After Cytherian disclosed that he is now in the scissor collecting business, I got curious.
Do you guys collect other things besides mechanical pencils (and pens)? If so, what do you collect and why?
Since two years ago, I’ve been collecting Altoid and Barkley mint tins. For as long as I can remember, I’ve also collected model cars. Additionally, I enjoy taking apart old electronics and keeping one of the component for myself, it goes from a CPU to an electric motor.
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When I was a kid (mid 80s-early 90s) I collected baseball cards pretty seriously. I also collected baseball team themed pencils. I still have them somewhere in storage.
Later in life I started collecting old blues albums and memorabilia. I also collect guitars, other music equipment, art, and jewelry.
As a former competitive skier I went down the path of collecting vintage skis but ended up getting out of that.
Oh and with a 3 year old it seems like I’m collecting Paw Patrol toys. There’s a gabillion I have to pick up and organize everyday. 
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I love history and I am a miniature wargamer. I have armies (both sides) to fight any type of warfare from ancient (Roman) to modern using small miniature models. They range from 6mm high to 28mm depending on genre.
I have about 15 complete armies made of of thousands of miniatures. Never counted them.
I keep them in glass display cases from ikea, and I added lighting and extra shelves. I have 4 displays full and making room for the 5th.
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I collect Blackwing pencils and sneakers. Luckily I don’t have the same rules as my mechanical pencils and wear all my shoes.
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Yeah I’m a bit of a sneakerhead too. Wearing some Jordan 1 Skylines as we speak.
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Great cases! Loving that.
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I love history as well and would love to one day delve deep into miniature wargames but it’s a hobby too time consuming for me currently. Your armies are amazing but it seems to me that you lack an air force to assist the soldiers 
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I almost went for those too. I wore black/pine green 1 lows today.
Oh, and I collect wine too. Virginia, Washington, Napa and Bordeaux.
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You. Need. More. Shelves.
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OK, so… not to put any water on the topic… but I’m not really a scissors collector. I just have a few select scissors in my home, for different purposes. Not to build a collection.
Now that’s out of the way…
Here’s some of what I’ve collected over the years:
Diecast cars – Remember Corgi Toys? From Great Britain? When I was a kid, Lesney Matchbox wasn’t enough for me. 1:64 was too small. 1:43, however… now you’re talking. That’s where Corgi was working it. I used to have a pretty decent collection, but sold off quite a bit of it when collectible fever started (particularly with Batman memorabilia). I even had the Bat Boat. Many years later, I unearthed the remainder of my collection and started searching, to find Paul’s Model Arts. What a maker of fine diecast automobiles! I started collecting so many… and then had to stop. Mothballed most of my collection.
Next, I dabbled in the voiceover industry. Took a few classes… but then, as I’d be prone to do, got obsessed over the tool of the trade. The microphone. I started collecting vintage microphones. I tell you… wow… the designs! And really, America had a lock on that. Aside from the UK and Germany, no other nation could touch America for classic, gorgeous microphone designs.
For a time, I’d gotten into stylograph pens. rOtring’s early days was in that. Tintenkuli. It’s a huge rabbit hole to get into. So many candy-stripe resin models to seek. I didn’t get all I wanted, but I still ended up with so many beautiful examples. Then, mothballed all that.
Another area was vintage CASIO digital watches. Particularly screwback models. Got seriously into that for a time. But eventually you realize that’s a rabbit hole that’ll burn a hole in your pocket bags. And really, in time (no pun intended), you realize, there’s no real upside to this. Most people are obsessed with CASIO’s later offerings. So I abandoned that.
Mechanical pencils are slender, easy to store. So it’s a good hobby. I’ll never collect all models from a brand, because that’s just money burning really. So few people truly appreciate it. Thus, I’ve collected a few key models of interest here and there.
Anything else?
Well, maybe one thing. Silver rings with inlaid semi-precious stones, made by a particular Navajo Indian named Ray Tracey. I met the man several times in Long Island, during summers. Wonderful guy. He made remarkable pieces that would have a modern flair with ethnic Navajo aesthetics. I’ve got a dozen of his rings. Then he bailed out of the business for a time to pursue an acting career. Much later, he did return… but only in the very high end. He essentially serves the very high rollers now (thousands of dollars per ring).
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I actually ran out of shelf space. Luckily I shared my robot obsession with my brother. He took half the collection with him when he moved to Australia about 10 years back. Instead of overcrowding my home I switched to pens and pencils, but swore to myself: NO FOUNTAIN PENS EVER.
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I’m very fortunate to live not far from a fairly strong Japanese community, enough so that Mitsuwa created a store location nearby, which also attracted a few other stores like Kinokuniya (which is unfortunately a bit small, very limited on pencils). One of the stores nearby is “Little Japan.” They’ve got a serious toy section with all kinds of robot inspired toy models.
So do you not have any fountain pens at all, or just swore off collecting any?
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I developed a deep bias against FPs as a wee kid. I messed up my grand dad’s Parker 51 one day by pressing on the ink sac. I remember he laughed it off but the pool of ink on the table was traumatising. In school, my ‘lettering set’ was just as atrocious. I learned to ‘draw’ thick and thin strokes using normal pens and pencils just to avoid FPs. Once I discovered rollerballs in the form of Zebra Be Pen and Pilot Hi-tecpoint in middle school, I knew I didn’t have to deal with FPs anymore. And I haven’t since. Zero desire for rOtring 600 FPs, Pilot Myu, Nakayas, etc. Receiving any FP as a gift results in it getting mothballed.
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Sorry to hear you had some rough experiences with fountain pens. They are… a kind of “artful instrument” these days that take a certain amount of devotion to make good use. My big disappointment with them is the inevitable drying out of ink. At one point I used to keep about 4 pens inked. And truth be told, I used them sporadically and not for long periods. Always for notes and cards, but rarely for journaling. Sometimes for just thinking out loud, or making task lists. I can’t resist superior efficiency. Typing on a keyboard is infinitely faster and dynamic. So inevitably I’d fall back on that because I’d get tired of fountain pens drying out and then needing a thorough cleaning with an ultrasonic bath. (One exception–my rOtring 700, which is phenomenal at lasting a long while with an extended cartridge). My shopping list method is a white board on the refrigerator and then I take a photo of it before I head out (I could use an app, but there’s something useful about seeing a list written out in a static place). Also, I got tired of trying to sign receipts with fountain pens as the thermal print paper is terrible for them. Now I keep an old Fisher Bullet Space Pen in my pocket.
Fountain pens require patience and time. If you’re short on those? Yeah, don’t bother! 
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My closest flirtation with FPs are Pentel’s Tradio and Pulaman lines… I still cannot get over seeing beautiful FPs needing to be dipped head first into an ink pot to draw ink into the reservoir. And then having to deal with the excess ink all over the nib and section. Shudder.
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what?
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Put on a suit first…
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You need a PILOT Custom fountain pen with a CON-70 converter.
I collect coins apart from pencils.
Vintage coins and coins with different heads. I have a very small collection, but it was the first thing I started collecting. I was 10 years old I guess, when I saw my grandmothers table. I found a Malaysian 5 Sen coin, and I fell in love with its design. I have not stopped since then.
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