Except for one category, my preferences change back and forth. Flex vs. non-flex; XXF to BB; COLORS!!! The one thing that hasn't changed is my preference for self-fillers.
It was the week after Glen Bowen's book signing at Daly's Pen Shop in downtown Milwaukee that I bought his book and began learning about self-filling fountain pens. Before that, my experience taught me all FPs were cartridge-fillers because that's all I'd seen for a couple of decades, and every one ran dry before the end of the day. I didn't know an FP could last longer until Bowen's book suggested it.
With the newly acquired information from Bowen's book and my limited, albeit lengthy experience (18 years), with cartridge fountain pens, l became a sophomore, otherwise known as a wise fool.
Some weeks or months later, Daly's sold me my first legit FP, a Parker 51 VF. At the time I didn't know or care that the pen was 40 years old. The most important thing was that it filled from a bottle and lasted more than a day without refilling.
Since then, my preference for self-fillers has not wavered. Why anyone would spend more than a few pennies on a pen that doesn't fill itself is beyond me. OTOH, why would anyone understand my preferences? OTOOH (On The Other Other Hand) who cares? This is all just whispers in the wind.
As for revisited FPs bringing renewed joy, there's the Esterbrook CX-100, my last school pen. I've had it for over 50 years. After paying the going price for NOS cartridges, this FP has been brought to life in the last few weeks, along with my memories. It's a real joy using the same pen from grade school. The one thing it hasn't changed is my preference for self-fillers.
So it goes.
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