Triad Tri-pen

[JPA]

 

Here's a Triad Tri-Pen fountain pen. I've had this pen in my collection for over a year.

 

I only have a brief understanding of the company's history. I understand the pens were made in Pawtucket, Rhode Island - indeed my pen is marked as such on the barrel. I believe the company existed for only a short period dating from around the late 1920s to, according to Andreas Lambrou, 1931. The unique quality about these pens was that they were triangular (i.e. three sided) - beating the Omas 360 by about 50 years . However, unlike the Omas pen, the makers at Triad styled the ENTIRE barrel and cap in a triangular shape. This meant twisting the cap off was impossible. To circumvent this problem, they engineered the cap to have inner threads that moved when the top knob was turned. Once the threads were disengaged, the cap was slid up and off the barrel.

 

Interestingly, I suspect that the Triad pen company may have changed names towards the end of its existence - much like LeBoeuf re-emerged as the LeBoeuf Pilgrim Pen Co. I've seen a Triad pen marked on the barrel "Triangle Pen Co". The barrel has also been restyled towards the section so that the cap can twist off.

 

Triad made their pens in some amazing, unique colours. Which brings me to this pen...

 

This pen resembles the limited edition Mont Blanc Oscar Wilde. The colour speaks for itself.

 

AND HERE'S THE KICKER: When I opened up this pen, I noticed it had an original Triad stub nib. Honestly, how many of these exist!

[SAP]

Very very beautiful and rare pen!! Bravo!, amitiés Carlos

[AndreaDuni]

Read this

[jd50ae]

Oh wow, how, where did you.........

You found it....

I'll PM you my address so you can return it to me.

So grateful I am.

[Roger W.]

JPA;

 

Jerry Adair knows a lot about Triads. I've seen a couple of his and he says you find them mostly broken as people did not know how to take off the caps (I think I remember they made a few round pens too). I guess these are pretty rare creatures.

 

Roger W.

[Johnny Appleseed]

Very nice - a Triad is one of those "collector's" fountain pens - obscure but very desirable. Unfortunately, as I understand it they frequently are found with cracked caps due to the unusual cap opening method - people yank or twist until it cracks.

 

Here is a profile from David Nishimura - Triad

 

John

[philm]

Thanks for posting this. There are so many of these companies that existed for a short period of time in the 20s and 30s. Any glimpse into who they were is always a pleasure.

 

The pen is a rare one for sure and in great shape. Any chance we can see a picture of the nib?

 

philm

[perstylo]

Great picture of a beautiful pen. Thank you for posting. I've only one other picture of a Triad--on Nishimura's site. I had no idea they came like this.

[JPA]

Thanks for posting this. There are so many of these companies that existed for a short period of time in the 20s and 30s. Any glimpse into who they were is always a pleasure.

 

The pen is a rare one for sure and in great shape. Any chance we can see a picture of the nib?

 

philm

 

Sure. Here are some more pictures.

 

Barry Apelbaum

 

 

 

[philm]

Thanks Barry,

 

The first thing I noticed is how small the section is. Great pictures of a unique pen.

 

philm

[PaulK]

Wow...once again, a truly beautiful pen. What makes the pen more desirable (as if it isn't already unbelievable) is the the nib: appears to be a fine stub!

 

Most concerning to me: I can easily have seen me, from complete ignorance, breaking this beautiful pen trying to remove the cap. I've learned something (thank you!) so if I happen to ever come across a balky cap, I'm sure I'd carefully unscrew, then give a very very(!) slight tug. However, before resorting to **more force** I would slow down and examine the pen: it may have a different uncapping process.

 

Learned something today too besides looking at the wonderful pictures. Thank you!

 

Paul

 

 

 

[Jack125]

Custom Pen Maker Brad Torelli manufactures a modern day Triad. I recently got one made as a demonstrator from him that is absolutley gorgeous. Here is a photo of it from his web page (actually Gary Lehrer's page)

 

http://captjack.exaktaphile.com/Pens/ClearTriadE.jpg

 

Jack

[perstylo]

Wow. That Torelli Triad is Tres Cool.