Vintage Pen Identification

[dkreider]

Hello, I am wondering if anyone has seen this pen before. I purchased it from Ebay, the seller stated that it's a Japanese pen, although I have no way to verify that. The only markings on this pen can be found on the clip, which is stamped "Best," and on the nib, which is stamped "Warranted 14K PENNo2." I have read that these "Warranted" nibs were produced in mass from several places, and found their way onto many different pens (the nib is a great writer, slightly springy, I would call it a fine nib). The clip is very cheaply constructed, it reminds me of the clips you would find on some of Waterman's vintage budget models. The barrel and cap appear to be hand-painted, and meant to resemble an Urushi lacquered design (maybe?). The pen is an eyedropper filler; the blind cap unscrews, which manipulates a valve that shuts off the ink chamber from the feed, much like what you see on the new Opus 88 eyedroppers. There is a cork seal that keeps ink/air from exiting the barrel from the bottom (the original was falling apart, I replaced it). I apologize if this particular pen has already been covered on FPN; it has proven difficult to research a "Best" pen, without getting a bunch of "top 5" lists. I am doubtful this pen can really be identified, but I would love to hear what you have to say. Thanks.

 

Dan

[dkreider]

Sorry, those images turned out a bit blurrier than I thought they would.

Also, I forgot to mention, the nib has some corrosion near the base, and the pattern suggests to me that the nib was swapped onto this pen at some point in the past, from a different pen (there is no way to get the nib & feed that far into the section on this pen, so this pen couldn't have produced that mark).

[Marlow]

Looks like a japanese eyedropper to me for sure. No idea of brand name I'm afraid. I like it!

[dkreider]

Looks like a japanese eyedropper to me for sure. No idea of brand name I'm afraid. I like it!

Thanks, I like it too!

[PaulS]

I know I'm thick, but an e.d. with a piston?

Edited July 22, 2019 by PaulS

[como]

Looks like a plunger-filler, similar to a vintage Onoto Magna (some Onoto Magna models are plunger-fillers while others are lever-fillers).

[praxim]

Como, you can generalise that to Onoto, not specifically the Magna, and plunge fillers formed the majority.

 

I believe the Japanese adopted Onoto's plunge filler fairly early in the 20th century and retained the mechanism for quite a while. I have no idea what that pen may be though.

[jekostas]

I know I'm thick, but an e.d. with a piston?

There are two ink chambers - one large one in the body and a smaller one in the grip. The "piston" is a seal on a rod connected to the end cap that separates the two. When you want to write, you open the seal a bit and tip the pen forward to allow ink in to the smaller ink chamber. Afterward you're done, you open the seal a little bit to allow ink to flow back in to the body reservoir. It allows you to carry a massive ink capacity and not worry about spills or burping.

 

A similar system is employed in pens that use the old Sheaffer vacumatic filler design, like the TWSBI VAC700R or PenBBS 456.

 

Looks like a plunger-filler, similar to a vintage Onoto Magna (some Onoto Magna models are plunger-fillers while others are lever-fillers).

It's an eyedropper, not a plunger-filler.

Edited July 23, 2019 by jekostas

[praxim]

The Onoto with shutoff works in that fashion. How do you fill it?

[PaulS]

thanks for the correction, and appreciate the explanation.

[jekostas]

The Onoto with shutoff works in that fashion. How do you fill it?

 

You unscrew the section and fill the barrel with an eyedropper. This specific design, an eyedropper with shut-off valve, was common in Japan.

 

I mean, the OP already mentioned it in his post.

 

The pen is an eyedropper filler; the blind cap unscrews, which manipulates a valve that shuts off the ink chamber from the feed, much like what you see on the new Opus 88 eyedroppers.

 

So definitely not a plunger-filler.

[dkreider]

There are two ink chambers - one large one in the body and a smaller one in the grip. The "piston" is a seal on a rod connected to the end cap that separates the two. When you want to write, you open the seal a bit and tip the pen forward to allow ink in to the smaller ink chamber. Afterward you're done, you open the seal a little bit to allow ink to flow back in to the body reservoir. It allows you to carry a massive ink capacity and not worry about spills or burping.

 

A similar system is employed in pens that use the old Sheaffer vacumatic filler design, like the TWSBI VAC700R or PenBBS 456.

 

 

It's an eyedropper, not a plunger-filler.

Thank you, I can't always articulate these things so well. It is indeed an eyedropper, the "piston" can be a little off-putting until you understand its purpose.

[dkreider]

When I bought this pen, I assumed it was a plunger-filler, but I was pleasantly surprised to find this eyedropper & valve design. I don't own any other pens with this mechanism, but have long been interested in them. If anyone is curious about the way this pen fills, just look at those Opus 88 eyedroppers; this one follows the same concept. You can pull that "piston" all the way out (I am pretty sure the Opus 88 pens do this as well), but the real function lies in unscrewing it just a bit, to allow that ink to flow into the section. On this particular pen, the feed has a hole in it, facing the ink chamber in the barrel. The end of the piston-like apparatus plugs up this hole, so you get almost no burping etc. It is not ideal to unscrew the blind cap a few turns before long writing sessions, however this is something I can get used to (you can write a few lines with this pen without unscrewing it, but this particular pen will run dry after a few lines when used in this fashion).

Edited July 23, 2019 by dkreider

[praxim]

Thank you, dkreider. So, this is the same as a plunge filler but without the cup washer (and possibly without the necessary sharp chamber step). One can, conversely, simply omit the cup washer from an Onoto plunge filler and use it as an eyedropper, it too having the shutoff valve.

 

I was curious about detail because it seemed to me a peculiar economy, to create all the components and tolerances for a plunge filler with shutoff, then to omit merely the cup washer and backing thus burdening the user with eyedropping it.

Edited July 23, 2019 by praxim

[jekostas]

The tolerances required for a plunger-filler are substantially greater than those required for an eyedropper. Specifically, barrel dimensions are not nearly as strict, and the barrel doesn't need to be machined in two diameters.

[dkreider]

Thank you, dkreider. So, this is the same as a plunge filler but without the cup washer (and possibly without the necessary sharp chamber step). One can, conversely, simply omit the cup washer from an Onoto plunge filler and use it as an eyedropper, it too having the shutoff valve.

 

I was curious about detail because it seemed to me a peculiar economy, to create all the components and tolerances for a plunge filler with shutoff, then to omit merely the cup washer and backing thus burdening the user with eyedropping it.

Yeah, I wonder if the weirdness of a design like this is why you don't see it on more pens today? Eyedropper filling is certainly not as convenient as a self-filler or cartridge/converter, so maybe the eyedropper could never have been as popular as other mechanisms. I for one would choose the old-school lever filler mechanism over an eyedropper any day (well...within reason).