Great episode, as always. It made me reflect on my own, rapidly grown and curated, collection. I, like you, was curious, compelled to try many pens as I learned what I liked and wanted. I’m almost finished with the buying phase; enough. I WANT to write with my grail pens most often but I still love the less expensive pens: Kawecos, TWSBIs, and LAMYs (although I have a few pricy ones of those!). I couldn’t give those up. I’ve almost reached capacity physically, if not emotionally, and now it’s time to just enjoy what I have. Anything else is gravy. Cannot wait for Thursday’s video - I’m always interested in cases!
I'm adverse to paying over $50 to my door for any fountain pen. But the burgundy with gold cap Pilot E95 is pushing my Sheaffer vintage leanings 1960's snorkel fillers interests. LoL
Watching the replay - lots of great ideas there for the Onion Skin journal. I really love my Pilot E95s as well, a wonderful pocket pen that is a great writer.
Off the used market got a Sheaffer Targa with inlaid steel nib - the prettiest pen I’ve ever seen! Safari mix-n-match part to MAKE your perfect color, I’m partial to my charcoal/light green.
That is a cool idea with the onion skin. I am going to be doing the story of my life in mine on both pages because past always bleed through in life. Ordered your dark academia journal suggestions as well even as I knew the notebook cabinet has no more room 🤦
Watched the replay. Looking forward to the Waterman video. I have two vintage Watermans. Fabulous pens. I have recently purchased - but not yet received - another vintage Waterman - contemporary vintage - the Waterman Phileas. Doing FP research, I learned what a great rep this pen has and was lucky enough to find one I could purchase. I also - finally - found a Pilot E95S burgundy nib on the secondhand market. It will arrive next week. Very happy to finally find one with the color and nib I wanted secondhand. I have to start taking notes during your videos on the topics you've covered so I can comment on all of it. So hard to remember everything by the end.😂 Oh on collecting - just remembered - I don't feel compelled to buy expensive pens or to collect every colour. I greatly enjoy videos of people like you who have many expensive pens. I have about 80 pens now. I tend to start at the low end of a brand and then if I love that pen I might buy another of that brand at a higher price point. For example, I've done that with Lamy, Scheaffer, Diplomat and Pilot. I have one MB 221p. Writes great. Don't feel I need another, but that's not to say I might not buy another MB at some point. Great job as always, Tim!
I just acquired a Waterman Edson Ruby Red FP Medium Point that is new in the original box with original converter. Frightfully costly for my budget but every time I viewed, I could feel a physical effect. So it will arrive by mid month. This one plus Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age will be the crown pens of my new collection.
First of all, all my wishes to our friends in Florida, thinking in particular about Michael Rowley and John Manuel with whom have corresponded already but also for all the other members living in Florida! Please stay safe, evacuate the danger zone and take care of yourselves and your families. As always, though I wanted to try, I could not not fall asleep before the show which airs at 2am for me in Switzerland. It is a delight to watch the recording but I can't express how much I'd like to interact with you Tim and all the other participants of the show. Maybe next time...
Hear, hear! Very important to mention our friends in Florida. Stay safe! One day, Chris, we will connect. Someday I’ll do on on European Time. All the best!
I always viewed transcribing of text as a writing exercise where you can remove your mind from expression, and instead focus on your handwriting. Not only are you working on your hand-and-mind synergy parts of your brain, I find it very relaxing, improvements in my handwriting, and helps me learn, too. Doug, you should try it more often with books you have not read, and ideas yet discovered.
@@mellow-jello I bought a bottle of King Lear by wearinguel and can’t decide which pen to put it in and this morning told myself to transcribe King Lear to get in some writing practice and use some pens I’ve stashed away. I hope it is relaxing
Have fun on the big trip to Italy Hemingway Jones. I think you need to pack the Indiana Jones lever fill Conway Stewart (empty) for the trip in case you need to film an action scene, sans fedora and whip. The 4 pens and a mechanical pencil or a blackwing all make sense on a shorter trip. Just remember to travel with an ink pot with 2-3 ml of ink and you can load up the CS for adventure. Have a blast Tim in the rich and history laden part of the world you are exploring or re-exploring.
I went to the Orlando Pen Show & Atlas Sidewalk Sale and didn't buy a pen at either (well 3 Preppy's at Atlas..but gave them away as gifts). In total right now I have a total of 12 fountain pens, two rollerballs and a mechanical pencil, so for now I think my collection is stable. I am going to the London Pen Show in 2025 and have put myself on a "No Buy" until December....sadly and thankfully I almost bought a Benu last week, but the pre-order sold out, so I'm still safe in my No Buy. I have four Twisbis, so I definitely don't want another Twisbi. I want three more pens...a MB Generation in purple and a Parker Duofold in green and either an Urushi or KOP...(grails). This is the third live I've missed in a row...but great job HJ. As a I sit here in my office and watch...the video did seem to come to an end quite quickly. Enjoy Italy!!
Thanks so much! I do wrap up quickly sometimes. It’s because I hold myself to not go over the hour and I sometimes get off quicker when my voice is going! Thanks so much for the great list and comment.
Great video,really enjoyed it. I get as much enjoyment out of my more inexpensive fountain pens as anything, they do exactly what they are designed to do, which is put ink on the paper. I'm not into the multitude of nib sizes, I prefer fine and extra fine as they suit my writing style perfectly. A pen case video is an excellent idea, there are plenty to choose from. I am a huge Montblanc fanboy but simply have a hard time justifying their pen case prices, yet I justified the prices of 4 of their pens/mechanical pencil. I found a great pen case on Amazon from DiLoro, many colors to choose from, soft, supple leather, full length divider, excellent quality and the prices are amazing. I do have one Montblanc double pen case but it was gifted to me and I'll never part with it.
Hi HJ. When the Cartier came out, the rep told me that the nib was similar/the same as the MB nib, only in Cartier engraving. I didn’t really care either way, I just liked the way it wrote. Both the MB and the Cartier write very smoothly. If you’re looking for a phrase to describe your new direction ….how about a “uniquely curated collection”? Ciao!
I just completed transcribing The Hobbit by hand and in the process did the two maps included in the book. I can tell you, they are extremely detailed and took a great deal of time but they look great when completed. A challenge you will enjoy.
Ive not had any issues with my pens while flying either. And I hope you are able to catch up with Mario at Stilo&Stile in Rome while you are in Italy. The nicest guy with a great selection in a very little store.
I only have 6 pens. 2 with the nib meister and 3 on the way. Delayed shipping. But I wanted to have a smaller pen collection based on how impulsive my past hobby purchases have been. I really only want to have 7 pens and I tend to also be really brand loyal. So while creating my collection I made it a point to only buy one pen from a brand and picking pens made from several different materials to ensure that all of my pens are different and give me enough variety with such a small amount. I also picked pens that provide texture as I am a tactile person. Now I just have to find some inks and a good case and I’m all set.
On the one-off pen approach, not quite the same, but I have a guideline I try to adhere to so I can keep the collection under (some) control. Only one of any pen model and only one pen of a particular finish. I've weakened a couple or so times and purchased another of the same pen model in a different finish, but pretty much stuck to the rule. Even with these constraints, I have around 80 pens in my collection, and still quite a few brands I've yet to try.
Is there a smoother writing pen than the pilot 823 medium nib. If there is I want it. Because this pen is absolutely butter right now. At a price point of 243 on Amazon. I’m glad I didn’t buy a more expensive pen that can’t out perform this. Please if there is another smoother please tell me.
I've basically stopped buying pens for myself. Sure, I see things I like, and I do have a few on "my list", the problem is I can't find them for sale, at least not yet. But mostly I just feel, "Nah, don't need it". I now buy pens explicitly for giving away, whenever somebody I meet express any curiosity of fountain pens. I've always done that of course, but I never used to buy pens with that idea in mind. The usual have been Safari - of course -, Baoer 801, X750, 159 (non-X), Faber Castell Grip. I lately thought Jinhao Centennial 100 would become my new give-away-pen, because it's a brilliant, cheap pen (with some minor tuning). Alas, I had one of them spontaneously self-break, TWSBI & Wing Sung -style, so I don't quite trust it anymore. Though I had Iron-gall ink in it and it may have contributed to the hollow bronze stud, that holds the cap together, breaking due to corrosion. I don't know. Anyway, I recently ordered three X159s instead. I have a few Pilot Metropolitan too, could get rid of them I suppose. " I don't think any of anything would be too many. " Hemingway Jones. Can I use that as a quote? 😋
Am I missing something? I'd like to see the chats after we're done with our live chats but I can't seem to call them up! I can never remember all the pens folks talk about! Thanks!
On the mobile app, if you swipe the comments bubble (before clicking into it) to the side it shows the option to see what people say while it was live. I hope this is helpful!
The recipe to never get bored by fountain pens is to have a variety of them and of paper types and inks, and to do rotations and looking for the best combinations, and then to ponder what is the best next move to do in the acquisition of new items. It works for me!!
Precision scales are handy. Keep an index card with the empty and full weight of pens without ink windows. Pop one on the scale, read how full it is courtesy forces of nature. Much less messy than a car's dipstick. But please be careful. Gravity is the force black holes use to rip the living guts out of galaxies. If your HOA discovers you are exploiting cosmic energies without the proper permits, you could be in trouble. And, yes, I know gravity is neither a force nor an energy, it's a manifestation of spacetime distortion in the presence of mass. But give me a break, please. A typical HOA isn't going to know relativity, either.
Luckily for me and my experiments in the space time continuum there is no HOA for me to deal with. So my mini Black Holes are safe. Well, mostly safe. It is increasing in size and demanding to be called “Gordon.”
