Demonstrators are beautiful...

[dizzypen]

Now I will say that is a great looking pen, but I don't know that I'd call it a demonstrator. You can't see all the inner working of the pen just the ink chamber.

 

I think it's an eyedropper -- there are no inner workings.

 

Edit: Doh! Reading in more detail, it's a bulb filler -- still no inner workings, other than the breather tube...

 

In a demonstrator version I'd expect to be able to see the nib or at least the inner cap. I'd expect to be able to see the full nib assembly through a clear section and I'd expect the bulb to be visible through a clear blind cap. Without those thing this is just a pen with a clear ink chamber just like the Stipula Vedo I currently have inked.

 

Part of the reason why I don't like demonstrators is because I don't want to see the mechanics of the pen, but I do like to have an ink window.

[gmberg]

Brian makes beautiful pens and that eyedropper is lovely.

 

I think though if you're going to have a demonstrator it should have something to demonstrate. I like this Sheaffer Balance plunger-filler from the 1930s because it actually demonstrates something that really needs demonstration because it is counter-intuitive, namely how a plunger can fill the pen on the down stroke.

 

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a152/gmberg/Demo2-1.jpg

 

Pilot has just come out with its Custom 823 demonstrator which uses the same technology.

 

Cheers,

Gerry

Edited August 19, 2009 by gmberg

[His Nibs]

The Monteverde Artista demonstrator has been quite popular.

 

http://www.hisnibs.com/images/Monteverde/Artista/ArtistaFPMain.jpg

 

I particularly like the clear feed...but of course that doesn't last too long.

 

http://www.hisnibs.com/ArtistaFPFeed_small.jpg

 

The new Monteverde Mega fountain pen has a rather large ink window, rather than being a demonstrator. I'm waiting for my first customer to convert it to an eyedropper.

 

http://www.hisnibs.com/MegaFPCappedAngled_small.jpg

[langere]

I like my Stipula Vedo (and my 22), which has that large ink window. And it is an incredibly smooth writer...

 

Erick

[His Nibs]

A few photos of the Dollar brand demonstrators, which started this topic.

 

http://www.hisnibs.com/images/Indian/Dollar/DollarDemonstratorGroup4.jpg

 

http://www.hisnibs.com/DollarDemonstratorGroup3_small1.jpg

 

http://www.hisnibs.com/DollarDemonstratorInkBarrel2_small1.jpg

A burgundy one with Private Reserve Sherwood Green ink.

 

 

 

http://www.hisnibs.com/images/Indian/Dollar/DollarDemonstratorCapped2.jpg

[framebaer]

 

 

I have always loved demonstrators

Edited August 19, 2009 by framebaer

[Chthulhu]

The burgundy Dollar pen is the one I have, and love it! I appreciated immediately that I could even see the clear lubricant on the filler's threads, and it looks wicked with a tankful of Noodler's Black. :-)

 

Edited to correct spelling; I'm not paying attention this evening, apparently.

Edited August 19, 2009 by Chthulhu

[Patrick L]

They are indeed! Here's a neat "demonstrator" made up by Rick Propas from the parts of a Pelikan 100.

Gerry

 

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a152/gmberg/IMG_2691.jpg

 

I'm in line for one of these from Rick sometime soon.

 

I actually really like demos with non-C/C filling mechanisms. I have the M800 clear etched (filled with with Diamine Washable Blue, I like the color and no worries so far on staining), the M800 green demo filled with Diamine Woodland Green (the perfect color for this pen, cat knocked it across the bed, so I had some cap cleaning to do once, but no biggie), and a M800 Blue Ocean filled with Diamine Sapphire Blue (dark enough pen that I'm not even sure I would be able to tell if it was stained). I also have a demonstrator bulb filler on its way from Brian at Edison Pens (see below, also, there's a video of it filling

). And I have a M205 clear demo that I filled with Diamine Ruby, just for grins (I originally got it to be a highlighter with a platypus nib, but the nib fell through). I tend to match inks with the pen, and stick to non staining (hopefully) inks - without freaking out too much about them being pristine. Sure, there are inks I'd only use in a solid pen, but I LUVS my demos...

 

BTW, I actually LIKE knowing if my pen splooged into the cap (in a solid color pen, I only seem to find out once my hand is stained blue...).

 

The Stipula demo is going on the wish list (like I need any more pens! Ack!)

 

I also like demonstrators very much and agree with you about what you said in your post.Where did you get this bulb filler demonstrator ? I had a look on google and did not found anything about it.

[Pueo711]

http://www.nibs.com/www/WEBSITE%20PICS/Aurora/OptimaDemonstratorRed_UnCapped.jpg

 

love this one directly above, what do you know about it?

 

That would be the Aurora Optima Demonstrator (available in red or clear "accents"). Rather pricey - ($600 - 700 range!) as the Optima Demonstrators are limited editions.

[Escribiente]

The Custom 74 doesn't have a piston filling system, which to me is probably the best reason to get a demonstrator, so you can see the ink... If you have a c/c it's like looking through a fogged window.

 

With one of Pilot's excellent converters (the best in terms of design and capacity) the 74 looks fantastic, has a great balance and capacity. This is how it looks:

http://www.nibs.com/www/WEBSITE%20PICS/Namiki%20website%20pics/Custom74CLear_UnCapped.jpg

Image borrowed from Nibs.com.

 

The two demonstrators I like the best are the Aurora 88 and the Stipula Etruria Nuda.

http://www.stylophilesonline.com/images/04-05/04demo3.jpg

http://www.aurorapen.it/admin/uploads/pennesto_demon01.jpg

[kushbaby]

Now I will say that is a great looking pen, but I don't know that I'd call it a demonstrator. You can't see all the inner working of the pen just the ink chamber.

 

I think it's an eyedropper -- there are no inner workings.

 

Edit: Doh! Reading in more detail, it's a bulb filler -- still no inner workings, other than the breather tube...

 

In a demonstrator version I'd expect to be able to see the nib or at least the inner cap. I'd expect to be able to see the full nib assembly through a clear section and I'd expect the bulb to be visible through a clear blind cap. Without those thing this is just a pen with a clear ink chamber just like the Stipula Vedo I currently have inked.

 

Part of the reason why I don't like demonstrators is because I don't want to see the mechanics of the pen, but I do like to have an ink window.

 

Well, I guess I called it a demonstrator, because it *demonstrates* the filling mechanism (the coolest part of the pen). It's *not* an eyedropper, it's a bulb filler. In the pretty picture, the reflection off of the barrel hides the breather tube. If you go to the video link showing the filling process, you can clearly see the ink coming out of the breather tube after each successive compression of the bulb. Heck, it made more sense than all the diagrams and pictures in the world to me... (And Brian used it in DC to "demonstrate" how they work, for people who might want to order a bulb filler - just the way people used the old-time demonstrators in the past for pen sales.) Looks very much like the Pelikan 100 "demonstrator" with the opaque cap.

 

Check out the

.

 

That being said, I don't care if other people want to call it a demonstrator or not. He made it just the way I wanted - clear bits where I wanted clear, ebonite where I wanted ebonite. It makes me smile.

 

Someone said they couldn't find the pen online. It's a custom pen made for me by Brian at Edison Pens, so you'd have to contact Brian. He'll make one however you want it to look (including a clear cap so it can be a "real" demonstrator!).

[dizzypen]

Kush,

 

It's a great looking pen. I wasn't knocking the style at all. I think it's very attractive.

[kushbaby]

Kush,

 

It's a great looking pen. I wasn't knocking the style at all. I think it's very attractive.

 

Oh, I know you weren't. I was just disagreeing with you on your criteria and explaining why I think of it as a "demonstrator", specifically using that word to describe it.

 

Sorry - hope I didn't come off as offended!

[Aissa2]

:drool: :puddle:

...And that's all I have to say! WOW

[Aissa2]

The burgundy Dollar pen is the one I have, and love it! I appreciated immediately that I could even see the clear lubricant on the filler's threads, and it looks wicked with a tankful of Noodler's Black. :-)

 

And even moreso "Wicked" with Diamine Monaco Red!" Loving it also. Besides my new Lamy collection, I find myself drawn to writing with this pen in a regular rotation already.

[Garageboy]

The only reason I avoid them is because the clear plastic picks up every little scratch

[Chthulhu]

That just adds character. :-)

 

In a similar vein, my wife once presented to Tim Powers for an autograph a paperback copy of his "The Stress of Her Regard." It was tattered, dog-eared, and obviously much handled and much read.

 

He was delighted. The vast majority of authors' autograph seekers have just purchased new, pristine copies of their books for the sole purpose of collecting the autographs, and all too often those books are never opened beyond the signed page, let alone read.

 

If you *use* a pen, or any other tool, it *will* pick up marks and scratches. These make each pen unique, and while I don't suggest that you should be rough with your pens, you *should* use them. :-)

 

I know some of the people here are collectors who rarely if ever use any of their pens, and that makes some sense in the case of old, fragile, or rare pens, but I can't understand collecting new pens and not using them.

[brianw06]

Another Edison Beauty. I guess you could call it a Demonstrator, but I just liked the material. Use it as a eyedropper

 

[Sailor Kenshin]

I have some Hero demonstrators which, though cheap, are also pretty cool. Maybe I'll look into the Dollar!^^

 

I just inked up my first demonstrator today, a Dollar 717i. It writes absolutely beautifully, nary a skip or a reluctance to start. This is remarkable for a pen that only a few years ago, was quite poor in quality. Dollar has made great strides in QC. But I digress...

 

What struck me is how fascinating it is to finally see the piston retracting, filling the pen, and the vibrant color of the ink as I write with it, and even laying on a desk, it continues to catch my eye, and begs me to pick it up again, and play with it.

 

For fifteen years, I always used fountain pens with solid color bodies, never a demonstrator or a tortoiseshell pattern, etc, etc. I can't believe, if this is how I feel about an inexpensive and decently-built Dollar, how others must feel about their Pilot Custom 74s, Pelikan 800 demos and others!

 

I think I am going to stop by Pen Boutique in Columbia Mall today. I might find a Custom 74 to come home with, depending on how it writes. Even the most beautiful pen in the world is worth nothing to me if it does not write well.

 

Thank you for reading my pleasant mental journey through fountain pendom.

 

Bilal.

[Aissa2]

That just adds character. :-)

 

In a similar vein, my wife once presented to Tim Powers for an autograph a paperback copy of his "The Stress of Her Regard." It was tattered, dog-eared, and obviously much handled and much read.

 

He was delighted. The vast majority of authors' autograph seekers have just purchased new, pristine copies of their books for the sole purpose of collecting the autographs, and all too often those books are never opened beyond the signed page, let alone read.

 

If you *use* a pen, or any other tool, it *will* pick up marks and scratches. These make each pen unique, and while I don't suggest that you should be rough with your pens, you *should* use them. :-)

 

I know some of the people here are collectors who rarely if ever use any of their pens, and that makes some sense in the case of old, fragile, or rare pens, but I can't understand collecting new pens and not using them.

 

I'll tell you what amazes me, those who collect pens, keep them in pristine condition for the chance that years from the date of purchase, they will be even more valuable because they have never been "inked or used." Absurd! I want to feel it, feel the balance, ink it, post it, unpost it, dip it in an ink bottle and get it soaking with ink and enjoy it. Suppose a person kicks the bucket (dies)? Do they leave in their will that the pen is not to be used, but saved for the someday and then sold only at a profit? :ltcapd:

Edited August 19, 2009 by Aissa2