Honestly, I found this old Esterbrook fountain pen at a thrift store for $5 last month. The nib was all bent and I figured how hard could it be to straighten it out? Took me 4 hours with a loupe and some pliers, and I ended up making the scratchy line even worse than when I started. Shoulda just left it alone or sent it to a pro. Has anyone else tried DIY repair on a vintage pen and totally regretted it?
I was helping a buddy clear out his dad's old garage last spring, and buried under a pile of rusted tools was a cardboard box full of fishing lures from the 1960s and 70s. Most were in rough shape, but about 15 of them were still in their original packaging with the price tags still on, like 79 cents or a dollar something. I spent the whole afternoon sorting them by type and cleaning off the dust, and that week I sold a single one on eBay for $40. Has anyone else stumbled on a hidden stash of old gear that turned out to be worth something?
I was looking at old pocket watches at an antique mall in Portland last summer, and this older woman just walked up and started explaining how the mainspring holds all the power. She showed me a broken one from her purse and said 'this little coil is why they stop working after 50 years.' She spent 20 minutes talking about how to wind them properly. Has anyone else met a random expert who changed how you see a hobby?