Today I acquired the pen you see here:

In case you don't recognize it, this pen is a Montblanc Dostoevsky LE. I don't collect foreign pens, and I don't collect modern pens. And I most definitely don't collect Limited Editions. But the way this pen came into my hands was quite extraordinary, and the pen ain't about to go traveling any further.

But I should move on to the point raised by the title of this piece, a point exemplified by the writings of Fyodor Dostoevsky, who had a real knack for seeing beyond and below the surface and an equal talent for putting what he saw into words. Pen collectors are divided into two armed camps, the Montblanc lovers and the Montblanc haters. There is very little No Man's Land between the two. And this is a shame. Montblanc isn't a pen company anymore, it's a luxury goods company. it's in the business of selling that white design that it calls a Snowcap and some in the opposition camp call a "bird splat." But regardless of what Montblanc is in business for, the company still knows how to make good pens. Dismissing Montblanc pens as status objects for people who don't know anything about pens is silly, and it's missing the point. Omas is a luxury goods company. Montegrappa is being remade into a luxury goods company. Even the old standbys Parker and Sheaffer have over the course of the years done their bit to sell whatever would sell with their logos on it. Remember the Parker cigarette lighters?

This Dostoevsky is a remarkably nice pen. It's not so heavy that Charles Atlas is the only guy who can use it, and it's not so flashy that I have to hand out sunglasses before I whip it out of the Piquadro. Yes, that's right, it's going to go into the Piquadro and become a daily carry, right next to THE "51". This is not a bad thing. This is an example that proves the validity of the old saw, "Variety is the spice of life." And if I can brandish a Montblanc, maybe some of you Montblanc haters can cool it with the obloquy long enough to discover some very pleasant writing instruments. It sure can't hurt, now, can it?