Multifunction Fountain Pen/pencil?

[Ethereal Winter Wind]

Is there such a thing? There are multifunction ballpoint/pencil ones, how about fountain pen/pencil?

[opus7600]

There were definitely vintage pens with two fountain pens in one instrument, or a fountain pen with a pencil on the back.

 

For modern pens, there's Visconti's Alchemy. And Kaweco's Combimatic.

 

Of course, the more pens you cram into one instrument, the less ink reservoir you get for each one, and if you have a pen on either end, then one of them is getting carried around nib down.

[pagama]

There are many pen manufacturers who make multi-funtion writing instruments: Parker, Cross, Lamy, Faber-Castell and Rotoring.

You can get combinations of 2 or 3 function units, with either pen, stylus, pencil combinations or 3 different pencil combo's in some or 2 pen, pencil combo. Look them up.

Edited May 11, 2011 by pagama

[eds]

They are called combo pens. I can't say how practical they are though, since they usually have limited ink capacity.

[stefanv]

There are many pen manufacturers who make multi-funtion writing instruments: Parker, Cross, Lamy, Faber-Castell and Rotoring.

You can get combinations of 2 or 3 function units, with either pen, stylus, pencil combinations or 3 different pencil combo's in some or 2 pen, pencil combo. Look them up.

 

Yes, but none of the functions can be a fountain pen with any of these.

[rwilsonedn]

+1 to EDS. During the Depression (the Great one, not this one) many companies made combo pens--fountain pen on one end and mechanical pencil on the other. Some came from first-tier companies, such as Sheaffer and Conklin, and these are quite expensive now because they are rare and brand-focused collectors want them. The one Sheaffer example I've seen is a very nice pen. But most came from Wearever and the second- or third-tier manufacturers, such as Southern, New Banker, and so forth. These also can be surprisingly good pens. They generally have steel nibs, but when you tune them up they are elegant writers. The ink sacs are slightly shorter than in a standard fountain pen, but some models use a larger-diameter sac, so the difference in capacity isn't that big a deal. (There are also some tiny combo purse pens that for me only write for a day or two between refills.) Often these pens are made with beautiful celluloid patterns.

Generally unless you buy the combo restored, you will have to replace the sac, and sometimes you will need to do some nib adjustment. Rarely you will have to replace the J-bar as well, as some manufacturers used rather brittle metal. (All combos I've heard of are lever-fillers.) The pencil sections are usually working, in my limited experience. But being old, they all take 1.1-1.2 mm leads, which are a bit tricky to fine these days. I find these old combos very practical to use--the pen for notes, the pencil for my calendar, for instance. And they are great fun.

ron

[opus7600]

Aha! This is the vintage one I was thinking of, besides the ones with pencils on the back. It's got two chambers and two nibs.

[kestrel]

But most came from Wearever and the second- or third-tier manufacturers, such as Southern, New Banker, and so forth. These also can be surprisingly good pens. They generally have steel nibs, but when you tune them up they are elegant writers.

Generally unless you buy the combo restored, you will have to replace the sac, and sometimes you will need to do some nib adjustment. Rarely you will have to replace the J-bar as well, as some manufacturers used rather brittle metal. (All combos I've heard of are lever-fillers.) The pencil sections are usually working, in my limited experience. But being old, they all take 1.1-1.2 mm leads, which are a bit tricky to fine these days. I find these old combos very practical to use--the pen for notes, the pencil for my calendar, for instance. And they are great fun.

ron

+ 1 on Ron's word, "elegant." I own a half dozen vintage combo pens, all third tier or lower, and the smallest (a Medford) is larger than a Senior Balance. All are well made with substantial heft due to heavy use of brass where various parts screw on and off. The Remington and Medford nibs are very smooth and the plastic bodies are conversation starters when I use these pens in my classroom. They ARE fun to use and easy to repair/restore. The Remingtons and the larger Medford took a size 24 sac. In addition to the repairs Ron listed you will likely need to replace the petrified eraser. I usually end up carving one to fit out of a generic slab eraser. The pencil leads are very short. I have had good luck finding odd-sized leads in parts and junk pen/pencil lots on eBay.

[yankfroggy]

I have several 3rd tier combos from the 1930s era. My favorites are by "New Banker". They are fat-large and the pencils also have a good size eraser making them very practical for a sketch artist like myself. I have 3 of them in different pearlescent patterns (coffee-rootbeer, burgundy-silver, and amber-silver). The nibs are good and they write exceptionally well. They are easy to restore and are a bargain un-restored.

[fpconverted]

no but i use a Cross Tech 4 and a Century II fountain pen (lustrous chrome).