Omas Gentleman

February 17, 2011

A stationary shop is closing near home and I got inside just to have a closer look at a Duofold that was in the shop window. Once inside I was also shown a pen I did not know, namely an "Omas Gentleman". The looks are nice but I was surprised to see how light the pen actually is. I have been trying to gather some information on it, but there seems to be not much around, apart from the ubiquitous (and not extremely attractive for my taste)"Gentleman Seaman LE". I am completely new to Omas, and not an expert in Italian pens at all (just have a couple of Delta -DV and 366-), and mostly a Parker and German penman. As the price seems to be on the decent side and I don't dislike big, black pens, I would like to know if someone has any reference on the working of this sort of pen.

Thanks a lot!

JC

Edited February 17, 2011 by regulator

February 17, 2011

The Gentleman was the same pen as the Paragon but without the gold Greek key band on the pen body.

Let me add, it's likely that the pen has been there since the 80s or early 90s. Should be a nice pen with in house nib.

Edited February 17, 2011 by jar

February 18, 2011

nce inside I was also shown a pen I did not know, namely an "Omas Gentleman". The looks are nice but I was surprised to see how light the pen actually is.

Jar is correct. Take a look here. Download the 80s catalog. Page 4, code 8221, you'll find the modern Gentleman.

I'm curious, does it say "Gentleman" or "Gentlemen"?

Armando Simoni's philosophy was that a pen should be light,and that's how Omas used to make their standard pens, i.e. ones without metal caps and bodies. Once the company was no longer owned by his descendents, that philosophy was pretty much cast aside.

Edited February 18, 2011 by eric47

February 18, 2011

Well, thanks a lot!

The pen is exactly as the one in the old catalog from the 80's, and I remember that the imprint was "Gentlemen" and not "Gentleman", just as in the caption in the catalogue; as I only found references in the web naming it "Gentleman" I assumed I had misread and therefore the title in my post.

Did these nibs have any flex? (it looked as aereal as the stuff of the body -resin or plastic?)

Didn't these Omas pistonfiller mechanisms show some trouble in that era?

JC

Edited February 18, 2011 by regulator

February 18, 2011

Well, thanks a lot!
The pen is exactly as the one in the old catalog from the 80's, and I remember that the imprint was "Gentlemen" and not "Gentleman", just as in the caption in the catalogue; as I only found references in the web naming it "Gentleman" I assumed I had misread and therefore the title in my post.
Did these nibs have any flex? (it looked as aereal as the stuff of the body -resin or plastic?)
Didn't these Omas pistonfiller mechanisms show some trouble in that era?

Could you post a photo of the pen, particularly the nib? Or if need be, tell me what's engraved on the nib? Is the nib 14K or 18K?

The "Gentlemen/Gentleman" pen is often referred to in the singular "Gentleman". But the modern pen is based on a vintage pen from the late 60s.

The vintage pens from the 60s have "Gentlemen" (plural) engraved on it. I just got mine back from the restorer, so 100% the vintage pen says "Gentlemen". The vintage pen, even when black, is made of celluloid. I've seen various nibs on them, but they usually have the arrow motif, but also "Extra Lucens" engraved on them. The Extra Lucens nibs are semi-flex nib. My pen was at the restorer because I wouldn't draw ink. I let it dry out by mistake, so the cork dried and got stuck; it turns out I broke some internal part when the cork got unstuck. My restorer tells me that pistons of this era are slightly different, with the piston system being slightly more delicate.

The black modern pen is made vegetal resin, not celluloid. The nib will either be 14K or 18K, with the 14K being softer and springy. I thought that on the modern pens, they engraved "Gentleman" (singular) -- it's hard to tell from the 80s catalog because the quality of the scan isn't so good. The piston system in the modern pens while not as smooth as say Auroras or Pelikan, is fairly stable and not too problematic. Usually they're a bit sticky/grabby.

I'm curious to know what's on your pen and nib. It could be vintage or modern. Odds are it's a modern 80-90s pen, but stranger things have happened.

February 18, 2011

Well, there was a diamond and 585 inside, which should stand for 14 kt; but I can't remember anything else engraved in the nib, although it was clearly an F or an EF. Considering the time span of the rest of pens they showed me I'd rather be prone to date it as an 80s piece rather than older. I think I read "gentlemen" in the catalogue Gicoteni posted, clearer in the matching ballpoint pen. Any idea of a fair price for an 80s NOS like this?

JC

February 19, 2011

Well, there was a diamond and 585 inside, which should stand for 14 kt; but I can't remember anything else engraved in the nib, although it was clearly an F or an EF. Considering the time span of the rest of pens they showed me I'd rather be prone to date it as an 80s piece rather than older. I think I read "gentlemen" in the catalogue Gicoteni posted, clearer in the matching ballpoint pen. Any idea of a fair price for an 80s NOS like this?

If it had an size stamp (E or EF) on the side of the nib, then it's a modern nib and thereby most likely a modern pen. With the 585 it's a 14K nib, it will be softer than both the inhouse Omas 18Ks and Bock made 18Ks. The switch to 18K happens around the the start of the 90s. So I'd peg this as well as an 80s pen.

That brings to mind the other difference between the modern Gentlemen and Paragon, the Paragon got a two-tone nib while Gentleman had a monotone nib.

Some of the very early pens -- definitely 1st year pens and maybe 2d year as well -- in the Arte Italiana collection launched in the early 80s are notable because they are numbered. Not a limited edition sort of thing, just Omas numbering each and every pen they made. (Much like Stipula did later with the Etrurias for awhile.) Omas stopped the practice fairly early on. There's usually a number on the barrel next. I have an Ogiva with the numbering and I've seen a Paragon with it as well. Having a a pen with the numbering then is more desirable, but not everybody knows about. Some mistake the numbering on the barrel for the model number.

Just one bit of warning if it's an early production pen, check to make sure the nib doesn't slide around. The early pens have nibs and feeds that are friction fit directly into the section, and for whatever reason -- probably issues with the resin -- in some cases the section doesn't hold the nib/feed tightly. My Ogiva is like that, necessitating a much deeper fit into the section -- which cuts down on the flex of the 14K nib. But I seen other early production Omas pens that don't suffer from this problem. So best to check -- just try to wiggle the nib a bit to see if it moves easily.

Omas later switches to an ebonite collar screwed into the section -- the feed and nib are friction fit into the collar. A store owner told me the collar was in fact introduced to overcome issues the lack of friction on some of the early resin pens. I suppose because ebonite is more stable. The ebonite collar would indicate a later pen, You can see -- it's a black circle around the nib/feed with two slots. The slots are for a tool used to screw in or unscrew the ebonite collar when needed. You can see the collar unscrewed in photo 4 and 5 of Hari's post.

Fair price, I've seen these sell on the used market for Eur 150-200. The Paragon's are prized more in general. But the pen you're looking at is a old production with the 14K. If it has the number on the barrel, then it's more desirable.

February 21, 2011

Eric,

thank you to share such an extensive knowledge!

JC

February 21, 2015

I know this is an old post, but it nonetheles seems like a good place for my question. I have a "Gentleman" which I believe to be from the 1980s. It has a lovely single-tone 14K nib marked M. But I'm having trouble getting the friction-fit nib and feed exactly right.

So my question: is the feed made of ebonite in these models? If so, then I can have a go at heat-setting. Answers gratefully received.

February 21, 2015

Yes, the feed is in ebonite.

I suggest you to heat carefully, and to unscrew the end of the pen (i dont know how to name it, i mean the part where nib and feed are inserted).

Then after having unscrewed that part from the barrel, you can extract nib and feed using a small hammer and a piece of wood, from behind.

February 22, 2015

Thank you for that, fabri00. Actually, the nib was a little loose, which is how I discovered that the nib and feed are friction-fit. So it was no problem getting them out by pulling (gently). The problem came in getting them back in and writing. So far it is either unusably wet (blobs flow out) a little too dry. The best I can get it is nicely aligned but with the nib very, very slightly separated from the feed. It writes like this, but needs pressure that really shouldn't be necessary. I'm hoping that resetting the feed will solve the problem (hence my question about an ebonite feed). I'll be able to get to it in about a week.