Feeling Sorry For A Fountain Pen On Ebay

[elysee]

"Touring" on eBay today, I found a listing for a Hexagonal series Caran D'Ache ballpoint pen and fountain pen (the former brown lacquer and the latter maroon lacquer). Scrolling down the page to view the many posted pictures, I was saddened to find some pictures of the nib showing neglect, lack of cleaning, and lack of care. As the owner of similar Hexagonal series Caran D'Ache fountain pens (black lacquer and maroon lacquer), it makes me sad to see such a lovely nib encrusted with dirt due to neglect. You can check out the listing at http://www.ebay.com/itm/F440-Vintage-hexagonal-Laque-De-chine-Caran-Dache-Fountain-Pen-Pen-In-Box-/281364349380?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item41829f41c4. Unfortunately, this is not the first neglected fountain pen that I have seen on eBay. It is sad that some folks do not seem to appreciate and take care of the lovely pens that they own.

Edited June 25, 2014 by elysee

[shawndp]

I have a black version of that pen that I snagged on ebay and I am still flushing out all the (bleep) that is in the innards of the this beast. There was even a smidge of what looks like a metallic green oil based something. I had the pen more or less clean and ran a little ink through and wow! now the nib was crusted in red ink of sorts and there is sedimet of dried ink that came out. Some people are utterly clueless! Hope you get the set.

[Bo Bo Olson]

They sell for money....and don't care...it takes work and knowing. Bid low enough to factor your work in.

[Runnin_Ute]

agree with Bo Bo

[balson]

i don't mind any ink on the nib itself as long as its not gummed up in the feed.

[OcalaFlGuy]

I feel sorry for pens all the time on Fleabay but sometimes they're in such bad shape you just have to let them go and hope they don't go to a friend of yours.

 

I've carried over a few pens to successive weeks on Sunday's Fleabay pics because they didn't sell the first time, I thought they were a decent deal and deserved a new home with a loving owner.

 

Yes, I tend to personify some vintage pens. So sue me. Pens are special to me.

 

I have bought more than one P-45 that I didn't need myself because they were too damn good of a deal to let anyone else get.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[JotterAddict62]

Bruce, I can't buy all the pens.. You have to help.

[inkstainedruth]

Sometimes the sellers are just morons. I asked questions about a pen yesterday and the response I got from the seller was "Hope you put in a big bid!" Umm, no.... Not really what I wanted, but the pix were so bad I had to ask about the nib to be sure. (Not the answer you were looking for? Too bad....)

Admittedly, it's not always their fault, but they sell pens on Fleabay because pens sell. I'd rather that they would be honest and say "I don't know anything about this".

Lost the bidding on a LOVELY Cordovan Brown 51 last year (I got sniped). The seller was listing the pen for a friend, who hadn't used the pen in years. I would ask a question, and the seller would check with the original owner and then get back to me. Wonderful experience and a seller that I would have happily given positive feedback for (even having lost the auction).

Then I get the ones who think that just because pens are "collectible" they should get $65 for a Parker 45 with a stainless steel nib and no cartridge or converter. (Umm... no? I *can* say "no" can't I? Sure I can!)

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Joker4Eva]

They sell for money....and don't care...it takes work and knowing. Bid low enough to factor your work in.

 

+1

Sometimes, it just takes a little bit of work, cleaning it up, and voila, a nice pen to write with, or sell to a good friend. While I don't mind the usual rinse, some are really difficult to fix. There's this Geha that had it's nib unit screwed so badly into it's body, and I can't get it out. I have this suspicion that the threads would have to be stripped, or would be stripped when I remove the nib unit. I haven't tried writing with it, so this poor pen has been sitting in the drawer, wanting some use and sunlight.

[JotterAddict62]

Then I get the ones who think that just because pens are "collectible" they should get $65 for a Parker 45 with a stainless steel nib and no cartridge or converter. (Umm... no? I *can* say "no" can't I? Sure I can!)

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

 

I see this also in the antique/resale shops, over price Parkers just because of the name. I always like the Parker 51 box with a Jotter set in it selling as a P51 set. Just like on el-ebay a Parker box with a Paperrmate or some other brand of pen selling as a Parker. [ Can't these people read what is on the pen ] Do the research please..

 

Ken

[OcalaFlGuy]

Pure laziness I think.

As in the "MB collector" who has pens for sale on The Bay now, one a P-45 and he didn't even take the time to unscrew the barrel and see if there was a converter in there or mention it in his listing.

 

I would Assume someone who fancies themselves as a MB collector would know that to be a relevant point to note in his listing.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[Sasha Royale]

Dante has a separate place, in the third level of hell, for people who neglect and abuse fountain pens.

[Joker4Eva]

 

I see this also in the antique/resale shops, over price Parkers just because of the name. I always like the Parker 51 box with a Jotter set in it selling as a P51 set. Just like on el-ebay a Parker box with a Paperrmate or some other brand of pen selling as a Parker. [ Can't these people read what is on the pen ] Do the research please..

 

Ken

 

Heh. I've seen sellers on the Bay asking ridiculous amounts of money simply because the nib says "14K gold" on it. Grrr... As if one could easily smelt that gold and sell it off on the open market.

[amk]

And sellers who know that two pens in a box have to be a set, even if they don't look anything like each other.

 

Fortunately, for every one of those, or the people who think a Waterman box makes a Waterman pen, there's someone who doesn't know that they've got a Waterman Lady Patricia or an Osmia Supra in their 'dirty old pen' box :-) Slightly less common on ebay, but there are still a few bargains around for the perseverant collector.

[white_lotus]

I feel really sorry for the pens that don't have nibs anymore. But I don't try to buy them.

[JotterAddict62]

 

Heh. I've seen sellers on the Bay asking ridiculous amounts of money simply because the nib says "14K gold" on it. Grrr... As if one could easily smelt that gold and sell it off on the open market.

Talk about buying a pen just to pull out the nib for the gold scrap :wallbash: There is a man I see at auctions that does just that. Buy the Parker Vac just to take out the nib for scrap gold and any jewelry that has gold.. Come on now the complete pen cleaned and service will bring more money than just the nib..............Morons...

[JotterAddict62]

And sellers who know that two pens in a box have to be a set, even if they don't look anything like each other.

 

Fortunately, for every one of those, or the people who think a Waterman box makes a Waterman pen, there's someone who doesn't know that they've got a Waterman Lady Patricia or an Osmia Supra in their 'dirty old pen' box :-) Slightly less common on ebay, but there are still a few bargains around for the perseverant collector.

Knowledge is power. People who take the time to do the work will be rewarded in the end.

[inkstainedruth]

Then I get the ones who think that just because pens are "collectible" they should get $65 for a Parker 45 with a stainless steel nib and no cartridge or converter. (Umm... no? I *can* say "no" can't I? Sure I can!)

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

 

I see this also in the antique/resale shops, over price Parkers just because of the name. I always like the Parker 51 box with a Jotter set in it selling as a P51 set. Just like on el-ebay a Parker box with a Paperrmate or some other brand of pen selling as a Parker. [ Can't these people read what is on the pen ] Do the research please..

 

Ken

Even when they read what's on the side they can get it wrong. I bought a pen a few weeks ago and the woman in the antique store told me it was a Parker 50. I didn't know anything about 50s, but the pen was cheap enough. When I got to the hotel that night I went online and did a little research. When I saw that 50s were introduced in the 1970s, I was thinking "Okay -- that's *obviously* not what I bought, because no way would Parker make a lever pen at that point." So I looked at the pen more carefully and then went looking again. What I had bought was a late-model Parkette (basically a lever-fill version of a 21).

And the "50"that the dealer had seen? That was the date code....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[elysee]

While I am tempted to try to rescue this mistreated fountain pen, I am not sure if this nib can be cleaned. If it turned out that the nib was filled with gunk like shawndp's eBay rescue, the nib might be unusable. The glob of dirt (see annotated screen captures from listing below) as well as the discolorations on the nib cause me the most concern. How does one do that?????

 

 

 

I am wary of the scratches/pitting/discolorations displayed in some of the pictures (screen captures from listing below) of the ballpoint pen as well.

 

 

The "best" part of the listing seems to be the box for which the seller included four (4) pictures; four pictures of the box seems rather odd to me.

In a way, my reluctance to purchase this fountain pen and ballpoint pen for rescue amuses me as I just received a silver Caran D'Ache pen/pencil set that I purchased as a rescue. The pictures of this set in the eBay listing displayed dark spots and discoloration as well as what appeared to be scratches on the pen, pencil, and pen clips. When I asked the seller about the condition of the pen and pencil, he replied that the mechanisms on each worked and that they were old; he provided no comments about the scratches and referred to the dark spots and discoloration on each as the patina. However, despite the condition issues, I was drawn to the set which was listed as part of the Ecridor series. So, I submitted a Best Offer which was accepted. At the time, I considered my offer to be foolish and a big waste of money.

I received the set on Wednesday and, as it turns out, the set is of the Hexagonal series complete with serial numbers -- my favorite Caran D'Ache series. I spent considerable time during the afternoon polishing the pen and pencil as well as changing the lead and the ballpoint refill. The ballpoint refill was disgustingly filthy and discolored (I never thought that was possible), and the pencil had some lead stuck in the chamber but both are quite lovely now (see my picture below); now that they are shiny and clean, it is difficult to take pictures without reflections of light even by lamp light with the overhead light turned off .

 

 

The pen and pencil are now quite happy in their new home (a pen case with two other Sterling silver pens) and I am very happy with my rescued Hexagonal series Caran D'Ache Sterling Silver with gold pen clip and top button pen and pencil set; the bottom of the pencil turned out to be gold as well. So, in the end, beneath all the dirt and discolorations were a lovely pen and pencil without scratches on the bodies and only minimal surface scratches on the pen clips which turned out to be part of a discontinued branch of the top of the line Hexagonal Series, making my rescue pen and pencil far better than I ever imagined as well as worth much more than I paid. : )

[alexander_k]

One of our tasks is to rescue these pens from slavery and extinction. Bid low, restore lovingly and make someone happy with a nice old pen (yourself included).