How Durable Are Vintage Pens?

[jdnib]

This is the first time I am on this forum despite a long time following and supporting FPN.

 

I have never used any refillable fountain pens except BIC and Pilot low cost fountain pens.

 

That being said, one of the reasons I switched to fountain pens is because you literally need ink and that one pen will be there with you for life.

 

I don't drop nukes on my pens and make Darth Vader crash them under his heels but I do not baby any pens either as all pens I used will be more or less workhorses that will travel a lot and write through challenges in life.

 

I have researched several inexpensive restored vintage pens like the Slimfold model produced by Parker and several Burnham, Conway Stewart, Wyvern vintage items all with 14k or plated nibs. That being said, how well would these old 50 years regenerated stuff fare against a newly purchased Pilot, Lamy, Twsbi, Hero, Cross and modern Parker etc....

 

Can they last for another 50 years of services?

 

Thank you very much for any information you can give.

Edited July 2, 2015 by jdnib

[Pickwick]

So called "Vintage" pens still in good condition can become fragile with aging and will last for many years more provided they're treated with care. In my generation, a fountain pen was generally lipped upright to a jacket's top or inside pocket. Never in a pant back or side pocket where they are prone to breakage. They should never be treated the same as a disposable ballpoint pen.

 

The modern ones you list should be treated the same if you want them to survive many more years.

[jar]

There is no one answer and it really depends on the specific material used. I regularly use pens made in the 1920 and 30s which are now approaching the century mark. But there were also many pretty well known cases of materials that did not stand up well over the years. Waterman's 100 Year pens are a great example, the early Lucite versions tended to get brittle and the ends literally crumbled away; celluloid tends to shrink over time, some plastic deform over time as can be seen in some of Parkers pens.

[torstar]

Depends on the level of care you give and the day to day volume of usage.

 

I'm rough on things so I break pens all the time. Plastic can only put up with so much over a decade.

[AAAndrew]

Esterbrook and many Sheaffers can usually tolerate a fair amount of rough usage, but fountain pens in general need more care than a ballpoint. Even a cheap Varsity, which is meant as a study pen and is pretty tough, will leak or break if mistreated.

 

Most of the 1st-tier, mass-produced pens from the 40's-60's will stand up as well as any modern Pilot.

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

it all depends but i have a vintage De La Rue Onoto that has seen 80 years of use and works better that a lot of modern pens and i would say it will last another 80 years. but its not necessarily a cheap vintage pen, so like all thinks "you get what you pay for".

[benbot517]

If you want a super durable vintage pen, the parker 51 is a good one. Great design, good writers, very reliable, and the aerometrics sometimes only need a good cleaning to get the working.

[Buzz_130]

My vintage pens are workhorse pens. I always have at least one "51" with me at work, and today I have a Sheaffer Balance with a military clip, a Lamy Safari, and a Parker 21. Fundamentally, each one of these pens is extremely simple. The Sheaffer is a lever filler, and the only work I can imagine ever having to do on this pen is replace the sac sometime in the next 5-10 years. The Parker 21 has same filler as the 51. I expect I'll be pressing the ribbed bar 3 times for decades to come. And I think the materials in the Safari with a simple c/c filler will last as long as my vintage.

 

With care for the nib, regular hygiene for the feed and collector, and maybe a few minor tweaks to the filling systems, and you've got a pen from the Golden Age that will truly last another generation.

 

Buzz

[wastelanded]

Older UK Parkers, eg. Slimfold, Duofold, Victory, are built like tanks. My 1940s-50s button-fill Duofolds (New Style and Aluminium Filler) feel like I could run them over with the car, and they'd survive.

 

Added bonus is you can find these relatively cheaply on eBay with a little patience.

 

Ed. for detail

Edited July 2, 2015 by wastelanded

[Chouffleur]

Num, me vexo?

I remember that as, "Quid, me anxius sum?"

[wastelanded]

I remember that as, "Quid, me anxius sum?"

Quite true: I took liberties

[Cryptos]

I would have thought that the fact that vintage pens are still around and are still working and used tends to speak for itself.

[ThirdeYe]

Some pens are pretty robust, like the Parker "51" and the stainless steel Sheaffers from the 1960s, but some can be quite brittle, like the Eversharp Skylines or some of the materials used for the earlier Sheaffer Balance pens.

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

I would have thought that the fact that vintage pens are still around and are still working and used tends to speak for itself.

An excellent point!

[atomic_doug]

Old Aurora 88s are also quite durable and actually are quite easy to service.

 

Parker 51's, particularly Aerometric versions are effectively indestructible (and parts are so incredibly common that you'll always be able to service one)

 

Really, though, fountain pens are not particularly complex machines and there's very little on them that can actually wear out.

[Wahl]

I have pens from the early 20´s which function perfectly. For daily carry use I tend more to my P51´s.

[Joe in Seattle]

Parker 75's are my favorite vintage pens. Right at 50 years old for the first of them, I'd wager they'll be doing fine for another 50, plus, plenty of replacement parts are available.