Reform German FP ?

[cerebrex]

May I ask if anyone knows anything about a German made "Reform" FP that is supposedly, not as well know to non-Europeans as Pelikan. But according to the seller, this pen has a "fantastic nib and it's a piston filler". A very, very nice well made pen! About the size of a Montblanc 144 or Pelikan 400. He bought a bunch of these at a great closeout price so he is selling them at a super good price! I am sure you guys have seen these pens like I have. Is there any truth to this?

 

The above is being sold on a site for under $30. Does anyone know anything about this, no obligation to anything!

 

Eric biggrin.gif

[Renzhe]

Are you talking about this auction? I think I've seen speerbob mentioned here before, and the comments were favorable. Reforms are nice cheap pens. I suggest you take a look at the Reform page at isellpens.com if you haven't already.

 

(blah blah blah )

Edited March 28, 2007 by Renzhe

[FrankB]

I have not done busines with speerbob myself, but a number of people here have, and he has a very good reputation among FPNers. The Reform brand are very good pens for the money. It can never hurt to try one.

[Jerome Tarshis]

If you buy a pen from Bob Speerbrecher (Speerbob), you can have some confidence that you will receive the pen. Also that you will be treated well.

 

What you think of the pen is an entirely different question, and has nothing to do with Bob's business practices. It is between you and the pen, so to speak. Or between you and your own expectations.

 

One of the replies in this thread so far said that the Reform is a good cheap pen. There's another Reform thread on the board now, near this one, and a posting from a woman with the screen name Shannon says basically that she likes hers, but it doesn't write like a high-end pen and she doesn't expect a high-end pen for twenty dollars.

 

If you are all right with that, go ahead. To say that Reform is less well known outside Europe than Pelikan just might put the idea in your mind that you're buying a Pelikan 400 or 600 or 800 for a very modest price. You're not. Less well known brand, yes. Same pens, no.

[jd50ae]

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...ndpost&p=262101

[Kees]

For a non-collector, I own quite a few pens, among them also a burgundy red Reform piston filler. It is less hefty than the classic Pelikan models, but certainly well made. The medium steel nib on my pen was smooth enough, but the ink flow was on the dry side and didn’t quite satisfy me (nor my daughter for whom I originally bought it).

[cerebrex]

Good morning:

 

Wao, you guys hit the nail. I guess it is a small community. It is speerbob ! I think the pen will probably be something similar to what I used when I was in grade school (brought up in the Mideterrenean where we had to write with FP)

 

I will get one of his pens. He must be very proud to have such a great reputation among this network. Thank you very much for your input.

 

I am back to work today but part time after one week of recovering from neck surgery. There is nothing close to having good health!

 

Eric

[twduffy58]

I just received a reform pen in the mail. For a moment or three I couldn't figure out the filling procedure, until I noticed the tail cap unscrewed and moved an integral piston. To me a simple and classy way to opertae the filling system. I've filled mine with PR Gray flannel and it butsdown a nice smooth line.

 

 

 

Edited for Speeling

Edited December 12, 2011 by twduffy58

[Bo Bo Olson]

The real good Reform pens were those of the real early '60's and before.

I have not got any of those.

The owner had great pride in his pens, and when the price of ball points made him pick between making great pens and cheap pens...he closed down.

 

The company was later sold to some other German company, and many of the modern 'cheap' Reform 1745, P-120 and P-125 were made.

I have all three of them; two 1745 because they are very cheap now. It is supposed that the machinery ended up in China.

I was surprised that the nibs were much better than I expected. I have two nice Fines, a EF and a XXF...now that was a shock. It is my only XXF.

 

That was luck of the draw in the nibs are not marked.

[Malcy]

 

The company was later sold to some other German company, and many of the modern 'cheap' Reform 1745, P-120 and P-125 were made.

 

 

I read somewhere that the company that was 'reformed' from the defunct Reform company was ERO.

[Bigeddie]

I'm making good use of my 1745 at the moment. The nibs have a huge amount of line variation, I would guess that this is a fine.

Mine from ebay for about £14.

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7028/6507685097_20d3089b75_z.jpg

Reform 1745 - flex by Bigeddie100, on Flickr

[Bo Bo Olson]

That could be. I'm a little vague on exactly when which company became what but ERO, Reform and some other company were the same, or were very close together.

I spoke with Thomas, but when all I can remember is so and so and them were over there...then they all died.

 

Ero was not a bad second tier piston pen...I have something that could have been...or made by that factory for some one else.

It is similar but has no name on it.

 

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/SAM_0430.jpg

 

It had a screw in Rupp nib. In that is screwed into another couple of my pens, I thought it must be from the same factory...but different markets.

The nib is now on this pen...it too could have been from the Ero factory. The other two have the 'Clipper' nib on it. A little Super Constellation in a circle.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/cliro1.jpg

 

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/cliro3.jpg

Super Connie...EC-121...sure looks pretty with out the Radoms. Was once Air Force One for IKE.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/AP40G6.jpg

 

 

OK, I had to grease mine with a tiny dab of silicon grease, and do a touch of the brown paper bag, in the nib sat around a long time getting micro corrosion. If the guy did that he should get paid for it.

Once a couple of years ago in Germany on German Ebay they went for @ € 7 then 5. A year or so ago, two for €5. Finally they were being sold in a box of 10 or 12 real cheap. Cheap enough I thought of buying some and putting it on US Ebay.

 

I got the P-120 first. The 1745's next and paid for the 'bigger' P-125 € 10. It was not that much 'bigger'. It was a tad longer.

The 1745 posts long for it's size, as long as both the others. And the nibs screw out. The P120 a semi-hooded pen of course don't screw out. The P-125 is a friction feed. I really lucked out with the XXF there.

 

 

It's much thinner than a 400...

I was surprised eventually, at how good the nib was. It was nearly or as good as the nib of my '50s-65 Pelikan 120.

The nib is pre...fat and blobby.

 

The nibs I have are very close to pre'66 Pelikan 120 regular flex, in flex and in smoothness.

That Pelikan 120 gold plated steel regular flex is tied at # 15 for best nib, with my '90-96 M400 Tortoise. That is 'pre'98 so still a good nib, not the fat stiffer than before, blobbier modern nib.

 

You may have paid too much, but you got a good nib out of it.

I'd been going to send my Reform pens to my God son....In that I have two nice Reform F nibs, I guess I can spare one....the Reform 1745...after all, he can take the nib off and grease it every year or two...he can't do that with the P-120.

 

One needs a good regular flex F, for ink testing, it gives a different tone than semi-flex.

Edited December 13, 2011 by Bo Bo Olson

[fpman]

Bo Bo - the Reforms aren't going for near as cheap on Ebay nowadays. The same seller had a number of other vintage German pens, Ero, Matador, Geha, Markant. I missed out on all the Geha reserve tank pens (if only I'd bid a bit more - always at lease 50 cents short :embarrassed_smile: ) but picked up some nice cartridge fillers and a few working piston fillers. No more - I guess his source dried up.

 

There was also someone on FPN who sold 1745's and P-120's. He had a third model but stopped selling it due to problems with the old NOS pens. The 1745's are a bit skinny for my tastes.

[Ted Andkilde]

'judperl' seems to have a few inexpensive Reforms on fleabay at the moment.

 

t

[Bo Bo Olson]

You can still get the Geha school pen for €10 on German Ebay. The Geha with two (5xx) or three cap jewel rings (790) have really increased in price, last year they were €30 now they are more expensive €40-50 due to the US marketing.

 

Geha 790 is a screw out nib pen....the School pen does not match that screw out. It's got a different size. The 790 is semi-flex. The school pen is good late '50s-65 vintage regular flex...as good a nib as the Pelikan 120.

 

Matador...when I had money, couldn't find any....now retired when I see Money walking down the street, he suddenly Jay walks in heavy traffic, and don't 'see' me.

Edited December 14, 2011 by Bo Bo Olson

[Bigeddie]

Following this thread, I have tracked down some 1745's which are listed in classifieds.

 

Sorry for the shameless self promotion, I'm not really making money on them so much as trying to make them available to FPN-ers.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Reform model # unknown. gold/or gold similar plated.

 

Not exactly the real good pens of the late '50's or early '60's when the original owner who made only first class pens ran the company.

When he could no longer do that because of the ball point pen, he closed down his factory... a few years later it was sold and others made cheaper Reforms.

 

This is a cartridge pen.

With a semi-flex F spade nib....

A JS nib. I don't know who made JS nibs for Reform...never heard of JS nibs before either.

 

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/SAM_0588.jpg

 

 

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/SAM_0589.jpg

 

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/SAM_0590.jpg

 

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/SAM_0591.jpg

 

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/SAM_0592.jpg

 

The Fine spade nib is very long, as is the feed. It is the first spade nib I have even heard of that is semi-flex and I have it. (Of course I'm known far and wide for what I don't know.)

So there are semi-flex spade nibs.

 

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/SAM_0591-1-1.jpg

 

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/SAM_0592-1.jpg

 

This mark came up a few weeks ago, as an unknown mark on a pen. My Reform has Reform on the cap lip, along with Germany...so it is after 1990. The 'matching ball point has W.Germany so that is 1989-90.

 

The pen posts with a solid click, like the Lamy Persona or the Cross Townsend.

 

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/SAM_0594.jpg

Edited December 17, 2011 by Bo Bo Olson

[fabrimedeiros]

I own two Reform Demostrators that have awesome M steel nibs. They work only with international size cartridges. This pens works very well and very smooth. They're one of most smooth nibs I have because, I suppose the tipping material has an outstending quality and the sweet spot is very large, compared to the other M nibs.

[ticoun]

i bought a 1745 from Bigeddie today, i'm curious about the semiflex nib. it's also my first european pen, a Pelikan is too expensive for me right now. and since it looks a bit like a M200 it'll make a nice Pelikan substitute.

[Freddy]

Reform pen...

 

Fred

Is it safe?

{silence}

Is it safe? ~ Szell ~