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Deco Band Collection


Procyon

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I just took a picture of my Deco Band collection, so I decided to post it here for all to see. I guess I need a Flamingo to complete it. I am not going to count the orange one because it seems to have been made for (or in ) Denmark.

 

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7009/6842766537_a6c47897b9_b.jpg

 

 

 

Edit: Just realized I left out a green and bronze that I had been working on. Here is a updated photo.

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6843518129_7b667b9132_b.jpg

Edited by Procyon

"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana." - Groucho Marx

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Drool fest here... :puddle:

Don't I just love these OS flat-tops-- especially the rosewood, very simple and beautiful.

 

Btw, you have a thing for the jade, huh? Five of them...

 

Thanks for sharing!

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." -- A. Einstein

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Drool fest here... :puddle:

Don't I just love these OS flat-tops-- especially the rosewood, very simple and beautiful.

 

Btw, you have a thing for the jade, huh? Five of them...

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

 

One of those is a bronze and green (also called Brazilian Green). I got a couple of the jade ones first and since they were both discolored, I kept trying to get a better one.

"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana." - Groucho Marx

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gorgeous.. have a collector question. these are not numbered in any way correct?

So, if you found a two jades, same age, same furniture, one with perfect cap, one with perfect body, would you keep them as is? or swap to make a single perfect jade?

 

 

You could do that, although sometimes caps and barrel threads aren't as interchangeable as you would think. Also, in my case, usually both cap and barrel were discolored to about the same extent.

"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana." - Groucho Marx

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Yes, the Flamingo is your next stop. I think you need the Danish Red (orange) as well. It was made in the Roscoe Street factory, and is marked Made in U.S.A., although it was, as best is known, only made for the Scandinavian importer/distributor, Benzon (which later produced its own pens, Big Ben, Benco and Big Brother). I have found three over the years, all from Danish or Swedish sources.

 

Then you need to seek the Holy Grail, which is the Coral Deco Band. I know at least one existed, as I have the cap, although the barrel was destroyed. You could also look for a true red hard rubber version (the Danish red is celluloid) and a Black and Bronze version (the material appears in Wahl desk pens). I have been told they exist by a person who claims to have seen them, but I have never seen either in pictures, ads, company literature, or in the flesh, and I take stories about them with a grain of salt (actually, a heaping pile of salt, but that is not the metaphor).

 

Then you can move on to the variants, such as the "X Seal" versions, and the Brazilian (green and bronze) with a Greek Key band, and the other colors with a Rhomboid band.

 

Finally, you can go through the colors in the Oxford variant, which have three plain bands and an Oxford clip without a roller ball and lack a seal, of course.

 

For the truly obsessive, collecting Wahl Eversharps can provide a lifetime of digging.

 

Cliff Harrington

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Yes, the Flamingo is your next stop. I think you need the Danish Red (orange) as well. It was made in the Roscoe Street factory, and is marked Made in U.S.A., although it was, as best is known, only made for the Scandinavian importer/distributor, Benzon (which later produced its own pens, Big Ben, Benco and Big Brother). I have found three over the years, all from Danish or Swedish sources.

 

Then you need to seek the Holy Grail, which is the Coral Deco Band. I know at least one existed, as I have the cap, although the barrel was destroyed. You could also look for a true red hard rubber version (the Danish red is celluloid) and a Black and Bronze version (the material appears in Wahl desk pens). I have been told they exist by a person who claims to have seen them, but I have never seen either in pictures, ads, company literature, or in the flesh, and I take stories about them with a grain of salt (actually, a heaping pile of salt, but that is not the metaphor).

 

Then you can move on to the variants, such as the "X Seal" versions, and the Brazilian (green and bronze) with a Greek Key band, and the other colors with a Rhomboid band.

 

Finally, you can go through the colors in the Oxford variant, which have three plain bands and an Oxford clip without a roller ball and lack a seal, of course.

 

For the truly obsessive, collecting Wahl Eversharps can provide a lifetime of digging.

 

Cliff Harrington

 

 

Ah, Cliff, so you are the guy with the legendary coral Deco Band cap. I would like to get a Brazilian with Greek Key band at least. Probably finding the others is sort of like finding a Yeti.

 

Regards,

Allan Goforth

Edited by Procyon

"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana." - Groucho Marx

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:notworthy1: Impressive -- and beautiful. Increasingly, this pen is showing up on my grail list!

What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?

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Holy Moly, procyon.....that's some gorgeous pens there!!!

 

:thumbup:

FP Addict & Pretty Nice Guy

 

 

 

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My favorite pen design of all times! :puddle: That Lapis is gorgeous! I also love the coral (RHR) color and have a small sample in a Tulip clip 3/4 version. I think Wahl's colors are beautiful.

We can trust the heart of a man by his treatment of animals. - Immanual Kant

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What a beautiful collection!

 

It is curious that the base pieces of the pens, below the bottom barrel ring, are of varying sizes, and also that there appear to be some different sizes among the gold seals. Is that just a quirk of manufacturing many pens over years? Can the size differences be used to distinguish models or year of manufacture?

How small of all that human hearts endure,
That part which laws or kings can cause or cure.

— Samuel Johnson

 

Instagram: dcpritch

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What a beautiful collection!

 

It is curious that the base pieces of the pens, below the bottom barrel ring, are of varying sizes, and also that there appear to be some different sizes among the gold seals. Is that just a quirk of manufacturing many pens over years? Can the size differences be used to distinguish models or year of manufacture?

 

 

Yes, there are definitely some variations, and you ask some good questions. I suspect there may be some relation to the year of manufacture, but I am not sure. Another thing that sticks out is the length of the clip - some are shorter, and I suspect those are earlier pens. What you can't see here are the nibs. A couple of them have Wahl #6 nibs - the BCHR for instance. That is almost certainly an earlier pen, so I would guess that the Wahl #6 was sometimes used in the earier days of the Deco Band. Most of the pens have nibs that read Wahl Gold Seal Signature.

Edited by Procyon

"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana." - Groucho Marx

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You only have 2 pencils... you might also consider completing them.

 

If not, I'm interested into your BHR one :roflmho:

 

My collection

 

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b181/rvetrugno/penne/americane/Wahl%20Eversharp/deco-1.jpg

 

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b181/rvetrugno/penne/americane/Wahl%20Eversharp/Immagine016-1.jpg

Edited by roberto v
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You only have 2 pencils... you might also consider completing them.

 

If not, I'm interested into your BHR one :roflmho:

 

 

 

Beautiful pens, Roberto! Your jade pen seems to have perfect color, and that's hard to find. You are right, I need to get the matching pencils for most of them still. I actually have a jade pencil that I left out of the pictures I took - so I need four more pencils.

"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana." - Groucho Marx

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You only have 2 pencils... you might also consider completing them.

 

If not, I'm interested into your BHR one :roflmho:

 

 

 

Beautiful pens, Roberto! Your jade pen seems to have perfect color, and that's hard to find. You are right, I need to get the matching pencils for most of them still. I actually have a jade pencil that I left out of the pictures I took - so I need four more pencils.

 

You have the cbhr which is the most difficult to find!

 

Your lapis pen has a very nice color, better than mine and we both need a pristne black & cream!

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Ahhh OS Deco Banded Wahls' , one of the best pens to have in any vintage pen collection..

 

They can be stubborn to restore , but once completed are real beauties to behold.

 

Thanks for sharing

Tom

penfancier1915@hotmail.com

 

Tom Heath

 

Peace be with you . Hug your loved ones today

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They can be stubborn to restore , but once completed are real beauties to behold.

Hi Tom, quick question-- what do you mean by "stubborn to restore?" Aren't they just like any other lever filler, except a bit bigger?

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." -- A. Einstein

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They can be stubborn to restore , but once completed are real beauties to behold.

Hi Tom, quick question-- what do you mean by "stubborn to restore?" Aren't they just like any other lever filler, except a bit bigger?

 

 

I don't mean to speak for Tom, but, for me the problem with them is simply getting the section out of the barrel. They have a metal cylinder inside the barrel, and the section itself has a metal sheath. These are in contact and tend to corrode over time. They end up chemically welded together. Heat usually doesn't help with getting them open.

"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana." - Groucho Marx

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These are in contact and tend to corrode over time. They end up chemically welded together.

Thanks for the clarification Procyon. Second question, is this the norm? Or will it not happen with normal use and cleaning(or the occasionally screwing out of the section)?

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." -- A. Einstein

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These are in contact and tend to corrode over time. They end up chemically welded together.

Thanks for the clarification Procyon. Second question, is this the norm? Or will it not happen with normal use and cleaning(or the occasionally screwing out of the section)?

 

 

Most vintage pens will not have metal at all. They usually have hard rubber sections and either hard rubber or plastic barrels. These may get gunked up with ink and grime and are sometimes hard to separate, but nothing like the way the metal can seize up on the Deco Bands. Some the other Wahls have metal also, but I can never remember which ones do and which don't. The metal lining does help keep the barrel from cracking.

"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana." - Groucho Marx

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