Letting Go of Pens

Published by Laura

30th Nov 2024

I’ve now been in the fountain pen hobby for a little over a year, and in that time I’ve bought a lot of pens. And I mean, a lot!

Most of them until recently were very inexpensive, which is how I’ve managed to grow my collection so quickly. But that means that I now have a lot of pens that never get used, especially as I’ve started to figure out my tastes, and discover favourite pens. Looking in my pen case of uninked pens and seeing so many I hadn’t touched for ages had started to feel a little overwhelming, and so I decided it was time for a much needed destash!

I managed to pick out 14 pens that I didn’t mind parting with, and decided to sell them online and recoup a little money on them. And they are now all gone!

In a way it was a little sad to see some pens from my collection go, but I know I won’t miss any of the individual pens too much. None of them were pens I disliked, they just didn’t inspire much feeling in me at all.

I feel like I’ve reached the point of the hobby where I have come through the experimentation phase, and am now entering the stage where I want to start building a satisfying collection. I don’t mind it being a fairly large collection, but I want it to feel manageable, and not overwhelming. And I want all the pens to be ones I’m excited to use, so they all get their turn.

In 2025 I want to start slowing down my purchases, and maybe letting go of a few more pens. I think in 2024 I’ve been really excitable about joining this online stationery community, and I’ve definitely fallen into a lot of the consumerist traps. I’ve been hoarding notebooks, buying all the pens and inks and falling head first into the TN and planner rabbit holes. And whilst it’s been fun, I want to start concentrating on enjoying all my things, instead of always chasing the next high of another buy.

So as tough as it’s been to start narrowing down my collection and letting go of some early pens, I’m excited for the direction my collection will go in my second year in the fountain pen hobby. Some of my recent purchases in particular have been very exciting, and I plan to review some of those new pens very soon (as well as some older pens in my collection I love, and have missed reviewing).

So have you ever culled your fountain pen collection? How has your collection changed over time?

4 responses to “Letting Go of Pens”

Tay

5th Dec 2024

For a while I had a rule where I had to sell pens before buying more – either a one in, one out, or when I wanted a rather pricey pen, selling enough to mostly cover the cost.

Then I bought my Edison Beaumont and fell so in love that most of my collection never got used, so I massively downsized it.

There are about 10 pens that are in regular rotation (the Beaumont has remained constantly inked for going on 3 years now). At this point, most of the pens I have that I don’t use are simply too cheap to be worth selling. I penable when I can though.

LikeLiked by 1 person

Reply
1. Laura @ Inky Imaginings
  
  5th Dec 2024
  
  I think a one in, one out rule is definitely a good idea. Especially because until recently, I had maxed out all my pen storage (now I have a bit of room, thanks to selling a few).
  I love that you found your ultimate pen though and ended up downsizing your collection! Some of the pens I bought recently have definitely left some of my older ones neglected, so I can see how that could happen.
  
  LikeLiked by 1 person
  
  Reply
Keith G

9th Dec 2024

It sounds to me like you folks treat pens as I do ukuleles. Personally, I feel it is necessary to reach a certain pen/ukulele ownership plateau, in terms of number of instruments, before you can or should worry about downsizing or putting any limits in place. I don’t yet know what that number is. I have 4 ukes right now, and I’m pretty sure I can manage at least a couple more. I still have a bit of a pen thing too, but the collection is not at all well organized and I don’t actually know how many I have. So, since I don’t know how many I have, I feel there is no reason to set a limit. Doesn’t that make sense? 🙂

LikeLiked by 1 person

Reply
1. Laura @ Inky Imaginings
  
  10th Dec 2024
  
  That makes perfect sense to me! If you don’t count them, there can’t be a limit! 😃 And I definitely agree, about the ownership plateau where you have tried enough pens (or ukeleles!) to know what you like, and then you can start downsizing and refining your collection. That’s definitely the stage I feel like I’m up to!
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply