2014 LA Pen Show is here! Some photos and quick impressions (Part 1)

[elesquire]

Hello all! This is my first forum post of any significance so please bear with me. Any kind words of advice for improving would definitely be appreciated. I apologize in advance for the poor quality of the photos.

The 2014 LA Pen Show has finally begun! The weather is indecently warm, hitting around the mid-60s during the day with clear skies. If it's any comfort for snowed in readers, Southern California will certainly pay for it with a massive drought soon enough.

This year's show marks my second time attending. Last year's show was overwhelming and this year looks to be no different. There's a large ballroom packed to the gills with tables surrounded on two sides by foyers, also lined with wall to wall tables themselves.
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I really enjoyed the overall friendliness of attendees and dealers in general their willingness to answer questions and teach a bit about their pens. For example, I learned that one way to distinguish original Parker 51 vac demonstrators from Ariel Kullock's fantasy Parker 51 demonstrators (which are excellent!) is to look for small Parker markings and the date code on the barrel right next to the metal clutch ring. The originals also go for about two to three times as much as the fantasy versions.
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I also learned that Waterman produced a giant pen-shaped flask for surreptitiously carrying around liquor during Prohibition. From the outside it appears to be a huge safety. I put a 3.5" W-E ringtop next to it for scale. If I had to compare it to a regular household item I'd say it's about as big if not bigger than a Mini Maglite.
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John Mottishaw's table featured a Pelikan 1,000,000 loaded with radioactive ink.
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Oooh Nakayas...
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A close-up of the fine gold inlay on the Piccolo Chinkoku Housoge Writer.
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Sarj "The One Man Pen Show" Mihas lives up to his name. Great guy with encyclopedic pen knowledge.
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You know the contents of Sarj's glass cases are special when Waterman Serenites in their various wood materials don't make the cut!
I even spotted an Oldwin in gorgeous jade green celluloid.
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This picture looks like a fairly ordinary selection of fountain pens for a show... until you uncap them and see Greg Minuskin's skilled nibwork on each and every one of them. This show might be your best chance of beating the fabled Singapore Sniper. The vintage peacock desk set base (made by Carter) is also quite nice.
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Greg also sells loose Parker 51 nibs, some stock, and some retipped to awesomely broad widths.
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End of Part 1...

[elesquire]

Part 2...

A nice reminder that fountain pens aren't just for people with deep pockets. Some decent user grade Esterbrooks and Skylines can be found here.
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What is this? Could this be a Visconti Homo Sapiens in Steel with a Power Filler? It may appear to have bronze furniture but that's just the lighting. I believe this rare combination of trim and filling system was quickly replaced with the captured converter version recently reviewed by FPGeeks.
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Anderson Pens has arrived! I didn't want to bother them since they looked super busy and focused on unloading their Noah's Ark of inks. I honestly believe they brought more ink with them than every pen store in Southern California combined (with the exception of Fred Krinke's shop). Perhaps those cages will hold this year's ink'd up rhino.
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The most stunning pen I saw today was this Attachment 9926celluloid beauty.

The clip tricked me into thinking it was a rare Pilot of some sort but nope, it's an early Visconti eyedropper. The entire pen looks like its made of the same hatch celluloid found the barrels of some very expensive Wahl Eversharp Dorics.

That's all for now! I'm looking forward to my first sit-down experience with Mike Masuyama to get some work done on a pen or two over the next dew days and watching Spencerian master Michael Sull demonstrate his craft.

[Jon Szanto]

Good wrap of the first day. I got here in the early afternoon, and was a bit disheartened at the size of the show, a fair bit smaller than last year. I have a hunch more vendors and sellers will be coming tomorrow, certainly some delayed by bad weather, though I've heard of a few that had to cancel entirely. Still great stuff everywhere!

[ethernautrix]

Hooray! Pictures! Thank you for the report, elesquire.

[Crazyorange]

Thanks for the post. More pics please

[Laura N]

Love the pictures, thank you! Except for the first one, which has me weeping. As I stare out my window at piles of snow, and a thermometer reading 12 degrees.

[Jon Szanto]

I was talking with Brian and Lisa Anderson yesterday, and they said that it was 10 times warmer here than at home. That's pretty funny.

[KrazyIvan]

Went to Halper's Pens (my local pen shop) yesterday. Apparently John is at the LA Pen show (confirmed with his wife) because the display cases were looking a bit empty on one side of the store.

[PeppWaves03]

Thanks for the wonderful post. We can live vicariously through you!

[kia]

Great post! Thank you for the update! And your pictures looked just fine to me.

[earthdawn]

THANK YOU for posting some pictures... and great pictures at that!

Sounds like the LA Pen Show is living up to it's hype.

feel free to post as many pics as you want

[Lbravo]

Soooooo jealous! I will be in LA in a couple of weeks, but alas! The show will be gone by then.

FYI - the second show post has no pics, but has links. When you click the links, board sez to notify admin. The links are no good or some such none sense. I want to see more pics. Thanks for covering the show!

[Lbravo]

This one has bad images.

[VertOlive]

Amazing weather and all those pens under one roof!

Sigh.

[Jon Szanto]

My third LA Pen Show. The best yet. They keep getting better, and now I want to travel to other pen shows.

And not for the pens, but the people.

Although the pens are good, too...

[Sandy Fry]

Hey Jon...have to disagree with you there buddy. I thought last year was way better and much busier.

I was a little disappointed but at least bought a whole 1 pen! Thinking the bad weather back east kept some vendors away.

I agree with you about the people. Had a lovely chat with the folks from Carneil pens. They are based in Dunfermline, Scotland which is only a few miles from my home town. A lot of the vendors were very helpful and friendly and didn't look aghast at my girlfriend, as each time she picked up a pen she liked it cost several thousand dollars!, when she pulled a pained expression!

Still had a great time nonetheless.

David

[Jon Szanto]

Hi Sandy, see my reply in the other thread... BTW, what days did you attend?

[Aleks]

Hey Jon...have to disagree with you there buddy. I thought last year was way better and much busier.

I was a little disappointed but at least bought a whole 1 pen! Thinking the bad weather back east kept some vendors away.

I agree with you about the people. Had a lovely chat with the folks from Carneil pens. They are based in Dunfermline, Scotland which is only a few miles from my home town. A lot of the vendors were very helpful and friendly and didn't look aghast at my girlfriend, as each time she picked up a pen she liked it cost several thousand dollars!, when she pulled a pained expression!

Still had a great time nonetheless.

David

Hi there! which day(s) did you attend? i think i might've crossed paths with you a couple times (i recall one time at John Mottishaw's table, a couple was checking out Nakayas) i could of course be wrong but maybe it was you guys

[Sandy Fry]

I was only there on the Sunday. Thinking of attending all 3 days next year. Getting time off at work almost requires a presidential order but I was lucky to be off on the weekend this time. Almost missed last year as my work was unwilling to give me the time off but relented at the last minute. I am sure we probably passed each other several times.

@Aleks...just on Sunday. I was wearing jeans and a blue shirt...my girlfriend is a wee short lass with reddish hair and was wearing a cycling type outfit. You would know me when I talk. Can't miss my heavy Scottish accent!

David