Mystery Fp - "pony Pen"?

[Guardy]

There's one pen in my collection that's been giving me quite a lot of headaches. In fact, it's one of the many reasons why I decided to join this forum.

 

http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n522/Guardevoir/2016-04-04%2018.50.43.jpg

 

This pen used to belong to my father, who gave it to me, since he couldn't get it to work properly. That was a few years ago.

 

I finally fixed the pen - the problem was gold plating from the underside of the nib clogging the pen. However that happened, I have no idea.

 

Then, I got to work and tried to find out more about that pen, since my dad couldn't remember where he'd bought it.

 

Unfortunately, as it turns out, the only hint as to the pen's origins is some lettering on the cap, which reads "Pony Pen".
It says the same thing on the inside of the (black, very robust) case I got the pen in.

The lettering on the nib reads Iridium Point, Germany, which isn't exactly helpful, either.

 

Using google didn't turn up more than a surprising amount of horse-themed fountain pens for kids, as well as more My Little Pony stuff than I'd ever wanted to see.

 

So, if anybody here knows anything about this pen, I'd really appreciate your input, because I have absolutely no idea where to start.

[ehemem]

Uh, looks and sounds like a Chinese pen to me...

[Guardy]

@ehemem - yes, that wouldn't exactly surprise me.
It is a fairly decent pen, though, with a nice nib and a pleasant weight to it; I like it a lot and since it also has something akin to a brand name, I thought I'd ask on the off chance that somebody had encountered that kind of pen before.

[zwack]

Some of the Chinese pens can be very nice (for the price) with Quality Control being the single biggest issue. Of course the nicer ones do also usually have some kind of name marked on them too.

[Guardy]

I know, I've read the forum topics

 

I can't say much about the 'for its price' part, since I have absolutely no idea what that price was in the first place.
That said: My fountain pen experience is mostly limited to pens in the sub-75€ category - not counting that one Laban I have that was apparently quite a bit more expensive - because I'm a university student, basically. Lots of student-grade Lamy, a bit of other stuff, that kind of thing.
Out of those, this mystery pen is pretty much my favorite, now that I fixed it. A beautifully balanced M nib - not wet, not dry... I love it.

 

That said, the one thing that surprised me was that I couldn't find anything about that elusive "Pony Pen" on here, especially with that list of Asian manufacturers and given the trouble through which that elusive company went with their branding.
I mean, it is a very google-unfriendly name, but you'd think you'd be able to find something online.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

I only have some negative information, which you may already know very well, but it can't hurt to mention it. "Iridium Point Germany", contrary to what most people would assume, does not mean that the nib was actually made in Germany. This (linked) article explains in more detail.

 

That would also support the possibility of it being a Chinese pen, which would be my assumption, but I don't know for sure. There is a thread in the regional focus forum of known Chinese brands, but Pony isn't listed.

 

Anyway, based on your picture, it's a nice looking pen.

[Guardy]

I only have some negative information, which you may already know very well, but it can't hurt to mention it. "Iridium Point Germany", contrary to what most people would assume, does not mean that the nib was actually made in Germany. This (linked) article explains in more detail.

 

That would also support the possibility of it being a Chinese pen, which would be my assumption, but I don't know for sure. There is a thread in the regional focus forum of known Chinese brands, but Pony isn't listed.

 

Anyway, based on your picture, it's a nice looking pen.

Thanks for the links! I was aware of the second one and was vaguely aware of the information in the first, due to my research on certain pen brands, but it's a great article regardless.

I don't necessarily think of that as negative information, either - I mean, the pen writes and does it well, so I'm pretty much happy.

And yep, it's actually quite beautiful.

The picture doesn't really do it justice and, quite frankly, makes it look like a heap of plastic thanks to the bad lighting in here, which isn't the case IRL. Plus, it's actually solid brass underneath that veneer, which is very nice.

 

Quite frankly, half the reason why I'm trying to find out more about the brand is because I sure wouldn't mind having more pens like that.

[sidthecat]

A little burrowing and I turned up a box labeled "Soennecken Pony," so perhaps a sub-brand or a specific model. That company went out of business after the war, so another company might have picked up the name.

[Uncial]

I think it looks like quite an attractive pen, enjoy it.