Black Star

[rroossinck]

First Impressions

Of any of the major countries who contributed to the growth and development of the fountain pen, perhaps the country that has (or seems to have) the least in the collective body of knowledge is Italy. Save for a few articles here and there on long-forgotten websites, and a precious few folks here on FPN, it seems like there’s not much out there. So, when this one came up for sale, I didn’t waste any time in acquiring it. I’m glad I did, too. This is a really neat pen.

 

http://www.roossinck.com/fpn/images/blackstar.jpg

 

Appearance

As best as I’ve been able to tell, this celluloid beauty dates to the mid-30s. I’m not sure where in Italy it was made, but judging by the close resemblance to several of the old Montegrappa and Omas designs, it may have been made nearby (possibly in one of their factories). This is an all-celluloid model (save for the blind cap, the section, and the disc on the top of the cap - which I think are ebonite) in a beautiful pattern that I’ve never seen before. The depth of the celluloid layers amaze me; the camera doesn’t do it any justice.

 

The cap has two trim rings, and a traditional Italian roller-style clip, but they are the only outward adornments. Other than that, an imprint on the barrel that reads BLACK STAR (oddly enough, in a very retro-70s font), and the markings on the nib, there’s absolutely zero identity markings. Frankly, I have no idea whether this pen is made by Black Star, or made by another company and called the Black Star.

 

At any rate, it’s a beautiful pen, and save for a bit of brassing to the nickel-plated trim and a nick here and there that I wasn’t able to completely buff out, it’s in perfect shape.

 

Design/Size/Weight

Make no mistake - this is a big pen. When capped, it’s approximately 5.5” tall, and when posted, it’s over 6.75”! Still, despite the size, it’s actually pretty lightweight (26-28g fully loaded) and very well-balanced in the hand. It’s comfortable to use (for me, anyway) posted or un-posted. One thing I really like about this pen is the section design. For those of us with big fat fingers, this one works really well, as it has mild enough taper so that we don’t have to choke up on it like we would with other pens like a Vacumatic Major, etc.

 

Nib

Oh baby...what a cool nib! When I got it, it was just a little out of alignment, and had a couple of rough spots, but it didn’t take much time to tweak it just a little and get it back to what it should have been. It’s a steel #5-sized nib, but what I wasn’t expecting was the ridiculous amount of flex it has! I’ve written with one or two other steel flex nibs (Esterbrooks, I think), and wasn’t really impressed with them. This one, on the other hand, is outstanding! It flexes from about a fat (F) to a (BB) or better! I’m not entirely sure how to judge a wet noodle from a regular ol’ flexy nib, but if I had to guess, I’d say that this one is at least ‘al dente’!

 

Since I’m a lefty, I’m probably the wrong person to own this nib, but without regard to that, it’s a lot of fun to write with! I’m still in the process of learning how to use it properly, but the one thing I have learned is that a lighter touch is better with this one. The flow is fairly generous, and as such, it took a little getting used to. Lots of fun, though!

 

Filling System

As with many vintage Italian pens, this one is a button filler, and it’s been recently serviced. It holds a whole bunch of ink, too (I can’t remember the sac size, but it’s a big one). The button shows some age (either dirt or corrosion), but without regard to that, it works just fine. I’ll probably clean it up the next time the pen is empty.

 

Cost and Value

In my opinion, I got a first-rate bargain on this one, and I really do enjoy it a lot. As for the actual value? I’d guess that it’s probably worth at least 2x what I paid for it...maybe 3x. I’ve only seen one other Black Star for sale, and it was on eBay back in January. I don’t remember what it sold for, but I know that it was black, and identical to this one except for the color of the trim, and a single Greek-key capband. I didn’t find it to be nearly as appealing as the one I own.

 

Conclusion

As an intro to vintage Italian pens, I’m really happy with my Black Star. If you get the chance to acquire one of the countless brands out there for a reasonable price, don’t waste time in doing so! You’ll be really glad that you did!

 

 

[scogre]

Great Review! Now I am really intrigued by this pen! I hope somebody can chime in here with additional information.

 

Scott.

[jbn10161]

That is a gorgeous pen!!

[diplomat]

Excellent review, rrooss. I'm glad to see you like vintage Italians pens, and I am preparing some contribution for the thread you opened in the Italian section of the forum. If you like this topic I'd like to advise you on a book: it's called "History of Italian Fountain Pens" by Letizia Jacopini and to my knowledge it's one of the most comprehensive book on Italian FP. I got my copy from Susanna on pens.it (no relation, only happy customer here...).

 

I checked right now and the Black Star brand is mentioned. Unfortunately the book split the Italian brands (more than 350!) in three categories: major producers, minor producers and other. BS is listed in the "other" section, so no a single word about it is spent.

 

What I think is that most probably your pen comes from the "Settimo Torinese" district, which, during the 30s was the most busy FP district of Italy, it has been reported that more than 200 small firms worked (in some way) in that area. Settimo is also close to Turin, home of Aurora.

 

Enjoy your pen and keep on with the vintage italians!

 

Ciao,

[rroossinck]

Drat...I was hoping that one of you resourceful folks with the book would be able to spit out all sorts of great facts about the company.

 

I did a little looking on her site, but Letizia didn't mention them in her list of brands, either. Bummer.

 

Still, it's a neat pen, and an interesting piece of history!

[AJP]

Ryan:

 

Great review. That pen looks and sounds like one awesome find!!

 

AJP

Edited October 30, 2008 by AJP

[rroossinck]

Short-term update:

 

I should have known that flex doesn't work well for lefties. Try as I might, I just couldn't get comfortable with the nib on that one. However, that said, I wasn't willing to simply put it back up for sale and not be able to enjoy it. I did a little improvising, tore the pen down to the bits and pieces, and swapped in a thoroughly different nib. It's actually the very rigid steel nib (and just the nib) from one of those screw-in Schmidt nib units that Bexley puts in their Simplicity. It's fairly generic, but it's an identical size match and fit in the section just fine.

 

To boot, this is a nib that I ground myself into an XF cursive italic/stub! Before I pulled it out of the Schmidt collar, this was the nib that was seeing lots of use in my Levenger Decathlon!

 

So...nib round-robin tends to net some really great results when you do it long enough!

 

Pictures forthcoming.

[rroossinck]

Here's a shot of the new nib in its (hopefully) final resting place. Looks a little different when it's not in a Bexley Simplicity!

 

http://www.roossinck.com/fpn/images/bsnib.jpg

[ethernautrix]

I would LOVE to see writing samples, Ryan. Especially cos your handwriting is so good.

[rroossinck]

Writing sample is up, and linked here!