Incomings and outgoings

My pen collection continues to evolve and is doing so in a rather organic manner, rather than according to a set plan. I think much of the reason for this is that I watch the pen sales on ebay and on various forums, and of course within our FPAu Facebook group, and many purchases are more opportunistic than specifically planned and orchestrated. The predictions for 2016 post that I made in January continues to be completely ignored, with the exception of Minamo, although that has still had to wait.

The other factor that keeps my collection rotating is that I cannot afford to outlay for a new pen without selling something I already have, especially now that my streamlined collection consists mostly of mid-range pens. This has taken my collection down to a bare half dozen, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing; when I had more pens I was uncomfortable with the fact that many would not be used for several days or weeks. Although these were lower end pens and so did not represent a bunch of money sitting there going to waste, my concern was more that it was simply a waste in its own right, and that the pens should go to better homes and their value should contribute to better purchases.

Have your pen plans changed as significantly? I only started collecting around eight months ago, so the learning curve has been steep. My new wishlist is now much smaller, whilst those remaining of my NYE predictions are still possible, but only if they crop up as excellent deals. The only pen I've sold that I want to replace at some point is the 823 FA, but it's low priority.


These were my NYE predictions for 2016, annotated with current status:

• Homo Sapiens Bronze Maxi - UNSURE
• Pilot Veep Raden Minamo - PURCHASED (just now)!
• Pilot 823s Smoke & Clear - ONLY IN FA, SELLING AMBER 823
• Franklin Christoph 20 Antique Glass - CANCELLED
• Homo Sapiens Florentine Hills - WANT LONDON FOG INSTEAD

My actual purchases so far:

• Visconti Titanium Skeleton Demonstrator, medium.
• Pelikan M805 Stresseman, extra-fine.
• Namiki Nippon Art Origami Penguin, fine.
• Pilot Prera Pink (now eyedroppered), medium.
• Vintage Sheaffer Lifetime 14kt nib for Conid.
• Pilot Veep Raden Minamo, fine.
• Pelikan M805 Blue Striated, extra-fine.

My pen sales so far:

• Kaweco Raw Al-Sport & Bronze Retro clip, extra-fine.
• Kaweco Liliput Fireblue, extra-fine.
• Kaweco Raw Brass Sport & Bronze Retro clip, extra-fine.
• Pilot 912, posting.
• Pilot 823 Amber, extra-fine.
• Franklin Christoph Stabilis 65 Ice, needlepoint & Masuyama cursive italic.
• Lamy Studio Brushed Steel, 14kt extra-fine.

Revised predictions incl. grails:

• Pelikan M800 Burnt Orange 
• Visconti Homo Sapiens London Fog (grail status)
• Omas Arco Brown Milord (grail status)
• Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze (only if great deal)
• Possibly another nib for the Conid?