What Was Your Last Impulsive Pen Acquisition?

[carola]

Just now, USG said:

 

Could you restore it?  ❓

 

Me? No. I am completely lacking time, skills, parts and tools to do that.

But he can.

[JonSzanto]

17 minutes ago, USG said:

I was just checking around... check this out   LINK

 

That one has been on my radar for a bit... it didn't sell and it is relisted. It is most definitely grey, folks. Moore only made two colors in this particular striated pattern (which is similar to the Sheaffer celluloids of the time), and one is the grey/black mix and the other is the brown/other mix. No greens. They made a handful of green things, not counting jade pens early on, but they were marbled or had other patterns. I am certain that a number of their pens were turned from materials made by one of the bigger 'plastic' companies, as I've seen them shared by other brands.

 

As to the pen in the eBay listing... Note that it is a much smaller pen, and in a bit rough condition. They aren't terribly hard to restore, just basic lever fillers, but some of these have had celluloid shrinkage and it can make the section tricky to get out.

[USG]

15 minutes ago, JonSzanto said:

 

That one has been on my radar for a bit... it didn't sell and it is relisted. It is most definitely grey, folks. Moore only made two colors in this particular striated pattern (which is similar to the Sheaffer celluloids of the time), and one is the grey/black mix and the other is the brown/other mix. No greens. They made a handful of green things, not counting jade pens early on, but they were marbled or had other patterns. I am certain that a number of their pens were turned from materials made by one of the bigger 'plastic' companies, as I've seen them shared by other brands.

 

As to the pen in the eBay listing... Note that it is a much smaller pen, and in a bit rough condition. They aren't terribly hard to restore, just basic lever fillers, but some of these have had celluloid shrinkage and it can make the section tricky to get out.

 

Doesn't sound like a bargain...  😀

[JonSzanto]

Ok, I feel bad when a thread gets hijacked, so this is my last post on the Moore stuff...

 

I took a quick pic of one of the drawers of Moore pens. This is sitting next to my window with filtered daylight, no other changes except a crop. The five pens at the top on a tray (my newest is #5, on the right) are to show the difference between the grey and brown striped, as well as a different pen in the middle, a 72-A, to show the size of the Moore that was just mentioned, being listed on eBay. I've also pulled 4 random green Moore pens, including an earlier jade, in the bottom right to show true green.

 

All that being said, not only is there variations in the general color tone of these materials, but I realized there is a 'middle' path colorway and because Moore so poorly documented things, I can't tell if it is batch variation or another colorway. You might notice a few of the ones on the left, towards the bottom, contain both grey AND brown stripes. Even in the 5-pen tray, it looks like grey/brown for 1st 3, then a grey that appears green, and then the brown version. It is enough to drive a person crazy, at least if they are trying to have a representative collection. I hope this is of interest.

 

[USG]

6 minutes ago, JonSzanto said:

Ok, I feel bad when a thread gets hijacked, so this is my last post on the Moore stuff...

 

I took a quick pic of one of the drawers of Moore pens. This is sitting next to my window with filtered daylight, no other changes except a crop. The five pens at the top on a tray (my newest is #5, on the right) are to show the difference between the grey and brown stiped, as well as a different pen in the middle, a 72-A, to show the size of the Moore that was just mentioned being listed on eBay. I've also pulled 4 random green Moore pens, including an earlier jade, in the bottom right to show true green.

 

All that being said, not only is there variations in the general color tone of these materials, but I realized there is a 'middle' path colorway and because Moore so poorly documented things, I can't tell if it is batch variation or another colorway. You might notice a few of the ones on the left, towards the bottom, contain both grey AND brown stripes. It is enough to drive a person crazy, at least if they are trying to have a representative collection. I hope this is of interest.

 

 

Definitely of interest....  😀

[carola]

1 hour ago, USG said:

 

Definitely of interest....  😀

 

Oh, yes. Definitely so.

[InkyProf]

2 hours ago, JonSzanto said:

Ok, I feel bad when a thread gets hijacked, so this is my last post on the Moore stuff...

 

I took a quick pic of one of the drawers of Moore pens. This is sitting next to my window with filtered daylight, no other changes except a crop. The five pens at the top on a tray (my newest is #5, on the right) are to show the difference between the grey and brown striped, as well as a different pen in the middle, a 72-A, to show the size of the Moore that was just mentioned, being listed on eBay. I've also pulled 4 random green Moore pens, including an earlier jade, in the bottom right to show true green.

 

All that being said, not only is there variations in the general color tone of these materials, but I realized there is a 'middle' path colorway and because Moore so poorly documented things, I can't tell if it is batch variation or another colorway. You might notice a few of the ones on the left, towards the bottom, contain both grey AND brown stripes. Even in the 5-pen tray, it looks like grey/brown for 1st 3, then a grey that appears green, and then the brown version. It is enough to drive a person crazy, at least if they are trying to have a representative collection. I hope this is of interest.

 

 

I don't think it's possible to hijack a 468-page thread, and in any case, these deserve a lengthy diversion. Stunning!!!

[JasonR]

4 minutes ago, InkyProf said:

 

I don't think it's possible to hijack a 468-page thread, and in any case, these deserve a lengthy diversion. Stunning!!!

Last week I snagged an amazing deal from Reddit on a Sailor 1911L for just over a hundred bucks.   I have been waiting on Mark Bacas since October for a Conway Stewart (America) 100 and a Platinum 3776 UEF but now I’m going to either swap out the UEF or (ideally) add the Sailor to my work order to have it ground to a CI or left oblique.  If I can I may also send in another - I’m just not sure what - maybe a Conway Stewart 55.  
 

I was looking at another impulse buy on a MB 146 but really the Sailor 1911L already scratches the same itch and gives me a better writing experience - I really detest glassy smooth nibs and love a bit (or more) of feedback. 

[ParramattaPaul]

On 3/12/2026 at 5:22 PM, ParramattaPaul said:

Totally unrelated question:

I have a newly acquired medium, screw-in nib that want as a replacement for the broad nib currently fitted to a pen.  The problem is the current nib, also a screw-in, is 'frozen' and will not unscrew from the section.  Any suggestions?

Jon et al,  I tried a long, all-day soak first.  No joy.  I then dug out my late wife's jewelry ultrasonic cleaner and solution from under the bathroom counter where they've been hiding for the past 10 years, and tried that.  Didn't budge at all.  I have Diamine's cleaning solution, but not 'the other brand'. 

 

Shall I give the Diamine solution a go or give up and use the nib in another pen?

[JasonR]

1 minute ago, ParramattaPaul said:

Jon et al,  I tried a long soak first.  No joy.  I then dug out my late wife's jewelry ultrasonic cleaner and solution from under the bathroom counter where they've been hiding for the past 10 years, and tried that.  Not a budge.  I have Diamine's cleaning solution, but not 'the other brand'. 

 

Shall I give the Diamine solution a go or give up and use the nib in another pen?

Did you try gentle heat? 

[ParramattaPaul]

1 hour ago, JasonR said:

Did you try gentle heat? 

No.  It is an expensive pen and I choose not try gentle heat.

[Cjtamu]

@JonSzantothose Moores are gorgeous. If it’s a thread jack it’s the best one ever. Keep ‘em coming. I need to get some good photos of the Nagasaki Matsuya tortoiseshell Sailor Magellan I impulse bought about a month ago since I know you have interest in the Magellans. After getting this one in hand so do I. This one came with the original wooden box and paperwork. All in kanji so I can’t read it! Actually have another impulse buy from last night on the way from the same seller. Advertised as a Platinum crocodile PSN-15000 and I think it might be. Hard to say for sure until it’s in hand, and even harder because I’ve never even seen a photo of a verified Platinum Crocodile. I’ll be happy even if it turns out to be toad. 

[Gloucesterman]

2 hours ago, ParramattaPaul said:

Shall I give the Diamine solution a go or give up and use the nib in another pen?

Paul,

To my knowledge, the Rapid-o-eze is stronger than the "normal" pen cleaning solutions. IIRC, I got a larger container on Amazon for about $15.00 12 months ago.

One other thought might be to use the pen cleaner in the ultrasonic "bath", if you want to venture in that direction?

Thanks for the updated info and wishing you much more success.

[ParramattaPaul]

25 minutes ago, Gloucesterman said:

Paul,

To my knowledge, the Rapid-o-eze is stronger than the "normal" pen cleaning solutions. IIRC, I got a larger container on Amazon for about $15.00 12 months ago.

One other thought might be to use the pen cleaner in the ultrasonic "bath", if you want to venture in that direction?

Thanks for the updated info and wishing you much more success.

Ta Mate.  I'll give it a go at the weekend.

[JonSzanto]

33 minutes ago, ParramattaPaul said:

Ta Mate.  I'll give it a go at the weekend.

 

At this point, there is no harm in getting the Rapido-Eze in there and, since it may be the last attempt, let it sit overnight. Hoping for good results.

 

That said... I'm not certain just dried ink is going to keep a nib unit in that tightly. You don't mention if this is a 2nd-hand pen or not, but I am starting to think this may be a situation of cross-threading, and that the threads have become deformed and may not give up at all. I hope that is not the case, but after this last soak, try again to unscrew it. Give the section another ride or two in the ultrasonic. At that point, yeah, it's probably nib (and not nib unit) swapping time.

[ParramattaPaul]

1 hour ago, JonSzanto said:

 

At this point, there is no harm in getting the Rapido-Eze in there and, since it may be the last attempt, let it sit overnight. Hoping for good results.

 

That said... I'm not certain just dried ink is going to keep a nib unit in that tightly. You don't mention if this is a 2nd-hand pen or not, but I am starting to think this may be a situation of cross-threading, and that the threads have become deformed and may not give up at all. I hope that is not the case, but after this last soak, try again to unscrew it. Give the section another ride or two in the ultrasonic. At that point, yeah, it's probably nib (and not nib unit) swapping time.

Ta Jon.  It isn't a second-hand pen.

 

Cross threading is always a possibility.  I say that because I recently had something mechanical and newly made arrive that had a female thread where a sub-assembly attached that was cross threaded.  I had to re-tap it.

[Scribs]

It is time to make a confession . . .  I have finally decided to add a Parker to my collection after years of dismissing the brand. I have gone ahead and ordered myself what many here (and the late Queen) consider a must, the Parker 51. No doubt all the vintage-lovers here will gasp, tut, or grumble and mumble; mine will be plum, but not vintage plum. 

[Detman101]

Lets see...it's been a good red tax return.

Cursive Italic Broad nib (LOVE LOVE LOVE this!! No more stubs for me!!! I'm picking up a 2XB Cursive Italic as soon as I can!!!)

 

Majohn C5 Pen (I cannot WAIT until this arrives!!!!)


Diamine - Earl Grey


Medium Italic nib (I don't like this...it's too small for me) 

 

-DM-

[Detman101]

On 12/23/2025 at 9:56 PM, JonSzanto said:

 

Ah, I'm very happy for you! When someone posted a notice about this pen, I thought it might be a nice addition, and what hooked me was that they had it at Vanness Pen Co, and this gave me a way to give them another holiday sale. I really 💘 those folks.

 

Side-note: about 5 days ago I was going through my folder of pen/related receipts, and came upon my original TWSBI purchase. For a TWSBI, this qualifies as 'vintage', as I still have it!

Wow...look at that beautiful sensible and reasonable....SHIPPING AND HANDLING!!
Nowadays it would be triple that cost.
(I miss the America I grew up in...)

-DM-

[JasonR]

1 hour ago, Detman101 said:

Wow...look at that beautiful sensible and reasonable....SHIPPING AND HANDLING!!
Nowadays it would be triple that cost.
(I miss the America I grew up in...)

-DM-

Vanness is my favorite online retailer for sure. They’re so nice - I happened to meet one of the owners, Lisa, at the LA Pen Show and she couldn’t have been more kind.   They pack everything so well, say thank you for each purchase and helped my wife with a purchase of a Churchill LE last holiday season that she was very nervous about.