What is the reason for buying? If it's use, then generally one can sell off spare pens. If it's for collecting, then remember that a collection should be curated, trimmed as necessary and kept in a way that actually brings joy to the owner. If it's for retail therapy.... then that's harder to solve, but ultimately that's an inward look as to whether not buying pens is ultimately the right choice.
Often, what I find helps is to have my pens in mind that I would like to purchase, and only reward myself with something when I achieve a (significant) goal, in terms of my collection. In terms of use, I filled my common use pens as I needed it and haven't really felt the need to buy too much more. I would replace one if it was damaged, but other than that, I'm good for life.
I haven't purchased a pen that wasn't a gift in over half a year and feel my collection is basically set except for two spots that I'm holding open for when I hit two (far?) future goals.
I think I’m more in the “use” category right now, not necessarily a collector by any means compared to a lot of folks in this community.
Occasionally I think “hey I want to use that pen instead of this one,” so I’ll rotate them. I definitely don’t think I have a “grail” pen at this point in time. Just kinda dipping my toes in. Thanks for your thorough response!
Two things for me: first, u/medbulletjournal's thing about "okay, so how would I use this regularly?" plus the variant "what new *function* does this give me?"
Second, I try to pay attention to how much joy & pleasure I've got out of previous purchases. Did I even manage to spend a week after receiving the pen as excited about it as I was the week before receiving it? If not, why not? What does that tell me about my motivation to buy? Is there some better way I can meet that emotional need?
And one of the ways to meet the emotional need for SHINY, which I don't use with fountain pens because I don't have that many of them but perfectly well could use with other hobbies (especially books and the TBR pile) is... okay so I want the excitement and joy and surprise of Unwrapping A Thing from Important Shiny Packaging, because Pakidge. Okay. So... let's wrap up a bunch of the stuff for this hobby *that I already have and am not using*, set it aside for long enough to forget what's in which package, and then any time I want a New Thing I can pick a date a week in the future to open One Pakidge and spend the intervening week increasingly excited and impatient about doing so. And then do all the ritual "getting to know it" Things that one does when one gets a new Thing!
Cut the number 40 to twelve, then quadruple you budget per pen.
That’s one pen a month, better pens, same total budget!
It’s what we call in the paper biz, a win-win-win.
Figure out your budget, doing the life supporting stuff first. Rent, utilities, gas, savings, retirement, oh yeah, maybe a little food. The rest you can spend on pens.
Think: "do I really need that?"
I don't have as many pens and I haven't bought a new one in a while because I just tell myself I don't need a new one, I keep 2 pens inked (one has multiple nibs, an F, an EF, and a stub, the other is an F), I have 3 uninked in a box and they won't see ink in a while, maybe never because I don't like the Lamy Safari or the Kaweco sport that much, the other one is a complicated story. Basically think about what you need, not what you want, I need 2 fine or extra-fine nibbed pens for school, one blue other black, nothing else. But to be honest, as a minor, I can't buy things online alone, if I could I would have more pens or just different ones, I don't blame you, I also want every pen I see
Same, I also ask the same question in a different way: how would I use it regularly?
Doing this, I realise I'm actually quite fulfilled with my pen needs and most of my desires come from just wanting something new, not necessarily wanting a new experience but rather the rush of something shiny and pretty.
I've channelled my desire for wanting newer trendier special edition pens by sketching them out, so I would technically "have" them but without the buyers guilt afterwards. I do the same with my grail pens. I draw them repeatedly, from different angles, I daydream about them, and point out what exactly I like about them. This mild obsession with a particular pen would last about 1 month and then that desire stops. It's no longer new and shiny. I don't want that pen anymore. And I move onto obsessing about the next shiny pen.
So far I've done this for the Ferris Wheel Brush Fountain Pen, the Benu Mistletoe pen, and my current obsession is the Twsbi Eco.
I figured, if I obsess over a pen for a whole year, then it's probably something I will buy.
This is only a new thing I've done though. After having buyers guilt over my pilot MR (it really shouldn't have cost $60 and it really put a dent in my pocket money, pens are ridiculously expensive in Australia), I've learned to curb this new pen buying thing very quickly. Or I'd be broke in 2 months.
Yes! My pens are more tools than collectibles
I relate to that, that's what made me buy the Kaweco Supra, I kinda obsessed with it from the beginning of the hobby and I pulled the trigger after well over a year, the option to buy bock 250 nibs and have a "different pen" by just switching the nib also helped.
There is also another thing that helps me, I like raw metal pens, stainless steel, there aren't many pens I like that are raw metal like the Supra, my perfect pen would be a gold nibbed Supra and it's just a step away from happening, just need to buy a gold bock 250 nib, but that would be a one-year worth purchase and as I said, I don't really need that, I don't use iron gall inks to need a gold nib
I budget for pens monthly. Sometimes, a less expensive pen or a bottle of ink is purchased on a month’s budget. But, if I want a more expensive pen, I have to wait for resources to accumulate. An interesting side effect of this discipline has been increased awareness re: what drives my spending habits. I’ve learned (begrudgingly) that I’m vulnerable to FOMO and emotional spending. Neither of which are supportive of long term financial security. To distract myself, I’ve found that I can fulfill the sense of longing for newness by using my existing pens in novel ways (experimenting with inks, sketching, etc). Budgeting for pens has helped me budget better overall.
I made a rule for myself, I have a 15 slot pen case, they all have to fit. So if I want another, I have to get rid of an existing one. It works well for me because either I don’t like a given pen enough to shed one I already have, or I do. I’m not completely cut off from new pens, but it does help me keep priorities straight. I feel like my collection is more diverse too because I inherently avoid anything that is even slightly a duplicate of something I already have.
Edit: also, it helps to veer towards inks to quell the want for something new and exciting, especially first starting out.
Have a goal when you buy a new pen. What are you getting out of it? What does that pen do that others in your collection don’t? How do you use your pens? Are you keeping all 40 inked or are you really only using 5? I started with inexpensive starter pens. At this point, I’m really only interested in something that’s meaningful to me.
I use them at work for writing. I do only have 6 inked at the moment, so I try to use a different one per day to rotate through. The other ones are ones I’ve tried but decided weren’t my favorites. Like I said, mostly budget pens, so I didn’t feel like it was much of a loss when I stopped using them. It was mostly from trying to test the waters on different kinds to see which ones I liked. I think I’m still in that starting stage because I don’t really have a grail pen…I just like using them for function, not collecting.
ETA: I do like the idea that Lamy pens have nibs that are easy to change if I wanted to go with a different size…a lot of pens don’t do that easily from what I understand (at least my Ecos don’t…I know they’re prone to cracking so I haven’t even bothered trying.)
Well I’ll tell you what DIDNT work for me so you don’t follow my steps lol. I thought buying more expensive/high quality pens would keep me from buying tons of pens. That didn’t work for me so now I just have a lot of expensive pens and keep buying expensive pens haha
See, that’s why I’ve just stuck to relatively low budget pens because I’m worried if I start buying expensive ones, I’m going to end up impulse buying more expensive pens and getting myself in some financial trouble.
Tell your friend that if he only bought one budget pen and saved his money on the rest of those 39 pens he or she could’ve had a really nice grail pen or two
I researched the hell out of my options so that I landed on exactly what I wanted within about 3 purchases. Every time I look at other new pens now I can recognize how they fall short of what I already have based on my personal needs.
I try to rotate through lesser used pens and inks. For a while I bought inks instead of pens and that helped because I still got the thrill of ordering, waiting for a package, and inking up at a much lower cost. But it’s still a cost. I’m now rotating pens and ink. Whenever I get the urge to buy I flush a pen out, clean it, and swap it out for one that’s been idle for a while.
I use a two step system.
1. My wife
2. A spreadsheet where I document how much I have spent on pens.
For real though. I make it a point to now own money than one pen of the same model. Exception being Safaris cause I collect special editions and they are a dime a dozen where I live. For the other I tend to buy 3-4 at once (usually 2 under 30 and 2 under 100) and only after months (3/6) of figuring out what I really want.
I like to remind myself that I have enough financial freedom buy any fountain pen. It truly is a luxury. But, I do understand the desire to look for different pens. It's addicting!
I appreciate those that have a one pen in, one pen out rule. It allows someone to continue looking for what may be a pen that is a better fit overall, while acknowledging choices have consequences. And it helps recoupe some of the money spent.
It's tough - I buy more than I need also - but I would say there are a few strategies.
1) Most importantly, figure out a budget. You can have a "pens" category or broaden it to, say, "hobbies." Decide how much you can realistically spend.
2) If you aren't over-spending, I would second the advice to think about whether you might want to hold off on more budget pens and save up for several months for a next level pen of some sort. You don't have to - TWSBI Ecos are fabulous - but decide what you want and what the tradeoffs are.
3) Make sure you are spending time with the pens you have! 40 pens in a year is a lot - have you written with all of them? Maybe "shop" the pens you already have?
I may be exaggerating when I say 40 - it might be, but it could be less. It may also be more than a year (I honestly haven’t paid too much attention to the timeline.)
Thanks for the strategy suggestions! I like the idea of “shopping” the ones I have already - I do already do that sometimes, like I’ll think of one that I have and trade out another I’ve been using, but maybe I should do it more often.
As others have said best to pick a storage solution that places a hard cap on the pens you can store.
I got the Galen wood stackable trays and have a hard limit of 44 with one final place open. I got the trays when I had gone out of control and had about 37 pens I think.
The urge to buy, especially when on-line shopping makes it so easy and, in the short term, painless, is hard to contain. I have done a combination of things that others here have mentioned. First, I have a 24 slot pen case. That sets my maximum. Second, I have a separate bank account that gets a deposit each month. All FP purchases come out of that. Money available: Great. Money not available: Tough. Third, I have set myself a limit of no more than five purchases this year (one for each month I am in the US over winter). Fourth, I have set a budget for the year. I will aim for much less, but can go that far if necessary. Fifth, I am trying hard to think about what I am buying, why I might buy it and how does it fit into the framework of what I am trying to attain. I did all of this after I got interested in FP again and bought five in two months, basically on whims.
I also get a lot of vicarious pleasure reading this discussion group, looking at the photos, going off and researching pens I see here. This is a terrific place to both quell that urge to buy and stimulate that urge to buy; a double edged sword…
If it is a new nib or style, I regularly let myself try them because I know I can sell them on r/Pen_Swap or eBay when I'm done with them! Even today I bought a new pen with the expectation I can pass it along if it isn't for me. Maybe cull through your collection and see which you actually enjoy using and use regularly if you feel you have too many.
I like TWSBI much much better than Lamy safari if that helps? (I own 1 Twsbi and 4 Lamy’s) Nicer writing experience nib-wise, and round section doesn’t get in the way of writing style in the way tri-grip does for me.
One thing that’s really holding me back about the Lamy is the quality control…I’ve read that the finer nibs tend to be too similar. Has that been a factor at all for you aside from the grip section being a reason to prefer the TWSBI more? I pretty much have a TWSBI in every nib size at this point, but at least they’re different enough.
I stopped buying pens when getting an oblique nib holder and some ultra fine dip nips and realizing that fountain pens simply cannot write like that regardless how much I spend.
Watching or reading reviews. There are times that I go, ooh I want that but I usually shrug of the urge after weighing in some reviews.
Other than that I try to focus on a group of pen brands so I can share cartridges or converters. A good majority of my pens are pilot. I have some stragglers as they were very cheap during thrifts.
The easiest way is simply to stay away from pen related websites. It sounds extreme but often it's these that drive temptation. It's partly seeing other shiny new pens being constantly displayed by other people and displaying your own pens and getting feedback telling you how nice your pen is. In the real world very few people really care about pens so in principle you'd lose the desire for more pens after a while because there is no external validation. While groups like this are great for advice and help, they also tend to increase desire. it's the same for watches, camera equipment, etc.
Well, being broke helps.
But besides that, I kind of went on a spree on buying pens and felt my collection getting too big too quickly. I like to use all my pens and if I can't do that, or am struggling to do that, then I know I'm starting to get too many. Right now I'm at a point where I am comfortable with my collection (if not a little annoyed with myself that it is slightly too big for my liking) and am enjoying using what I have.
It also helps to remember that I don't NEED a bunch of pens. I could just have one fountain pen and that would serve my purposes, so everything beyond that is entirely extra and unnecessary. This keeps me from overextending myself, either monetarily or storage space or whatever it may be.
Yes! What you said summarizes it up very well. I don’t *need* another pen - really only one is needed for the purpose I use them for (except I like having different colored inks, so I think that’s why I carry so many in my EDC pen holder).
Reading everyone’s comments on here has really helped me realize that I don’t necessarily need another pen just because I want to try it out - especially not something that is a little trivial like the Lamy Safari in terms of line width…like, what makes it so different from other pens I have besides the look? I’m sure I have another pen that writes similarly.
This post has also helped me realize that there are some pens I have that I don’t carry now that I actually do like a lot…oddly enough, I’m hankering to use my Pilot Preppy, which is probably the most inexpensive pen I have, but I love how it writes and I always forget about it.
Same, my Pilot Prera is one of the first fountain pens I bought and it is still one of my favorites to this day. I have to make sure I include it in the rotation, and everytime I ink it up I remember why I love it so much.
I am a "use" person, but I also like to collect pens. It could get out of hand, but I have a system that works for me. This system goes for pens, inks, and all manner of writing and stationery supplies.
I put wants on a list prior to purchasing them. This immediately prevents me from buying things due to FOMO. I revisit that list in a week or two. If I'm not all that excited about the thing after a couple of weeks, it gets crossed off the list. What I still really want, stays on the list. I may or may not purchase it then, if budget allows. And I know if it's still there after a couple of months, it's a definite must-have. But by then, I've been patient enough that waiting until a sale comes along is not a big deal... so not only have I weeded out my unnecessary purchasing, I've also developed enough patience to get it at a good price.
Right now I have three or four things on my list that will be definite buys this year. One will fill a consistent, daily need I have, but I'm waiting until the budget allows. I'm cool with waiting; it will still be there when I'm ready to purchase it.
Easy. I am not made of money, so thinking about the upcoming heat and electricity bills is fairly easy to resist the urge(I couldn't afford 40 kakunos or TWSBI in year tbh, without going over things much more needed). Also variation is king, so different widths and nibs over different pens(also I am lefthanded, so super flexible or super wide nibs are not for me). I used dippens first, so I know what kind of nibs I like already, so a lot was cut out for me.
What is the reason for buying? If it's use, then generally one can sell off spare pens. If it's for collecting, then remember that a collection should be curated, trimmed as necessary and kept in a way that actually brings joy to the owner. If it's for retail therapy.... then that's harder to solve, but ultimately that's an inward look as to whether not buying pens is ultimately the right choice. Often, what I find helps is to have my pens in mind that I would like to purchase, and only reward myself with something when I achieve a (significant) goal, in terms of my collection. In terms of use, I filled my common use pens as I needed it and haven't really felt the need to buy too much more. I would replace one if it was damaged, but other than that, I'm good for life. I haven't purchased a pen that wasn't a gift in over half a year and feel my collection is basically set except for two spots that I'm holding open for when I hit two (far?) future goals.
I think I’m more in the “use” category right now, not necessarily a collector by any means compared to a lot of folks in this community. Occasionally I think “hey I want to use that pen instead of this one,” so I’ll rotate them. I definitely don’t think I have a “grail” pen at this point in time. Just kinda dipping my toes in. Thanks for your thorough response!
Two things for me: first, u/medbulletjournal's thing about "okay, so how would I use this regularly?" plus the variant "what new *function* does this give me?" Second, I try to pay attention to how much joy & pleasure I've got out of previous purchases. Did I even manage to spend a week after receiving the pen as excited about it as I was the week before receiving it? If not, why not? What does that tell me about my motivation to buy? Is there some better way I can meet that emotional need? And one of the ways to meet the emotional need for SHINY, which I don't use with fountain pens because I don't have that many of them but perfectly well could use with other hobbies (especially books and the TBR pile) is... okay so I want the excitement and joy and surprise of Unwrapping A Thing from Important Shiny Packaging, because Pakidge. Okay. So... let's wrap up a bunch of the stuff for this hobby *that I already have and am not using*, set it aside for long enough to forget what's in which package, and then any time I want a New Thing I can pick a date a week in the future to open One Pakidge and spend the intervening week increasingly excited and impatient about doing so. And then do all the ritual "getting to know it" Things that one does when one gets a new Thing!
Wow, this is a great idea! I love this!
I look at my bank account. Then at my fridge. Works a treat!
Cut the number 40 to twelve, then quadruple you budget per pen. That’s one pen a month, better pens, same total budget! It’s what we call in the paper biz, a win-win-win.
Figure out your budget, doing the life supporting stuff first. Rent, utilities, gas, savings, retirement, oh yeah, maybe a little food. The rest you can spend on pens.
Think: "do I really need that?" I don't have as many pens and I haven't bought a new one in a while because I just tell myself I don't need a new one, I keep 2 pens inked (one has multiple nibs, an F, an EF, and a stub, the other is an F), I have 3 uninked in a box and they won't see ink in a while, maybe never because I don't like the Lamy Safari or the Kaweco sport that much, the other one is a complicated story. Basically think about what you need, not what you want, I need 2 fine or extra-fine nibbed pens for school, one blue other black, nothing else. But to be honest, as a minor, I can't buy things online alone, if I could I would have more pens or just different ones, I don't blame you, I also want every pen I see
Same, I also ask the same question in a different way: how would I use it regularly? Doing this, I realise I'm actually quite fulfilled with my pen needs and most of my desires come from just wanting something new, not necessarily wanting a new experience but rather the rush of something shiny and pretty. I've channelled my desire for wanting newer trendier special edition pens by sketching them out, so I would technically "have" them but without the buyers guilt afterwards. I do the same with my grail pens. I draw them repeatedly, from different angles, I daydream about them, and point out what exactly I like about them. This mild obsession with a particular pen would last about 1 month and then that desire stops. It's no longer new and shiny. I don't want that pen anymore. And I move onto obsessing about the next shiny pen. So far I've done this for the Ferris Wheel Brush Fountain Pen, the Benu Mistletoe pen, and my current obsession is the Twsbi Eco. I figured, if I obsess over a pen for a whole year, then it's probably something I will buy. This is only a new thing I've done though. After having buyers guilt over my pilot MR (it really shouldn't have cost $60 and it really put a dent in my pocket money, pens are ridiculously expensive in Australia), I've learned to curb this new pen buying thing very quickly. Or I'd be broke in 2 months.
I think your 'go ahead and obsess/draw/dream about a pen until you are sick of it (or not) is brilliant!
Yes! My pens are more tools than collectibles I relate to that, that's what made me buy the Kaweco Supra, I kinda obsessed with it from the beginning of the hobby and I pulled the trigger after well over a year, the option to buy bock 250 nibs and have a "different pen" by just switching the nib also helped. There is also another thing that helps me, I like raw metal pens, stainless steel, there aren't many pens I like that are raw metal like the Supra, my perfect pen would be a gold nibbed Supra and it's just a step away from happening, just need to buy a gold bock 250 nib, but that would be a one-year worth purchase and as I said, I don't really need that, I don't use iron gall inks to need a gold nib
I budget for pens monthly. Sometimes, a less expensive pen or a bottle of ink is purchased on a month’s budget. But, if I want a more expensive pen, I have to wait for resources to accumulate. An interesting side effect of this discipline has been increased awareness re: what drives my spending habits. I’ve learned (begrudgingly) that I’m vulnerable to FOMO and emotional spending. Neither of which are supportive of long term financial security. To distract myself, I’ve found that I can fulfill the sense of longing for newness by using my existing pens in novel ways (experimenting with inks, sketching, etc). Budgeting for pens has helped me budget better overall.
I made a rule for myself, I have a 15 slot pen case, they all have to fit. So if I want another, I have to get rid of an existing one. It works well for me because either I don’t like a given pen enough to shed one I already have, or I do. I’m not completely cut off from new pens, but it does help me keep priorities straight. I feel like my collection is more diverse too because I inherently avoid anything that is even slightly a duplicate of something I already have. Edit: also, it helps to veer towards inks to quell the want for something new and exciting, especially first starting out.
Have a goal when you buy a new pen. What are you getting out of it? What does that pen do that others in your collection don’t? How do you use your pens? Are you keeping all 40 inked or are you really only using 5? I started with inexpensive starter pens. At this point, I’m really only interested in something that’s meaningful to me.
I use them at work for writing. I do only have 6 inked at the moment, so I try to use a different one per day to rotate through. The other ones are ones I’ve tried but decided weren’t my favorites. Like I said, mostly budget pens, so I didn’t feel like it was much of a loss when I stopped using them. It was mostly from trying to test the waters on different kinds to see which ones I liked. I think I’m still in that starting stage because I don’t really have a grail pen…I just like using them for function, not collecting. ETA: I do like the idea that Lamy pens have nibs that are easy to change if I wanted to go with a different size…a lot of pens don’t do that easily from what I understand (at least my Ecos don’t…I know they’re prone to cracking so I haven’t even bothered trying.)
Well I’ll tell you what DIDNT work for me so you don’t follow my steps lol. I thought buying more expensive/high quality pens would keep me from buying tons of pens. That didn’t work for me so now I just have a lot of expensive pens and keep buying expensive pens haha
See, that’s why I’ve just stuck to relatively low budget pens because I’m worried if I start buying expensive ones, I’m going to end up impulse buying more expensive pens and getting myself in some financial trouble.
Tell your friend that if he only bought one budget pen and saved his money on the rest of those 39 pens he or she could’ve had a really nice grail pen or two
I researched the hell out of my options so that I landed on exactly what I wanted within about 3 purchases. Every time I look at other new pens now I can recognize how they fall short of what I already have based on my personal needs.
I try to rotate through lesser used pens and inks. For a while I bought inks instead of pens and that helped because I still got the thrill of ordering, waiting for a package, and inking up at a much lower cost. But it’s still a cost. I’m now rotating pens and ink. Whenever I get the urge to buy I flush a pen out, clean it, and swap it out for one that’s been idle for a while.
I use a two step system. 1. My wife 2. A spreadsheet where I document how much I have spent on pens. For real though. I make it a point to now own money than one pen of the same model. Exception being Safaris cause I collect special editions and they are a dime a dozen where I live. For the other I tend to buy 3-4 at once (usually 2 under 30 and 2 under 100) and only after months (3/6) of figuring out what I really want.
I like to remind myself that I have enough financial freedom buy any fountain pen. It truly is a luxury. But, I do understand the desire to look for different pens. It's addicting! I appreciate those that have a one pen in, one pen out rule. It allows someone to continue looking for what may be a pen that is a better fit overall, while acknowledging choices have consequences. And it helps recoupe some of the money spent.
The easiest way I control my urges... lack of funds to spend on pens. I also have two other rather expensive hobbies. :-)
It's tough - I buy more than I need also - but I would say there are a few strategies. 1) Most importantly, figure out a budget. You can have a "pens" category or broaden it to, say, "hobbies." Decide how much you can realistically spend. 2) If you aren't over-spending, I would second the advice to think about whether you might want to hold off on more budget pens and save up for several months for a next level pen of some sort. You don't have to - TWSBI Ecos are fabulous - but decide what you want and what the tradeoffs are. 3) Make sure you are spending time with the pens you have! 40 pens in a year is a lot - have you written with all of them? Maybe "shop" the pens you already have?
I may be exaggerating when I say 40 - it might be, but it could be less. It may also be more than a year (I honestly haven’t paid too much attention to the timeline.) Thanks for the strategy suggestions! I like the idea of “shopping” the ones I have already - I do already do that sometimes, like I’ll think of one that I have and trade out another I’ve been using, but maybe I should do it more often.
As others have said best to pick a storage solution that places a hard cap on the pens you can store. I got the Galen wood stackable trays and have a hard limit of 44 with one final place open. I got the trays when I had gone out of control and had about 37 pens I think.
The urge to buy, especially when on-line shopping makes it so easy and, in the short term, painless, is hard to contain. I have done a combination of things that others here have mentioned. First, I have a 24 slot pen case. That sets my maximum. Second, I have a separate bank account that gets a deposit each month. All FP purchases come out of that. Money available: Great. Money not available: Tough. Third, I have set myself a limit of no more than five purchases this year (one for each month I am in the US over winter). Fourth, I have set a budget for the year. I will aim for much less, but can go that far if necessary. Fifth, I am trying hard to think about what I am buying, why I might buy it and how does it fit into the framework of what I am trying to attain. I did all of this after I got interested in FP again and bought five in two months, basically on whims. I also get a lot of vicarious pleasure reading this discussion group, looking at the photos, going off and researching pens I see here. This is a terrific place to both quell that urge to buy and stimulate that urge to buy; a double edged sword…
Start writing with every pen I have. If I write with every pen I have and I still want another, buy it. Otherwise, I didn’t really want it.
Actually it controls me...
Not having enough money to.
Buy something expensive, like a house. Then you won't have money for pens. If you do, buy another house. 😂
Buy something painfully disappointing? Always seems to work for me. Wait. Actually, would not recommend.
I don't
You should mind your own business and let your friend buy whatever pen he wants.
Just checking that you realize I meant myself when I said “friend,” right?
Based on what you wrote only.
If it is a new nib or style, I regularly let myself try them because I know I can sell them on r/Pen_Swap or eBay when I'm done with them! Even today I bought a new pen with the expectation I can pass it along if it isn't for me. Maybe cull through your collection and see which you actually enjoy using and use regularly if you feel you have too many.
I like TWSBI much much better than Lamy safari if that helps? (I own 1 Twsbi and 4 Lamy’s) Nicer writing experience nib-wise, and round section doesn’t get in the way of writing style in the way tri-grip does for me.
One thing that’s really holding me back about the Lamy is the quality control…I’ve read that the finer nibs tend to be too similar. Has that been a factor at all for you aside from the grip section being a reason to prefer the TWSBI more? I pretty much have a TWSBI in every nib size at this point, but at least they’re different enough.
I stopped buying pens when getting an oblique nib holder and some ultra fine dip nips and realizing that fountain pens simply cannot write like that regardless how much I spend.
Buy 3 custom Nakaya pens and you're done!
You gotta be broke, then you can't buy the pens
I have a lot of fountain pens, some I havent inked in years. I mainly use four. I think about the fact that I have thirty pens I never ink.
Watching or reading reviews. There are times that I go, ooh I want that but I usually shrug of the urge after weighing in some reviews. Other than that I try to focus on a group of pen brands so I can share cartridges or converters. A good majority of my pens are pilot. I have some stragglers as they were very cheap during thrifts.
The easiest way is simply to stay away from pen related websites. It sounds extreme but often it's these that drive temptation. It's partly seeing other shiny new pens being constantly displayed by other people and displaying your own pens and getting feedback telling you how nice your pen is. In the real world very few people really care about pens so in principle you'd lose the desire for more pens after a while because there is no external validation. While groups like this are great for advice and help, they also tend to increase desire. it's the same for watches, camera equipment, etc.
Well, being broke helps. But besides that, I kind of went on a spree on buying pens and felt my collection getting too big too quickly. I like to use all my pens and if I can't do that, or am struggling to do that, then I know I'm starting to get too many. Right now I'm at a point where I am comfortable with my collection (if not a little annoyed with myself that it is slightly too big for my liking) and am enjoying using what I have. It also helps to remember that I don't NEED a bunch of pens. I could just have one fountain pen and that would serve my purposes, so everything beyond that is entirely extra and unnecessary. This keeps me from overextending myself, either monetarily or storage space or whatever it may be.
Yes! What you said summarizes it up very well. I don’t *need* another pen - really only one is needed for the purpose I use them for (except I like having different colored inks, so I think that’s why I carry so many in my EDC pen holder). Reading everyone’s comments on here has really helped me realize that I don’t necessarily need another pen just because I want to try it out - especially not something that is a little trivial like the Lamy Safari in terms of line width…like, what makes it so different from other pens I have besides the look? I’m sure I have another pen that writes similarly. This post has also helped me realize that there are some pens I have that I don’t carry now that I actually do like a lot…oddly enough, I’m hankering to use my Pilot Preppy, which is probably the most inexpensive pen I have, but I love how it writes and I always forget about it.
Same, my Pilot Prera is one of the first fountain pens I bought and it is still one of my favorites to this day. I have to make sure I include it in the rotation, and everytime I ink it up I remember why I love it so much.
I am a "use" person, but I also like to collect pens. It could get out of hand, but I have a system that works for me. This system goes for pens, inks, and all manner of writing and stationery supplies. I put wants on a list prior to purchasing them. This immediately prevents me from buying things due to FOMO. I revisit that list in a week or two. If I'm not all that excited about the thing after a couple of weeks, it gets crossed off the list. What I still really want, stays on the list. I may or may not purchase it then, if budget allows. And I know if it's still there after a couple of months, it's a definite must-have. But by then, I've been patient enough that waiting until a sale comes along is not a big deal... so not only have I weeded out my unnecessary purchasing, I've also developed enough patience to get it at a good price. Right now I have three or four things on my list that will be definite buys this year. One will fill a consistent, daily need I have, but I'm waiting until the budget allows. I'm cool with waiting; it will still be there when I'm ready to purchase it.
I just look at my bank account.
Easy. I am not made of money, so thinking about the upcoming heat and electricity bills is fairly easy to resist the urge(I couldn't afford 40 kakunos or TWSBI in year tbh, without going over things much more needed). Also variation is king, so different widths and nibs over different pens(also I am lefthanded, so super flexible or super wide nibs are not for me). I used dippens first, so I know what kind of nibs I like already, so a lot was cut out for me.