Vintage Flex Hunting

[miggy62783]

Hey guys! I'm particularly new to this world of fountain pens. I just want to ask some of you especially the experts if i have a good percentage of finding vintage pens on antique shops here in Manila. I was hoping to at least find a Parker Vacumatic.

[ac12]

NO.

Flex nibs make up a SMALL portion of the total vintage nibs.

So finding a pen with a flex nib is pure luck and chance.

 

And finding a good pen is similarly a matter of luck. There will probably be a lot of junk before you find a good pen.

Then what will the store want for it? The antique shops that I've gone to, were trying to sell their unrestored rather worn vintage pens at restored prices. And one store sold "cheap" Chinese fountain pens for $80, because "it was a fountain pen."

 

Bottom line, is, it is a numbers game.

You have to go to a LOT of stores and look at a LOT of pens, before you find what you are looking for.

And you have to know what you are looking at.

[inkstainedruth]

And my understanding, in addition to what ac12 said, is that flex nibs on Parkers are even rarer. I have a Laidtone Duofold (a button filler) with a semi-flex nib. It's a pretty pen, and a nice writer. But it's only semi-flex (I got it a year ago Novemeber at the Ohio Pen Show).

I've seen a *few* Vacs with nibs with some flex to them on eBay, but they aren't exactly inexpensive. I paid more for that Laidtone than I did for a Plum 51, and more than I've spent on some of my (non-flexing) Vacumatics.

What you'll find (or not) in Manilla is not something I can answer.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[mitto]

I see somtimes listings of good pens by individual sellers on OLX.Philippine.

Edited February 3, 2017 by mitto

[Brian-McQueen]

Finding a Vacumatic with a flexible nib is very uncommon. For the most part, they are stiff nibs. Flex nib Vacumatic do exist, though. I have a couple.