The Perry 105 Iridinoid

[dcwaites]

I thought I might take the time to do a review of a dip pen. This is rather a special pen, with advantages from both the dip pen side of things and the fountain pen side.

 

First Impressions

I had acquired some other Perry Iridinoid nibs and was very impressed by them. When I found that Spanish eBayer pensandplumes had several different types available, including these ones with a folded tip, I had to get them. In due course they arrived, well packed for the sort of thing they are, and as bright and shiny as the day they were made.

 

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_g_oFvX9K3R0/SznkBhZJghI/AAAAAAAAAYw/bmLJVj1pqqQ/Perry105.JPG

(From pensandplumes eBay site)

Appearance

The E.S. Perry 105 Iridinoid pen has a slightly odd look for a dip pen. At first glance it looks like a stub italic, but then the actual nib tip looks to tiny to be a stub. On close inspection you see it actually looks like a fount pen nib tip. More on that in a moment. The whole pen has a shiny, silvery appearance, with no corrosion spots, even though it must be at least 50 or 60 years old. That is a testament to the high quality stainless steel used to make these pens. I imagine they would cope with iron-gall ink quite well.

 

Design/Size/Weight

These pens have a tiny folded tip, of the same sort that the original Pilot V-Pens had, and which the current Sailor Ink-Bar pens have. It gives these pens the same writing feel as a fountain pen. As well, there is a very generous reservoir clipped onto the underside of the pen. This allows you to write for at least half a page between dips. Unlike other reservoirs, like the clip-on ones made by William Mitchell's, these are integral to the design of the pen.

 

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_g_oFvX9K3R0/Sznj7RubWUI/AAAAAAAAAYc/gb2QNB5RJtA/s720/Perry105-1.jpg

Here you can see the large reservoir clipped to the underside of the nib.

Nib

The folded nib tip approximates a Western Medium. Depending on the ink, it can be a bit wet, so you might want to stay away from Private Reserve and some of the Diamine inks. However, it does perform quite nicely with Noodler's Ottoman Azure and Iroshizuku asa-gao. Strangely it seems to perform best with my cheapest ink - Thistle Chemical Co powdered ink that I bought for $1 for a 1 quart sachet.

 

Initially this nib was a little rough, and examining it under a loupe I saw that the folded tips of the tines were a little uneven. It wasn't practical to align them by bending, so I spend a few seconds with first a soft, then a hard, arkansas stone. That soon levelled out the tines but it was now a medium-broad writer. Some thought and a few more minutes and I had a fair approximation of a Naginata Togi nib. A few minutes smoothing with some brown paper and I had quite a smooth writer.

 

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_g_oFvX9K3R0/SznkBNEN0CI/AAAAAAAAAYo/t1hOBzy01Uo/s720/Perry105-Closeup1.jpg

Here you can see the folded tip, after I had re-shaped it.

 

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_g_oFvX9K3R0/SznkD-uX64I/AAAAAAAAAY0/G8eXa-VNGww/s720/WritingSample.jpg

This is a writing sample of the nib, on Clairefontaine notebook paper. The words from 'time' to 'men'

show the effect of changing the writing angle from near vertical to near horizontal.

You can also see that this ink, on this paper, with this dip pen, shades quite nicely.

 

Filling System

It's a dip pen. You dip it in the ink and wipe off the excess on the side of the ink bottle.

Because of the reservoir you can write about half a page or 200 words with one dip, depending on the ink. Drier inks will last longer than wetter ones.

 

Cost and Value

I bought them for EUR2.50, about AU$4.00. This is comparable with quality pens I have bought in B&M shops in Sydney.

The value is excellent, because I have the advantages of both dip pens and fountain pens in the one nib.

 

Conclusion

If you want the convenience of a dip pen, along with the smoothness of a fountain pen, then this is the dip pen to get. The rounded, folded nib tip makes a smooth writer, the reservoir permits writing hundreds of words between dips, and since it is a dip pen, it is easy to change inks.

[Tesbihhan]

please can you help me find that nib

 

i am looking out everywhere on net but can not found

[PAKMAN]

I like the way the reservoir is built! So many dip pen nibs hold so little ink it is hardly worth the effort for me.

[jasperjb]

Not sure if I should start a new topic or just revive this relevant one. I just bought 27 of these nibs for $5 bucks at a garage sale. Is there much interest in nibs like these? I think I have a few more than I need..

 

SUMGAI ALERT: http://i.imgur.com/Z1lhX8d.jpg