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Identification Of Mystery Pen: M...?


OMASsimo

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I found this 14 k gold nib and section in a box with vintage pen parts:

 

image.jpg

 

 

image.jpg

 

 

The breather hole indicates that it might be fairly early, could be 1930s/1940s. There is no nipple for an ink sac though, making it likely that it was a piston filler. The rest of the pen is gone or might be still in the box. I checked all brands starting with "M" that I could think of but no cigar. :( Any idea who was the maker?

 

Thank you for looking

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MB? Made with a heart.....and they made nibs for other companies, like Pelikan.

I am sure I have perhaps pend made for export with a C on them, many German had K, CT is English Empire marking. C was often American.

It is a middle fast feed, '30's seems right to me from the feed.

What flex is it? Semi-flex?

The combs are wide....but there are them...which would be more needed with a regular flex or manifold, than superflex.

Edited by Bo Bo Olson

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Thank your for your input. Yes, MB made nibs for Pelikan in the 1920s but I think they still were marked "Pelikan".

 

"C" or "K" is indeed an interesting question but I'm afraid it's not that conclusive. I think that the use of Ct for imperial pens is pretty solid. At least I haven't seen a single exception in my collection. Not so for German nibs. Pre-war nibs often were marked with "Karat" (Pelikan) or "Carat" (MB) or short forms of that. Osmia used "K" but Kaweco probably "C". After the war, many German nibs were marked with "C".

 

Furthermore, it could easily be a French or Italian pen. UK or U.S. is less likely due to the assumed filling mechanism but of course it's not impossible.

 

Any thoughts? I still hope someone here will recognize the logo.

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It is a middle fast feed, '30's seems right to me from the feed.

What flex is it? Semi-flex?

The combs are wide....but there are them...which would be more needed with a regular flex or manifold, than superflex.

 

Arggg, I forgot to answer that one. Yes, it's a fairly standard semi-flex. For me the feed looks like somewhere between a fairly advanced 30s feed and low-end 50s one. Maybe 40s and not German?

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could well be........a fairly advanced 30s feed and low-end 50s one.

By the '40's everyone was in war ....need the gold....but could be after the war. Somehow, I think '50s is a bit late.

Czechoslovakia, French or Italian of course.....normally I'd expect a warranted on something English if not brand marked.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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Somehow the Italians seem to have managed even during the 40s to keep the gold for the most important purpose, nibs.:) I'm not sure how the shortage of gold nibs was in the UK or U.S. during the war. But I think we can rule out a UK nib in the present case because that would be marked "Ct" rather than "C".

I also think we can rule out a French nib. If I'm not mistaken, France required a 18 C (750) gold content for nibs, probably even by law. That's the reason why producers of pens and gold nibs made 18 C nibs exclusively for their export models to France (e.g. Pelikan).

This leaves as candidates among the major payers U.S., Germany, and Italy. (Don't know about Japan) Did I overlook something?

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Looks like an oblique..........what flex is it?

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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+1 for the oblique suggestion.. Did they use 'C' in the US? In France they used 'CT' on the vintage nibs and not just 'C'.

 

PS.

 

They did produce 14k nibs in France.

Edited by mitto

Khan M. Ilyas

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Thanks for your input. The nib is not oblique at all and it's a fairly standard semi-flex (referring to vintage standards rather than contemporary nails). Nothing out of the ordinary or giving any hint.

 

I recall that France had a regulation on the gold content but I can't remember where I found that information. I know there was an anti-fraud aspect in it so that any gold object made of an alloy with less gold content than 18 C was not allowed to be called "gold". This certainly discouraged the use of 14 C alloys though they are generally better for nibs. I don't recall if there was another more specific regulation regarding nibs meant in a protectionist way. I also don't know for what period of time this regulation was valid. In any case, I haven't seen French brand nibs from the 30s not being 18 C, though this doesn't mean too much. Last but not least, it seems that the French way of labeling the gold content was "Cts" rather than "C" in the golden age of fountain pens. I think they also had to be embossed with the corresponding puncheon which is absent on this nib. The puncheon still might be required if I look at current Watermans. Anyway, I'm fairly certain it's not French.

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