In my own collecting, I’ve had several pens that I like to call “milestone pens”; that represent a shift, or the transition into a new stage of my fountain pen hobby. These are the pens with special significance in my fountain pen journey; the pens that changed me, or changed my perception of fountain pens, or the way I approach pens as a hobby. I think it’s good to be aware of these milestone pens, to sort of mark out…
It’s bothered me a little in recent years how the focus in the pen hobby is very often on constantly acquiring new pens and inks. This can make the hobby unsustainable over time, both for the wallet and for the environment. The eagerness to test new things can quickly lead to losing control over your spending. I have definitely experienced that myself. Many of the most famous and popular blogs, YouTube channels, and others within the pen community probably also contribute to reinforcing…
Exploring vintage fountain pens from the first half of the 20th century is often an important part of the pen hobby, and there can be a lot of exciting things to find from the golden age of the fountain pen. I have quite a few old pens in my own collection, and have also spent a lot of time learning how to restore them, but for everyday writing I almost always prefer modern fountain pens. There’s a lot of cool stuff…
I visited Flying Tiger in Trondheim this summer, and found a pen pack for NOK 80,- (approx. $8), with 8 pens of different types in it. I noticed that it contained, among other things, a fountain pen, and decided to buy it for testing. My hopes were not very high, especially after the fiasco with the fountain pens from Søstrene Grene last winter. Those were cheap chinese knock-offs of Kaweco Sport sold in a Norwegian design store, that dried out after just a…