostly for the sake of household harmony and keeping my word.

This may be atypical as a barrier, but it is one for me.

Fully agree! My spouse has come around a bit (and even gifted me two pens), but even so, he really disapproves of how many pens I own, and that is made amply apparent every time a new pen arrives. Honestly, that's probably the main reason I've started selling pens on here. Trying to not spend more money on the hobby. And to prove that I do use the pens I own.

[PenInvestigations]

Yes indeed!

Barriers to participation can be real or perceived, and can be a shared experience or an individual one. Some barriers may seem obvious, and some are not. I find it interesting, given the global nature of our participation at various levels, to hear about the commonalities.

In the work that I do we have to address the question of why people do not access resources that would benefit their health - medical resources, physical activities, community access, and so on (there are a lot of categories). In trying to determine this we ask people for their thoughts, but also consider other questions such as whether people occupy specific groups that are somehow excluded (or feel excluded).

To give a simple example, suppose that the nearest gym was 20km away from your home, and you didn't have a vehicle or nearby public transport. It could be argued that the barrier here is a lack of transport. Or you could ask why the person doesn't have any transport, meaning that the underlying problem isn't the transport itself. Or you could ask why the person feels that going to a gym is the only way to get physical activity (there can be many reasons for this too). Or you could ask why there is no public transport, i.e. a mismatch in community planning when considering the needs of the people to get around.

The point I guess is that we should exercise our sociological imagination in order to identify the less obvious barriers.

This is such a great explanation! If you don't mind, can I quote you in my class lectures?

[BoBo Olson]

Old pens are going to have to be re-sacked, or the cork or Plastic Gasket 1.0 is shot; that is a given.......or will be.

I've had those who 'died', last up to a year, a few months, or I zombied the cork by soaking it for a couple weeks, but sooner or later even Zombies die.

Repair is a cost one factors in on the old pen.....sooner or later you are going to have to put up 1/4-1/3 of the cost of the cheap old pen and get it repaired.

If the nib is more shot than said or shown, return it.

Sometimes one gets a good deal, and a cheap pen last to even now, other times the pen ain't quite cheap, but knowing the era knew it was due repair someday, either soon, or who cares days.

Chase the nib.

Then the make and model. Pretty should be in there somewhere.

5-6 years ago I swore up and down I'd not buy another black and gold pen.....2/5s of the 'new' vintage pens seem to have been those darling classic black and gold pens since then.