Recently I have been obsessed with the idea of adding to my pen collection and working towards a so-called Grail pen. One moment I'll be looking into the likes of Delta, Visconti or other such Italian/European high-end pens which I currently don't have in my current collection. Then I would spend hours mulling over if I should get an entry level pen from these brands or something in middle of the range or the flaghip pens (not that these are necessarily achievable).

In the next moment, I'm going down the bespoke rabbit hole. I'm realizing now there are so many choices here from the penmakers themselves to style, shape, materials and filling systems. I've been eyeing Edison pens with unique filling systems, Newton pens with distinct styles and Carolina Pen Company offerings with crazy custom blanks.

Whenever I see somebody's custom pen on Instagram or Twitter and it sets my mind into a frenzy. Every few days Leigh Reyes posts a picture of yet another custom pen from yet another pen maker whom I've never heard of. She has some very beautiful one-of-a-kind pieces. It all makes me go on yet another wild pen chase.

And finally, Nakaya. I've been thinking about Nakayas for over a year now. More so in recent months as my mind is finally starting to overcome the price barrier. Not that a Nakaya is chump change but I've come to accept that pens can reasonably cost as much as Nakayas do. So I've started to consider ordering a Nakaya to my specifications.

And so it goes this way. I cycle through researching higher-end pen company offerings, then the independent custom penmakers then Nakaya. Interspersed are forays into discovering a treasure trove of numerous other brands and options. The Pendora's Box is thrown wide open.

Rather than losing countless more hours searching and perusing, I thought I should just make a fountain pen wish list so that my future pen purchases come only from the list. Hopefully this will limit endless hours of wild pen chases for the 'next big deal' or 'limited edition'...etc. I shall focus on the wish list.

What if something comes along that I should consider for addition to the list? I suppose this is a living document and I should have no more than three pens in each category and only one Grail pen. Otherwise, what's the point? I think I'll also wait at least two months to elapse after an acquisition before I can add a new pen to the list. This is to give me a good chance to work the new pen into rotation and assess how the whole collection works as a whole.

To see the Wish List, click here.