Columnist Muriel Stevens: Pen collecting is the write thing to do

Collecting pens has become an exciting hobby. Not only pens, but special cases and other accessories for storing and displaying them are available like never before. This is not the first time around for pen collecting: For many years, fine pens have been collected by gentlemen.

Before my house burned down some years ago, I owned a sterling silver Waterman pen my grandfather had given me. Years after the fire, I learned how valuable the art deco piece had become. Just weeks before the fire the Waterman company had restored to working order my silver pen. Unfortunately, I never got to use it.

Much later, in an antique shop, I found a pen that was almost a twin to the one I had lost. The price was outrageous, mainly because collecting pens was already becoming a cool thing to do.

You can spend large amounts collecting such status symbols as the Mont Blanc pens I've mentioned before, or the equally pricey Cartier and Bulgari pens. Neiman Marcus has a mail order catalog filled with expensive pens and accessories. The upscale Levenger catalog offers a remarkable selection of pens, mostly European, in every price range. Tiffany's catalogs feature pens for men and women that cost as little as $65.

But, you don't have to spend a lot of money to start an interesting collection.

The Writer's Edge Space Pen kiosks are filled with intriguing pens priced from $7. The cheaper pens are more utilitarian than collectible, but there are dozens of others from which to choose.

When I visited the Writer's Edge kiosk in the Boulevard mall, owner Jim Jobin told me he is the largest retailer of Fisher pens in the country. Jobin was formerly the vice president of the Fisher Space Pen Company. The company is based in Las Vegas where Paul Fisher, the creator of the exclusive sealed pressurized ink cartridge, lives.

All of the Writer's Edge Pens are either Fisher Space Pens or get their ink supply from a Fisher pressurized space refill. The Fisher Space Pen was the choice of NASA for use on all its manned space flights. It is the only type of pen that will write in freezing cold weather (minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit) and extreme heat (more than 300 degrees Fahrenheit), and in the gravity-free vacuum of space. Our astronauts have used Space Pens since 1967; Russian cosmonauts use them on the Soyuz space flights.

Last Saturday, Russian MIR Commander Anatoly Solovyev was at the Boulevard mall signing photographs -- all of this in honor of an ink cartridge that no one else has ever been able to duplicate or adapt. Fisher Space Pens do not leak, they write at any angle and are dependable on most surfaces, even under water.

The Nellis Thunderbirds have a Space Pen that was designed just for them. Gift editions of these ($50) and a NASA pen ($45) are available at the Writer's Edge. Each comes in a gift box.

Sometimes, good buys can be found at places such as Tuesday Morning. I recently found $90 Waterman pens for $39.95. Buy them when you see them -- such bargains don't last long. Good buys also can be found at Office Max and Office Depot. Waterman, Cross, even Mont Blanc can be found here. Fisher refills fit the Cross pens.

With a little shopping savvy, it's easy to start a collection of the write stuff.

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