A Big Fat Pen

[sidthecat]

I found this hilarious old thing on eBay, which is just what the doctor (in my case, a hand surgeon) ordered. It's got a Conklin Cushion nib, but is it really a Conklin? I've seen a few of these, but they're mostly Japanese.

Any clues?

 

 

[LokiLaufeyson]

Fabulous! I love how bulky and unique it is!!

[ThomasB]

Nice nib...The only ones I have seen like this in the past are from Japan as noted and believe the brand is named JUMBO.

[BillH]

That's wonderful! Looks like it ought to carry a month's worth of ink... How does it fill?

[Nekomata]

Now do some posted writing.

[GJMekenkamp]

Now do some posted writing.

Looks like you'll almost need two hands writing posted with this pen...

[creeder14]

That's awesome! Does it post?

[sidthecat]

It posts, but with my tiny hands it doesn't do much for the balance. It's a piston filler and I imagine the seals are shot, but the semiflex nib shows some promise.

[mirosc]

Lovely.

I like these pens and have some myself (preparing for times to come with arthritis...)! They are mostly Japanese fountain pens (but others, too) and very often eyedroppers or c/c. I've never seen a piston filler Conklin version before!

[ehemem]

It posts, but with my tiny hands it doesn't do much for the balance. It's a piston filler and I imagine the seals are shot, but the semiflex nib shows some promise.

 

Uh, it is not a piston filler, it's a Japanese eyedropper. And yes, you should check the rear seal to make sure it is intact and functional.

 

Looks like urushi over ebonite? And maybe better quality than most of the pens of this type I've seen come on the market...

Edited October 25, 2016 by ehemem

[sidthecat]

You're right: it's a pump filler. But it's not urushi, either, but metal-clad. The nib may be a replacement, because if it were a Conklin, they'd presumably mark it somewhere. It must have cost a packet, too, with all that (what I think is) gold plate.

[marcelo]

You gotta hold it like a paint roller.

[ehemem]

You're right: it's a pump filler. But it's not urushi, either, but metal-clad. The nib may be a replacement, because if it were a Conklin, they'd presumably mark it somewhere. It must have cost a packet, too, with all that (what I think is) gold plate.

 

Pump filler or Japanese eyedropper??? And are you sure that the body and cap aren't ebonite coated urushi? Looking at the pic of the section, I see little bumps, which make me question if it is not coated...and it is pretty shiny. Could be a plastic body I guess.

Edited October 26, 2016 by ehemem

[sidthecat]

This image should provide a little more information:

Edited October 27, 2016 by sidthecat

[dcwaites]

I have one. It's a class of pens called a Jumbo pen, made in Japan after WWII for elderly people with arthritis.

 

I had to replace the nib in mine with a standard #6 Chinese nib because the original is damaged. Maybe the original nib in this pen has already been replaced by the Conklin one.

 

I think you will find that the body/barrel of the pen unscrews from the section, and it can then be refilled with up to 5 mls of ink.

The blind cap unscrews a shaft which seals a valve at the bottom which lets ink into the feed and nib. Normally when writing you would unscrew the blind cap a turn or so to let ink into the feed.

 

Beware, after 50+ years there is a fairly good chance the seals don't work so well anymore...

 

Do a search on FPN for Japanese Jumbo pens.

[basterma]

Tombow may still make a modern version called the Egg

[Bo Bo Olson]

I have a Loom 828fp (Tombow Japan) semi-nail. Gold washed nib. Cartridge pen that looks 'similar' to the pen pictured ie short and fat.....but is a pure black and gold fat cigar.

.

4 1/4" long, by 7/8ths inch wide in diameter....by far the fattest pen I have and real short....I got it in a live auction lot....not thinking anything but it was a joke.

 

Looked it up and found in England, it's worth some 125 pounds....so was not a joke.

 

No, I've not used it...it really don't lay good in the hand....it sits out on my old black 'carved/pressed hard rubber inkwell holder as an eye catcher.

Some day I'll make a picture of it.

Edited October 27, 2016 by Bo Bo Olson

[fountainbel]

You're right: it's a pump filler. But it's not urushi, either, but metal-clad. The nib may be a replacement, because if it were a Conklin, they'd presumably mark it somewhere. It must have cost a packet, too, with all that (what I think is) gold plate.

Hi sidthecat,

It's an eyedropper - featuring an integrated ink shut-of valve - not a pump filler, there is no build-in filling mechanism.

Francis

[dogpoet]

Tombow may still make a modern version called the Egg

 

The Egg was discontinued two or three years back, sadly. I think that gorgeous looking pen is going to be fatter still, looking at it, though it would be interesting to see it side by side with one of the Tombows. (I am struck by how non-ergonomic the section looks, for a pen that was designed for people with arthritis: compare that to the moulded, sculpted and sometimes fleshily soft sections you get in a lot of pens for that market now.)

[sidthecat]

I'm still looking for someone to do the restoration: the nib needs tweaking (or replacing with something from around the drawer) and I assume that the seals are shot. it's also filthy. Amusing but filthy.