Welcome to the antique pens website! On the tompens page you will find a wide range of articles about pens and a wide selection of old and modern fountain pens, ballpoint pens and fountain pens. All pens purchased from me come with a 1 year guarantee, which includes an embossed, personalised warranty card. In many cases I also supply the writing instruments with high quality ink and lead.
Can't find the right fountain pen? Most of the pens for sale are not yet listed online, so if you can't find the right pen for you, please contact me - I'll help you find a solution to your needs.
Thanks to my more than 15 years of experience, you can also count on me for pen repair services: nib polishing, gold plating, plunger repair and other service work available in Budapest (Hungary). Explore my offer and find the ideal writing instrument that will be your reliable writing companion for years to come.
There are several common threads between the art of fountain pens and watches: both are precision masterpieces, embody timeless beauty, and represent the pinnacle of human ingenuity. Some luxury brands have combined the tools of writing with the marvels of timekeeping. Let's take a look at pen-watches!
When cataloguing their fountain pens, many collectors use small pieces of paper, labels, to register important data. This is being replaced by the development of the tompens, using digital labels, NFC tags.
Writing has always been an integral part of human culture, and the ways in which people have recorded their thoughts and messages have changed over time. The transmission of ideas was boosted by the advent of the postal service, with the appearance of stamps on letters (1840), which gave rise to the world of stamp art, including mail art as a separate genre (1960). In parallel, fountain pens have followed a similar evolutionary trajectory. I have collected memories of the meeting of stamps and pens.
Old glass-tipped pens are a real rarity these days. Drop or tap the end of a nib once and the irreparable breakage only adds to the value of the remaining intact nibs. However, you can also buy new glass pens to enhance your handwriting experience, especially if you use them on a sunny day.
Read more: 🇺🇸 Beyond the glass mountain / about the glass nibs
There is a famous French brand in the world, many of whose products have a 1957 date. Although the company Charles Chevignon was founded in 1979, the backdating doesn't really bother either the sellers or the buyers. The odd thing is that not many people have thought about it before, but tompens.com has found out who (or rather who isn't) Charles Chevignon?
Read more: 🇺🇸 The fountain pen for a phantom pilot, Chevignon
I recently came across an interview with a fountain pen maker in a daily newspaper (print) called "Pens that have a soul". Since I have been working with pens, I have regularly come across similar sentiments that pens have a soul. In connection with this title, I decided to investigate the question and, if the pen has a psyche, to dive into the subject as a pen psychologist. The question is a tricky one, since if the conclusion of my reasoning is that pens are soulless, I could easily burn myself with the same diagnosis. So I will make it clear from the outset that whatever the outcome, the question is unprovable. But there are a few things to ponder about whether any object has a soul.
We met Tamás Szűcs in the centre of Budafok, on the outskirts of Budapest, in the Spiller confectionery, where he brought the smallest and largest piece of his fountain pen collection. In our report we introduce the country's only pen restorer, who takes his own photos of his antique pens, which he assembles while reflecting on aesthetic issues and the abstract things in life. Statistically, there is no data on the percentage of the population that uses fountain pens, but it is safe to say that they are mainly used by intellectuals, so don't be surprised if the country's only fountain pen restorer presents the Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban with an antique pen and even initiates a correspondence with Queen Elizabeth II.
Read more: 🇺🇸 Hungary's fountain pen restorer lives in Budapest, and was received by Viktor Orban
