Vintage Pen Must Haves?

[mtbradley]

What vintage pens should every collector own at least once? I know there are different kinds of collectors and different budgets. I just see a handful come up frequently and I'm wondering what the list is if you put it all together. A few examples to get us started...

 

Parker 51

Sheaffer (different models come up, I'm partial to the Touchdown Imperial VIII)

Esterbrook

 

What else?

Edited September 5, 2018 by mtbradley

[doggle2]

Expanding on your Sheaffer, the TM Touchdown--it's cheap, and easy to repair, as well as the Snorkel--it's far overhyped how hard it is to replace the sac, and they are also quite cheap. Also, don't forget about the Balance, especially the easy-to-repair lever filling ones.

[pajaro]

Waterman Hundred Year Pen. This is not cheap, but something to consider as you go along learning. You might or might not develop an appreciation for pens like this.

[ajoe]

I am not a collector, but I do own one vintage pen that is very important to me. Here is the story.

 

I was sitting with two die-hard pen collectors one morning for breakfast. They had agreed to let me tag along as they hunted for pens at a local flea market. Note: No fleas were harmed during the hunt.

 

They were talking about pens and I was nodding my head. Finally one of them asked me what kinds of pens I liked. I said that I had not found the pen that I really wanted--a smooth writer with a lot of line variation.

 

One of them said, "I know exactly what you need." He reached into his very large pen wallet, and pulled out a Sterling Silver Sheaffer Legacy with a factory Stub nib. He removed the cap and handed handed me the pen, "It's inked, try it out."

 

My next words were, "That's it. Is this one for sale."

 

Unfortunately it was not, but he told me where I could get one exactly like it.

 

The next morning I was on the phone to his dealer arranging the purchase of NOS Sterling Silver Legacy with factory stub nib. As I recall, I paid about $200 for it, and it is without question the best pen purchase I have ever made.

 

I still have that pen. It is always inked, and gets used almost daily. It is so good, with such a lush stroke and crisp line variation, that I know I smile every time I put that nib to paper.

 

So, to your question. If I was a collector, I would certainly want to own a Sheaffer Legacy. By the way, this is the original Legacy, not the the Legacy II or the Heritage, of which I have no experience.

[Larry Barrieau]

Parker striped duofold, Pelikan 120 or 140, Parker Vacumatic, Parker 75 Cisele.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I don't know about "should". There are plenty of pens to enjoy, and if you accumulate enough to call it a collection, you have to suit yourself with what interests you.

 

But some vintage pens that I'm glad I have include:

 

1. Various Esterbrook Js, SJs, and Dollar Pens, with a variety of nibs. My favorite nibs are the 9788, 9668, and 2668.
2. Conklin Crescent. I stress that I mean the original ones, not the modern reproduction.
3. Parker Vacumatic (the one with a regular nib, not the 51).
4. Eversharp Skyline.
5. Waterman 12 PSF. Or probably some other BCHR pen of their's with a nice, somewhat flexy nib.
6. Some Moore pen. The best I have is a little ring top, but they made many good models.
7. Some third tier pen like a Wearever, just to see what they're like. Actually, the ones with a fountain pen on one end and a mechanical pencil on the other are kind of fun, if not terribly practical.

Edited September 5, 2018 by ISW_Kaputnik

[carlos.q]

Esterbrook J. Nothing says vintage more that a lever filler.

Pelikan 100N. Great piston filler with awesome nibs.

[vicpen123]

I have a small assembly that includes these choices.

 

I am a fan of Parker pens so at least one of:

 

Parker 1920s Duofold

Parker 1930s Vacumatic

Parker 1940s "51" aero

Parker 1960s 45

Parker 1960s 75 Cisele

 

In addition, I include:

 

Sheaffer inlaid nib (any pen)

Sheaffer TRIUMPH nib (any pen)

Sheaffer Touchdown and snorkel (any pen but preferably matched with above nibs)

Esterbrook J

 

My definition of vintage? Any model that has not been produced in the 21st century.

[praxim]

Dare I add a good old 52 to the Waterman list? I strongly agree with trying older Pelikans. Try a well-restored plunge-fill Onoto; their nibs are outstanding. 1950s Aurora 88 is a pen of which I think everyone should have an example.

 

I could continue but that would merely be to list most of the vintage brands I have whereas you asked for key pens you should own at least once. There are many outstanding vintage pens out there, right up to semi-contemporary.

[Bo Bo Olson]

On German Ebay............If I ever sell a pen, it won't be on German Ebay, it will be in cash happy US of A...........where one pays near twice what a German pen is worth.....and if you go to German Ebay....do not push the 'Buy Now Idiot' button ...they know stateside prices and as a professional seller can hold on to a pen for many months looking for the idiot.

 

'50's German Pelikan 140 or 400 or better the 400nn which holds a lot more ink than expected, they are semi-flex stubs, so will give you nice flair on your handwriting with out doing anything at all.

 

They are not 'Flex' pens....not superflex at all. The tines will spread if you push them a bit up to 3X a light down stroke.

I don't know what nib your Estie has but Estie also has a regular flex nib. It's 'semi-flex' was said by all not to be.

If you mash any regular flex nib so it goes 3 X a light down stroke, a semi-flex takes half that pressure to spread it's tines to 3X.....and 3 X is the limit of spread if you don't want to buy a new nib............so it is not superflex, which starts with 4-5X tine spread at a much lesser tine spread pressure..

Some folks read semi-flex instead of semi-flex.....meaning almost flex.

Those nibs are stubs....so there is next to nothing in 'iridium' which then was more expensive than gold. A flat nib....has a nice pattern as is, then add the flexing of the nib....a real wonderful, fun nib.

I have 27 of them ..a nice easy riding nib....that adds a bit of character to your writing, with out doing any thing, like twisting fingers, arm and shoulder or hanging off the chandelier.

If one had a calligraphy book, one can add an occasional fancy decender, but it's not really a calligraphy nib................unless you want to work hard at it and draw letters from the book....not first choice at all. It is a nib that gives your script that old fashioned flair...with out trying.

 

A 140 goes for E90-100 or so.

The 400/400nn goes for E100 and if you pay over 120 for a 400nn.....you don't know how to Hunt.

 

If you need a bit of help navigating German ebay....stay tuned...I'll do that, but in the morning....it's late in Germany.

That is if you have an interest in semi-flex.....there are rare early '50's Sheaffer semi-flex if you wish to hunt in the States, '40's Eversharp is a good semi-flex pen also.

[mtbradley]

Maybe I should rephrase the question to sharpen the focus. What vintage pens have reached iconic status? Or, put another way, what vintage pens are so popular that they are part of the shared language of the FP loving community? Pens in this category are the type that whenever any two pen lovers meet (who have been fans for awhile), they will both know of, and likely have owned, these pens at some point. They may not even like them. They may have an opinion either way. But they know about them, and have likely used, if not owned, them at some point.

[Inky.Fingers]

A Red Parker Duofold ('40-'50) Snr...both for historical and hell`o`a pen.

 

Staying with Parker...Vacumatics double jewels and xf f m b bb bbb bbbb.

 

Eversharp skyline - all the variation in color with only full-flex. But the must have is the imperial...full goldfilled.

 

Until you completed this mission, you shall not pass.

Edited September 6, 2018 by _InkyFingers

[Honeybadgers]

A parker vacumatic with stacked celluloid

 

A sheaffer snorkel filler (I'm partial to the triumph nib)

 

An esterbrook

 

An eversharp skyline

 

A vintage pelikan, a 120 or 140.

 

A vintage japanese eyedropper with a semiflex "shiro" steel nib.

 

Above all, the sheaffer snorkel filler is definitely the most unique fountain pen ever made.

 

The parker 51 is utterly iconic, but you can easily replicate that with the wing sung 601, a full vacumatic filling 51 clone that has all of the same features for about ten bucks and writes like a dream.

Edited September 6, 2018 by Honeybadgers

[Bo Bo Olson]

Pelikan 800, the 400's and the 1000. 140.

MB 149/6.

P-51, P-75, P-45, many will know wat a Vac is.

Snorkel the same.

You can just say 146 or 800 and everyone will know what you are talking about. Sheaffer made the Snorkel. The King of Pens when I was an America child...'50'-60s...........when Pelikan or MB were basically unknown in the States...........outside of folks stationed in Germany. Like the Mercedes or BMW.

Edited September 6, 2018 by Bo Bo Olson

[vicpen123]

 

Parker 1920s Duofold

Parker 1930s Vacumatic

Parker 1940s "51" aero

Parker 1960s 45

Parker 1960s 75 Cisele

Sheaffer inlaid nib (any pen)

Sheaffer TRIUMPH nib (any pen)

Sheaffer Touchdown and snorkel (any pen but preferably matched with above nibs)

Esterbrook J

 

Sharpened focus. All are iconic.

[TheRealMikeDr]

Sheaffer PFM.

[sirgilbert357]

What vintage pens should every collector own at least once? I know there are different kinds of collectors and different budgets. I just see a handful come up frequently and I'm wondering what the list is if you put it all together. A few examples to get us started...

 

Parker 51

Sheaffer (different models come up, I'm partial to the Touchdown Imperial VIII)

Esterbrook

 

What else?

 

 

 

After having owned a few P51's and even more Esterbrooks, and selling them all, I can honestly say I no longer subscribe to this "should own" or "have to have in the collection" nonsense. Are they great pens? Sure...for the right person. But now I only buy what actually calls to me, not what others rave about. Not trying to be a Negative Nancy, honestly...but I think too often we can get caught up in the hype of what others say about a given pen. Sometimes that works out...but it didn't for me.

 

A good way to test this is to take a break from the forum for 2 or 3 months. If you STILL find yourself craving/desiring a given pen, then you should get it. But if the desire goes away once you aren't reading about it every day, then it probably isn't the right pen for you.

[sirgilbert357]

Maybe I should rephrase the question to sharpen the focus. What vintage pens have reached iconic status? Or, put another way, what vintage pens are so popular that they are part of the shared language of the FP loving community? Pens in this category are the type that whenever any two pen lovers meet (who have been fans for awhile), they will both know of, and likely have owned, these pens at some point. They may not even like them. They may have an opinion either way. But they know about them, and have likely used, if not owned, them at some point.

 

Ah...I answered before I saw this clarification...

 

Iconic status: for sure the P51, Esterbrooks, some Pelikans, Lamy 2000, Parker Vacumatics (some more than others). There's surely many more...

[jmnav]

Hi, mtbradley:

 

what vintage pens are so popular that they are part of the shared language of the FP loving community?

 

A hint maybe when a pen is referred either by a nickname or a shorthand and everybody understands, i.e.: a "Big Red", or a "Silver Rings", "Hundred Year", a "Doric"...

 

There are, of course, other pens with no lesser status that are named by their "full names", maybe because they are already well chosen/proper sonority, i.e.: "Parker 51", "Waterman's 52", "Pelikan 400"... even others are basically a class on themselves, like Montblancs from the 30-50's, it almost doesn't matter if you talk about a 14x, 13x, 12x, or even 2x, 3x... "everything is good".

[biancitwo]

I love the Pelikan 100, 100N, and 400NN, and every nib that comes with them. The Pelikan 120, with a steel nib is excellent. The 140, with gold nib is excellent. I have some wonderland pens, yet these are freguently carried, especially the 100, and 400NN. Superb pens.