The Five Stages of Acquisition...

While watching an episode of Star Trek: Voyager, I was reminded of "The Five Stages of Acquisition", which according to the Ferengi, are:

1. Infatuation
2. Justification
3. Appropriation
4. Obsession
5. Resale.

I know many folk in the fountain pen community who will identify with this. ;)

Some new arrivals...

Been swamped with work lately, so this will be brief - just a quick look at some of the pens I have received lately...

Sailor Professional Gear LE - White with Pink/Rose Gold. (Shown with my Snow White Mini and Ivory Sapporo.)

Sailor-Ujuku Professional Gear LE - Mandarin Yellow. (Shown with my Yellow Sapporo Mini and my Dandelion LE.)

This week I also received some rather lovely Indian pens, made by Guider Pen Works. I'll post more on these later, but for now, a quick group shot:

Danitrio Takumi Mt Fuji

After seven and a half months, my Mt Fuji finally arrived - and it is exquisite:



Well worth the wait! :D

Pelikan Polar Lights

My Polar Lights arrived! Fresh from Richard Binder and with a sensational XXXF nib. Here it is beside my Tortoise-Brown M400:

On Collecting Pens...

While updating my pen database this morning, it occurred to me how pleased I am with my pen collection at present. I am also pleased to say that I am no longer actively seeking pens for my collection. It's more along the lines of: If I see something I like, I might buy it - or I might not. I'm getting extremely specific now... it's easy to dismiss pens which once caught my eye.

I have been using fountain pens exclusively since 2004, when my collection consisted of several nice pens purchased a few years earlier and a few cheapies from my school days. One day in 2005, I put "fountain pen collecting" into Google, did some reading, and subsequently joined "Rambling Snail" (a now-defunct website which was the precursor to the FPN). When the RS domain was finally abandoned, I registered at the FPN in April 2006, having been a lurker there for several months.

Since that time, my collection has grown. Approximately ~130 pens are listed in this blog as part of my collection, but my database has something closer to 170 records, which is more correct. I have several duplicates of some pens, and then some cheapies, oddities and junkers which are not listed. Let's just say I have enough pens to occasionally 'rediscover' pens in a box or case which I completely forgotten I had.

In Q4 2007, I began drawing classes, and since January 2008 I have also been attending bi-weekly painting lessons, so both my pen collecting and my artistic pursuits have become my primary hobby - but pen collecting is slipping. I have simply lost the enthusiasm for pen collecting. I no longer make a dozen posts on the FPN a day, and also I simply don't enjoy visiting the site as much as I used to.

This is not some farewell post – I am most certainly not packing up my pens and going home, but my interest *has* shifted slightly. As an example: I have spent $6000 on art supplies this year, which normally would have been spent on pens. So yeah... a slight shift has occurred...

However, as I type, I am expecting a Pelikan Polar Lights this week, a Danitrio Mt. Fuji next week, and on top of that, a custom Nakaya will arrive at the end of the year. Along the way there will be others... (the Delta 'Aromatherapy' looks neat, for example!)

I guess I just wanted to say that if I seem absent, or if this blog goes without a post for a few weeks, it's because I'm sitting on the other side of the room, fountain pen (loaded with Sailor Kiwagura Waterproof Black) or paintbrush in hand, drawing or painting quietly. ;)

Pelikan Polar Lights M640

Tonight I ordered the rather delicious 'Polar Lights' SE, the latest pen in the Pelikan Natural Wonders series. Green and black, a very sexy combination. One thing though, why do the Sahara and Niagara look so... completely blah - while the Polar Lights looks so sexy...? One of life's mysteries...

Anyway, the pen is coming from Richard Binder, complete with one of those XXXF nibs which I love so much. :)

Sailor 1911 "Hanshin Tigers" LE

Here is a 1911 you won't see too often...

More details have been posted on FPN. :)

Sailor "Hougado" Edition Pens

Two very beautiful Sailor Professional Gear Slim pens joined my collection this week: a Hougado Brown and a Hougado Green.
Inked with Sailor-Hougado Deep Rust Black and Deep Moss Black respectively.

A Pilot Gift

Last week I received a very generous gift - a 1979 Pilot Red Stripe (model name unknown, so that's what I'm calling it).

I received this lovely gift because I mentioned in passing that the pen and I shared the same date code - "1179" (November 1979).

The prized Red Stripe:
Thank you. :)

Third Nakaya

I am about to sign-off on the design for my third Nakaya Piccolo!

I'm very excited about this special order... but I won't be revealing any details - all I will say is that it will feature the Chinkin / Chinkoku technique.

Happy, happy, happy!