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What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?


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8 hours ago, Hygieia said:

I am rather new to fountain pens and have so far only been interested in modern FP's with functional designs and discreet colours. Got a Capless LS and a couple of CH92's. Yesterday i browsed around on some local auction sites and one thing lead to another. I have NEVER even glanced at vintage pens before and now I find myself waiting for a (to me) flashy, nondicreet almost 100 year old celluloid pen... 

 

Cant find much information about the pen. Apparently it is suppose to be rather rare?

It is an Orthos fountain pen. Anyone who can id it? 


Orthos.jpg

From the picture you have posted it looks like a Wahl Eversharp Doric. Do your research about this pen as they can be superb writers with nice flexible nibs. There can also be problems with the pen material disintegrating due to the celluloid falling apart (not sure how to describe it exactly). There is something called "crazing" that is a sign that the material is disintegrating. This usually visible/noticeable. It may also cause degeneration in similar vintage pens.

 

These pens can get to be quite expensive. In good condition they are worth it as they are beautiful pens.

 

Good luck with your journey into the vintage realm. Spend a lot of time reading and asking questions here on FPN before your spend to much. The people are super knowledgeable and wonderfully helpful... just my opinion of course.

“Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today, because if you do it today and like it, you can do again tomorrow!”

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55 minutes ago, Gloucesterman said:

From the picture you have posted it looks like a Wahl Eversharp Doric. Do your research about this pen as they can be superb writers with nice flexible nibs. There can also be problems with the pen material disintegrating due to the celluloid falling apart (not sure how to describe it exactly). There is something called "crazing" that is a sign that the material is disintegrating. This usually visible/noticeable. It may also cause degeneration in similar vintage pens.

 

These pens can get to be quite expensive. In good condition they are worth it as they are beautiful pens.

 

Good luck with your journey into the vintage realm. Spend a lot of time reading and asking questions here on FPN before your spend to much. The people are super knowledgeable and wonderfully helpful... just my opinion of course.

Thanks for the response and info. I definitly have to do some more research about how to properly take care of these older pens and materials. All part of the journey I guess. 

 

The pen has "Orthos" written on both the clip and the nib. There is also an Orthos engraving/stamp on the body. 

 

Did some research and it seems Orthos was the predecessor to LAMY?🤔

 

My very first modern FP was a LAMY safari. And now my very first vintage FP also a LAMY(sort of)?😆

 

 

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I have a couple of Orthos button fillers - nice pens. If you search here on FPN, you'll find several threads about them, including historical perspective and restoration information. 

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This little thing. The Pelikano was my very first fountain pen (though it was a model 5) and I couldn't resist the pelican bill shaped clip on this one. 

 

s-l1600.jpg

 

The same seller also had this nice Geha so I picked that up too, telling myself I was saving on shipping cost. 😁

 

s-l1600.jpg

What is this money pit obsession hole I have fallen into? 

 

My other passion

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33 minutes ago, Bikerchick said:

The same seller also had this nice Geha so I picked that up too, telling myself I was saving on shipping cost. 😁

 

s-l1600.jpg

I've got several of these Gehas and like them enormously - great, reliable pens with really nice nibs, and not so precious that you worry about them!

 

I've just had a nice win. 

Doesn't look much to start withlarge.1409080320_swan15002.jpg.46cc0613849773ef48471968ab702208.jpg

 

but tada!

 

large.713325276_swan15004.jpg.a637afd34e1000d88cd6039dfbe03500.jpg

 

I broke my last one, and I've wanted to replace it for ages. I just hope it's as good as the old one was - if not, I might be able to at least create one good pen from the parts! 

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1 hour ago, mizgeorge said:

large.713325276_swan15004.jpg.a637afd34e1000d88cd6039dfbe03500.jpg

 

That nib is hand-crafted from 100% win.

"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick; and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

~ Benjamin Franklin

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Okay, just grabbed a new (modern) blue Esterbrook from the classifieds here on FPN!

It will go well with the Honeycomb one I bought two years ago.

“Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today, because if you do it today and like it, you can do again tomorrow!”

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16 hours ago, mizgeorge said:

I've got several of these Gehas and like them enormously - great, reliable pens with really nice nibs, and not so precious that you worry about them!

 

I've just had a nice win. 

Doesn't look much to start withlarge.1409080320_swan15002.jpg.46cc0613849773ef48471968ab702208.jpg

 

but tada!

 

large.713325276_swan15004.jpg.a637afd34e1000d88cd6039dfbe03500.jpg

 

I broke my last one, and I've wanted to replace it for ages. I just hope it's as good as the old one was - if not, I might be able to at least create one good pen from the parts! 


Do let us know if you were able to breathe new life into it! :)

I just came across a gorgeous Merlin 33 on a Belgian secondhand site, but I'm hesitating to turn it into my latest impulsive acquisition. It's almost as pretty as your blue one, but the nib seems messed up.

LILXH1x.png

 

JV82Aeb.png

What is this money pit obsession hole I have fallen into? 

 

My other passion

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1 hour ago, Bikerchick said:

I just came across a gorgeous Merlin 33 on a Belgian secondhand site, but I'm hesitating to turn it into my latest impulsive acquisition. It's almost as pretty as your blue one, but the nib seems messed up.

LILXH1x.png

 

JV82Aeb.png

That's a fabulous colour - I have another of these in a much duller green. I'd jump on it - that nib looks like a pretty straightforward fix to me. 

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4 minutes ago, mizgeorge said:

That's a fabulous colour - I have another of these in a much duller green. I'd jump on it - that nib looks like a pretty straightforward fix to me. 

I sent him a message about 5 minutes after posting my previous post :D
I'm such a push-over! 

What is this money pit obsession hole I have fallen into? 

 

My other passion

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NPD for me today, a Pelikan M200 green marbled with extra fine nib. I was fancying a pen with an extra fine nib that would be handy at times - for sheet music work, and some normal writing where teeny weeny letters would be handy. I was tempted by the new TWSBI Draco in EF. But I’ve had mixed success with TWSBI nibs, and also feel it has too small a nib for the pen size, and is somewhat overpriced. So I started considering other options. I liked the idea of trying a Japanese pen, but most in my budget are cartridge/converters, which I don’t get on well with. Piston filler suits my neurological illness hands much better. I have a Lamy 2000 and Visconti HS piston/power fillers, so wanted something different. And so I ended up pondering Pelikans. I suspect the M600 would be closest size wise to what I usually use, but it’s way more than I wanted to pay. M200/400 looked feasible, especially if used posted. Not too dissimilar in use apparently from my Lamy 2000, despite the compact form. I fancied a gold nib, which might push me towards to M400, but then I thought why not try the M200 steel nib and replace the nib later with a gold M400 screw in nib unit if I want to. Pelikans in the UK seem a little scarce at the moment, so options were limited, especially in EF nib. But Cult Pens had 1 EF green marbled left, so I nabbed that! It arrived today. I’ve given it a flush, and loaded it with Diamine Chocolate Brown ink (one of the two main inks I use most of the time). I’ve written thoughts on the paper, but basically very happy! Extremely fine line, comfy to hold (not too small!) even unposted, and although it was a little scratchy at first the nib is smoothing nicely as I use it.

 

48876029-EE15-4D9E-B574-9AC69AF5C683.thumb.jpeg.a7f873eafb80c3743106494ad0a4da25.jpeg

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I recently bought a Black Esterbrook J (not restored). The reason I bought this one was to serve as a test object for repairs, specifically opening the the pen with heat. It arrived yesterday and is in great condition.

 

It opened up without any heat treatment and the sac looks very good, still pliable (assuming it is an older one). The only thing I had to do was to clean out the red ink residue and put talc on the sac. So much for my repair attempts. 

 

The nib is a 2668, nothing special, but writes smooth. It is a very nice pen, a little bit longer than my SJs (Copper and Green) but with more girth. Very comfortable to write with. 

 

 

 

esterbrook-sj-j.jpg

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28 minutes ago, BinaEliora said:

The nib is a 2668, nothing special, but writes smooth. It is a very nice pen, a little bit longer than my SJs (Copper and Green) but with more girth. Very comfortable to write with. 

It's funny, I have quite a few of the 'special' 9 series nibs, but I think my favourite remains a 2668 that came with a dubonnet SJ and has stayed there.  

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Franklin-Christoph had an online pen show and a model 19 went into the basket. The pen show was all special editions of models with only 15 available of each at 11am EST and another 15 at I think 11PM EST. Most pen models sold out in a about 10min.

 

Ok no more pens this month! This is the one I got coming.

 

spacer.png

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I took the opportunity to finally visit Bertrams inkwell today. What an awesome store and such a polite and welcoming proprietor!

Picked up a few inks, to include the rare "DC Supershow-2020" ink...lol (The show that never happened)

Can't wait for the next visit!

 

23MAR21-Berts Inkwell Haul.jpg

SIG-The great Squint-Off.jpg

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So what WAS the 2020 DCSS ink color?  I haven't been to that show since they moved from the old site in Tyson's Corners, because of the date shift being up against my annual vacation (the three years I was able to go was because of either the show being later or because my regular vacation got truncated for other reasons).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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18 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

So what WAS the 2020 DCSS ink color?  I haven't been to that show since they moved from the old site in Tyson's Corners, because of the date shift being up against my annual vacation (the three years I was able to go was because of either the show being later or because my regular vacation got truncated for other reasons).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

According to this bottle...it's "Burgundy 2020"
I'll throw up a batch of swatches of the inks I picked up today and append them to this post in about 10 minutes. Still swatching :)


EDIT: Ink swatches added

Ink Swatch_0002.jpg

Edited by Detman101
Added ink swatch photo

SIG-The great Squint-Off.jpg

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Thanks.  Looking forward to seeing the swatches.  

I have some LE inks from shows -- some I like, and some I don't.  For instance, I don't really care for the Noodler's ink Luck of the Draw, which was an LE ink for the Baltimore-Washington Show a few years ago; OTOH, it was the first ink to really work well in my Noodler's Boston Safety pen.  But I love love love Baltimore Canyon Blue (not sure if it's going to be a regular line ink or not) which I picked up last fall in Bromfield's Pen Shop on a trip to Boston. 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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45 minutes ago, inkstainedruth said:

Thanks.  Looking forward to seeing the swatches.  

I have some LE inks from shows -- some I like, and some I don't.  For instance, I don't really care for the Noodler's ink Luck of the Draw, which was an LE ink for the Baltimore-Washington Show a few years ago; OTOH, it was the first ink to really work well in my Noodler's Boston Safety pen.  But I love love love Baltimore Canyon Blue (not sure if it's going to be a regular line ink or not) which I picked up last fall in Bromfield's Pen Shop on a trip to Boston. 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

I know what you mean...lol, I only picked up this "DC Supershow" ink because it's the only one I have ever seen with my two eyes. And Bert gave me a NICE discount on the 3 monteverde inks (3 for $20). 😃

Post updated @inkstainedruth

SIG-The great Squint-Off.jpg

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Discounts are always good!  (Yesterday, I stocked up on the brand of yogurt my husband and I like because Target had the individual containers on sale for 99¢ US apiece this week. :thumbup:)

Ruth Morrisson aka instainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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