Vintage Faber Castells ?

[AD43]

Is there such thing, by the fc brand, or what they called it back then?

Is there anywhere to buy them if they are not a fantasy?

[Inksomnia]

Yes, there are. They can be by names of: A.W.Faber, Faber-Castell and Osmia Faber-Castell. Really nice pens, my favorite vintage brand. I have bought all from Finnish auction site and restored them. But I don't quite know where you can find them, they are quite common pens here.

 

Here is pic, sorry quality isn't the greatest. Cropped from bigger picture. Those seven pens, all are Faber-Castells. Well, one of them is Osmia 973, but that's whole other story. But my models are, from left to right: Faber-Castell 73, Faber-Castell Progress 66G, Osmia 973, Faber-Castell Osmia 664, Faber-Castell Gentleman and two Faber-Castell 884.

 

 

Hope this helps you a little.

[MsRedpen]

Yes, they exist - in my case this FC 884 was kept in a drawer of Opa's desk, and he gave it to me this Christmas.

 

It writes pretty wet for an EF, the nib is 14kt gold and quite stiff.

This nib suites well my writing style and preferences - I write fast, a lot, and like to have feeling of "controlling" the nib on the paper - not looking for flex.

 

[stephanos]

They can be found fairly regularly on a well-known auction site. Prices and conditions vary, but they are seldom cheap. The steel nibs are some of the best I have tried.

[OMASsimo]

Faber, Faber-Castell, and Graf von Faber-Castell have been in the manufacturing business of writing utensils since around 1720. There were different family branches but first they produced pencils. One of the Johann Fabers learned about the new invention of the fountain pen by George Waterman in New York while running the branch there. When back in Germany, he started producing safety pens with nibs and parts imported from the US. Faber-Castell probably started pen production in the 1920s and bought up Johann Faber's company in 1931. Their pens were very average and they sought for ways to improve quality. So, step by step they bought up Osmia, one of the best German pen makers ever. They completed the purchase of Osmia in 1951. Because of the fantastic reputation of Osmia (especially their nibs), Faber-Castell kept the "Osmia" brand name for many years besides an imprint of "Faber-Castell". They gradually dropped the "Osmia" during the 1960s. So this much about "how they called them".

 

Of course you can find vintage pens by "Johann Faber", "Faber-Castell", "Osmia - Dossenheim Faber-Castell" at the usual sources. "Graf von Faber-Castell", by contrast, is the designation of the new top of the line pens probably launched in the 1990s after the fp renaissance, so there won't be vintage pens unless you consider 1990s vintage.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Kept the Osmia name very few years....was erased as far as I know by the 'late '50's according to Lambrou. The 884 mentioned would have been an Osmia-Faber-Castell had Osmia not been erased.

 

It was my understanding F-C made second tier fountain pens and needed Osmia to have a first class pen under it's name....but the bought a dukedom in the 1870's or so , ego of the Faber-Castell's erased the brand name....that people sill remembered.....but either way the Ball point killed Faber-Castell pens.....in 1975.

In the end there was only a diamond of the Osmia company left...then the jumped up Duke's ego did away with that too, even if they were still buying good Degussa (Who made Osmia's nibs since they bought Osmia's nib factory in 1932.)

 

I have Osmia and O-F-C pens...one from the early day, when Osmia was on one side Faber Castell on the other....then both on the same side....then the erasure started.

Osmia had three or four cap jewels, not all were the Diamond....it had three or four clips too...as Osmia.

I only have 7-8 so can't tell when the Diamond cap jewel or the Osmia clip died. I have a 554, with a plain no name on the Osmia style clip....one of the older no diamond jewel top either....but they had started early...............well one can not quite compare that to Parker ruining Wahl Eversharp....in Faber Castel was never a first tier pen with out Osmia.