Wahl Eversharp Gold Seal Equi-Poise

[Malcy]

Sometimes impulse buys are really satisfying, this is one such purchase. I was perusing ebay and just happened to see this interesting looking pen and thought 'What's that?'. A bit of research later and I knew that I had to have it. I will admit to looking at fp's on ebay daily and this is the first Wahl Eversharp Equi-Poise that I have seen. That's not to say that they are rare or that I see everything but they just don't appear on ebay UK that often, it may be different in their homeland on ebay US.

 

 

Arrived and unwrapped, I knew that I had made a good choice, it's a stunner. The Kashmir Pearl celluloid is beautiful, the 1932 catalogue pictures that I saw and even my own photos don't do justice to the depth and variation of colour. The gold trim offsets the celluloid beautifully to produce a very smart looking pen that screams art deco. This is model number 64101TSC in the 1932 Wahl Eversharp catalogue.

 

 

 

The celluloid is in pretty good condition with minor abrasions on the cap from use and one crack that I can see in the cap lip which is stopped by the second band and appears stable. I'll have to be careful about posting as this is probably how the crack was formed in the first place. The gold trim has held up well and there doesn't appear to be any brassing, though as with the celluloid there are tiny scratches from use. This model has what is called the soldier clip. This means that it mounts high on the cap so that the pen protrudes little from the pocket. It has a roller at the end to help the clip over the pocket material. The pen has a reasonable heft but is a bit lighter than my Duofold Streamline which is a similar length, but fatter. It has a capped length of 129mm and 155mm posted (carefully).

 

 

This is a gold seal model and comes with a tiny gold seal showing two ticks and is mounted on the cap between the triple trim rings and the clip. The gold seal is Wahl Eversharps equivalent of the Sheaffer white dot, a lifetime guarantee. If there is an original owner of one of these pens needing service do they go to Parker nowadays?

 

 

And so now on to the nib and the filling system. I will quickly dispense with the filling system which is the common lever type but is none the worse for it, in fact I like this system. The pen fills easily and quickly with a new sac installed. The nib on the other hand is anything but a common run of the mill item. It is flexible, I know because the word flexible is stamped across it. They were not lying and it is flexible but has a very different feel to any other flexible nib that I have tried. This nib has a real vintage feel to it, it even looks that way to me with it's long pointed shape.

 

 

Having just come from a wet noodle Swan (review coming) to this, the way that it flexes is completely different. The Swan tines seem completely flexible and bend along their length, the Equi-Poise nib seems to have relatively rigid tines which bend back in the body of the nib near the breather hole almost as if hinged. This relates a completely different feel to writing. It isn't a wet noodle but the flex is quite good going from fine to at least BB but it requires a lot more pressure than the Swan. Here is a writing sample but please excuse my feeble attempt at using the flexible qualities of the nib.

 

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g114/Luminarium/Wahl.jpg

 

I paid £22 for the pen which I think was a decent price. I don't know how that rates to market value as I see too few of them to judge but I am happy with the deal.

 

I recently told myself that there was little point in buying pens on looks as I have been disappointed a few times and this one could have gone either way as they came with rigid nibs too. A rigid nib would have meant an early exit from my collection. Fortunately this is not the case and it has stunning looks with a flexible nib, what more could a person want?

 

Scores on the doors:

 

Appearance & Design 10

Construction & Quality 8

Weight & Dimensions 9

Nib & Performance 10

Filling System & Maintenance 10

Cost & Value 10

Final score 57/60 - A winner

[MidnightBlue]

At that price you scored well. Congrats.....one of my faves..........Thanks

[kcunvong]

Geezus, isn't that a $300+ pen?!

[DET]

Beautiful pen, and quite a bargain.

[SlipyNaricis2112]

That's unequivocally, the best deal I have ever seen.

[mer6]

Wow, awesome deal. I like the clip, it employs the same mechanism as a lot of Montegrappas with the rollerball.

[Malcy]

Thanks, I have no idea of it's true value as so few are seen in the UK but it's nice to have and it will be staying at it's new home.

[Readymade]

/jawdrop

 

I wish I had your luck with eBay :/

 

EDIT: And from the nib it looks like a Canadian pen too. Man!

Edited June 2, 2011 by Readymade

[Taurean]

Sumgai!

A beautiful pen, congratulations.

[ArchiMark]

Nice review of a great old pen, Malcy!

 

Love those old Wahl Eversharp pens, great to look at and usually are excellent writers too.

 

[terminal]

great review, and what I deal! Stunning, I'll be keeping my eyes out, I love the writing sample -- fantastic variation

[georges zaslavsky]

very nice and timeless classic My favorite eversharp is the oversized doric with the vac filling system shut it off valve and adjustable nib, this one is the one I want.