Hudson Bakelite Oversized Pens

September 1, 2018

I have a mini collection of these interesting pens. They are large, about 5 3/4 inches long, and beautiful. Being Bakelite, cracks are common. All have Warranted 8 nibs.

Repair is odd due to the inner metal liner on the barrel. The caps are fully lined with what appears to be aluminum, preventing the cracks from spreading and keeping pieces from falling off.

Plating on the band and clip was thin, and often worn. I have also seen pens labeled "Presto" on the clip that otherwise appear to be the same pens.

Here is a collection of other FPN links about these pens. I only found two.

General info:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/143806-want-more-info-about-this-pencompany/

Repair:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/173141-hudson-bakelite-pen-brass-section-sleeve/

I have found four colors. I would imagine that there would be a black one, but I have not seen it yet.

September 1, 2018

Hudson Bakelite with green with beige/yellow flecks

I have a slightly shorter version at 5 1/4 inches and the 5 3/4 version. The shorter one is tapered towards the section just like the longer. It seems original, but could also be a cut down of the 5 3/4 due to cracks. If it was cut down, it was done very well.

One is more like green with streaks of paint. The shorter one is speckled.

September 1, 2018

This is what I would call "mohogany." It is similar to the Bakelite pattern on Ingersoll pens. Deep burgundy with dark spots. Better pictures of the pattern are seen in the links to the other Hudson posts in the first post above.

Edited September 1, 2018 by Greenie

September 1, 2018

This color compares to other "Big Red" pens.

The color is darker, and has some faint mottling.

It is like the color "burnt sienna"

September 1, 2018

This Hudson Bakelite pen is fantastic, and I regret the inability to photograph it well. The color comes off a bit differently in the "repair" post above in the OP. It is beige, black, and has areas with a bit of reddish/burgundy in the pattern.

Edited September 1, 2018 by Greenie

September 1, 2018

That last one is stunning. What a fantastic pattern/colour!

Interesting pens. I knew nothing of them.

Thanks for sharing - and congratulations!

October 20, 2018

I really like that first one!!

August 29, 2020

I have also seen pens labeled "Presto" on the clip that otherwise appear to be the same pens.

Thank you for this thread, I now know something about a pen that was a mystery to me. I have one that looks exactly like the fourth pen in your photo, a very dark burgundy color (or what you are calling mahogany), and it has Presto on the clip. However, mine is only 5-1/2" long. I don't know if I've been able to capture the color, it's very dark.

It did have a #8 nib which wrote nicely, but although wide the nib was rather short and looked truncated on such a large pen. I had a beautiful orphan Wahl-Eversharp #6 flexible nib, so I swapped that one in, and it works very well indeed. The Hudson/Presto feed even supports flex writing if I want to do that (I don't really do it well, so I don't do it much at all).

It feels like such a stately pen to write with, I think with this new nib it's going to become one of my favorite pens.

August 30, 2020

Presto pens are quite similar. I collect these as well. They seem to come in the same colors with the same style lever and cap band. But there is a difference in construction. The Hudson pens have the threads on the section, and the Presto pens are more traditional with threads on the barrel. The Hudson pens have metal lined caps, and the Presto pens do not (well, 3 of my 4 Presto pens are unlined, and one has a metal lined cap).

August 30, 2020

I didn't think to check before, but my Presto has metal threads inside the cap, and a metal lining with a metal inner cap. The top of the inner cap and the cap liner above that reflect a shiny gold-color metal, and the inner cap itself is sort of dull steel color.