8 Pen Questions

This post is an answer to the questions in Liane Likes‘ video Part 1: My Fountain Pen Journey, Conversation with seemownay. Liane Likes collaborated with seemownay who posted How many Fountain Pens is enough? Interview with lianelikes Part 2 of Conversation.

I discovered Liane Likes’ video through Ink Journal’s weekly newsletter.

1. When and how did your Fountain Pen Journey begin?

A little after I met Jim, he introduced me to fountain pens. I got sucked in by the ink colors first. But, to use more ink colors, you need more pens. A while after buying a pack of 7 Preppy pens from Amazon, I bought the Lamy Safari Dark Lilac.

Over the next year(ish), I slowly added pens to my collection, until Jim penabled me into buying my Stipula Etruria Rainbow Prisma 88. That was the point where I truly jumped into the deep end.

2. Favorite inks in the beginning? What are your go-to inks now?

My first two ink purchases were Diamine Aqua Blue and Meadow. But, it didn’t take me long to find and fall in love with Organics Studio Jane Austen.

My ink tastes vary often. However, at the moment, I’m really enjoying desaturated inks. Some of my current favorites include Colorverse Brunch Date and Walk the Dog, Diamine Prussian Blue, Taccia Grey Jeans, and Birmingham Pen Co. California Raisin.

3. How have your ink and pen tastes changed over time?

I don’t think my pen tastes have changed much. But, as I said earlier, I’ve developed an appreciation for muted/desaturated inks, whereas my early ink preferences tended toward bright.

4. Are there inks & pens that you have yet to try but would like to?

I would love to try a Platinum Hammered Silver pen because it has a platinum nib, and I haven’t tried one. But, $900+ is too much to just try a nib.

5. What is your Holy Grail Pen?

I don’t have one. To me, a “Holy Grail” is something that will complete my collection, but is virtually impossible for me to get. While there are certainly pens I’d love to own that I can’t afford, I don’t think they’d “complete” anything.

I don’t think anything, would, to be honest. I like getting the “new shiny” even though I’m trying to be more careful and thoughtful with my purchases.

6. How many pens do you currently own?

Well, 163. Of those, 141 are fountain pens and 135 are in active use. The other 6 are decommissioned.

7. Do you have a limit on pens (or inks) in your collection? Is it a number? Is it a feeling? When do you know that you have reached your maximum?

I want to use my pens; I don’t buy them to collect them. So, my max number is 133 pens “in rotation.” This doesn’t include my “always inked” pens. Right now, I’m perilously close to my max — I have 120 “in rotation” — and I’m not sure how I’m going to handle reaching that number.

8. Consequently, what would you do if another pen/ink came along?

I don’t know. In theory, I would need to sell a pen to buy another — or sell a pen because I’ve bought another. In practice, however, I can’t say how well that will work until I get there.

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Thanks for reading to the end, I hope you enjoyed my post. Feel free to answer any or all of these questions in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.

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