A gallery of a fine handcrafted M3 metal pens is now available through Trobee Pens.  Come see why M3 metal is unique and is a material that is very special. Each of the M3 metal pens featured is made by hand on a lathe and is a uniquely a one of a kind writing instrument. 

Are you Addicted to Pens?!

I make professional handmade pens. I have noticed that over the years I have a high repurchase rate meaning that when people buy one pen...they are likely to come back and buy more. I believe there are are pen addicts out there. I used to collect pens, namely fountain pens. I have Visconti pens, Mont Blanc Pens, Conklin pens, Waterman Pens, Parker, Lamy, Pelikan pens to name a few (actually most.) I know the feeling of opening the box and holding that “new” pen.

 

Now my addiction is making high end professional quality handmade pens mostly fountain pens and rollerball pens. I still go through my inventory of hand turned pens (as all my pen are) and put a few each month in my pocket and mark "sold." It is one thing to be addicted to mass produced pens as mentioned above but I honestly like the "rush" with mine better,  knowing how much time and effort goes into each fine writing instrument I create. It is such a great feeling to select the wood I'm going to use on a pen and studying the wood to see the best way to bring out the grain and or the burl. I love the preparation of the pen blanks making sure everything is exact and precise.

Placing the blanks on the lathe and shaping the wood with high end tools is the best! With the lathe turning, it is a awesome feeling seeing wood chips fly and how the shape comes nicely into place (smells great too)! After you have done hundreds of custom pens you start getting a "touch" and a "feel" and you know when the wood "sounds" right.  

 

I have made a new site that only features the best of the best in handmade pens. It is addictedtopens.com .  As a pen maker, I see hundreds and hundreds of different pen parts and kits that are available from which to make pens. Many of the pen kits and parts are lower quality to suit budgets that are lower. They are fine pen kits for what they are…low quality pen kits. You get what you pay for. I choose to take the high end instead. The pens you see on addictedtopens.com are all in the top 1% of the finest quality pen parts available….anywhere.  The handmade pens for sale on this site are only top notch, collector grade, exhibition grade handcrafted pens.

 

The materials used to make the pens are all high quality. The time and expense on each pen is not spared. Only the finest quality handmade fine writing instruments are sold on this site.

 

I welcome you to come check it out!  www.addictedtopens.com

 

People develop affectations over time. Two of mine are that I write with fountain pens and use brown ink. 

I had a terrible time with penmanship in school. I have large clumsy hands and pushing the ball point pen onto the paper caused me to develop hand cramps. The invention of roller ball pens helped, but it was with fountain pens I got the smooth and easy flow of ink that made writing comfortable. I use brown ink because black it hard to distinguish from copies and blue just looks too bright for my eyes.

So I started collecting fountain pens. I have some very expensive limited edition fountain pens by Mont Blanc and Waterman. They are pretty, but even expensive pens tend to be made of plastic or resin. 

I met Mike Trobee as a photographer. We became friends on the internet and cemented that when we met in person. He is an outstanding photographer and I have always been a big fan of his work. About a year ago he started making pens. Now I have owned a few hand made pens in my life, most leaked and had cracks and chips, they just looked amateurish. But when I first saw one of Mike’s I was blown away by the craftsmanship. I bought a few, in fact they are the only pens I use. 

Mike gave me a few of his pens that he said were not up to his standards to sell, because they had “imperfections”. Well if you look closely, usually with a magnifying glass with Mike pointing it out, you can see what he is talking about, but no one would notice it except Mike when using the pen. He is just that much of a perfectionist, each pen is perfect.
And the pens write wonderfully. I am showing you a photograph of my latest Trobee Pen. It is the most beautiful pen I have ever owned or ever seen. The material is a metal compound that is beautiful and adds weight for the proper balance. It is also the smoothest and best writing pen I have ever owned. I am not only amazed at the quality of the pen, I am amazed that I know the guy who produced it. You need to get one yourself at www.pensbytrobee.com. And as an added bonus, he sells ink, even brown ink. And here is his FB page for pens:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Trobee-Hand-Mad

If you are thinking of buy a pen, you will be overwhelmed by the huge assortment of options available to you. With all the aggressive competition that the market currently faces, you can get the highest quality of writing instruments at rock-bottom prices as there are many pens for sale.

Look for the certificate of authencity

Promising to keep things easy on your pocket, you can significantly improve your writing with a fine pen. Fountain pens are believed to be the most highly cherished pens as they as effectively couple elegance and reliability. Making a choice to buy a fountain pen out of all those multitude of designs that pen stores offer today can be quite challenging.

We are living in a society that can proudly boast of being technically sound. The internet has not only turned the world into a global village but has also brought everything within the consumer’s reach. In the present day and age, if you need anything, all you have to do is to seek a competent buyer and voila! You make purchases with a single click. Such is the case with pens.

There are a number of pen stores with an online presence but before you make a purchase, it is vital that you keep the following tips in mind.

Be Wary Of Your Pen Shop

It is foolish to settle for the first seller you will come across. Since your transaction will be carried out online, it will only be sensible to run a background check to get an idea of the retailer’s reputation. This way a little effort will help you make informed decisions.

Comparison Shopping

Do not let any flowery advertising coax you into buying an online pen that is good for nothing. Keep your options open and only after checking multiple websites, settle for a pen shop that you think is demanding a reasonable price for a pen.

Pay Attention to Price

Before you set out to buy a pen, set a price range to determine how much money you are willing to spend. If you think that quality comes at a price, implying that a fine pen will always be costly, you are in for a big surprise. You can find some remarkably good online pens at the most affordable prices.

Address All Your Hesitations

While one may think it insignificant, it is important that you specify your specifications to the vendor. The type of nib you prefer, weight of the pen, its size and everything else you desire should be conveyed comprehensively to the seller. 

 

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If you are thinking of buy a pen, you will be overwhelmed by the huge assortment of options available to you. With all the aggressive competition that the market currently faces, you can get the highest quality of writing instruments at rock-bottom prices as there are many pens for sale.

Look for the certificate of authencity
Promising to keep things easy on your pocket, you can significantly improve your writing with a fine pen. Fountain pens are believed to be the most highly cherished pens as they as effectively couple elegance and reliability. Making a choice to buy a fountain pen out of all those multitude of designs that pen stores offer today can be quite challenging.

 

We are living in a society that can proudly boast of being technically sound. The internet has not only turned the world into a global village but has also brought everything within the consumer’s reach. In the present day and age, if you need anything, all you have to do is to seek a competent buyer and voila! You make purchases with a single click. Such is the case with pens.

There are a number of pen stores with an online presence but before you make a purchase, it is vital that you keep the following tips in mind.

Be Wary Of Your Pen Shop

It is foolish to settle for the first seller you will come across. Since your transaction will be carried out online, it will only be sensible to run a background check to get an idea of the retailer’s reputation. This way a little effort will help you make informed decisions.

Comparison Shopping

Do not let any flowery advertising coax you into buying an online pen that is good for nothing. Keep your options open and only after checking multiple websites, settle for a pen shop that you think is demanding a reasonable price for a pen.

Pay Attention to Price

Before you set out to buy a pen, set a price range to determine how much money you are willing to spend. If you think that quality comes at a price, implying that a fine pen will always be costly, you are in for a big surprise. You can find some remarkably good online pens at the most affordable prices.

Address All Your Hesitations

While one may think it insignificant, it is important that you specify your specifications to the vendor. The type of nib you prefer, weight of the pen, its size and everything else you desire should be conveyed comprehensively to the seller. 

I wanted to find out what the best selling fountain pen of all time was so I started researching. I found that many people have varying views on the best selling fountain pen. What I did find was that the Parker 51 fountain pen kept showing up in many of the articles. I imagine at the very least it is in the top list of fountain pen sales of all time.

It was developed in 1939 and brought into the market in 1941 by the Parker pen company. It was called the “51” to commemorate Parker’s 51 years of existence (in 1939.) It tryley was a totally new fountain pen design with its hooded nib design. It also was to be used only with Parker’s new special ink. The ink was advertised to “write dry with wet ink.” What allowed the ink to do this was a high  alcohol content and a high pH. It sounded good but the ink was very corrosive to the pens parts (celluloid) and eventually was replaced with parker’s Superchrome inks.

WWII put a damper on all pen sales because the War Production Board limited sales of all pens to the general public. Many people at the time believed the Parker-51 fountain pen was named after the P-51 Mustang aircraft. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. Some Parker 51 fountain pens ads at the time did feature the P-51 plane to capitalize on this belief.

In 1948 the Parker 51 fountain pen went through a change with the introduction of a new filling system. The new system of filling was called Aerometric.  What this meant was the sac was made of a transparent plastic parker named “Pli-Glass.” The big deal was it was immune to the corrosion of the previous sac made of rubber.

If you are a pen collector, you know how many people seek out the P-51 to add to their pen collections. It was only made up to 1972 before it was “retired.” It is definitely a fountain pen that will go down in history. Great job Parker! 

 

~ Mike Trobee
pensbytrobee.com

( I should mention the above picture is a "special edition 51" put out in 2002.)

 

Many handcrafted wood pens here....wood fountain, rollerball and ballpoint pens. 

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Just In - New Fountain Pen for Sale - Mother of Pearl

This fountain pen was hand made and hand cast with mother of pearl and acrylic resin. 

For more information please see Mother of Pearl Fountain Pen

I have always liked pens. In the fifth grade I saved up and bought my mother a pen for her birthday. It was one I got at Walgreens for 50 cents (I'm guessing. It may have been less. ) I gave it to her....she loved it...I asked immediately if I could "borrow" it. I wrote with that pen until it was dry. I know...I'm an awful son huh? Ever since then I have been a pen follower. About 12 years ago I got more serious about my pens. I started collecting Mont Blancs, Visconti's, Conklin's, Lamy's, Cross, Waterman, to name a few. It was the Visconti Fountain pen that really got me going. I paid $799.99 for that one pen. I loved the pen! I still do. Every time I would use my Visconti pen I would wonder what is it about that pen that justifies $799.99? Don't get me wrong Visconti pen lovers....I love the pen but really what is in that price? 

 

I thought about this for sometime thinking "how hard could it be to make a pen like that?" I soon bought a lathe and all the hardware needed to make a pen (turn a pen.) I became consumed with making the perfect pen. I still am on that quest. I always will be. To me hand making a custom pen is...spirtual. That may sound odd to many but not to me. Basically taking a block of wood, acrylic, or other material and some pen components and starting a journey to make "the best pen ever" is spiritual. I always fall short of that perfect hand crafted writing instrument. I hopefully always will feel that way. Each new pen I make I want to make better than the last. 

I am getting there and I would love to have you along for the ride. 

 

Why do YOU like pens so much?

 

All the best, 

 

Mike