Traditionally each year I visit the two London Pen Shows, make most of the Southern Pen Club meets, buy too many pens, and procrastinate about selling some of the collection. So how has 2023 compared with the past?

First fountain pen shows. Yes I did attend both the Spring and October London Pen Shows, but this year it could be argued the latter was tackled differently. Sure I have twice helped out Write Here, but on both occasions I still did a full walk around and made numerous purchases. This October however, I actually paid for a table and tried to sell 38 pens. I actually managed to reduce my collection by 11 but then went and treated myself to another ScriBo, my first La Dotta. Those sold were:

• Faber Castell WritINK
• Fine Wring International Bronze
• Franklin Christoph 2 with a medium SIG nib
• Franklin Christoph 46 with a medium SIG nib
• John Garnham Teal Breaker (along with box, kimono, notepads and ink)
• Kaweko Student
• Lamy Studio
• Leonardo Momento Zero Hawaii
• Nettuno 1911 Black Sands
• TWSBI Eco (Lime limited edition)
• TWSBI Eco (Yellow limited edition)

With the Southern Pen Club I attended all the meetings this year. We do not meet every month as March and October would be the week after the two London Pens Shows, plus December is too close to X-Mas, so we’re normally just 9 times a year, maybe 8 depending on the Pelikan Hub.

Purchases this year were less. The photo shows all of them split up in to groups in order of arrival. First up you have the Spring Pen Show purchases, a Shibuya North Pocket Pen, a 1960s Sailor Pocket Pen, and an Aurora Optima.

May saw the arrival of the Kickstarter project I backed, the ION Infinity II.

Next, 12 months post ordering and meeting the advised wait list time, my Hakase NJ15A arrived (un-boxing video here). NJ is for New Jade, the celluloid material it is made from, 15 is the larger of the two possible sizes, and A is the model type. For awareness the waiting list is presently 15 months, partly due to Yamamoto-san Ryo giving notice of an upcoming price rise.

Here is a recent video of him and the workshop on Youtube:

And here is one of his predecessor, Tanaka-san Harumi actually making a pen:

August I grabbed a wood and acrylic Bright from Bright Night Design.

Moving onwards and the next pen is my October Pen Show purchase, my first ScriBo La Dotta.

Finally there are my two Fountain Pen Day 2023 pens, a Gravitas Ultimate Vac (review hopefully to be posted January or February) and my second Benu Euphoria, this time in the Big Wave finish.

So plans for next year …

I will hopefully be back at both London Pen Shows (I might have a clash for the October one) and I might also look at getting a table for one of those (and adding to my list of pens to be sold). I will be a regular at the Southern Pen Club and I also may try to make the recently restarted London (UK) Pen Club though I think it clashes with the Southern one (not by design and it is a different Saturday from the old London Club). Pen purchases, well none planned at present though if I ever find Hakase has made a batch of pens using their rare blue celluloid then….