Does Anyone Know Anything About Reform 6488 Fountain Pens?

[casualmerlinconstant]

Hi,

I had my eye on a FP+bp set on the classifieds for a while from Adams11. My itchy finger finally pulled the trigger a few days ago. I've been trying to find some information on it from google but have been unsuccessful. So does anyone know any information about Reform 6488 fountain pens?

TIA

[ink-syringe]

I have a Reform Calligraphy 0.9

 

That looks like these:

http://calligraphypen.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/reform.jpg?w=500&h=354

 

It writes amazingly and the nib is super smooth. Kind of a great pen. I know that folks on these here interwebs talk about the reform machines being sold to China and all the NOS 1740 reforms might be made from them. I don't know but these pens typically go for much more than the 1740 and mine was bought years ago by the person who sold it to me. I suppose it is possible that some of the cheap Reforms are old German pens and some newly made by the old machines but the real story of the Reform pens, the old ones, the 1740s up on ebay eludes me.

 

I'll be watching this thread with anticipation.

 

What's a 6488 look like?

[casualmerlinconstant]

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/classifieds/item/28672-reduced-reform-6488-bp-fp-set-14c-ef-nib/

this is the ad that I bought it from ^ there's the sellers pictures in it.

Basically, it looks like the your pens except it has a semi-hooded nib a la Montblanc 22/24 (which I really want but is too expensive ) and is semi-flex.

I'm pretty curious as to what sort of pens Reform made too.

I sure hope my pen turns out as nice as yours.

[ink-syringe]

Plating on mine is pretty well hosed. The gold color on the band and nib are gone in places. Fun old piston filler. I am not that keen on italics like this for everyday use. It is a pretty sharp edged italic but it is really smooth. I am not good at using it so it looks like (bleep) but in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing it would be fantastic I am sure. The guy who gave me mine said that he thought they were inexpensive office/school pens from the 50s or 60s. I honestly don't know but it is stunning to me that even with cheap materials they managed to make a pen that writes well and has a nice filling mechanism.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I have a real Original Reform...from the War....very solid. A top class German pen.

Right after the war, importers, sent the owner cash in advance so he could buy materials to make his pens again. That is how good it was.

 

In the mid '50's the owner refused to make cheap pens to try and keep up with the new ball point.

He closed his factory instead.

A few years later he sold the factory and his name to another Heidelberg pen company, Mutschler, that made second-third tier pens.

 

They came out with the 1745 and a few others.

 

I bought a cheap Reform pen...."goldish" colored metal cap....and "goldish" plastic body. The nib shocked me. The reason I paid money for such a cheap thing.

It was a spade nib, and 'flexi'/maxi-semi-flex.

Such a nib on a dirt cheap pen.

 

Could be you have a better nib than expected. Perhaps a 'true' springy regular flex.

Edited September 28, 2014 by Bo Bo Olson