My last SotC post was in early November — and what a lot of change there has been since! A number of review samples have crossed my desk, and more than a few personal purchases too, but it’s overall been a period of tremendous consolidation for me. In short: more out than in The last … Continue reading Cutting the collection in half: January 2021
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State of the Collection: November 2020
A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since I published my last State of the Collection back in, would you believe it, mid August. If you're new to UKFP, these posts mainly give you a tour of my pen tray: what I'm using, what ink pairings I've got going, and what's on my … Continue reading State of the Collection: November 2020
What are your collecting ‘guardrails’?
As I have written many times over the years, I am a man with poor impulse control, little willpower, and questionable financial sense. At times (such as right now) I've owned dozens of pens, keeping pens to review in one case, pocket pens in another, my cheaper 'toy' pens in another... But at the constant … Continue reading What are your collecting ‘guardrails’?
State of the collection: August 2020
Since my last SotC on 12th July, here's what's been cooking. There’s a lot, so apologies in advance for the long post... First, and most importantly, thank you for the donations! More than 20 of you donated, and I appreciate every single one of you who did so, whether you gave a fiver or rather … Continue reading State of the collection: August 2020
State of the collection: June 2020
Pens! Fresh off my last post about small but perfectly formed collections, here's the latest on mine. It's grown, just a little bit. What's in since the last SotC: Pilot Capless LS. I listed this for sale soon after it arrived, because while it's by far my favourite Vanishing Point, I didn't fall in love … Continue reading State of the collection: June 2020
State of the collection: November 2019
Happy Fountain Pen Day, dear reader! I hope today your ink flows smoothly, your nibs run straight and true, and your postman is weighed down with parcels! For me, the last month has been heavy on the sales. I still have quite a few pens in my for-sale case, but I said a proper goodbye … Continue reading State of the collection: November 2019
State of the collection: October 2019. Fit to burst
I didn't do a SotC post in September. It felt like things were changing too much in my collection. And they're still changing, but this is long overdue. So much has changed, in fact, that I'm not going to do my usual what's in/what's out: I'm going to start from scratch. My collection has outgrown … Continue reading State of the collection: October 2019. Fit to burst
State of the collection: August 2019
OK folks, that time of the month again (well, near enough). Let's see what's in my tray for August. Left to right: Montegrappa Extra, Visconti London Fog, Visconti Medici, Aurora 88 Nettuno, Aurora Duo-Cart, Montblanc Agatha Christie, Montblanc Geometry Solitaire, Montblanc 1912, Lamy 2000, Kaweco Art Sport Alabaster, Pelikan M805 Ocean Swirl, Geha 760, Graf … Continue reading State of the collection: August 2019
State of the collection: May 2019
It's time to give you another tour of my pen drawer, since I last posted one back in March. Let's take a look. Italy and Visconti On the left are my Italian pens. You may remember the Visconti Van Gogh Room in Arles, which I retired a few months ago when I discovered cracks in … Continue reading State of the collection: May 2019
State of the collection: March 2019
24 pens It's been a while. I've just sold a few pens, and my collection is feeling trim and tight. Here's how it stands today. Not included are pens that I've cleaned up and put away for sale. The Italians (and French) Five Italian pens in my collection. I consider that a decent amount, but … Continue reading State of the collection: March 2019