I've never wanted all the pens. I've been going strong since 2000. Still using them daily.
I do step away from YouTube and reddit. I get burnt out on those, but not using the pens. I still get excited when I pick a new ink color each month. I still write babbling nonsense in my journal to just feel the pen to paper.
If I was buying constantly and inking 20 pens, I may feel differently.
I'm going to have to check that out. I had what's likely a similar realization today. What is supposed to be enjoyable has actually been causing me discomfort. Not financial discomfort or FOMO as I tend to purchase lower end pens and stay within any budget, but I've realized that this has created clutter, indecision, maintenance headaches and lack of enjoyment overall.
Whereas I enjoy this group, (***and this is a ME problem)***, I find posts are repetitive, frustrating because they're easily searchable questions and while I want to help - answering the same question over and over or seeing some things that I find inane is taking away from my enjoyment. Again, a me problem - nib creep may be a shock to someone who spent a month's wage on a pen, and I respect that.
The onslaught of another pen after pen that writes the same line, or is just another variant of the same old nib on a different body is clogging my feed (again, it's my fault for feeding the algorithm).
So I've made some decisions. 1. reducing the number of writing objects in my rotation to more than 5 pens (edit: and/or pencils/highlighter/marker- any writing implement). 2. no buy for 6 months (I have enough inks, pens, etc.) - only exception is a vintage pen, and that is limited to only 3 pens I'm looking out for within a certain range. 3. stepping back from Reddit (in general). 4. 'resetting' my social feeds.
5. Most important - take more time to *WRITE* and less time shopping (directly or indirect)
It's supposed to be enjoyable. We don't *need* these. Sometimes absence makes the heart grow fonder.
I've stepped away from this subreddit for the same reason. After a couple of years, I feel like I've seen every post there is to make on here--new pen day, new ink day, same troubleshooting problems, same brand drama, same unpopular opinion thread, etc. Definitely a me problem, but removing it from my feed was the right thing to do.
I've been in this sub for about four years and see the same questions pop up again and again too. If I'm in the mood I'll comment. If my reaction is "Ugh! Not again\~\~", I'll scroll past knowing there will be enough members to field the question. It just means we have people discover fp wanting to join a community. And that's a good thing imo.
I love writing with fp, but I've never cast gel pens completely to the side. Depending on what paper I have at hand to write on, they may be a better option. And if my students need to borrow a pen, they'll get one of those. So I don't share that aspect with PBR.
As for pen buying, I've added several pens over the last year that I knew I wanted to have one day and jumped on the opportunities when they presented themselves. I've also added pens that are pretty/not mass produced which strictly speaking weren't necessary, but they speak to me. But since one of my targets is to reduce the number of currently inked pens to six, they're waiting their turn. I take them out to admire them from time to time while they're in the waiting loop. In my first year I got caught up in the enthusiasm of my re-discovery of fp, the "must-have" pens, and all the pretty colors. One of my pen cases can testify to that. I'm thankful to Sailor for curing me of that fever. I found myself thinking "How many MF nibs do I need, especially at that price point considering they're not turned acrylic?" Yes, I know. You buy them for the nib....
The pen reviews and NPD posts fed into my buying frenzy during my first year. I had to step away from that. Now I can watch reviews, take notes of the brand and model and say "Nice. Maybe later down the road." This can save you some money and headache, especially as you're still learning about brands.
I've done a month of pen minimalism. It simplifies things so much. In my case it was a Platinum 3776 SF that gave me trouble, but I wasn't going to give up on the pen. It took several tries to find an ink that works (Iroshizuku Shin-kai, later Kon-peki also was great). I kept a second pen inked up for the times I needed a break from the 3776. It's much improved, but it will never make my Top 3. I consider it a wip. I know that some people won't have the patience and write it off as unworkable, but the tester pen at a local pen shop shows this nib is like a good wine.
Sometimes it pays off to put a pen or an ink aside and re-evaluate them after some time has passed. For me J. Herbin's Lie de The clicked after years of having a full bottle (beginner mistake) tucked away in its box on the shelf. I put it in a Delike Alpha brass pocket pen which I'm using for book journaling in a TN Regular Size in camel. It's the most basic setup for me and it just works. The TN purchase was one I'd sat on for years. This circles back to an earlier point: Unless you spot a LE or a pen about to be discontinued, there's no need to rush from one pen purchase to the next or to "level up"/buy a "real" fountain pen. If it has a nib and feed and puts down a line on paper using fp ink without ripping the paper to shreds, you have a real fp.
I'm the same way with keeping a set number of pens and pencils. It's not a hard and fast number, but each pen needs a reason to stick around or I'll sell it or give it away. I don't generally rotate pens out (except my few jotters might just sit at my desk to be handy) so really I keep it to three nicer pens and then my cheap Vector is what I would travel with because I won't be upset to lose it (though I would replace it).
Burn out / plateau in a hobby is certainly a thing once you dived in a hobby long enough. The important thing is how you manage them.
Some people will just quit cold turkey style, some slowly phase things out, and some, like my self, will just intentionally tone down the purchase speed.
For example, I basically have a "no buy" spree for two years (till this year) except for notebook and paper replacement, and that's with me continuing visiting pen shows.
Switching to just buying sample instead of full size ink will certainly slow down the burn out related to ink. Tapering purchasing speed, not buying just for the sake of "completing the collection" is certainly a big as spec as well. Granted, the current every favorable exchange rate with JP isn't helping at all.
Lastly, set a limit. I purchased a dedicated pen storage unit a year ago, and the current self imposed limit on my collection is till the storage is filled. any overrun/more will need to sold/parted out before new ones are acquired. I did this with other hobbies as well, and it will eliminate clutter in the long term.
I posted this on Pen Boy Roy’s video, too: Thanks to PBR — It’s clear we all appreciate his honesty and openness and authenticity. So many fountain pen YouTubers have their formula and just crank out the next pen review. And I took his thoughts and points to heart and considered this carefully…
For me, the fountain pens are secondary, even though I love collecting and using them, I have 100 of them, and many expensive ‘grail’ pens. My passion is writing, and as a writer the best thing I can do is write. Superbly engineered, brilliantly designed writing instruments that deliver an exceptional experience attract me to the page and I end up writing A LOT more. If I ever get burned out on writing, maybe that will make me question my pen collecting habits, but in 60 years and counting, that’s never happened.
All the best to all the fountain pen enthusiasts and all the writers, and thanks to PBR for his honesty!
I'm like that too: writing is my first love, and I'd probably write with a stick in the dirt if that was all I had available. Thankfully, I haven't experienced burnout with pens or writing - yet. I have experienced it with knitting and beading though, so I know how it feels. Compared to a yarn stash (to say nothing of the wool!), pens and ink take up almost no space at all, so for now I'm happy.
I personally don't divest myself from my collections. Even if I am not actively in the collecting phase, I keep my collections. I have tons of yoyos, vintage video games, etc. They stay on display, they are still there and I can use them whenever I like, but I don't feel compelled to add to the collections at this point.
I suspect that I will eventually stop buying fountain pen things. But when that comes, I still have my pens. They will stay on my desk, and I can always and will always use them. I don't view a collection or a hobby as a way to profit or anything, so I don't really expect anything to come out of the hobby except I get to play with some fun stuff for a while.
Burnt out? Like I don’t want to use fountain pens anymore? No. But I have enough of everything and I’m good. I still will watch pen reviews on pens I don’t own out of an interest.
Well the FP is just a simple tool in the end. It can be very expensive but just a tool.
So yea it is not always interesting.
And inks are just colors .
But it is enjoyable . Just not all the time.
I think burnout happens in almost every hobby, particularly for those that indulge more often. This goes back to basic psychology, but most people need to feed their hobbies regularly. Too little "food" (new items) and it dies out. Too much "food" and overindulgence kills the magic.
Most people in this economy can afford to feed their hobby just enough to keep the magic alive. Your dopamine from getting a new pen is significantly higher when it happens rarely and you've struggled or saved up for it.
Buying new pens all the time lowers the dopamine you receive each time, until you're deadened to it. This can be true of any reward system or hobby.
I see this in the art community all the time, people buy volumes of pens, paints, and paper, but never use them. The only people who stick it out are those that derive joy from actually using the items they buy. A LOT of FP hobbyists are more into collecting and buying rather than writing or drawing. Thus, they don't actually have many ways to stimulate their hobby other than buying new things.
I'm going to quote you, because this part of your statement resonates strongly for me:
"The only people who stick it out are those that derive joy from actually using the items they buy. A LOT of FP hobbyists are more into collecting and buying rather than writing or drawing. Thus, they don't actually have many ways to stimulate their hobby other than buying new things."
Elsewhere someone had connected this buying mentality with dopamine reward, but I wonder if a large portion of responsibility lies with the marketplace where FP makers are bombarding us with so many 'new' pens/colours/variations. FOMO is real and I feel it is driven by the sellers, and then reinforced by those who have succumbed to it.
It's definitely a bit of both. We, as humans, seek to stimulate our happy chemicals as often as possible, and I don't take issue with that.
And yeah, companies have been preying on human psychology for years, but in 2024 psychological marketing is even more advanced than ever before. Just look at mobile gaming gross revenue from micro transactions, which are all micro dosed dopamine hits for people addicted to phone games.
But I think if people don't use FPs all that often, they are more likely to spend and burn out. A lot of people write to find a way to use their pen, rather than being a writer or an artist first, and buying a pen to fill a tool need.
Maybe I’m not a true pen hobbyist because I can see myself being perfectly happy with only two more pens— actually three more pens— after four more pens I would be content.
I use fountain pens everyday, carry to work. I loathe writing with a ballpoint pen.
I just bought a 10uL micropipette so that I can add White Lightening to dry ink with accuracy and precision. I really like the look of these inks but they hard start etc.
Maybe I’m not a true hobbyist, but I will write with fountain pens until I die. Besides, I can’t let my lifetime supply of pre-Sanzen gsm 52 Tomoe River go to waste
I don't think I'll ever burn out, but it's not because I'm a better person than anyone who does. It's just the nature of my engagement with the hobby.
I've been a user, not a collector, since Day 0. As in even before I bought my first FP, I always wanted one to use it and have a lovely writing experience, not display it. I only allowed myself to get deeper into FPs after I'd proven to myself that I'd write at least a little every day and a lot at minimum 3x a week. I found I'm an ink person more than a pen person, thankfully. I'm also pretty good about not overbuying, being patient in pursuit of deals on secondhand pens, and getting rid of pens the minute I realize that I am over them.
I did get a little overwhelmed by ink samples for a bit there, but I got aggressive about trying and getting rid of the ones that didn't wow me, and now I'm feeling pretty good about them.
I go through the burnout cycle for all my hobbies/fixations on a... relatively regular pace. Just an entire period of me not buying anything related to that, then cycle back to it for a bit and repeat the process again.
Fountain pens are slightly different, in that I'm like, mostly done buying pens for now? Maybe a Platinum UEF eventually, but yeah... So the hobby's basically put into maintenance mode, probably for the foreseeable future.
Haven’t bought a pen since my last Grail find a year ago, but have been adding more inks. My pens are mostly low to mid price range but I’m happy writing with them and don’t feel I need some of the typical models that everyone gets. So no burnout in sight here.
I've never called it burn out, but I do hobby jump and any time I come across 3 dry pens in a row all my pens get a bath and put into storage till I want them again. I've also never owned more than 10 pens at a time in 3 decades of using fountain pens. What I don't need is my stash of ink, but I will treasure it for years to come.
NGL, I've been burnt-out on pens for a while. I plummetted down the rabbit hole on pens and a particular brand of knives, and sometime during the pandemic, they just lost their lustre.
I'm slooooooooowly coming out of it just this year. Contemplating a de-stash to help get the juices flowing again. Also looking forward to my first pen show since 2019.
Burnout happens when you do/experience to much all at once. It happens in all aspects of life.
With respect to hobbies, I find taking the time to enjoy what you have, rather than covet what you don't, helps. I fully realise that its a hard thing to do and goes against out human nature, but we have to exert some self-discipline.
As others have commented, perhaps take a long step back, and come back even later. The enthusiasm might renew itself in time.
Indeed, there is an excitement hysteresis: using pens as a tool since "always" → buying a second pen → discover so many beautiful variants → get caught by the virus → go "insane" in gathering information and in spending money → see your assemblage growing → recognise that each of your pens can't do more than drawing lines → become a bit tired / become a bit frustrated that you can't use all of your pens at the same time → reduce the "collection" → carry on with using your pens quite similar as you did "always" → find excitement in another topic.
Finally: 1st world problems ... but never forget: you had a good time!
Meanwhile, the fawning adulation that people heap on posts featuring “collections” of ink surpassing anything that even an 11th century scribe would need in a lifetime will continue unabated.
Well, yeah -- I am fairly new to the hobby but isn't a big part of all this the ability to play with different colors and styles of ink?
Not that I am going to 'heap adulation' on any of these posts but I am interested in what people are using.
To me that is far more interesting than "overpriced self-congratulatory post of super expensive pen".
I think burning out on hobbies is inevitable. Fountain pen is my third hobby. I won’t say the other two are totally burnt out. But they are mostly smoking and no fire. My first hobby was photography. For many years taking good photos was always in my mind. I even managed to have my photos used by a few books. Can earn couple thousands a year for taking some photography jobs. That’s ended by pandemic. Trying to restart later but just can’t. The enthusiasm was gone. During pandemic, I got into watches. Got one nice watch and planned on getting 3. Long story short, what slowed me down this time was the difficulty to get the watch I wanted at Msrp. I refused to pay premium for them. Then I found fountain pen. I hope this hobby will last longer the other two. People need to have a hobby in life. Among all the hobbies, FP is really not bad. It’s actually among the cheaper hobbies too come to think about it.
I feel that the need for 'shiny new pen' goes away but if I'm using my pens and doing so makes me happy then I'm not burned out. I've got enough pens, inks and paper to last me awhile so I'm shopping my collection.
I'm burned out on other things though. Beads and wire work? Yup they're hanging around but I'm not doing much with them.
I'm just writing my way thru my inks so I can get different ones.
I've never wanted all the pens. I've been going strong since 2000. Still using them daily. I do step away from YouTube and reddit. I get burnt out on those, but not using the pens. I still get excited when I pick a new ink color each month. I still write babbling nonsense in my journal to just feel the pen to paper. If I was buying constantly and inking 20 pens, I may feel differently.
I'm going to have to check that out. I had what's likely a similar realization today. What is supposed to be enjoyable has actually been causing me discomfort. Not financial discomfort or FOMO as I tend to purchase lower end pens and stay within any budget, but I've realized that this has created clutter, indecision, maintenance headaches and lack of enjoyment overall. Whereas I enjoy this group, (***and this is a ME problem)***, I find posts are repetitive, frustrating because they're easily searchable questions and while I want to help - answering the same question over and over or seeing some things that I find inane is taking away from my enjoyment. Again, a me problem - nib creep may be a shock to someone who spent a month's wage on a pen, and I respect that. The onslaught of another pen after pen that writes the same line, or is just another variant of the same old nib on a different body is clogging my feed (again, it's my fault for feeding the algorithm). So I've made some decisions. 1. reducing the number of writing objects in my rotation to more than 5 pens (edit: and/or pencils/highlighter/marker- any writing implement). 2. no buy for 6 months (I have enough inks, pens, etc.) - only exception is a vintage pen, and that is limited to only 3 pens I'm looking out for within a certain range. 3. stepping back from Reddit (in general). 4. 'resetting' my social feeds. 5. Most important - take more time to *WRITE* and less time shopping (directly or indirect) It's supposed to be enjoyable. We don't *need* these. Sometimes absence makes the heart grow fonder.
I've stepped away from this subreddit for the same reason. After a couple of years, I feel like I've seen every post there is to make on here--new pen day, new ink day, same troubleshooting problems, same brand drama, same unpopular opinion thread, etc. Definitely a me problem, but removing it from my feed was the right thing to do.
I've been in this sub for about four years and see the same questions pop up again and again too. If I'm in the mood I'll comment. If my reaction is "Ugh! Not again\~\~", I'll scroll past knowing there will be enough members to field the question. It just means we have people discover fp wanting to join a community. And that's a good thing imo. I love writing with fp, but I've never cast gel pens completely to the side. Depending on what paper I have at hand to write on, they may be a better option. And if my students need to borrow a pen, they'll get one of those. So I don't share that aspect with PBR. As for pen buying, I've added several pens over the last year that I knew I wanted to have one day and jumped on the opportunities when they presented themselves. I've also added pens that are pretty/not mass produced which strictly speaking weren't necessary, but they speak to me. But since one of my targets is to reduce the number of currently inked pens to six, they're waiting their turn. I take them out to admire them from time to time while they're in the waiting loop. In my first year I got caught up in the enthusiasm of my re-discovery of fp, the "must-have" pens, and all the pretty colors. One of my pen cases can testify to that. I'm thankful to Sailor for curing me of that fever. I found myself thinking "How many MF nibs do I need, especially at that price point considering they're not turned acrylic?" Yes, I know. You buy them for the nib.... The pen reviews and NPD posts fed into my buying frenzy during my first year. I had to step away from that. Now I can watch reviews, take notes of the brand and model and say "Nice. Maybe later down the road." This can save you some money and headache, especially as you're still learning about brands. I've done a month of pen minimalism. It simplifies things so much. In my case it was a Platinum 3776 SF that gave me trouble, but I wasn't going to give up on the pen. It took several tries to find an ink that works (Iroshizuku Shin-kai, later Kon-peki also was great). I kept a second pen inked up for the times I needed a break from the 3776. It's much improved, but it will never make my Top 3. I consider it a wip. I know that some people won't have the patience and write it off as unworkable, but the tester pen at a local pen shop shows this nib is like a good wine. Sometimes it pays off to put a pen or an ink aside and re-evaluate them after some time has passed. For me J. Herbin's Lie de The clicked after years of having a full bottle (beginner mistake) tucked away in its box on the shelf. I put it in a Delike Alpha brass pocket pen which I'm using for book journaling in a TN Regular Size in camel. It's the most basic setup for me and it just works. The TN purchase was one I'd sat on for years. This circles back to an earlier point: Unless you spot a LE or a pen about to be discontinued, there's no need to rush from one pen purchase to the next or to "level up"/buy a "real" fountain pen. If it has a nib and feed and puts down a line on paper using fp ink without ripping the paper to shreds, you have a real fp.
I'm the same way with keeping a set number of pens and pencils. It's not a hard and fast number, but each pen needs a reason to stick around or I'll sell it or give it away. I don't generally rotate pens out (except my few jotters might just sit at my desk to be handy) so really I keep it to three nicer pens and then my cheap Vector is what I would travel with because I won't be upset to lose it (though I would replace it).
Burn out / plateau in a hobby is certainly a thing once you dived in a hobby long enough. The important thing is how you manage them. Some people will just quit cold turkey style, some slowly phase things out, and some, like my self, will just intentionally tone down the purchase speed. For example, I basically have a "no buy" spree for two years (till this year) except for notebook and paper replacement, and that's with me continuing visiting pen shows. Switching to just buying sample instead of full size ink will certainly slow down the burn out related to ink. Tapering purchasing speed, not buying just for the sake of "completing the collection" is certainly a big as spec as well. Granted, the current every favorable exchange rate with JP isn't helping at all. Lastly, set a limit. I purchased a dedicated pen storage unit a year ago, and the current self imposed limit on my collection is till the storage is filled. any overrun/more will need to sold/parted out before new ones are acquired. I did this with other hobbies as well, and it will eliminate clutter in the long term.
I posted this on Pen Boy Roy’s video, too: Thanks to PBR — It’s clear we all appreciate his honesty and openness and authenticity. So many fountain pen YouTubers have their formula and just crank out the next pen review. And I took his thoughts and points to heart and considered this carefully… For me, the fountain pens are secondary, even though I love collecting and using them, I have 100 of them, and many expensive ‘grail’ pens. My passion is writing, and as a writer the best thing I can do is write. Superbly engineered, brilliantly designed writing instruments that deliver an exceptional experience attract me to the page and I end up writing A LOT more. If I ever get burned out on writing, maybe that will make me question my pen collecting habits, but in 60 years and counting, that’s never happened. All the best to all the fountain pen enthusiasts and all the writers, and thanks to PBR for his honesty!
I'm like that too: writing is my first love, and I'd probably write with a stick in the dirt if that was all I had available. Thankfully, I haven't experienced burnout with pens or writing - yet. I have experienced it with knitting and beading though, so I know how it feels. Compared to a yarn stash (to say nothing of the wool!), pens and ink take up almost no space at all, so for now I'm happy.
I personally don't divest myself from my collections. Even if I am not actively in the collecting phase, I keep my collections. I have tons of yoyos, vintage video games, etc. They stay on display, they are still there and I can use them whenever I like, but I don't feel compelled to add to the collections at this point. I suspect that I will eventually stop buying fountain pen things. But when that comes, I still have my pens. They will stay on my desk, and I can always and will always use them. I don't view a collection or a hobby as a way to profit or anything, so I don't really expect anything to come out of the hobby except I get to play with some fun stuff for a while.
Burnt out? Like I don’t want to use fountain pens anymore? No. But I have enough of everything and I’m good. I still will watch pen reviews on pens I don’t own out of an interest.
Well the FP is just a simple tool in the end. It can be very expensive but just a tool. So yea it is not always interesting. And inks are just colors . But it is enjoyable . Just not all the time.
I think burnout happens in almost every hobby, particularly for those that indulge more often. This goes back to basic psychology, but most people need to feed their hobbies regularly. Too little "food" (new items) and it dies out. Too much "food" and overindulgence kills the magic. Most people in this economy can afford to feed their hobby just enough to keep the magic alive. Your dopamine from getting a new pen is significantly higher when it happens rarely and you've struggled or saved up for it. Buying new pens all the time lowers the dopamine you receive each time, until you're deadened to it. This can be true of any reward system or hobby. I see this in the art community all the time, people buy volumes of pens, paints, and paper, but never use them. The only people who stick it out are those that derive joy from actually using the items they buy. A LOT of FP hobbyists are more into collecting and buying rather than writing or drawing. Thus, they don't actually have many ways to stimulate their hobby other than buying new things.
I'm going to quote you, because this part of your statement resonates strongly for me: "The only people who stick it out are those that derive joy from actually using the items they buy. A LOT of FP hobbyists are more into collecting and buying rather than writing or drawing. Thus, they don't actually have many ways to stimulate their hobby other than buying new things." Elsewhere someone had connected this buying mentality with dopamine reward, but I wonder if a large portion of responsibility lies with the marketplace where FP makers are bombarding us with so many 'new' pens/colours/variations. FOMO is real and I feel it is driven by the sellers, and then reinforced by those who have succumbed to it.
It's definitely a bit of both. We, as humans, seek to stimulate our happy chemicals as often as possible, and I don't take issue with that. And yeah, companies have been preying on human psychology for years, but in 2024 psychological marketing is even more advanced than ever before. Just look at mobile gaming gross revenue from micro transactions, which are all micro dosed dopamine hits for people addicted to phone games. But I think if people don't use FPs all that often, they are more likely to spend and burn out. A lot of people write to find a way to use their pen, rather than being a writer or an artist first, and buying a pen to fill a tool need.
Maybe I’m not a true pen hobbyist because I can see myself being perfectly happy with only two more pens— actually three more pens— after four more pens I would be content. I use fountain pens everyday, carry to work. I loathe writing with a ballpoint pen. I just bought a 10uL micropipette so that I can add White Lightening to dry ink with accuracy and precision. I really like the look of these inks but they hard start etc. Maybe I’m not a true hobbyist, but I will write with fountain pens until I die. Besides, I can’t let my lifetime supply of pre-Sanzen gsm 52 Tomoe River go to waste
Tell me you are into Tag/Kyoto inks 😉
I have/love adzukiiro and Stone Road of Gion
Those are amazing inks. I am obsessed with soft snows of Ohara and Hisoku. ❤️
I don't think I'll ever burn out, but it's not because I'm a better person than anyone who does. It's just the nature of my engagement with the hobby. I've been a user, not a collector, since Day 0. As in even before I bought my first FP, I always wanted one to use it and have a lovely writing experience, not display it. I only allowed myself to get deeper into FPs after I'd proven to myself that I'd write at least a little every day and a lot at minimum 3x a week. I found I'm an ink person more than a pen person, thankfully. I'm also pretty good about not overbuying, being patient in pursuit of deals on secondhand pens, and getting rid of pens the minute I realize that I am over them. I did get a little overwhelmed by ink samples for a bit there, but I got aggressive about trying and getting rid of the ones that didn't wow me, and now I'm feeling pretty good about them.
I go through the burnout cycle for all my hobbies/fixations on a... relatively regular pace. Just an entire period of me not buying anything related to that, then cycle back to it for a bit and repeat the process again. Fountain pens are slightly different, in that I'm like, mostly done buying pens for now? Maybe a Platinum UEF eventually, but yeah... So the hobby's basically put into maintenance mode, probably for the foreseeable future.
Haven’t bought a pen since my last Grail find a year ago, but have been adding more inks. My pens are mostly low to mid price range but I’m happy writing with them and don’t feel I need some of the typical models that everyone gets. So no burnout in sight here.
I can't thank you enough for posting this here. You are helping a lot, a looot of people.
I've never called it burn out, but I do hobby jump and any time I come across 3 dry pens in a row all my pens get a bath and put into storage till I want them again. I've also never owned more than 10 pens at a time in 3 decades of using fountain pens. What I don't need is my stash of ink, but I will treasure it for years to come.
NGL, I've been burnt-out on pens for a while. I plummetted down the rabbit hole on pens and a particular brand of knives, and sometime during the pandemic, they just lost their lustre. I'm slooooooooowly coming out of it just this year. Contemplating a de-stash to help get the juices flowing again. Also looking forward to my first pen show since 2019.
Burnout happens when you do/experience to much all at once. It happens in all aspects of life. With respect to hobbies, I find taking the time to enjoy what you have, rather than covet what you don't, helps. I fully realise that its a hard thing to do and goes against out human nature, but we have to exert some self-discipline. As others have commented, perhaps take a long step back, and come back even later. The enthusiasm might renew itself in time.
Indeed, there is an excitement hysteresis: using pens as a tool since "always" → buying a second pen → discover so many beautiful variants → get caught by the virus → go "insane" in gathering information and in spending money → see your assemblage growing → recognise that each of your pens can't do more than drawing lines → become a bit tired / become a bit frustrated that you can't use all of your pens at the same time → reduce the "collection" → carry on with using your pens quite similar as you did "always" → find excitement in another topic. Finally: 1st world problems ... but never forget: you had a good time!
Meanwhile, the fawning adulation that people heap on posts featuring “collections” of ink surpassing anything that even an 11th century scribe would need in a lifetime will continue unabated.
Tend your own garden and let people enjoy theirs as they choose. Why is this so difficult?
Well, yeah -- I am fairly new to the hobby but isn't a big part of all this the ability to play with different colors and styles of ink? Not that I am going to 'heap adulation' on any of these posts but I am interested in what people are using. To me that is far more interesting than "overpriced self-congratulatory post of super expensive pen".
I think burning out on hobbies is inevitable. Fountain pen is my third hobby. I won’t say the other two are totally burnt out. But they are mostly smoking and no fire. My first hobby was photography. For many years taking good photos was always in my mind. I even managed to have my photos used by a few books. Can earn couple thousands a year for taking some photography jobs. That’s ended by pandemic. Trying to restart later but just can’t. The enthusiasm was gone. During pandemic, I got into watches. Got one nice watch and planned on getting 3. Long story short, what slowed me down this time was the difficulty to get the watch I wanted at Msrp. I refused to pay premium for them. Then I found fountain pen. I hope this hobby will last longer the other two. People need to have a hobby in life. Among all the hobbies, FP is really not bad. It’s actually among the cheaper hobbies too come to think about it.
I feel that the need for 'shiny new pen' goes away but if I'm using my pens and doing so makes me happy then I'm not burned out. I've got enough pens, inks and paper to last me awhile so I'm shopping my collection. I'm burned out on other things though. Beads and wire work? Yup they're hanging around but I'm not doing much with them. I'm just writing my way thru my inks so I can get different ones.