Pens I’ve Gotten Rid Of

I don’t remember where the idea for this post originally came from. I may have read something somewhere, it may have just popped into my head one day. I don’t know.

Regardless, in the way I discussed 10 pens in my Would I Buy Them Again Today? post, I chose 10 pens I’ve gotten rid of to discuss why they are no longer in my collection. I’m sure some of my answers will be expected, while others will likely be surprising to some. I hope you enjoy, and that my reasoning may help those who are trying to sell some of their own pens.

Note: These are in the order that I purchased them, which had no influence on when I got rid of them.

1. Kaweco AL Sport Red

I’m fairly certain I’ve mentioned this before, but this pen taught me that the powder coated metal Sport pens are problematic for me. I can’t stand the sound of metal scraping against itself. It’s nail on a chalkboard. I don’t have the same problem with the uncoated AL Sports — like the rose gold. But the red model scraped so much that I’d wince any time I opened, closed, or posted it.

2. Stipula Etruria Prisma 88 Magma

After the joy I found — and still have — in my Prisma 88, I jumped on the Magma as soon as it was available. Unfortunately, it was plagued with quality issues and taught me not to buy a pen because I liked another from the same line. The visual defects, even more than the nib issues, bothered me greatly, and I ultimately returned it.

3. Platinum #3776 Century Kumpoo

I was so happy to buy this one. It’s pretty, no doubt, but I quickly learned that soft nibs aren’t for me. If I want a flex nib, I want one that truly flexes. And when I don’t I want one that’s pretty stiff. The bouncy soft medium simply wasn’t to my taste.

4. 18111 Gold Sakura

This beauty is stunning — no one can deny that — and it was a wrench letting it go. However, it’s the pen that taught me that I want my pens to fit in cases. I disliked having to remove the rollstopper or find alternate means of carrying this pen. And I learned my lesson well. I haven’t knowingly purchased a pen that wouldn’t fit in my pen cases since.

5. Aurora Talentum Black Ops Full Black

I liked the matte, stealthy look of this one. What I didn’t like was the nib. I don’t have a problem with a stiff nib. However, the nib on this pen, perhaps because it’s coated, was so stiff as to feel fragile. Like if I accidentally applied any pressure at all, it would break. It didn’t take me very long to decide to sell it, and I won’t be getting another coated nib from Aurora.

6. Franklin-Christoph Model 2 Lavender

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I don’t get along with most Franklin-Christoph models. The way I hold pens means the threads at the nib end of the section are incredibly uncomfortable on my knuckles. On the plus side, it saves me money for other pens.

7. Pineider Honeycomb Black Prince

This one holds the dubious “honor” of being the pen that has required the least amount of time to decide to get rid of. Basically, as soon as I took it out of the box, I knew it was going back. Despite having traded my time for it instead of money, it felt so cheap, I couldn’t deem it worth it. That pen was incredibly lightweight and felt as if just holding it too tightly would damage it. Thankfully, there was no problem sending it back.

8. Conklin Endura Ebony

I loved the way this one looked. And, after having been burned by the Montegrappa Fortuna Heartwood, I thought I’d covered my bases by doing some research. I’d reached out to Goulet Pens and asked if there was an inner plastic cap to help keep the nib from drying out. And there was. But it didn’t help. I still dealt with A LOT of hard starts. I think, like the Franklin Christoph Model 31 I discussed in my Would I Buy Them Again Today? post, the chunky threads were the problem. And there’s no fixing that.

9. OMAS 360 Vintage Transparent Blue and Rose Gold

I know the 360s are highly sought after, but they are a total pain to clean out. Especially for someone like me who changes ink color with each fill. I need to get my pens 100% clean; no trace of ink. Given that I couldn’t remove the nib, cleaning mine out after use took around 30 minutes. Sometimes more if I’d used a concentrated ink.

10. Bexley Golden Age Triangles

While it’s entirely likely I got a dud, this pen turned me off Bexley entirely. For the price of these pens — even though for me it was another case of trading work for a pen — they should arrive flawless. Mine had a mis-seated nib that resulted in hard starts and horrible dryness until I figured it out. On top of that the rings at either finial were just pressure fit, no glue, nothing. They came right off of the pen without much effort at all. And, worst of all, it was finicky. Getting it put back together after cleaning or filling it was a nightmare, and 9 times out of 10, it would leak after reassembly. It was hard to let go, given that I’d gotten #69 — giggity — but I wasn’t willing to put up with all the issues.

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Well, there you have it, 10 pens I’ve gotten rid of and why. Thank you for reading until the end. Have you experienced any of these issues? Do you own any of these pens? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.

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