I have been tracking the pens and inks that I have purchased this year. This is a way to keep track how much I am spending on this hobby. At the same time, I can see how my preferences have change throughout the year. I tend to sell pens and inks that I do not like rather quickly. Looking at my list, I can say that I didn’t spend as much as I thought I might have.
In the fountain pen category, the pens I have purchased throughout the year in the order I have acquired them are:
- Lamy Logo Sold
- Pilot Custom 74
- Franklin Christoph Model 66
- Visconti Van Gogh Starry Night
- Delta The Journal
- Sailor Pro Gear Imperial Black
- Lamy CP1
- Nakaya Decapod
- Jinhao x750
- Pilot Metropolitan Pop Collection Donation
- Pelikan M600 Used
- Tactile Turn’s The Gist Waiting for delivery
- OMAS 361T Used and waiting for delivery
I very rarely buy used fountain pens but the Pelikan M600 was a good deal. The tally of 8 European and American fountain pens and 4 Asian fountain pens for the year seems quite controlled since it's technically 12 pens for 12 months of the year. Technically The Gist and the OMAS 361T should have been a 2016 purchase since it would arrive next year. The turn around for the Lamy Logo was pretty quick. I got it earlier in the year and I sold it by the 4th quarter. 2 of my top 5 pens this year were purchased this year. I guess that’s money well spent.
In the ink category, I think I have gone a little overboard. Here are the inks that I have purchased in no particular order:
- Akkerman Laan Van Niew Oost-Indigo Sold
- Akkerman Treves Turquoise Sold
- Sailor Bung Box Piano Mahogany
- Sailor Bung Box L'Amant
- Sailor Bung Box Ink of Witch Sold
- Sailor Bung Box Dandyism Sold
- Diamine Teal Sold
- Diamine Twilight Sold
- Diamine Indigo Sold
- Pilot Iroshizuku Take Sumi
- Pilot Iroshizuku Shin Kai
- Pilot Iroshizuku Tsuki Yo
- Pilot Iroshizuku Ama Iro
- Sailor #31 Kaigen Grey
- Mont Blanc Toffee Brown
- Mont Blanc Lavender Purple
- Mont Blanc Blue Hour
- J Herbin Emerald of Chivor
- Graf Von Faber-Castell Stone Grey
- Rohrer and Klinger Scabiosa
- Rohrer and Klinger Salix
- Delta Brown Free of charge
- Delta Black Free of charge
- Bril Violet Donation
- Bril Royal Blue Donation
- Bril Black Donation
- Bril Green Donation
- Bril Turquoise Blue Donation
- Bril Laurel Pink Donation
- Bril Red Donation
- Chelpak Blue Black Donation
- Chelpak Crimson Violet Donation
32 inks in a year is a little excessive. Though I must say the were 2 bottles of Delta inks were free with a pen purchase and I got a whole bunch of Bril and Chelpak inks from a good friend recently. I am also waiting for the arrival of 2 bottle of Rohrer and Klinger inks as well. The 4 bottle of Sailor Bung box inks were part of the mass order that I’ve organised. I was rather disappointed with Dandyism and Ink of Witch that I sold them pretty much as soon as I was done with the reviews. A few Pilot Iroshizuku inks were purchased because I had a sample of the inks previously and I had liked them. Though more than half the inks were not Japanese inks but my top 5 inks is dominated by Japanese inks.
I didn’t have much things in mind when I started tracking my purchases. The point of the list isn’t to guilt trip myself with but to help me to crystallise my pen and ink preferences, especially with what I have sold. What have you purchased this year?