New Banker Combo

[rhosygell]

Just received this from an e-bay seller -first of all it is enormous at 16cm capped, 18cm posted and 15mm barrel diameter. To my great surprise it is pretty near mint, something I did not expect from a second / third tier product. Even greater was the surprise when I found this thing to be an absolute delight to use with one of the smoothest, softest nibs I have ever found - and to really put the boot in it is steel, iridium tipped simply marked Reden's. Know anything about this nib maker?

I think I'll be keeping this beast.....

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/uu279/rhosygell/NBcombo.jpg

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/uu279/rhosygell/NBcombo2.jpg

[Rufus]

Nice looking pen; why can't I find pens such as this one e-bay? Combos fascinate me and I recently picked up a near-mint Conklin Ensemble.

[rwilsonedn]

I've found a couple of New Bankers, and I agree on all points. They are huge, they generally are in great condition, and the nibs are wonderful. I don't know the origin, but if it's any help, I've found a couple of Packard combos that are nearly identical and also have excellent nibs.

ron

Edited January 9, 2011 by rwilsonedn

[colrehogan]

What is a combo?

[Rufus]

What is a combo?

 

At one end there is a mechanical pencil and at the other end there is a (fountain) pen. Look ay rhosygel's pictures.

[Ghost Plane]

Pretty and my kind of size

[EMM]

Excellent find, all the combos I have found, the fountain pen end never works : (

[jonro]

I have a New Banker combo in yellow celluloid with burgundy variegation. It's similarly large. Interestingly, mine has a screw mount for the nib and came with an Esterbrook nib, which fits it nearly perfectly. Enjoy your combo!

[oleemiller]

This a bit late in response but just found the post about the "New Banker" Pen. I also have one of these large New Banker pens. I picked it up at an estate sale nearly 20 years ago. It has a cigar band type paper wrap which says "1939 Worlds Fair, $5.00" It was probably bought at the fair as a souvenier. The pen has all it's original parts and the nib is prestine. I doubt that the pen was ever used as I see no signs of ink stains. The pencil end works perfectily and it's size is just right for my large hands. I made contact with the company which I understand is still encorporated but under different name. The word New was dropped. The pens is designed well and it has wonderful esthetics. It may not be worth much but it's one of the stars in my writing implement collection.

[Bo Bo Olson]

A beautiful pen.

I have a nice pre-war Wearever combo...sigh a nail Wearever nib.

[lovemy51]

a have a few of these: strafford, eagle and national. Bo Bo, u'd like that National. it's big and sports 14k semi-flex!!!

 

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n419/peterpaul_rguez/P2220085.jpg

[yankfroggy]

That's a nice find. I too have fallen in love with these 3rd tier "New Banker" combos. They are thick and well constructed. They are easy to restore and they write exceptionally well. These 3 differ slightly in size and details. The pearlescent burgundy and silver one with the segmented cap band is the largest (6 inches). The swirled coffee and cream example is shortest, The 3rd one with a copper and silver pearl on black falls in-between. The cap is more rounded and has a solid band. 1930s? They have good deco styling and the nibs are wonderful. Also the pencil really works and has a hefty eraser mounted in brass. As an artist, I appreciate the useable nature of these old pens despite their 75 years of age.

Edited July 21, 2013 by yankfroggy

[moylek]

I've just re-sac'ed one of these myself ...

 

http://ms.mcmaster.ca/~moylek/pub/fpn/djtu20150306.jpg

 

Reading the praises of the New Banker nibs, it's clear from the scratchiness of this one that I have some work to do.

 

http://ms.mcmaster.ca/~moylek/pub/fpn/djtu20150306-2.jpg

 

And I've yet to figure out how to replace the eraser.

[yankfroggy]

I have had excellent results removing scratchiness on fountain pen nibs using a padded emery stick (see photo). Be extra gentle! I do just a few light figure 8s on the medium grit (white) and finish off with brisk but light swipes at different angles with the fine grit which runs the full length on the flip side of the stick (grey not shown in photo). This works miracles as I have smoothed out many nibs using this technique. As to the eraser you can remove the old hardened one with an exacto knife bits at a time. The eraser of a standard pencil fits nicely if you keep it in its original thin metal mounting/ferrule. I cut the bottom of the ferrule off so it is flush and fits snugly into the New Banker eraser mount (see photo). You can also cut down larger erasers to fit directly. Finally you can find the pencil leads on Ebay. It is size 1.15 HB by a maker called Retro 1951. Good luck!

Edited April 25, 2015 by yankfroggy

[yankfroggy]

4 more! The top one with rare mottled pattern is discolored and un-restored, the 2nd one with caramel swirls and red accents is almost new with gold plating still intact on the nib. The 3rd one has burgundy swirls, and the bottom one with gorgeous silver granite finish is actually a "Packard" with slight differences but probably from the same tooling or factory.

 

Edited April 25, 2015 by yankfroggy

[moylek]

I have had excellent results removing scratchiness on fountain pen nibs using a padded emery stick (see photo). Be extra gentle! I do just a few light figure 8s on the medium grit (white) and finish off with brisk but light swipes at different angles with the fine grit which runs the full length on the flip side of the stick (grey not shown in photo). This works miracles as I have smoothed out many nibs using this technique. As to the eraser you can remove the old hardened one with an exacto knife bits at a time. The eraser of a standard pencil fits nicely if you keep it in its original thin metal mounting/ferrule. I cut the bottom of the ferrule off so it is flush and fits snugly into the New Banker eraser mount (see photo). You can also cut down larger erasers to fit directly. Finally you can find the pencil leads on Ebay. It is size 1.15 HB by a maker called Retro 1951. Good luck!em.jpgnb2.jpg

 

Thanks for the advice about the scratchiness and the eraser ... I might take those on this weekend.

[DanDeM]

4 more! The top one with rare mottled pattern is discolored and un-restored, the 2nd one with caramel swirls and red accents is almost new with gold plating still intact on the nib. The 3rd one has burgundy swirls, and the bottom one with gorgeous silver granite finish is actually a "Packard" with slight differences but probably from the same tooling or factory.

 

 

 

 

You might enjoy skimming this post.

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/236015-one-ugly-pen/