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Who Made My Coventry Pen?


magicspeller

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In going through my junk drawers the other day looking for my old Parker pen, I discovered one that I didn't remember at all. It's labelled "Coventry" on the center ring (sorry, don't know what that's called). I couldn't find any other marking except on the nib.

 

I searched the forums and found quite a few threads with questions about Coventry pens, several of which identified them as a Cross product. The photos looked different than my pen, but I assumed mine must be a Cross as well. According to other owners, they had bought them at Staples and they appeared to be a Staples exclusive. I've shopped a lot at Staples, so it sounded reasonable. (Never assume....)

 

The pen had no converter and no cartridges (which would likely be dried out anyway), so I headed to Staples and bought a package of Cross "Fountain Pen Ink Cartridges". No pen models are listed on the package, so I assumed that they must fit all Cross models and would therefore fit mine. (Yes, more assumptions.)

 

I inserted the first cartridge and started to write, and...nothing. I took the pen apart and the cartridge fell out. It had been punctured, but try as I might, I was unable to push it in far enough to fit properly. It appears as thought the cartridge might be too "fat" to fit in the section.

 

I'll attach some pictures so you can see what it looks like. I apologize that the quality isn't great, but it might be good enough for you to see. Notice that the nib is labelled "Scmidt iridium point". I'm not sure how significant that is.

 

Can anyone tell me what this pen is? If it's a Cross, why doesn't the cartridge fit?

post-127682-0-54002300-1454821305_thumb.jpg

post-127682-0-28800600-1454821322_thumb.jpg

post-127682-0-69230500-1454821332_thumb.jpg

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Cross cartridges SHOULD fit their pens. I do have a Coventry, it's a pretty nice little writer, and that's what I use in it.

 

You pierced the narrow end, right? Just checking.

My latest ebook.   And not just for Halloween!
 

My other pen is a Montblanc.

 

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Schmidt Iridium Point tells you that the nib unit was made by a German company called Schmidt. The nib itself is probably a Jowo or Bock that was bought by Schmidt and then placed into their feed unit.

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Sailor, I did pierce the narrow end.

 

I am curious. Does your Coventry look like mine, or like the other photos that have been posted here? Does it have a Schmidt nib?

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Sailor, I did pierce the narrow end.

 

I am curious. Does your Coventry look like mine, or like the other photos that have been posted here? Does it have a Schmidt nib?

Magicspeller, the only pictures I see are in your post. My Coventry's clip is different from the one in your picture. It's straight, without the round part at the end. The nib and band both read 'Cross.'

 

Here's the Coventry on Amazon.

 

You may not have a Cross pen, unless earlier model Coventrys had a different look...but I think they would still say Cross SOMEWHERE.

 

Is there a Coventry brand?

My latest ebook.   And not just for Halloween!
 

My other pen is a Montblanc.

 

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As the pen's made under a different brand name, perhaps it needs a standard cartridge, rather than a Cross one? I've got an offbrand pen that I think was made by a company Cross own (I forget the name, but I don't think it's Coventry) for Staples, and iirc, that one used standard international cartridges, not the Cross ones.

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Is there a Coventry brand?

 

Sailor, that's what I'm trying to find out. :-) -- That is, whether there might be a Coventry brand or someone else making pens under that name.

 

Sorry I didn't give any links in my earlier message. Here are some of the threads I found with photos when I searched the other day:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/253005-cross-coventry-fountain-pen-at-staples/?hl=coventry

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/220874-dont-just-tell-us-about-the-pen-youre-using-show-us/page-273?hl=coventry&do=findComment&comment=2848997

 

The pens in all the photos I found were blue, But I think they do look like the silver one you posted. The ends appear to be tapered, unlike mine, which are almost straight.

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As the pen's made under a different brand name, perhaps it needs a standard cartridge, rather than a Cross one? I've got an offbrand pen that I think was made by a company Cross own (I forget the name, but I don't think it's Coventry) for Staples, and iirc, that one used standard international cartridges, not the Cross ones.

 

Thanks, dogpoet. I have a big box of international cartridges I bought for my Jinhao, so I tried one. It was too long. It also didn't want to stay on the "post" that you push it on to; do the posts come in different sizes?

 

I've read that international cartridges come in two lengths. How can I tell which one I have?

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This quite a handy photo:

http://site.shopwritersbloc.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Mini-Size.jpg

As you can see, the short cartridges are quite a bit shorter (about half the length) and the Jinhao ones are the longer type. Also, I think the bit of the jinhao cartridge that plugs into the back of the pen is a slightly funny size, so yes, you're right about that: I tend to use a convertor in my own Jinhaos, after having some puzzling and frustrating experiences trying to fit a standard one in there.

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Great picture from Dogpoet; that's exactly how you tell the difference.

 

At a guess, Magicspeller, I'm thinking you have a Chinese pen of sorts, and that a short standard international will fit. Keep us posted.

 

 

PS: If you can get your hands on a Cross Coventry at a good price, don't hesitate! And if Staples has a deal on another Cross model, ditto. You already have the carts. ;)

Edited by Sailor Kenshin

My latest ebook.   And not just for Halloween!
 

My other pen is a Montblanc.

 

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PS: If you can get your hands on a Cross Coventry at a good price, don't hesitate! And if Staples has a deal on another Cross model, ditto. You already have the carts. ;)

 

Good point. :-)

 

Thanks for the photo, dogpoet. I actually came back to rephrase my question. The answer's pretty obvious; one's long and one's short.... In comparing mine to the photo, though, I'm still not sure which ones I have. Is it possible to give me actual numbers for how long each one is? Mine are abot 5.2 centimeters/2 1/8 inches.

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Sailor, that's what I'm trying to find out. :-) -- That is, whether there might be a Coventry brand or someone else making pens under that name.

 

Sorry I didn't give any links in my earlier message. Here are some of the threads I found with photos when I searched the other day:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/253005-cross-coventry-fountain-pen-at-staples/?hl=coventry

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/220874-dont-just-tell-us-about-the-pen-youre-using-show-us/page-273?hl=coventry&do=findComment&comment=2848997

 

The pens in all the photos I found were blue, But I think they do look like the silver one you posted. The ends appear to be tapered, unlike mine, which are almost straight.

 

As I recall, the Coventry was offered not only in blue, but the silver I bought, and possibly also a ruby and a black. It was a tough choice; they all looked good. The factor that tipped the pen into my favor was that it came with two sections, a Fine and a Medium.

My latest ebook.   And not just for Halloween!
 

My other pen is a Montblanc.

 

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Right: the Jinhao cartridges are definitely a funny size. The long standards are 7 and a bit cm (about .4) and the short ones are 3.5cm. The Jinhao ones I have to hand (and they may well do other sizes) are about 5.8cm long. The bit that plugs into the pen do look like they're slightly narrower than the long and short internationals as well.

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Interesting. I thought I had read that the Jinhao cartridges are standard international size (or maybe I read that Chinese pens use standard size and just extapolated from there). The description of the ones I ordered from Lanxivi through Amazon (http://goo.gl/6qhZ84) says "Standard Size", so that seemed to confirm my understanding that the Jinhaos are standard.

 

It's interesting that yours are a different size yet.

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