Dunno about that I Sniped myself a very nice "51" Special Set 1950 US made in Teal Blue whilst The Bear was sleeping last evening All for $62.50



Jim

You only got it because I don't do 51 Specials and generally don't do sets..
I mean after all I have to let the amateurs have some fun

Acutally, Bill, every early Vac I have has iridium that looks like that and they are all sweet smooth writers, even my later Vacs have nibs like that... I just checked 8 pens that I can reach...
I remember an article that Richard wrote a while back comparing the iridium tipping on today's pens to the tipping on earlier vintage pens... it seems the earlier pens had a lot less iridium tipping than the modern pens do....

I was looking more at what seemed to be a wear pattern on the iridium, not so much the thickness or the size of the "blob." In the photo, it looks like the right tine tipping has worn back a bit further than the tipping on the left time.

I wasn't intending to be critical of the nib. I get a warm fuzzy feeling when I see a nib like that, imagining all that it has written in its 70+ years in someone's life. Each of these pens is a gift from the past, and when you see one like this that has obviously spent those years hard at work, it makes the gift more special. Who owned it, what did they do, where are they now (although with a pen this old, we can pretty well guess), who did they love in life/who loved them? That's what I wonder about when I see a pen like yours.

One of my pens, the only one I haven't inked (a 1927 Duofold Junior -- it needs a lot of repairs) belonged to a guy who was a third class storekeeper on the USS Cincinnati, from 1927 to about 1931 or 1932. He was home ported in what was then the Canal Zone, but spent most of his enlistment deployed in the China Fleet, after which the ship was involved in the Nicaraguan campaign. This is an era that most Americans know nothing about, or about the Navy's role, unless they've seen The Sand Pebbles. Anyway, this storekeeper had all of his port calls engraved on the pen. The engraving looks like it was done in the cruiser's machine shop or possibly on a tender -- you know what that Navy pantographic lettering looks like, so you'll know what I mean. Anyway, the pen tells quite a story. It has wear on the pen body and the nib that show the gentleman who owned it used it every day for many years -- it was more than a souvenir. He must have been very proud of his service. If I can ever afford to get it fixed up, I'll put it back into service.

Rearrange these words into a well known phrase or saying:

£$%^& *&^ %^&*( :@~;' Er the filter won't let me put in the words I want

Jim

Apparently Jim placed an old English curse on me and the pen....

The pen arrived today..... Rob Morrison packed it well, I have no complaint with the way it was shipped....
I don't know if there was a defect in the body material or what....
BUT, when I went to take the cap off the pen, the body just came apart in two pieces. It looks like someone just cut it in half, the break is that smooth. I am still shaking my head about this and have no idea how it happened. I called Rob and told him and he will refund my payment as soon as the pen arrives back to him... I could not asked for better service. A very honorable seller... fortunately, he sent the pen insured and will be putting a claim in with his post office when he gets it.

NOW, I am back on the search for my black First Generation Vacumatic...

Tom

As a rule I opt for the insurance when offered if the pen(s) is of any real value. The one time I declined the insurance essentially the same thing happened to me. I'm still kicking myself. It is also good to know there are still a few honest people doing business in etherland.

Another way of looking at it you get to enjoy the fun of the hunt again. And as an added bonus, you will also get to demonstrate that you can nab both "51"s and Vacs at the same time!

Todd

Damn, the Griz has rumbled my cunning plan

Wow, a reprieve! Back to Fleabay 51 sumgai search mode!!! Of course, I'm sorry for your misfortune. Heh, heh, heh ...