Two new pens have joined me, and like our Presidential candidates, they are as different as can be. Unlike our candidates, they both have great looks, style, function well, and are probable keepers. The first is vintage: a 1940’s Pelikan 100N with a grey marbled Binde. This is the first Pelikan I have purchased since the […]
What happened to June? Suddenly, it’s July…June was an interesting month for the my personal evolution as a fountain pen restorer. I accepted, during May and June, just over a hundred vintage and modern fountain pens as a consignment from a significant collector, who is focusing his collection, even as it continues to grow. The […]
Part of being a collector, even a bit player like me, is keeping track of the pens that got away. No, I don’t mean the the decisions to not buy the Hundred Year Waterman or the lapsed ebay bid — not those pens. I’m talking about the ones I owned and let leave, only to […]
Notwithstanding the physical evidence of my collection, I do appreciate modern pens. Really, I do. The problem has been that I just haven’t had much need for them. Vintage pens is where I started and they fit my love of cultural history, and most of what I use is a product of my workbench. Until recently, in […]
I haven’t written much about pens I’ve bought for myself, mostly because there have been very few times that I’ve actually bought a particular pen because I wanted it — not a restoration project that appeared and then stayed with me, but for me. My Parker 75, the Columbus Stiliridio, carmine Vac-fill Sheaffer Balance, Waterman […]
Lately, I’ve been thinning my collection. Not drastically, but a minor change in direction. Until now, for a dozen or so pens I have violated my own rule of not keeping a pen that I didn’t use for a year, because they were interesting, would not likely come my way again, were among my first […]
I hadn’t planned it this way, for sure…but I’m essentially out of inventory. There are almost 40 projects awaiting my attention, but only the Ingersoll Dollar remains unsold, and it will wait patiently for the Ingersoll collector to find it. I’ve realized while that I could let this be a problem and quickly restock, it’s […]
I’m generally not a possessions kind of guy. Frankly, I don’t care much for things, except for some family stuff, two hobbies’ worth of good tools, my father’s two watches that get worn all the time, my wedding ring that I couldn’t take off if I tried, and my 50 or so fountain pens. This […]
I have two new pens, although neither was purchased to be kept. The first, bought by a friend for me in an antique shop in upstate New York, is a Wearever Bullet from 1946-48. He got it after I said “nope, don’t want it”; he thought this grungy little piece was “cool” while I thought […]
During this past summer, our trip to the Netherlands included a stop at PW Akkerman in den Haag and a purchase of a bottle of Royal Akkermanblauw ink in their signature bottle. It’s a beautiful, full, true blue that flows wonderfully. Although time and use will tell if it displaces any of the Waterman’s, Aurora, and […]