Gold Bond Ringtop

December 14, 2009

I've just received a Gold Bond ringtop pen that my grandfather bought for my grandmother in 1935. It's marked "Stonite", and looks and feels like red hard rubber with black end caps on cap and barrel. It has a Warranted nib, #2 size, looks like a fine point and quite possibly semi-flex (hard to be certain); interestingly, there's what appears to be either a partially cut or welded over slit, which would be significantly off center, alongside the main one (Warranted nibs were second or lower quality, and this shouldn't affect writing, but it's interesting anyway). The barrel, cap, section, feed, and nib are all in pretty good condition; I see one very short crack in the cap lip, which stops short of the cap ring (which is tight), and the nib has some surface patina that should buff off with a jeweler's cloth. The brand engraving is shallow, but clear, and the cap is engraved with my grandmother's name.

The lever appears in good condition, but barely moves; I'm certain the sac is ossified (and most likely the original, close to seventy-five years old). The feed, which appears to be a simple hard rubber type without any fins, has shrunk away from the bottom of the nib and will need to be reset; there's a couple millimeters clearance between the tip of the feed and the underside of the nib.

Given the provenance of this pen, I'll send it for professional restoration before I take any kind of risk with it, but it looks like it won't be any harder to restore than an Esterbrook or Wearever. I need to verify what "Stonite" was; it doesn't feel like the celluloid of my Esterbrook, but this material shows no fading or oxidation, as I'd expect from hard rubber this age, and there were Gold Bond "Stonite" pens in various marbled colors that I'd associate only with celluloid in this time period -- and of course some inexpensive pens of this period were caseine, though I'm pretty sure this isn't (no "alligator" surface). Am I correct to assume the section and feed are hard rubber, and that the section is friction fitted or shellacked into the barrel and will require heat to remove?

Note, I'm not interested in putting this pen on a shelf (I could do that with just a polishing); I plan to write with it (that is, after all, what it was made for, seventy-four years ago).

Edit: looking closer, the "crack" in the cap lip actually seems to be just a bump or scratch; it doesn't show on the inside and doesn't spread if I post the pen and lever gently against the lip at that point.

Edited December 14, 2009 by ZeissIkon

December 15, 2009

Mr. ZI:

After giving up on trying to find a Mont Blanc at Big Lots prices, I've started looking at the second-tier fountain pens. Gold Bond is one of my favorite pens. This brand was produced in Chicago by the National Pen Company, makers of various pens for Sears & Roebuck. These brands included: Gold Bond, Good Service, and Diamond Medal. Gold Bond Stonite was typically a short-fat pen, that fits quite well in the hand, and is very well-balanced when capped. I have seen an over-sized pen offered on the marketplace. Typically these pens are made from celluloid, and come in a wide variety of bright colors. Compared to the Parker's, Eversharp's, and Waterman's, these pens are often overlooked by modern collectors, and are usually offered at discounted prices. I have one that's black-and-white. I consider it my work-horse pen. "Stonite" was brand name. I suspect that their initial offerings looked like marble. The feed is friction fit. There is nothing unique about the pen. Most of these pens, if not all, were engraved with the owners name. The maker's mark is typically quite shallow. The nib is "Warranted" and is quite long. It's got good flex, and is fun to write with.

Here is a (poor-quality) picture of the pen from my collection:

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn130/ToasterPastryphoto/Pen_collection_2.jpg

Edited December 15, 2009 by ToasterPastry

December 15, 2009

Thanks, Toaster. This pen isn't fat at all; it's a ringtop, thinner than a wood pencil, and it's long enough for comfort only if posted (in fact, it's very similar in size to a Wing Sung 230). I'd been thinking Granddad might have ordered it from the Sears, Roebuck catalog, since they lived in the sticks in eastern Oregon; it was an all day drive to Boise, Idaho in those days, and a full day on the train to Portland, Oregon (starting with three hours or so to get to Pendleton, depending when they closed the spur that ran to La Grande), though in those days you could get fountain pens at Woolworth's, of which they had one in La Grande even if the one in Baker wasn't built yet.

In any case, confirmation of the barrel material would be helpful in determining if I want to attempt the sac replacement myself; I can almost certainly handle the feed reset (that part, I'm sure is hard rubber), and polishing the nib is trivial, but if the barrel is celluloid, it requires a great deal more care with temperature than a hard rubber barrel would (no, there's no smell, either of sulfur or camphor -- no help there).

Not that there's much hurry; I'm sure I'll have to order sacs, since this can't possibly use anything bigger than a 12 and the smallest I have on hand is an 18.

December 15, 2009

Gold Bond was not sold by Sears - I believe it was a Montgomery Ward catalog item, and like the Sears house-brands it had more than one maker over the years. There are Gold Bond pens made by Wahl, among others.

However, I do believe the Gold Bond Stonite pens were made by either National Pen Co. or another pen company that sourced from the C.E. Barrett co., who turned parts for scads of different pen brands (C.E Barrett is like an octopus with arms that stretched all over the midwestern pen industry from about 1915-1940s). Allegedly National was taken over by C.E. Barrett in the later 1930s, but I think there are conflicting stories about that. There is a lot that is not well documented about the relationship between many of the pen brands, and sometimes people assume a certain style of mid-western flat-tops were all made by National, but I don't think we can be positive about that. Michael Fultz is probably the foremost expert on National and other related brands, but he does not frequent the pen boards.

I think, but cannot claim expertise on this, that the Stonite pens were celluloid - there was a trend in naming celluloid materials to give them similar sounding names that stressed their durability when compared to hard rubber - names like Permanite, Pyralin, etc. Stonite would fit with that.

If you do decide to restore it yourself - these pens usually have a springless lever-bar rather than a J-bar, so don't worry if there is no J-bar.

Sears brands were Diamond Medal, Good Service, Webster, Truepoint, Tower, and Tower-Truepoint, as well as a number of earlier hard-rubber pens with names like "The Sears Economy Pen". The Diamond Medal, Good Service and Webster pens were made by National at one point, Parker later, then back to either National or C.E. Barrett co, and possibly some others. I haven't figured out the Truepoints for certain, but I suspect Eagle for some, and possibly the maker of the Ambassador pens for others, as well as some that look like National. Plus Sears sold branded pens by Wirt, ALCO, Eagle, Ambassador, Parker, Waterman, Wahl-Eversharp, and probably many more.

John

December 16, 2009

Thanks, Johnny. "Monkey Wards", as my Granddad used to call them, was very definitely also on the catalog radar in their house, even thirty years later when I was a pup. Seems to me the axe he and Grandma used to split firewood with (Grandma used a wood/electric hybrid kitchen stove until she moved in with my parents in the early 1970s) came from Ward's, along with the overalls he wore, and Grandma used to shop at their local store when they had one.

I'll proceed on the assumption this Stonite is in fact celluloid; dry heat safe for celluloid won't hurt rubber, where the opposite is not the case, and once I have the section out of the barrel, the rest should be easy; if I can't get the section out without undue effort, that'll be my signal to start shopping for professional help. Now, where'd I put that hair drier?

December 16, 2009

Let me confirm that Stonite is indeed yet another gimmicky name for celluloid. If it doesn't feel like the material of your Esterbrooks, that's because most Esterbrooks were not celluloid, but rather cellulose acetate.

December 17, 2009

Let me confirm that Stonite is indeed yet another gimmicky name for celluloid. If it doesn't feel like the material of your Esterbrooks, that's because most Esterbrooks were not celluloid, but rather cellulose acetate.

Thanks, David.

Can't find a blow drier; the ex must have taken the one working one when she moved out (and I haven't had occasion to look for it since). Now I'll have to buy one, or get a cheap heat gun from Harbor Freight. If I didn't expect to do more of this work in the future, it wouldn't pay, but I can't afford to pay for restoration on a regular basis...

December 17, 2009

I'd very strongly recommend spending more and getting a variable-temp heat gun from Sears or the like (keep an eye out for sales and coupons!). Having a dial control makes a huge difference, and the heat gun will last a long time. Too easy to burn up a pen with the cheapies with only 3 or 4 heat settings.

I'm happy to economize with cheap tools when convenient, but this is one instance where the better tool is the better value, by far.

December 17, 2009

A number of repair people seem to use the inexpensive embossing heat-gun that can be purchased in craft stores.

If you go that route, USE EXTREME CAUTION and hold the pen a minimum of 6" from the opening of the heat gun. As you get experience, you can move it a little closer, but those things put out 600 degrees F at the mouth. You can melt a pen without thinking about it if you get too close.

David's advice on a high-quality heat gun is very good advice. The less expensive heat gun can work, but be very careful!

John

December 18, 2009

I completely agree -- quality tools are always preferred, especially if they'll be used for more than one job. In this case, though, I have some chance of affording a Harbor Freight heat gun or hair drier; virtually no chance of managing a better quality variable temperature gun. At present, I'm leaning toward a hair drier; top temp will be under 200º F (to avoid burning the user), which, while slow, ought to make it easier to keep from overheating the celluloid. On the off chance it's not hot enough, I can (within limits) raise the temperature by restricting the air inlets, as is done on industrial heat guns (I've repaired a few of the latter -- I repair power tools for a living). As a bonus, blow driers seem to start under $20 (I've been hearing $10, but I suspect that's a "hot comb" type rather than one with enough heat and air volume to do this job). Honestly, at this point, if I can't get a blow drier or heat gun that will do the job for under $20, I might yet send the pen off (though I've e-mailed two repairers and gotten no response in a couple days -- hopefully just meaning they're too busy to respond to e-mail every day).

Edit to add: I just checked, Harbor Freight has a two-temp heat gun (they claim 572º and 1112º F) for $9.99 on sale; that temperature makes me nervous, but the price is right.

Edited December 18, 2009 by ZeissIkon

December 26, 2009

I just posted a "parts wanted" related to this ringtop -- turns out the nib has a bad crack in the rear, and I'm sure it'll be cheaper to find another suitable nib than to have this one welded. Anyone have one of these, to sell or possibly trade?