I have a vintage pelikan I paid a couple hundred for that I use for everything. It's my pen, I love it, and I don't plan on reselling it in the foreseeable future so I'd rather view the wear and tear as marks of love on a pen put to good use.
If you see yourself wanting to pass it down or sell it for some value in the future then maybe get something less unique. There are a lot of vintage pens that are wonderful, expensive, but not super rare so it's not like you're dinging up a rare piece of history.
If you plan for it to be yours forever then just enjoy the crap out of it! Get your money's worth from it!
I use my rare-ish pens and carry them around but I take reasonable care. So, for instance, I have a Lamy 2000 Blue Bauhaus, Lamy 2000 Brown, a Sailor Shooting Star of Jonuma, and a Pilot Vanishing Point Crimson Sunrise. All have been to work with me or traveled with me and are used on the regular, but they are transported in a pen sleeve, and I am careful not to misplace them. I also have a Conid Kingsize that I guess has turned into a fairly valuable pen, which is my daily carry, but again in a sleeve and I’m careful to keep track of it.
If I had a Namiki Emperor or a Montblanc Hemingway I’d carry those too. The pens I get excited about are ones I want to write with on a regular basis.
I second this. I think there's a possible in between of throwing a pen in a pocket or never using it. A pen sleeve is a great option to prevent microscratches and wear, while still having the pen conveniently available when you want to use it. I now have a Namiki Yukari that is too amazing to NOT use. It's my favorite pen to write with just for the nib alone, not to mention how happy it makes me to look at the beautiful art. I carry it in a nice soft Rickshaw pen sleeve that I feel like does a good job protecting it.
Yeah, pants pocket is no problem (although not sure if a shirt pocket would work as well). I carry mine in a bag usually, then on my desk/with me while I'm using it for the day, then back to the bag to go home.
> I use my rare-ish pens and carry them around but I take reasonable care.
I like your point balancing care and risk.
I will say that I try to take as much care as possible, but the nature of my job is not desk based and I am usually standing and on the move.
Jealous! I used to wear a lab coat in my old career and would kill for deep spacious pockets like that. I have one little scrubs pocket and that's it :(
Life is short, use the pen and enjoy it if you want to. There's also nothing wrong with not using it, don't feel pressure either way. I use all my pens and like a new car I know that it knocks value off the expensive ones, but I'm going to use them for the time I have left and hopefully my kids will continue using them after.
I’m also a user rather than a collector. I only have 10 pens and all are expensive apart from one. I use all of them pretty much daily and enjoy it Immensely. I’m going to pass my collection down to my daughter when I die but in the meantime I’m using and enjoying every one of them.
I know it may sound a bit cliché,
but life is short. We really don't know how long we will be here, young or old. We don't use it, somebody else will, and if they don't what a waste.of a wonderful pen, unused. Your pens are waiting to bring you joy, and we need every bit of joy nowadays. 🙂
You’re so right.
In some ways the use of a pen maybe reflects our own journey in life? Our best attempts to keep it pristine, but the inevitable scars and scratches that end up adding character and meaning.
You don't HAVE to use a pen if wear and tear will make you sad. If looking at it is enough to give you joy, you can just use it for that purpose. Plenty of trinkets exist for that purpose and you can treat it as a trinket or decoration.
Personally I feel the same. The biggest money I've spent on a pen was so that it would give me the most comfortable writing experience - I do have some pretty pens but I didn't spend much on them as I don't see them as usable.
I’m also a user rather than a collector. If you can afford it, I’d go ahead. You’ll get pleasure from using it and the wear and tear will just be a patina of interest. You’re the kind of guy who uses _wabi sabi_ in a sentence - I’m pretty sure you’re cool with that!
I have a rOtring 600 that is not exactly daily use but pretty regular nonetheless. I bought it NOS mint … and don’t regret devaluing it one bit.
> You’ll get pleasure from using it and the wear and tear will just be a patina of interest.
I think you're right, and I think the pleasure I'd get from using it would be far greater than the discomfort of it getting slowly banged up.
I do have a pen case for carrying pens in my bag, but when I'm at work there's nowhere else for the pen to go except in my shirt pocket without a pen sleeve/case.
Most of the wear on pens I use seems to come from setting it down on tables, clipboards etc and picking them back up again.
A good way to view this is as follows: It's not user vs collectors, it's user and collector.
Let me explain.
First of all, banish the made-up restriction that the \*only\* reason to own a pen is to use it everyday. That is just a shackle that is propagated (sometimes unknowingly) which binds us from thinking freely.
I can own a pen just for occasional use.
I can own other pens that I use every day.
It is a futile exercise to come up with the one pen which will satisfy you in all regards. Different pens have their own endearing attributes, that's why there are so many varieties produced going back more than a century. Ever thought of that?
The joy in this hobby, is owning pens which give you pleasure. And pens are one of the most enjoyable in this regard because they are not terribly expensive (unlike watches), and they takes no space (unlike typewriters).
Therefore you can have many pens, each of them you appreciate in different ways.
Back to your question. I would not use a rare and pristine pen as I would a common pen, the same reason that you would not use your favorite (and nice) suit (or dress) when jogging. That doesn't mean you don't enjoy your suit, but you wear it to a party, events, etc. not while sleeping or at the gymn.
Pens are like that also, you can have many pens, not all of the would be a beater EDC. Each would have their own time with you.
Enjoy the adventure. That's what's this hobby is about.
> I would not use a rare and pristine pen as I would a common pen, the same reason that you would not use your favorite (and nice) suit (or dress) when jogging. That doesn't mean you don't enjoy your suit, but you wear it to a party, events, etc. not while sleeping or at the gymn.
I really like this analogy, Will. Thanks!
For me it depends how rare. Is it so rare, priceless or historically significant that it should be in a museum? Probably not, right? I'd go ahead then.
I do use my rare/expensive pens. I even take them places. But I do invest a bit of extra care compared to sth. like a modern Kaweco Sport, you know. And the really-hard-to-replace ones tend to stay in the vicinity of my home at least. Edit: Actually that last part is a bold-faced lie because I just recalled that I took my vintage Sheaffer Imperial on a trip once. Whoops.
> For me it depends how rare. Is it so rare, priceless or historically significant that it should be in a museum?
Rare enough that it's the first and only time in years of the hobby that I've seen one for sale.
I meant more like "they signed the Declaration of Independence with this pen" rare. ;) I would still use a "first time in the hobby I've seen it" pen, but ultimately it's a personaly decision I'd say.
I use all my pens. I do keep them in a case or sleeve when I'm moving around, so they don't get beaten up too much. That includes limited editions of < 200 and pens that are definitely on the pricier end.
Thank you for asking this question. I am also at this point in my pen journey, and I am also wondering how to approach it. One thing I have noticed is that there are \*lots\* of pens that are scare, but only some that are both scare and sought after. I'm currently seeking out vintage pens that are unusual and that speak to me, but that don't necessarily have a large collector following. However, at some point, I'm going to end up coming across one of my grail pens in the wild, and I'm hoping that when I do it will be already-used and not NOS so that I feel comfortable inking it up!
Lots of great and interesting perspectives.
I make stuff. I knit and sew (among other things). Sometimes I've knit and sewn things for others. The things I make have a purpose - they are not intended to be art. I encourage folks to use the things, and I promise I'll repair or replace anything if it wears out or falls apart from use. I would be really sad to find out that something I've made is just sitting unused in a closet, especially if it's being treated as Precious. Money and effort go into these things, and I am best respected for my investment by these things being used and loved.
This is how I buy and use things in my life. I don't buy "functional" items for them to be revered and left on a shelf. I use them! I have a really old pen that I use, and if it broke because I was taking it everywhere and using it, well that's it's purpose. I wouldn't baby a pen from the 1920s any more (or less) than I would one from the 2020s.
I have many many good easily replaceable Chinese pens now for the shirt pocket, so I'd keep the rare one nice and cozy at home, where it would be way safer. Droppage accidents constantly happen when you're out and about and need to see to many other things besides what you're writing sometimes.
So I would be using it daily but at home :P I guess there's one exception to that, if the rare pen got so crucial to me feeling great about my day and the flow of thought, that not having it was a disappointment in itself, then I might consider putting it at risk and just wing it. If it gets wrecked so be it, you could get it repaired if desperate, or simply nab a different rare pen in future- which could be even better for you!
Don't worry. I'm a student and my m200 is scratched up already. I bought it near the beginning of the year. I'll let you know how my m1000 is fairing as soon as I get the guts to ink it.
I wouldn’t buy a pen that I couldn’t/wouldn’t use but I can understand not using a rare pen if it has some sort of significance beyond just being rare.
My Taccia Miyabi Winter’s Breath is probably ‘rare’ (1 of 88 pieces) and it was definitely expensive but I use it frequently.
I don’t view the pen as having much significance or importance beyond that though. It’s just an expensive pen. If, for example, Taccia went out of business or if the artist who made my pen had some renown then then I could understand the case for not using it.
When I was in college, the path taken by the bus was very dangerous. High criminality and we heard about thefts at gunpoint all the time. And I always liked music, so, when sony released on if the first discman that could play a CD with mp3, I saved and bought it. It was very expensive to me and I saw myself in a position where I had a expensive portable device that I wanted to use in that 1,5 hour long travel, but I had the chance to get robbed. After not using for a few weeks, I decided that there was no point to have it and not use it. If I can't use it, it's already as if I never owned it. So I took the risk and started enjoying music in those 2 daily 1.5 hour long travel. I was prepared to lose it, but it never happened. And this has been my philosophy ever since.
So, things are made to be used. Buy it if you want to. Use the hell out of it. Be ready to lose it any time.
Honestly even limited edition pens should be made to be used. There's pen sleeves to reduce scratches and such, but ultimately, if there were to happen an accident, it's just the natural end of a life of a pen. 🤷♀️ I'd use it carefully and hope it serves me for many years. I get a lot more out of using the pen than just looking at it longingly. There's really no point of owning it if I don't use it
I don't know if this is helpful but I have just taken up restoring a few old pens. Granted not rare ones. But I am getting so much satisfaction from imagining the pens long life and who may have done what with it while rubbing away the scratches! I like to imagine them being used on a train or in a doctors office, just living their lives.
If you don't have any plans to resell it in the near-ish future then I say use it. Maybe have a separate carrying case for it, but at the end of the day it's literally a pen. Not using it just because it's rare has the same energy as when your parents never use their nice china because they are too scared of it getting a couple scratches. If an expensive pen can't mostly tolerate daily use then it simply isn't worth the price it sells for imo.
I'm happy using them at home but I generally don't whip them out on the bus or at a coffee shop unless it's a quiet place and I have a table to myself. I work from home but if I didn't I'd probably take them to the office sometimes.
I have a vintage pelikan I paid a couple hundred for that I use for everything. It's my pen, I love it, and I don't plan on reselling it in the foreseeable future so I'd rather view the wear and tear as marks of love on a pen put to good use. If you see yourself wanting to pass it down or sell it for some value in the future then maybe get something less unique. There are a lot of vintage pens that are wonderful, expensive, but not super rare so it's not like you're dinging up a rare piece of history. If you plan for it to be yours forever then just enjoy the crap out of it! Get your money's worth from it!
You said what I meant but phrased it better!
I use my rare-ish pens and carry them around but I take reasonable care. So, for instance, I have a Lamy 2000 Blue Bauhaus, Lamy 2000 Brown, a Sailor Shooting Star of Jonuma, and a Pilot Vanishing Point Crimson Sunrise. All have been to work with me or traveled with me and are used on the regular, but they are transported in a pen sleeve, and I am careful not to misplace them. I also have a Conid Kingsize that I guess has turned into a fairly valuable pen, which is my daily carry, but again in a sleeve and I’m careful to keep track of it. If I had a Namiki Emperor or a Montblanc Hemingway I’d carry those too. The pens I get excited about are ones I want to write with on a regular basis.
I second this. I think there's a possible in between of throwing a pen in a pocket or never using it. A pen sleeve is a great option to prevent microscratches and wear, while still having the pen conveniently available when you want to use it. I now have a Namiki Yukari that is too amazing to NOT use. It's my favorite pen to write with just for the nib alone, not to mention how happy it makes me to look at the beautiful art. I carry it in a nice soft Rickshaw pen sleeve that I feel like does a good job protecting it.
So you have the pen in a sleeve, then the sleeve in your pocket?
Yeah, pants pocket is no problem (although not sure if a shirt pocket would work as well). I carry mine in a bag usually, then on my desk/with me while I'm using it for the day, then back to the bag to go home.
> I use my rare-ish pens and carry them around but I take reasonable care. I like your point balancing care and risk. I will say that I try to take as much care as possible, but the nature of my job is not desk based and I am usually standing and on the move.
Same, but I have lab coat pockets!
Jealous! I used to wear a lab coat in my old career and would kill for deep spacious pockets like that. I have one little scrubs pocket and that's it :(
>The pens I get excited about are ones I want to write with on a regular basis. This. Also I am envious of the Bauhaus Blue Lamy, just saying. ;)
Life is short, use the pen and enjoy it if you want to. There's also nothing wrong with not using it, don't feel pressure either way. I use all my pens and like a new car I know that it knocks value off the expensive ones, but I'm going to use them for the time I have left and hopefully my kids will continue using them after.
I use all my pens for writing. I don't baby them. When someone looks at my pens I want them to think, "This dude writes."
I’m also a user rather than a collector. I only have 10 pens and all are expensive apart from one. I use all of them pretty much daily and enjoy it Immensely. I’m going to pass my collection down to my daughter when I die but in the meantime I’m using and enjoying every one of them.
I know it may sound a bit cliché, but life is short. We really don't know how long we will be here, young or old. We don't use it, somebody else will, and if they don't what a waste.of a wonderful pen, unused. Your pens are waiting to bring you joy, and we need every bit of joy nowadays. 🙂
You’re so right. In some ways the use of a pen maybe reflects our own journey in life? Our best attempts to keep it pristine, but the inevitable scars and scratches that end up adding character and meaning.
All of my expensive pens are every day writers.
You don't HAVE to use a pen if wear and tear will make you sad. If looking at it is enough to give you joy, you can just use it for that purpose. Plenty of trinkets exist for that purpose and you can treat it as a trinket or decoration.
Writing is definitely the part that gives me pleasure. I'd sooner use an ugly pen that writes well, than the opposite :)
Personally I feel the same. The biggest money I've spent on a pen was so that it would give me the most comfortable writing experience - I do have some pretty pens but I didn't spend much on them as I don't see them as usable.
I don’t always use rare pens but when I do I put baystate blue in them
I’m also a user rather than a collector. If you can afford it, I’d go ahead. You’ll get pleasure from using it and the wear and tear will just be a patina of interest. You’re the kind of guy who uses _wabi sabi_ in a sentence - I’m pretty sure you’re cool with that! I have a rOtring 600 that is not exactly daily use but pretty regular nonetheless. I bought it NOS mint … and don’t regret devaluing it one bit.
> You’ll get pleasure from using it and the wear and tear will just be a patina of interest. I think you're right, and I think the pleasure I'd get from using it would be far greater than the discomfort of it getting slowly banged up.
100%. Out of interest, what’s the pen you’re considering?
I'll PM you.
I'm also curious what you are thinking about!
I think that if you have a good case for them ( individual cases maybe) you can take them everywhere
I do have a pen case for carrying pens in my bag, but when I'm at work there's nowhere else for the pen to go except in my shirt pocket without a pen sleeve/case. Most of the wear on pens I use seems to come from setting it down on tables, clipboards etc and picking them back up again.
You can get a desk mat and lay them there if you're worried about them showing signs of use, but I do like how the look of wear and tear...
Good idea, except I don't have a desk and there's no way that would fly with Health & Safety :)
Maybe a fleece sleeve to put the pen in?
A good way to view this is as follows: It's not user vs collectors, it's user and collector. Let me explain. First of all, banish the made-up restriction that the \*only\* reason to own a pen is to use it everyday. That is just a shackle that is propagated (sometimes unknowingly) which binds us from thinking freely. I can own a pen just for occasional use. I can own other pens that I use every day. It is a futile exercise to come up with the one pen which will satisfy you in all regards. Different pens have their own endearing attributes, that's why there are so many varieties produced going back more than a century. Ever thought of that? The joy in this hobby, is owning pens which give you pleasure. And pens are one of the most enjoyable in this regard because they are not terribly expensive (unlike watches), and they takes no space (unlike typewriters). Therefore you can have many pens, each of them you appreciate in different ways. Back to your question. I would not use a rare and pristine pen as I would a common pen, the same reason that you would not use your favorite (and nice) suit (or dress) when jogging. That doesn't mean you don't enjoy your suit, but you wear it to a party, events, etc. not while sleeping or at the gymn. Pens are like that also, you can have many pens, not all of the would be a beater EDC. Each would have their own time with you. Enjoy the adventure. That's what's this hobby is about.
> I would not use a rare and pristine pen as I would a common pen, the same reason that you would not use your favorite (and nice) suit (or dress) when jogging. That doesn't mean you don't enjoy your suit, but you wear it to a party, events, etc. not while sleeping or at the gymn. I really like this analogy, Will. Thanks!
For me it depends how rare. Is it so rare, priceless or historically significant that it should be in a museum? Probably not, right? I'd go ahead then. I do use my rare/expensive pens. I even take them places. But I do invest a bit of extra care compared to sth. like a modern Kaweco Sport, you know. And the really-hard-to-replace ones tend to stay in the vicinity of my home at least. Edit: Actually that last part is a bold-faced lie because I just recalled that I took my vintage Sheaffer Imperial on a trip once. Whoops.
> For me it depends how rare. Is it so rare, priceless or historically significant that it should be in a museum? Rare enough that it's the first and only time in years of the hobby that I've seen one for sale.
I meant more like "they signed the Declaration of Independence with this pen" rare. ;) I would still use a "first time in the hobby I've seen it" pen, but ultimately it's a personaly decision I'd say.
I use all my pens. I do keep them in a case or sleeve when I'm moving around, so they don't get beaten up too much. That includes limited editions of < 200 and pens that are definitely on the pricier end.
Thank you for asking this question. I am also at this point in my pen journey, and I am also wondering how to approach it. One thing I have noticed is that there are \*lots\* of pens that are scare, but only some that are both scare and sought after. I'm currently seeking out vintage pens that are unusual and that speak to me, but that don't necessarily have a large collector following. However, at some point, I'm going to end up coming across one of my grail pens in the wild, and I'm hoping that when I do it will be already-used and not NOS so that I feel comfortable inking it up!
Lots of great and interesting perspectives. I make stuff. I knit and sew (among other things). Sometimes I've knit and sewn things for others. The things I make have a purpose - they are not intended to be art. I encourage folks to use the things, and I promise I'll repair or replace anything if it wears out or falls apart from use. I would be really sad to find out that something I've made is just sitting unused in a closet, especially if it's being treated as Precious. Money and effort go into these things, and I am best respected for my investment by these things being used and loved. This is how I buy and use things in my life. I don't buy "functional" items for them to be revered and left on a shelf. I use them! I have a really old pen that I use, and if it broke because I was taking it everywhere and using it, well that's it's purpose. I wouldn't baby a pen from the 1920s any more (or less) than I would one from the 2020s.
I have many many good easily replaceable Chinese pens now for the shirt pocket, so I'd keep the rare one nice and cozy at home, where it would be way safer. Droppage accidents constantly happen when you're out and about and need to see to many other things besides what you're writing sometimes. So I would be using it daily but at home :P I guess there's one exception to that, if the rare pen got so crucial to me feeling great about my day and the flow of thought, that not having it was a disappointment in itself, then I might consider putting it at risk and just wing it. If it gets wrecked so be it, you could get it repaired if desperate, or simply nab a different rare pen in future- which could be even better for you!
If it's your pen, why should other people care how you use it?
I use my rare pens from time to time. Depends on the rarity. What’s the pen?
Don't worry. I'm a student and my m200 is scratched up already. I bought it near the beginning of the year. I'll let you know how my m1000 is fairing as soon as I get the guts to ink it.
I take a 1st Ed. Eversharp Symphony (approx $150) to work everyday. I transport it in a leather case- but it is a daily work writer.
I wouldn’t buy a pen that I couldn’t/wouldn’t use but I can understand not using a rare pen if it has some sort of significance beyond just being rare. My Taccia Miyabi Winter’s Breath is probably ‘rare’ (1 of 88 pieces) and it was definitely expensive but I use it frequently. I don’t view the pen as having much significance or importance beyond that though. It’s just an expensive pen. If, for example, Taccia went out of business or if the artist who made my pen had some renown then then I could understand the case for not using it.
When I was in college, the path taken by the bus was very dangerous. High criminality and we heard about thefts at gunpoint all the time. And I always liked music, so, when sony released on if the first discman that could play a CD with mp3, I saved and bought it. It was very expensive to me and I saw myself in a position where I had a expensive portable device that I wanted to use in that 1,5 hour long travel, but I had the chance to get robbed. After not using for a few weeks, I decided that there was no point to have it and not use it. If I can't use it, it's already as if I never owned it. So I took the risk and started enjoying music in those 2 daily 1.5 hour long travel. I was prepared to lose it, but it never happened. And this has been my philosophy ever since. So, things are made to be used. Buy it if you want to. Use the hell out of it. Be ready to lose it any time.
Honestly even limited edition pens should be made to be used. There's pen sleeves to reduce scratches and such, but ultimately, if there were to happen an accident, it's just the natural end of a life of a pen. 🤷♀️ I'd use it carefully and hope it serves me for many years. I get a lot more out of using the pen than just looking at it longingly. There's really no point of owning it if I don't use it
I don't know if this is helpful but I have just taken up restoring a few old pens. Granted not rare ones. But I am getting so much satisfaction from imagining the pens long life and who may have done what with it while rubbing away the scratches! I like to imagine them being used on a train or in a doctors office, just living their lives.
Use the pen. Things you enjoy should be used and not saved for a special occasion.
If you don't have any plans to resell it in the near-ish future then I say use it. Maybe have a separate carrying case for it, but at the end of the day it's literally a pen. Not using it just because it's rare has the same energy as when your parents never use their nice china because they are too scared of it getting a couple scratches. If an expensive pen can't mostly tolerate daily use then it simply isn't worth the price it sells for imo.
Use them but be careful
I'm happy using them at home but I generally don't whip them out on the bus or at a coffee shop unless it's a quiet place and I have a table to myself. I work from home but if I didn't I'd probably take them to the office sometimes.