Stub O' The Day

[dcpritch]

... Bexley Corona with a custom stub by Richard Binder, smooth, good flow, but such a nail ...

 

http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag32/akustyk/IMG_6508_zpsbcf2b4a5.jpg

 

That looks a lot like this one:

 

[dcpritch]

I only have two stubs ... Here's one of them.

 

Thanks for showing us! your pen, the nib, your writing - all fantastic! Can you show a picture of the nib itself? I've not seen an oblique on an old Waterman's like that.

[dcpritch]

I only have two stubs. I know, I know, this is a problem. Working on fixing it.

 

Here's one of them.

 

With a vintage flexible stub, I guess you're going for quality instead of quantity.

 

A flexible stub nib is in my book the best of all worlds as one can achieve line variation by both nib shape and pressure, and generally they are a joy to use.

[dcpritch]

Bexley Corona in Blueberry Cream, steel M stub nib

 

The Corona is, I think, the first American piston filler made in decades, and Howard Levy did a great job with it. The quality of Bexley pens is self evident in materials, fit, finish and use. It is strikingly simple in its flattop design, has a useful ink window (just above the barrel threads), is lightweight, and seems to be quite durable (I've had mine less than a year so I can't fully vouch for the durability, but the piston mechanism seems quite sturdy and the cap/barrel material resists scratching).

 

The only mark on the exterior of the pen is the "B" imprint at the top of the clip - nothing else anywhere on the cap or barrel. The nib is clearly marked as a Bexley, but I can imagine a time 60 years from now when someone picks one of these up, its nib having been replaced somewhere along the line, and wonders who made it. Kind of like I sometimes do with unmarked pens I find in antique stores.

 

 

I'm not a fan of stock M nibs so I sent this one to Dillon Ang [Dillo here on FPN] and he made it into a wonderful, narrow, wet writing stub nib. It is narrow enough to use for marginalia and yet wide enough to show some character.

 

[peterpen53]

...

I'm not a fan of stock M nibs so I sent this one to Dillon Ang [Dillo here on FPN] and he made it into a wonderful, narrow, wet writing stub nib. It is narrow enough to use for marginalia and yet wide enough to show some character.

...

 

Very interesting result, David. In the past I have accumulated quite a few of those M nibs I might like to have transformed into something more interesting now.

As to the colours of the pen itself, am I the only one that is reminded of Delft blue porcelain?

[dcpritch]

Good call Peter!

 

http://image0-rubylane.s3.amazonaws.com/shops/victoriascurio/RL-3058.1L.jpg

Disclaimer: the above photo of the antique porcelain bowl in delft blue was found on the internet via a quick Google search and is provided here for educational purposes only.

[mhphoto]

My Ambassador 52, an old, cheap Ambassador body and feed fitted with a Waterman #2 left oblique stub.

 

http://i1355.photobucket.com/albums/q712/FiveCatKnittery/3FD15A29-35EE-434A-B161-A056A7653833-42784-0000071090163DD4.jpg

[dcpritch]

mhphoto, that's a sweet pen. I like its shape and especially your writing with the nib.

[dcpritch]

1970s Montblanc 146, 14k B Stub

 

I bought this pen from Bryant Greer and, as one might expect, it came to me in fantastic condition. The nib was a little balky with certain inks, and I was hoping for more line variation from it, so I sent it to Dillon Ang (Dillo here on FPN) for some of his mojo. The pen writes wonderfully, has a little spring/flex as can be seen in the writing sample, and overall is a great example of a venerable classic.

 

 

Sadly, after the recent Swann Auction I found myself rich in pens and poor in cash, so I sold this and a few other pens. This 146 is now on its way to Thailand, and I wish its new owner all the best. I hope to show at a later time one of the pens I picked up at the auction.

 

[dcpritch]

OMAS Ogiva Guilloche, 18k B Stub

 

Here's another pen that Dillo worked on for me. Writing with this pen is really wonderful due to the bit of spring in the 18k nib, and the line variation is pretty amazing. The ogiva shape and guilloche patterning, combined with the famous OMAS greek key bands, makes for quite a good looking pen.

 

 

This OMAS, a victim of my Swann-induced reduction, is on its way to Dallas, Texas where it no doubt will bring smiles to its owner.

[reprieve]

So sad I missed that Omas guilloche! It's a classy pen with a sexy nib.

 

I can't wait to see what you scored in the Swann auction!

[dcpritch]

Newton Pens N-E-W

 

Late last year I began work with Shawn Newton on a custom pen to be based on a pen he crafted for ArchiMark, displayed in this thread. I wanted one done in ebonite and Shawn suggested adding urushi to it, so was born the N-E-W Pen, or Newton East meets West: an ebonite pen in a classic German silhouette, but with Japanese influence via the urushi coating. The urushi mellowed the orange ebonite so that it is a deep terra cotta color and also added a bit of variation in appearance, a wabi sabi aesthetic that I find very pleasing to the eye. Shawn's work is very nice, clean edges, nice threads, tight tolerances.

 

But the reason this pen is featured here is the nib. I sent Shawn a Pelikan OB nib from an M800 and asked him to remove the oblique shape and make it into a smooth stub. He did, and it sings! Literally. It has that "singing" noise that many of my Pelikans do, very similar in fact to one of my favorite (a pen featured earlier in this thread), my Pelikan 100N with a 14C BB nib (I've read that some folks object to their nibs making noise - it doesn't bother me and I actually sort of like it). I don't know how he managed to work on the nib and make it feel like a vintage Pelikan, but Shawn must have been channeling his inner German nibmeister because he did a fantastic job!

 

[watch_art]

Wahoo! So glad you like it!

[revdrjaydwright]

1363466509[/url]' post='2630514']

This OMAS, a victim of my Swann-induced reduction, is on its way to Dallas, Texas where it no doubt will bring smiles to its owner.

 

 

Indeed it will!

[dcpritch]

Sheaffer OS Lifetime Balance

 

The plunger filling system on this pen was restored recently by Gerry Berg and man it fills like a champ! It has a radius clip and a cathedral weave blind cap which help me date the pen to the late 1930s. The serial numbered two-toned Lifetime nib has a point that I would describe as a Medium stub, apparently original tipping material, and it makes for a very smooth-writing nib that provides some nice line variation. The clip and cap band show some wear, making this a perfect pen to carry around in the pocket with little concern for its well-being.

 

 

detail of the blind cap from different angles, showing the "cathedral weave" pattern; I have read that this pattern is found on earlier striated Balance pens:

Edited March 20, 2013 by dcpritch

[akustyk]

http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag32/akustyk/IMG_6541_zpsabbdd367.jpg

[Robinkeys]

Not much compared to most of these beauties, but this is my first attempt at grinding a stub nib. It is an Indian ED school pen called the Fellowship 303-W. I ground it to about a 0.8 or 0.9mm stub. BTW, it anyone knows anything about the Fellowship 303-w, please let me know.

[Pensfan]

Seriously... why did I move this pen? I honestly cannot remember haha. In all honesty I am very grateful that I did since all my pens were lost in our fire and it would have been a shame for this one to have gone as well. This is one of the few pens I miss and regretted moving on, so much so in fact that I am pulling the trigger on getting another Lamy 2000(albeit a modern one) commissioned from PB2 later this month.

 

If you want to move this one back to Missouri before PB2 does a new one for me...

 

Have a blessed day brother!

 

 

 

 

Anyway, the seller had sent the pen to our own Pendleton Brown, who made the rhodium plated 18k BB nib into such a nice stub that, well, all I can say is that if you could write with this pen you would immediately send all your pens to pb2 for his "Butter~Line Stub" work, and you'd be incredibly happy when they arrived back from his shop. I've attached a writing sample.

 

[dcpritch]

 

akustyk, thanks for showing that Sheaffer. Greg Minuskin does a fabulous job!

 

... my first attempt at grinding a stub nib

 

Robin, you accomplished something I've never worked up the nerve to even attempt. Awesome!

 

Seriously... why did I move this pen? I honestly cannot remember haha. In all honesty I am very grateful that I did since all my pens were lost in our fire and it would have been a shame for this one to have gone as well. This is one of the few pens I miss ...

 

Timothy, I cannot imagine the pain of going through a devastating fire and losing everything, including not only pens but treasured family heirlooms. I'm so glad you and your family were safe and that you are able to join us again in the pen world. I look forward to your posts. Now, about that Lamy 2K ... don't worry, its safe where it is.

[dcpritch]

I've been on a trip with my family so sorry about the long silence. Here's a pen that always makes me want to write:

 

OMAS Arte Italiana Milord (old style), HT 18k 1.1mm stub by Minuskin

 

I bought this pen from a fellow FPNer a couple of years ago - it was my first OMAS pen and remains my favorite. The Greek key design on the cap band, recurring just above the threads on the section, is in my opinion the definition of class and elegance. The pen's size, light weight, reliable piston filler and nib make it one I keep coming back to. When it came to me the nib was a standard B nib; not too much time passed before it was sent to Greg Minuskin to have the nib made into a a stub and now this nib is certainly in the top five stub nibs I own.

 

How about some pictures: