Here is a pen that came in a handful of pens (fountain and otherwise) from my grandmother's estate. I have no idea what it is or if it is valuable or worth replacing the sac, which turned into a heap of black (Potty Mouth) probably on about four decades ago. The only markings on it are "PAT'D" on the clip and "WARRANTED" and "14K" on the nib (although if the nib was ever gold plated, or gold colored it certainly isn't now! I suppose if it is elemental gold then it is still such (unless of course there is something to alchemy ). Who made this pen? Is it common? Rare? Valuable? When was it made?

The body reminds me a bit of a Wahl Eversharp with its faced body but if you cant find anywere where it saise the name of the maker then I am clueless.
Never the less it looks like a beautiful pen and I personaly would send it to get it in working condition.

It's third tier. Not sure about a maker. It looks a lot like some of the low-end pens in the Sears catalogs from the 1930s. That clip with the "PTD" on it is really familiar looking.

Try cleaning up the nib - does it say "Warranted 14K" with a little Triangle on it? I think I have one similar to that - I will have to check when I get home.

The fluted body was also done by Parker with some of it's Parkettes, and a few different 3rd tier makers. Once Wahl did it, several low-end makers had to copy.

John

I am not a vintage expert. The plastic in the cap and barrel really does look like a Parker product from the 1930's or early 1940's. But the overall design looks like a Wahl. If there is no name on the pen, it is third tier. But, like today, generic items are usually made by a major manufacturer.

You might try contacting a vendor who deals in vintage pens like David Nishimura (The Vintage Pens Website) or the folks at Pendemonium. When all is said and done, you might end up still not knowing exactly who made the pen.

Despite its looks, if the nib is imprinted "14k" then it is gold and it might be a very good nib. It might not clean up to be bright and shiny, but it will clean up. The pen is after all a tool and it writing chacteristics are its main attribute.

Good luck.

I tend to think the same as the others that it is a third tier pen. It is similar to this one which looks like it has an identical clip but the body of mine is marked Parkette Deluxe. The facets on it are concave, yours look flat or sort of convex. If you clean the nib and it says 14K, it should shine up like new but I have another pen that says 14K and under it, almost inside the section and under dirt and crud, it says gold plate. If yours is gold plate, then it almost definately is a third tier pen.

edit: Also I have never seen a Parker pen with that filligree (Wahl-esque) trim around the bottom of the cap


Click to view attachment

If it has no name on it at all then it's hard to say. I have seen (and have a few) Wearever pens of that design both in shape (the 8 sided doric design) and in mottled plastic. I have also seen a Remington pen of this design and a Diamond Point (I think). One other option is a brand called Arnold. Sometimes, all they had as an ID was a "A" on the clip and that's it. The nib might not be the original but this pen is a late 40's early 50's vintage

As a collecter and user of vintage, I will say that brand aside, this is a very nice pen. The colors are awesome and the doric shape is a definite plus. If there are no cracks in the plastic (which is probably celluloid) and the nib is in good shape other than the crud on it, I would invest a little money to have it refurbished.....but that's me. Good luck

Your pen looks similar to one that I have, and by the way, is my favorite writer.
However, the clip on mine is vertically marked "Diamond" with the M flanked with very tiny P's. Around the top of the clip is the marking "PATNO 83573" very difficult to read, even using a good magnifier.

The nip is marked "Warranteed, 14K, 5"

caspirin

Probably a semi-anonymous third tier, meant to play on a vague similarity to expensive pens as part of its marketing. So, likely rare (because no one at the time really thought they were worth looking after) but also of low value (similar reasoning). I've found a lot of unidentifiable pens like this are actually reasonable writers and that one is attractive enough to make it worth at least clearing out the feed and slapping in a new sac. If you can't do it yourself, PM me and we'll see about setting you up with a "cost of parts" sort of deal; it's darn pretty, and should be out in the world.

Oh, on a side topic, when did the board start Bowdlerizing things like "(Potty Mouth)"? Because I'm pretty sure none of us are taking the time to type the cutesy phrase Potty Mouth.

What is this "third tier" you guys keep repeating ?

I'm sure not typing that out! And to think the supposed expletive I used has been in children's movies! How annoying.

First Tier pens = vintage pens of high quality from major manufacturers at the time, sometimes restricted to the "big 4" (Parker, Sheaffer, Waterman, Wahl) but usually including other high-quality brands like Lebeouf, Wirt, Lancaster, John Holland, etc.

Second Tier pens = pens from companies that mainly made middle-quality pens or at least pens with a middle-price point, due to quality or market - eg. Diamond Medal, Gold Medal, Good Service, Eclipse, Eagle, etc.

Third Tier pens = cheaper pens featuring thinner and cheaper plastics, lightly plated trim, and plated nibs. Sometimes of reasonable quality, sometimes total junk. EG. most Wearevers, Traveler, Arnold, Remington, Southern Pen Co, etc.

Esterbrook incidentally is hard to place - I tend to think of them as 2nd tier.


As to this particular pen, here is my example. Doesn't have the same trim ring, but the clip and the faceted barrel is a match. My pen has a Warranted 14K nib, with a triangle design on it. I have seen that nib on other pens made by National Pen Co. out of Chicago, and sold by Sears under the brand name Good Service - but that is no indication that this is a National Pen Co. made pen, as they may have sourced nibs from another vendor. The pressure bar on my pen is an actual J-bar, which is very different from the springless pressure bar found on the Good Service pens.

I have also attached a couple of scans from the Sears catalog in 1932 and 1934-5 that show examples of the Triangle nib and a similar 3rd tier pen that Sears sold that is a close match. No idea if it is the same pen - some notable differences in the clip, actually - but it gives you an idea.

So it remains a mystery. Enjoy the pen, however - properly restored it could be a very nice writer.

John

Wonderful John
Thank you for the great explenation and photos.I've learned a new thing today.

Before I came here and learned the term Third Tier, I just called them junk pens. Third tier seems so much more charitable.

it looks almost exactly like my moderne, just a mildy different pattern, but same general hue. mine isnt faceted, and the band has these wavy stretched S shape designs instead. the clip is exactly the same, but it says moderne, and the levers the same too. the section is EXACTLY the same, and the nib looks about the same size. mine is imprinted "14K made in U.S.A."

Yours is by the Diamond Point Pen Co., an old pen maker that goes back a while. I can't remember their exact incorporation date, but it is before 1900, and they were around in various incarnations till the 1950s. I think there is a thread in Pen History about them.




Very interesting - that "14K made in USA" nib sounds like the imprint on the nibs on some of the WWII Wearevers (when they used solid 14K gold instead of steel because steel was restricted for the war effort).

John

One final comment on the "Tiers" of vintage pens. None of it is really cut and dry. There are 2nd Tier companies that make some 1st Tier products, and 1st Tier companies that make 2nd and 3rd tier products. In fact, it was almost the norm for the big companies to make 2nd and 3rd tier pens (not always 3rd tier). EG - Parker was clearly a 1st Tier company, yet the bottom line Parkette, Parco and thrift-time pens were cheap pens meant to compete with the 3rd tier offerings in the depression. Same goes for Sheaffer's University, Varsity, Univar, and WASP lines, some of which were competing with 2nd and some with 3rd tier offerings.

Other companies went through transformations. Conklin was a 1st tier company for much of it's life, but once bought and moved to Chicago it's products were decidedely 2nd Tier.

And then there is the impact of brand names. A Parker Vacumatic is considered a 1st Tier pen, but when re-branded into a Webster and sold by Sears, it looses some "status".

So it 'taint at all a clear set of categories.

John