LA Pen Show 2014 Report

[tenney]

I'm so sad that I couldn't be there... I had forgotten about the Eboya mentions from last year. Hmmm... Maybe Ricky can get them to the SF Pen Show ... hint hint, nudge nudge.

I can't wait to here more at the Posse this Sunday... From Loren about what Osman said (since I've got a similar cracked barrel problem, but with a 234 1/2), and Todd with what parts and stuff he found from John... and from everyone else who was there!

[earthdawn]

Talk about a show NOT to have been missed.. WOW !!!

Thank you for the pictures and full report

[Jon Szanto]

Where else but a pen show can you walk up and have someone like John Mottishaw work on six pens while you sit there and watch and learn and chat with him? This occurred over a couple of days, and I actually went back on Sunday so I could pay him a little bit (the other days are gratis). It's so wonderful, not just the end product, but the skill involved, and such a good fellow.

I'm hooked.

[Jon Szanto]

When both men are facing the camera, Mike is the one on the left of the photo.

As to your first question...

[ethernautrix]

Ah, the strong gravitational pull of OPM. No wonder I wrote to Ricky asking him to pick up a Nakaya for me (John Mottishaw has my cc number on file, which has not been so dangerous for me as it has been for Ricky in the past). Unfortunately, the pen I wanted (heki tamenuri clipless Piccolo, EF) was not in stock, and I'll have to wait until the new shipment arrives. Of course, I can wait. Thought I would be waiting until late Summer, anyway.

I think it's funny, though, OPM - how I unwittingly participated from Poland. Hahaha.

Another great report, Ricky. It was easy to imagine being there, although I missed the excitement (Todd and Tim in a feeding frenzy at John's table, hahaha) and all the gossip, er, discussions. I love the caption on your photo of Doug: "I hope he wasn't trying to fix the pen." Hahaha!

Sigh.

Oh! And Marta's pens! WOW! The Kazuno or Stylo-Art? The black with white design. And the Paul Rossis! She has a beautiful collection of pens.

Now I will go look at your haul. *Giddy

[BMG]

Many thanks, Ricky, for the report. I have enjoyed them each year and appreciate the time and effort you put in to putting them together.

For the first time I purchased a trader's ticket and attended each day, actually twice on Friday and Saturday. It was a treat to have the time (and elbow room) to wander through the show repeatedly, talk to vendors, really look over their offerings, and hunt out the pens I was looking for. In the end, I showed some restraint and only bought one: a "Marine Green Striated" late '30s Sheaffer Lifetime Balance. Not a rare one, to be sure, but one I "needed." The other pen on my list was a Montlblanc 234 1/2 "Luxury" model of which I actually found two – one NOS and in the original box, believe it or not – but both with broad nibs, which are unusable to me. Ah, well... I did get to spend some time with John M.'s Nakaya offerings. I've been hemming and hawing about these for a couple of years now and am finally considering getting one (current fav: a Portable Cigar in the Kuro-tamenuri finish). Oh, and Michael M.'s "mystery guest" did a beautiful job fine tuning a nib for me. A couple reactions to previous comments:

I agree that Sunday's crowd seemed less intense than last year, though it was still a challenge to get close enough to some tables to actually see and handle the pens.

I found the vintage prices to be consistent with what I see on-line, and even noticed a few bargains: Pelikan 140s for $80, a gray 400 for $250, a tortoise 400N for $250...

If Loren's going to go bionic with his MB 236, perhaps he should go whole hog (is it appropriate to use that expression when talking about Montblancs?) and have a new barrel with a custom binde made for it.

I'm already looking forward to next year's show.

[plistumi]

SNIP...

Nearly to the end of the hotel.

Wow! Sorry for the photobomb! <=== Just practicing modern vocabulary.

Ricky, thanks for the wonderful report.
And, yes, I fell in the Ricky;s sandtrap of OPM. He did a good job spending mine!
This was indeed a great show.

[BMG]

@ethernautrix – I just noticed that you're located on cloud 8 1/2. Please say hi to Giudo for me!

[Tyto]

Last year's and this year's LA show were only my first and second pen shows ever, so my observations don't have the benefit of much experience, but your comment about this year being much more of a "buying show" compared to last year rang true for me. Last year, I had a list so small and anodyne as to barely deserve mention, and I still found very little. This year was an embarrassment of riches and, like you, I struggled to stay within my self-imposed limit. Also, your observation about the lower level of Sunday chaos this year seemed right. That said, Pendleton's absence this year clearly contributed to the chaos surrounding the nibmeisters that attended.

Regarding Masuyama's Mystery Guest, I was initially disappointed when I sat for my appointment and was shifted away from Mike. That evaporated when I read the other name tag.

[RudyR]

Last year's and this year's LA show were only my first and second pen shows ever, so my observations don't have the benefit of much experience, but your comment about this year being much more of a "buying show" compared to last year rang true for me. Last year, I had a list so small and anodyne as to barely deserve mention, and I still found very little. This year was an embarrassment of riches and, like you, I struggled to stay within my self-imposed limit. Also, your observation about the lower level of Sunday chaos this year seemed right. That said, Pendleton's absence this year clearly contributed to the chaos surrounding the nibmeisters that attended.

Regarding Masuyama's Mystery Guest, I was initially disappointed when I sat for my appointment and was shifted away from Mike. That evaporated when I read the other name tag.

Sorry, I guess i missed out on who the mystery guest was. Who is he and why is he so important?

[lsmith42]

If Loren's going to go bionic with his MB 236, perhaps he should go whole hog (is it appropriate to use that expression when talking about Montblancs?) and have a new barrel with a custom binde made for it.

The bionic 236 will (hopefully) stop with a new, unpainted celluloid barrel to show off that telescoping piston mechanism. But alas, it will be at least a year away...

[BMG]

The bionic 236 will (hopefully) stop with a new, unpainted celluloid barrel to show off that telescoping piston mechanism. But alas, it will be at least a year away...

Hmm, hmm...

Would it be indiscreet to ask who will be doing the work?

Sorry, I guess i missed out on who the mystery guest was. Who is he and why is he so important?

I'm getting curious about this one myself! I'm sorry now I didn't take note of who he was...

[Tyto]

[QUOTE=RudyR;67363]

Sorry, I guess i missed out on who the mystery guest was. Who is he and why is he so important?

Show's over, so I guess it's OK to mention: it was Yukio Nagahara, the son in the father-son team of exotic nib design at Sailor.

[lsmith42]

Hmm, hmm...

Would it be indiscreet to ask who will be doing the work?

Sorry, I guess i missed out on who the mystery guest was. Who is he and why is he so important?

I'm getting curious about this one myself! I'm sorry now I didn't take note of who he was...

Joe DaCosta will be checking on his material store in Portugal to see if he has the right rod stock (he was concerned about the ID needed). If so, the pen will meet him in Arizona in November (there are apparently massive issues with Portuguese customs and pen repairs, in that they think they are actual purchases to be taxed - something about a retaliatory divorced customs official whose ex spent all their money on pens).

As for the second question, that information remains classified.

[lsmith42]

[QUOTE=Tyto;67366]

Sorry, I guess i missed out on who the mystery guest was. Who is he and why is he so important?

Show's over, so I guess it's OK to mention: it was Yukio Nagahara, the son in the father-son team of exotic nib design at Sailor.

Or not...

[Sketchy]

After thirty six hours of wandering the pen show you'd think everything had been seen but Ricky's report was like adding another day of things I'd missed. Thanks for a great report Ricky!

It was really quite fun this year to show up with a list of pens I wanted and to find them with the help of my OPM facilitators...although it does get a bit, or a lot, more expensive if one does not leave upon completion of the list and makes a new list.

[BMG]

Joe DaCosta will be checking on his material store in Portugal to see if he has the right rod stock (he was concerned about the ID needed). If so, the pen will meet him in Arizona in November (there are apparently massive issues with Portuguese customs and pen repairs, in that they think they are actual purchases to be taxed - something about a retaliatory divorced customs official whose ex spent all their money on pens).

Sounds quite interesting (esp. the retaliatory divorced customs official whose ex... ). I do hope that you'll keep us updated on it.

[DanDeM]

Outadapark, Ricky. You hit it outadapark.

BTW Geekers, when I bumped into Ricky on Thurs morning, he had already spent the better part
of my annual pen budget --- so it wasn't just OPM.

Many thanks. Fun to see.

[AltecGreen]

Outadapark, Ricky. You hit it outadapark.

BTW Geekers, when I bumped into Ricky on Thurs morning, he had already spent the better part
of my annual pen budget --- so it wasn't just OPM.

Many thanks. Fun to see.

It was great seeing you again.


I loved those Eclipses. It was weird not seeing you without a John Holland or a Wirt.

[AltecGreen]

[QUOTE=lsmith42;67371]

Sorry, I guess i missed out on who the mystery guest was. Who is he and why is he so important?

Show's over, so I guess it's OK to mention: it was Yukio Nagahara, the son in the father-son team of exotic nib design at Sailor.

Or not...

At least it wasn't one of us who said it. I suppose word would have gotten out eventually.

Still, it may have been better in the long run had his name not been mentioned here.