Venus Presidential

[Motomo]

Throughout my perusing of flea markets and antique stores, as well as the three that I acquired on the market place here, I have added five of these pens to my collection and felt it was time to do a review.

 

 

 

First Impressions:

 

The Venus Presidential Fountain Pen is a plastic pen that is nothing fancy other than the fact that it has a gold nib with just a small amount of flex. On first glance it reminds me a lot of the Esterbrook J fountain pens that I have and from what I have been able to read they became one company at some point in their history. It is a very light pen again reminiscent of an Esterbrook and from what I have been able to surmise come in solid colors, striped and I have even seen some with a solid barrel and a striped cap.

 

 

 

Appearance/finish:

 

The one that I have pictured below is a good example of the striped version of a Venus Presidential. The fit and finish of the pens are good and have a gold finished cap ring, lever and clip. The Presidential has a screw on cap and the clip is held on by the jewel at the top of the cap which I am pretty sure screws into the top of the cap itself. The pen measures a bit over 5 inches cap and close to 5 1/2 inches posted. I have a solid black on, two blue striped ones, a red striped one and a brown striped one. The primary color of the striped one is match with a pearl accents in a striped pattern.

 

 

 

Nib performance:

 

The best feature of the Venus Presidential is the nib. The nib is a 14k gold nib that I have seen in fine and medium. The nib has a bit of flex to it when writing and lays down a nice wet line that which with a bit of pressure allows a bit of variation. I find the nibs on all the ones that I have came across to be very smooth with just a hint of feedback but nothing that I would call scratchy or toothy.

 

 

 

Filling system:

 

 

The Venus Presidential is your typical lever fill pen. Not sure about the inner working and the size of the sack since I am relatively new to pens and have not learned the fine art of restoration yet.

 

 

Value:

 

I have found these for between $20 and $30 dollars here on the marketplace and out in the wild and think that is a pretty fair price for someone wanting to try out a gold nib. The striped ones are very attractive and polished up look great.

 

 

 

Conclusion:

 

If you are looking for something the rival a Parker or Sheaffer pen the the Venus would not be for you. Fit and finish is of a lower tier than the top shelf brands but has better fit, finish and performance than some of the lower tier brands like the Wearever plastic pens that I have. I find these to be a great writing pen with a nice nib that look great especially in the striped versions.

 

I am now on the lookout for a nice Green Striped.

[jar]

I love the Venus hooded models. Very much underrated pens IMHO.

[lovemy51]

thanx for the review, motomo. i have one with a hooded nib and altho' i don't think it's a gold nib, it's quite smooth for a fine point with a nice spring to it. the smell is funky, tho'!!!!!

 

i do like the celluloid body of your pen... and of course, the gold nib!!!

[jonro]

Nice review and an interesting pen. If it's a good writer, it's a great deal for a celluloid pen with a gold nib at that price. For another vintage good writer in that price range, take a look at the Wearever Pacemaker.

[Peter from Sherwood Park]

Thank you for this review -- I have one Venus presently and am looking for more.