Phileas Phever

[TwelveDrawings]

My wife seems to think someone is pulling a very juvenile prank. Her brother in law? The Post Office? Or could it be.....me?

[mrcharlie]

There is confusion between the two models because the Phileas is basically a fancier Kultur. But all the pens in Force's recent array of pens photo are Phileases.

 

Kulturs don't have the "cigar band" with the medallion shaped thing on it, and the cap bands are different. If uncapped the Phileas nib is two tone, while Kultur are either stainless or yellow metal plated single color. The Phileas has a brass barrel insert that the Kultur doesn't have but you can't see that in a photo generally.

 

The Waterman Harley-Davidson branded "Free Wheel" pens are also the same basic pen as the Kultur with cosmetic differences but I believe it only ever came in Medium nibs.

 

Edit: Ok reading your post again I see you mention two solid on one side and one on the other; yes I know one of the earlier photos Force has in this item has a couple Kulturs flanking his Phileases. His most recent post with a photo is all Phileas.

Edited April 1, 2014 by mrcharlie

[mrcharlie]

My wife seems to think someone is pulling a very juvenile prank. Her brother in law? The Post Office? Or could it be.....me?

 

And here I was going to offer to buy one for $21, giving you 200% profit!

[JonSzanto]

There is confusion between the two models because the Phileas is basically a fancier Kultur.

 

No, NO, NO! The Phileas pre-dates the manufacture of the Kultur, by quite a bit. If anything, the Kultur is a down-market Phileas.

[Dickkooty2]

Mr Charlie,

 

Thanks for the explanation!

[mrcharlie]

 

No, NO, NO! The Phileas pre-dates the manufacture of the Kultur, by quite a bit. If anything, the Kultur is a down-market Phileas.

 

Okay and thanks.

 

I wasn't thinking of my statement having any chronological meaning, but I'll try to remember to state it this way in the future.

[Left FPN]

If you all recall my opening shot, with reference to my pension pot. One day we are saying how overpriced the pen, the next we are selling them for $100 and they are flying off the shelves.

 

Who would have thought over 5600 viewings and 300+ posts later and we are still talking about it. The power of the pen.

 

My latest section (view post 281) arrived yesterday and it is mint condition...$8 which is close on the price of 12's complete pens....that is if they are FPs....which we all hope they are.

 

Edited April 2, 2014 by Force

[pajaro]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NIB-Waterman-Phileas-Blue-Marble-Fountain-Pen-Fine-Nib-/231189382754?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&nma=true&si=3z3hgs9HLcXNNSmG%252Fo%252FT73kPGQE%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_21wt_900

 

Another I was watching. The prices are higher and higher. I had to adjust my limit to snag even a red marbled Phileas.

[LindaM]

Errr, as to my earlier posts about a green marble fountain/ballpoint set, I got all ready to post them but in doing a final check before listing it, I found a hairline crack in the section. Therefore it is certainly not the excellent condition I described it as. Sigh. I'm not even sure how an adhesive could be gotten in there to repair it.

 

So I might end up posting the set with the fountain pen being a fixer-upper or to be parted out. But since the monetary value of it just dropped, is the waterman nib (and possibly the feed) usable in other pens?

 

Pajaro: seriously - $73 for the nib? Or was that an April Fool's Day joke?

[Left FPN]

Errr, as to my earlier posts about a green marble fountain/ballpoint set, I got all ready to post them but in doing a final check before listing it, I found a hairline crack in the section. Therefore it is certainly not the excellent condition I described it as. Sigh. I'm not even sure how an adhesive could be gotten in there to repair it.

 

So I might end up posting the set with the fountain pen being a fixer-upper or to be parted out. But since the monetary value of it just dropped, is the waterman nib (and possibly the feed) usable in other pens?

 

Pajaro: seriously - $73 for the nib? Or was that an April Fool's Day joke?

The remaining parts are still saleable. Sections are not difficult to find. After all I have the above section requiring a complete home.

Edited April 2, 2014 by Force

[pajaro]

Errr, as to my earlier posts about a green marble fountain/ballpoint set, I got all ready to post them but in doing a final check before listing it, I found a hairline crack in the section. Therefore it is certainly not the excellent condition I described it as. Sigh. I'm not even sure how an adhesive could be gotten in there to repair it.

 

So I might end up posting the set with the fountain pen being a fixer-upper or to be parted out. But since the monetary value of it just dropped, is the waterman nib (and possibly the feed) usable in other pens?

 

Pajaro: seriously - $73 for the nib? Or was that an April Fool's Day joke?

I have a nice marble pen with medium nib. My plan is to switch nibs and then sell the red marble with the M nib for what I can recoup from it.

 

After buying three Carenes and two $129 EF and F nibs from nibs.com, the end cost of the Phileas F nib is chickenfeed.

Edited April 2, 2014 by pajaro

[TwelveDrawings]

Today is April 2nd. Please take anything I posted on April 1 as a faux post, since that is the American holiday known as April Fool's Day.

[pajaro]

Today is April 2nd. Please take anything I posted on April 1 as a faux post, since that is the American holiday known as April Fool's Day.

If you look at the geeks site, Isaacson listed his Vacumatic collection for $255,000.

[Left FPN]

Not forgetting the $30 shipping

[TwelveDrawings]

Force, I wonder if you have ever seen Phileas pens that are two different shades of gray. My first one is a very middle-of-the-road gray. I just received another that is gray with a reddish or brownish hue. It is conceivable that the difference is from two different manufacturing lots or dates, but the contrast is a little too distinct for that. I thought perhaps one had been exposed to sunlight, which can shift colors, but that would require years of constant exposure. I have reviewed your posted collection and see three gray pens but they appear to be the same gray color.

 

So back to my original question. Are you aware of there being two different shades of Phileas gray?—Thank you for any help..... TwelveDrawings

 

(I have used up my available photo space here on FPN or I would post a comparison.)

Edited April 3, 2014 by TwelveDrawings

[TwelveDrawings]

Well here we go again.

 

Could these be my pension,

 

Re my question about two different Phileas gray colors. In your photo above, there does appear to be a slight difference between pens 5 and 6 (from left). I suspect I may have gotten one of each, rather than two identical gray pens. Are there two different Phileas grays?

 

(BTW, I am quite certain that Phileas does not come in "50 Shades of Gray")

[Left FPN]

Only one, Indus Grey. I suspect the reflectance of the Mississippi is playing games with the Indus turning it a little Pinky.

[TwelveDrawings]

Thanks Force. You have set the record straight and I appreciate it.

 

Since I have two slightly different grays, I can start looking for obscure explanations. As noted, they may have been manufactured years apart and some discoloration may have occurred.

 

A more sinister theory is that China has finally started knocking off the Phileas. And what would keep them from it? This economical pen is fetching fairly impressive prices in the open market. If I am not mistaken, the Indus Grey is particularly sought-after. Chinese manufacturers are already cranking out all sorts of inexpensive fountain pens. What's to keep one of them from using their downtime to crank out several thousand faux Phileas?

 

Before you reply that such counterfeiting would be too costly, consider Ping golf clubs. These were (and may still be) top-priced equipment. Chinese sources began cranking out knock-offs by the thousands. Ping scoffed, saying that no one could afford to manufacture a believable counterfeit. A news reporter brought a set of clubs to a Ping expert who examined the clubs and declared them authentic. The reporter then invited the expert to the driving range where the inferior performance of the fake clubs became instantly apparent.

 

Costs for tooling and materials remain dirt cheap in China or in other offshore manufacturing hubs. Why would they bother? Because they could easily earn dollars on the penny by doing so—producing a pen for a buck USD and selling it for $40 to $99.

 

There. My run of implausible conspiracy theories remains unbroken.

Edited April 3, 2014 by TwelveDrawings

[JonSzanto]

You aren't allowed to spread conspiracy theories unless you post at least one photo showing the pens. It could be just a bad run at the factory.

[pajaro]

If there were to be Chinese counterfeit Phileas pens in the market, though, consider what goes on in the Parker Sonnet market. Since the identification of Chinese fake Sonnets, every crank wants to label every Sonnet as a fake. If you are trying to sell your Phileas, say just a normal sale, and not trying to profiteer, say, just offering it for $35, what will the suspicions of fake Phileas pens flooding the market do to your chances of selling your genuine Phileas?

 

I still haven't offered for sale any of my Sonnets which I painstakingly authenticated using the latest information available, because I am not sure how to deal with a suspicious marketplace. I did sell one nib, trying to help somebody out. Of course I am going to have to gut it out and sell the Sonnets, having now discovered that Watermans are pens that work. If this happens to the Phileas market, you will not think it is a joke.