English/British Made Fountain Pens?

[SimonJamesLucas]

Apart from Conway Stewart, Parker, Yard-O-Led, Sigma and of course kit pens does anybody know of any English/British fountain pen manufacturers producing pens today? I would exclude any hand made ones costing thousands from this question, I mean pens people can afford to buy. Manuscript did but although the calligraphy nibs are good the rest of the pen was horrible and I'm not sure they are made in the UK anymore.

 

I'm new to the FPN but have been looking for answers to this question for some while now, given that my main interest is English made pens.

 

Does anybody else share this interest?

[QM2]

Parker is an American company. There is also the new Onoto, but so far they only produce LEs which are quite pricey.

 

Conway Stewart and Yard-o-Led are the only two big houses with standard production runs.

[SimonJamesLucas]

Parker is an American company. There is also the new Onoto, but so far they only produce LEs which are quite pricey.

 

Conway Stewart and Yard-o-Led are the only two big houses with standard production runs.

Thanks, yes Parker are American but have a factory in England and from what I can tell their UK market pens seem to be made here so I guess that counts. The brand was British owned for some time until it passed over to Newell Rubbermaid I think.

[Ondina]

Burnham. Great pens, much understated in my opinion. I think a daughter of the founder is a member of the forum?

[PeterBeoworld]

The Onoto Writer series are under £300. Same size and nib as the others but an acrylic body.

I believe Classic pens are UK made as well - the LM1 is reasonably priced and is a gorgeous pen.

[SimonJamesLucas]

The Onoto Writer series are under £300. Same size and nib as the others but an acrylic body.

I believe Classic pens are UK made as well - the LM1 is reasonably priced and is a gorgeous pen.

 

Thank you for the information, which I will follow up. The FPN really is amazing!

 

Maybe a few people could get a new English pens thing going on this network.

 

Best wishes

 

Simon

[SimonJamesLucas]

The Onoto Writer series are under £300. Same size and nib as the others but an acrylic body.

I believe Classic pens are UK made as well - the LM1 is reasonably priced and is a gorgeous pen.

 

Thank you for the information, which I will follow up. The FPN really is amazing!

 

Maybe a few people could get a new English pens thing going on this network.

 

Best wishes

 

Simon

 

I've just had a look at the Onoto writer, it's gone straight to the top of my wish list. A shame about the limited colour choice but I'm sure more will follow.

 

[stedders]

Dunhill offer pens.

 

I can't comment on their performance, but I do think of Dunhill as a very British brand.

 

http://store.dunhill.com/GBR/ENG/PagesPubl...p;group3=*EMPTY

 

Regards, Andy

[PeterBeoworld]

The Onoto Writer series are under £300. Same size and nib as the others but an acrylic body.

I believe Classic pens are UK made as well - the LM1 is reasonably priced and is a gorgeous pen.

 

Thank you for the information, which I will follow up. The FPN really is amazing!

 

Maybe a few people could get a new English pens thing going on this network.

 

Best wishes

 

Simon

 

I've just had a look at the Onoto writer, it's gone straight to the top of my wish list. A shame about the limited colour choice but I'm sure more will follow.

I agree - a recreation of the old Magna in celluloid or acrylic would be fantastic.

 

 

 

[Rowingbiker]

You might want to have a look at the Worcester Pen company ( http://www.worcesterpencompany.co.uk ).

The pens Bryan Lucas makes look wonderful, made from hard rubber or acrylic, obtainable with gold or steel nibs and are attractively priced.

I have no affiliation whatsoever, but I have been eying the pens for some time. The main reason I did not buy any (yet) is because I am mainly interested in "old" pens.

 

Regards, Rob

[FrankB]

stedders wrote:

 

"Dunhill offer pens."

 

Yes, but I thought Dunhill contracted their pens. For example, Dunhill's AD 2000 model pens were made by Namiki. In fact, I have understood that Dunhill and Namiki have had a long relatonship that goes back to the beginning of the 20th Century.

[SimonJamesLucas]

You might want to have a look at the Worcester Pen company ( http://www.worcesterpencompany.co.uk ).

The pens Bryan Lucas makes look wonderful, made from hard rubber or acrylic, obtainable with gold or steel nibs and are attractively priced.

I have no affiliation whatsoever, but I have been eying the pens for some time. The main reason I did not buy any (yet) is because I am mainly interested in "old" pens.

 

Regards, Rob

 

These look really good, I think there maybe some kit hardware in them but Worcester obviously make enough of this for it to be classed English made.

 

Hard rubber and gold nibs at those prices, yes please.

 

Thank you

 

Simon

 

 

 

[SimonJamesLucas]

Apart from Conway Stewart, Parker, Yard-O-Led, Sigma and of course kit pens does anybody know of any English/British fountain pen manufacturers producing pens today? I would exclude any hand made ones costing thousands from this question, I mean pens people can afford to buy. Manuscript did but although the calligraphy nibs are good the rest of the pen was horrible and I'm not sure they are made in the UK anymore.

 

I'm new to the FPN but have been looking for answers to this question for some while now, given that my main interest is English made pens.

 

Does anybody else share this interest?

 

I have discovered two more companies making fountain pens here in England because of this post and I am going to make up a list of currently manufactured English/British pens, for the benefit of anyone interested. Please keep the information coming.

 

Thank you everyone

 

Simon

[rogerb]

Another recommendation for Worcester Pens I bought a nice ebonite with a smooth steel nib for £70 at the SW Pen Show (and Bryan's a very nice fella!)

[memm]

Thanks, yes Parker are American but have a factory in England and from what I can tell their UK market pens seem to be made here so I guess that counts. The brand was British owned for some time until it passed over to Newell Rubbermaid I think.

 

Oh, that's interesting. My two Parker FPs are from France and USA. I didn't know they have a factory in England. I read once that the Royal family is using Parker. Do you know where the factory is?

[Rufus]

The Onoto Writer series are under £300. Same size and nib as the others but an acrylic body.

I believe Classic pens are UK made as well - the LM1 is reasonably priced and is a gorgeous pen.

 

Not all Classic Pens are made in the UK; some are made in the USA and elsewheres. There was a thread on this about a year ago.

 

[Joe Frances]

Wow, these Worcester Pens look terrific, and the prices seem very reasonable. Has anyone here purchased one or more of these pens over the Internet? If so, which models, and what has been the user's experience? Are they available from any US stores?

 

Thanks,

 

Joe

[Jerome Tarshis]

As an American I feel silly answering a question about where UK Parker pens are manufactured, considering that FPN has so many English members. But nobody else has leapt forward. Parker's English factory is in Newhaven.

 

Saying that Parker is an American company may be a bit confusing, although it is clear enough that the company was founded in Janesville, Wisconsin, by George Parker. During the 1980s English investors bought the company from its American owners, and moved head office from Janesville to Newhaven, where Parker had had a plant for decades. The company has also manufactured in France and several other countries.

 

Although Parker has undergone a couple of ownership changes since the British takeover, I believe its functioning head office, to the extent that it remains a separate company, is still in Newhaven. In that sense it is a British company still, even though the ultimate corporate owner is now an American conglomerate and there is interpenetration between brand imprints, with some Rotring models being rebranded as Parker pens, for example.

[I am not a number]

The HQ and distribution centre moved from Newhaven to Lichfield (near Birmingham) some months ago. There is a book about Parker at Newhaven called "Pen to Paper" written by Malcolm Troak. As far as I know, the factory is still in Newhaven (although the workforce is down from 1,000 at its peak to about 200 now).

[maxrhino]

Completely left field here.

 

Karim Rashid.Half English,half Egyptian.

Seen his pens in a gallery but haven't tried.