Jump to content

Soviet Pens?

GTOZack

By GTOZack
in Pen History

 Share

Recommended Posts

GTOZack Vintage

GTOZack

Posted
Posted

FPN,

 

I've met an elderly gentleman at some local VFW and unbeknownst to me he was a Soviet tank guard sergeant toward the end of WWII Yugoslavia. Popped in to visit ol America and such and such. He had this brilliant garrison hat saying 'Россия 1945'

 

He had a black flat-top (both ends) German pen which his fellow comrade confiscated from a german officer POW along with his parabellium P38 pistol. (his radioman won a bet for the parabellium on another topic)

 

we talked about the so called pen when he happen to mention what his crew had taken. he did not know what model the pen was but all he knew was that he often times used it to sign off for food, fuel, and munition requisitions among his five crew T-34/85 unit

 

So this kind of stuff arise some questions, Do anyone actually have some Soviet made FP's from mother country itself or some satellite countries?

 

were soviet pens ANY good? are they better than Chinese counterparts? I haven't seen this kind of discussions on FPN lately

 

thanks for sharing your thoughts!

 

 

 

 

 

 

'The Yo-Yo maneuver is very difficult to explain. It was first perfected by the well-known Chinese fighter pilot Yo-Yo Noritake. He also found it difficult to explain, being quite devoid of English.

So we left it at that. He showed us the maneuver after a sort. B*****d stole my kill.'

-Squadron Leader K. G. Holland, RAF. WWII China.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 13
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • GTOZack

    3

  • aawhite

    2

  • recluse

    2

  • kid31

    2

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

recluse Rare

recluse

Posted
Posted

Soviet pens are discussed in few threads here. Overall, there were several factories making pens: probably three-four in Russia and three-four in other republics (I know that at least one was in Ukraine, one more was in one of the Baltic republics and, I think, one was in Georgia or Armenia but I wouldn't bet on that). Mostly those were pens with hooded or semi-hooded nibs with design heavily influenced by Parker; although by the end of eighties some models with open nibs appeared.

 

Cannot say much about premium pens (Soyuz pens with gold nibs) but their more humble camarades I've happen to use. Those were okay pens, nothing particularly spectacular but nothing really bad. I don't have any of them with me but may get one at some point. I wouldn't pay more than 20 dollars for a non-premium pen, though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
aawhite Extremely Rare

aawhite

Posted
Posted

Where can you buy Russian (or Soviet) pens?

I only have two pens - an Aurora Optima and others.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
m125 New

m125

Posted
Posted

Hi,

 

here is just a links to Russian pen forum page where some Russian pens were sold.

The text says that everything is sold but you can have pictures how it looks like.

 

Here you can see pictures of pens with gold nibs from Soyuz factory:

http://www.elitepen.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5202&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=210

 

Here you can see pictures of pens from Yaroslavl factory:

http://www.elitepen.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5351

 

Here you can see pictures of pens from Moscow factory:

http://www.elitepen.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5658

 

Not that common variant:

http://www.elitepen.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8474

 

Somewhat old:

http://www.elitepen.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8117

 

I hope it helps to understand how they were looking.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
recluse Rare

recluse

Posted
Posted

Where can you buy Russian (or Soviet) pens?

 

I don't know whether fountain pens are made in modern Russia beyond pure luxury items. Soviet pens, in turn, are presented in multiple listings on e-Bay. Simple search "soviet fountain pen" returns many hits, which are fun to browse.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
paultyler_82 Rare

paultyler_82

Posted
Posted

Soviet pens are in varying degrees of quality, just like the Chinese ones... I've seen tons of Soviet and former bloc pens on the 'Bay... They seem to commonly be accordion fillers or piston fillers.

Here are the brands I know of from different Soviet and affiliated countries:

Russian SFSR: Moskva (Moscow), Soyuz, Yaroslavl (sometimes Jaroslavl)

Bulgaria: Chaika

Zenith were made in either Czechoslovakia or Poland, not positive which.

Yikes... I used to have quite a list, but apparently, I'm getting too old to remember all these details.

<em class='bbc'>I started nowhere, ended up back there. I caught a fever and it burned up my blood. It was a pity, I left the city; I did me some travelin' but it's done me no good.</em> - Buffalo Clover "The Ruse"

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hardcase Rare

Hardcase

Posted
Posted

I have one of the Soviet desk pens that commemorates the Vostok space program. It looks like a rocket, with the fins on the base. It's a so-so pen, but its cachet is as a memento of the space race. I think that it was made by Soyuz, which is kind of an interesting twist. It looks like a Parker 51.

http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o715/drew_dunn1/Clan-MacNeil-Buaidh-No-Bas-Victory-or-Death_zps051b46b5.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
grainweevil Vintage

grainweevil

Posted
Posted

Hi,

 

here is just a links to Russian pen forum page where some Russian pens were sold.

 

 

That's fascinating - thank you, m215!

 

I acquired a Soyuz "Leningrad" pen and pencil set - essentially a 51-a-like but accordion filler - and was favourably impressed. Reliable, the accordion fill seems very efficient, a little bit of feedback from the nib which I like. Liked it enough that I have one with a goldfish on its way to me now. Couldn't resist it, but can't help wondering if there's any significance to the goldfish?

 

Cheers, Al

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GTOZack Vintage

GTOZack

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

I remember those now!

 

goldfish types. and the accordion filler seem stupid simple.

 

then I thought of, over years of using, I would expect the quality of plastic to turn white at creases and split. USSR had a weak plastic petroleum market so they were not widespread. Whoever had plastic pen were either

 

government or higher ups. Goldfish in mineral oil is quite interesting, I wish i knew a Russian around here and ask him or her what does a goldfish signify in their Russian culture.

 

 

a friend of mine is Chinese and he has a Koi tattoo, I remember him saying along the lines it signify good fortune, perseverance and courage.

 

Maybe its the same in Russia?

Edited by GTOZack

'The Yo-Yo maneuver is very difficult to explain. It was first perfected by the well-known Chinese fighter pilot Yo-Yo Noritake. He also found it difficult to explain, being quite devoid of English.

So we left it at that. He showed us the maneuver after a sort. B*****d stole my kill.'

-Squadron Leader K. G. Holland, RAF. WWII China.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
aawhite Extremely Rare

aawhite

Posted
Posted

Hi,

 

here is just a links to Russian pen forum page where some Russian pens were sold.

The text says that everything is sold but you can have pictures how it looks like.

 

Here you can see pictures of pens with gold nibs from Soyuz factory:

http://www.elitepen.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5202&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=210

 

Here you can see pictures of pens from Yaroslavl factory:

http://www.elitepen.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5351

 

Here you can see pictures of pens from Moscow factory:

http://www.elitepen.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5658

 

Not that common variant:

http://www.elitepen.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8474

 

Somewhat old:

http://www.elitepen.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8117

 

I hope it helps to understand how they were looking.

 

 

 

I don't know whether fountain pens are made in modern Russia beyond pure luxury items. Soviet pens, in turn, are presented in multiple listings on e-Bay. Simple search "soviet fountain pen" returns many hits, which are fun to browse.

 

 

Thank you very much for the information.

I only have two pens - an Aurora Optima and others.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kid31 NOS (New Old Stock)

kid31

Posted
Posted

I recently ordered a NOS Soyuz and it's in the mail. I will tell you what I think when I get it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GTOZack Vintage

GTOZack

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Backing up to some Russian folklore regarding Goldfish

 

Alexandr Pushkin novelized this folklore in 1833-1835, 'The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish'

 

It basically has broad similarity to the Chinese and Japanese philosophy for good fortune, perseverance, and courage. or something

'The Yo-Yo maneuver is very difficult to explain. It was first perfected by the well-known Chinese fighter pilot Yo-Yo Noritake. He also found it difficult to explain, being quite devoid of English.

So we left it at that. He showed us the maneuver after a sort. B*****d stole my kill.'

-Squadron Leader K. G. Holland, RAF. WWII China.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33577
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26766
    5. jar
      jar
      26105

  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      Links to web pages or articles about Chinese typesetting, signwriting, etc.

      By Shanghai Knife Dude · Posted

      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By A Smug Dill · Posted

      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By adamselene · Posted

      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By A Smug Dill · Posted

      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By adamselene · Posted

      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o

  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More

  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...