Parker 61

When I bought a vintage Parker 61 fountain pen (six or seven years ago), it came with an original product information leaflet. Indeed the leaflet was more original than the pen itself, with the former extolling the vitues of Parker’s revolutionary capillary-action ink filling system, which they’d developed for the 61. Unfortunately for Parker, this system didn’t work anything like as well in the real world as it had in their labs, with many 61s later altered to use more conventional converter-style re-filling - the one I bought among them. Unfortunately for me, the plastic barrel of mine cracked and broke within a year of my acquiring it.

I enjoy using fountain pens, preferring them to ballpoints and rollerballs. For a year or two I was on course to their becoming the focus of yet another collection, but I ultimately stepped off that boat and let it set sail without me. I still have (and regularly use) half a dozen fountain pens, and own as many types of ink, and for me that has proven quite sufficient. Some will derive a thrill from owning numerous inks from around the world in all-but-indistinguishable shades of blue; and in having costly gold nibs precisely altered to their exacting specifications - I’ve conceded that my own taste in writing implements is just not that refined.