I’ve had three grail pens on my list since I began using fountain pens. None of them are cheap, but isn’t that the definition of a grail pen, that pen that moves you in inscrutable ways, that pen that turns want into need, that pen that plays hard to get, that requires some sacrifice, or at least a stretch of some sort, be it patience or money?
Grail pens are a conundrum to me in a way that might not be obvious despite my chosen nom de plume. While I’m fortunate to have the means to buy any of the pens on my grail list whenever I please, what stops me from doing so is the guilt, the “How can a sane person possibly spend that much on a pen?”
The first grail pen I bought was the Pilot Long Murex, and I went about it all the wrong ways. At the time, I was relatively new to fountain pens, and I knew next to nothing about buying them, much less buying a vintage one. My soul cried out for a Long Murex, so I hopped on eBay and bought the first one that looked good. The result was a beautiful pen to add to my collection, a pen that still makes me smile every time I look at it, but I always hear a little voice that whispers, “You coulda gotten a better deal.”
I often wonder where that little voice comes from. It’s not like I’m a stranger to expensive hobbies. (Seriously, if you want to burn a great deal of money, start riding motorbikes.) But I have far less guilt when I plunk down $360 for a set of new tires for my motorcycle than when I’ve paid half that for a pen.
Perhaps it’s because a fountain pen is a true luxury item. I won’t die for lacking a Murex, but I damn well might if I put cheap tires on my motorbike and the rubber disintegrates while I’m rounding a corner. A high-quality, armored touring jacket can cost nearly as much as a Montblanc 149, but when I walked away from a crash without a scratch it was worth every penny. My brain knows that there’s a difference, and that if I just wanted to put words on a piece of paper I could do so with a cheap Bic. Then again, it’s not as if I need a motorcycle or three to get around. Perhaps the little voice is trying to rationalize the irrational.
I went about things differently when I bought my second grail pen, a Namiki faceted Vanishing Point. Not a new Vanishing Point, and not a Pilot faceted Vanishing Point, but a mid-to-late 90s era Namiki Vanishing Point. This time, I did a lot of research. I studied classified ads on FPN and watched countless eBay auctions to get a feel for the market value of these very particular pens. And after a few months of waiting, when I saw an excellent specimen for a great price on eBay, I didn’t hesitate to Buy It Now.
Oddly enough, the little voice stays silent whenever I take out that pen.
The last pen on my grail list is the most expensive of all, because of course it is. It’s also the pen that I doubt I’ll be able to find much of a deal on, simply because people don’t seem to sell them very often. Yes, the Conid Bulkfiller is the holiest of grails, and at $450, I’m not sure what it’ll take for me to muster up the courage to buy one. In the meantime, I’ll drool over its gorgeous engineering, play with the ones that my pen friends bring to meetups, start saving my pennies, and hope that the little voice will leave me alone one last time.
So I’m a gel-pen kinda girl. But I have a thing for the stars. And when I saw this pen (https://www.fahrneyspens.com/Item–i-123715S) I thought, oh hey, maybe I should get a fountain pen! Then I saw the price. Oh.
Owning a house is also expensive. How much for windows??? Oh, yeah, keeps the heat in, OK *wince*, hands over credit card…
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Oh! I have a house too. And a dog. Maybe the little voice is the Ghost of Vet Bills Past.
Speaking of star pens, here’s one: http://www.penhero.com/PenGallery/ClassicPens/ClassicPensLR6Planets2013.htm … a steal at $3750!
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I love it!!
My favorite vet tech knows me by name and her joke is to say “We! Love! Our! Animals!” through gritted teeth when I pay for expensive food, meds, etc. Good thing they’re cute. (The dogs, that is, although the vet tech isn’t bad either.)
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I love your reviews and I love how you write–I can hear your voice in my head (umm, but now I wonder *which* of your voices I’m hearing in my head?!!!). 😉
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If it sounds like a New York granny, it’s the little voice of fountain pen guilt, which we’ve also determined is the Ghost of Vet Bills Past, and quite possibly the Ghost of Too Many Motorcycles Present.
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Bwahahaha! Luckily (or not!), I think I’m hearing other voices. 😀
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Those seem like quite reasonable grail pens. Mine is more like $800 and I doubt I will ever bring myself to actually spend the money. I really want a Visconti Homo Sapien Dark Age.
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Ahh yes, the Homo Sapiens lava pen. Not my cup of tea, but a grail to many. I’ve also seen them as low as $520, so maybe someday will be sooner for you. 😉
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I have three of the faceted VPs, two I bought when they actually was still available & one I recently bought as a spare. I’ve never doubted my decision with those. Workhorse, delightful pens.
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