Jump to content

Frankenpen Anyone?


Bristol24

Recommended Posts

A couple of years ago, I found myself on EBay bidding on two pens being sold by someone not familiar with fountain pens. As I recall, they had two Parker 45s and a Parker 61. Of the three, only the one Parker 45 with more in-focus photos was getting any bidding action. I zeroed in on what I hoped would be a double win. I was interested in the Parker 45 because, even though the photos were blurry and under lit, I could see that the nib was gold and that the cap was a nice stainless steel with a gold filled clip. Also, I have wanted to own a Parker 61 so I place bids on both and had over bid enough (I thought) to win the '61 as well as the '45. As it turned out someone else was waiting for the last 15 seconds and then out bid me on the '61. Oh well...I was going to get a Parker 45 with a gold nib! I paid the seller and waited.

 

After about five days a plain manila envelope arrived with no absolutely no padding. I opened the envelope and was greatly disappointed. The barrel of the Parker 45 was in 3 pieces, two quite large and one so tiny that it was easily lost. I took photos and the seller refunded the purchase. I offered to return the broken pen but he said, "No, just throw it away." Well on closer examination, I realized that the cap was wrong! It was a Parker 61 cap! This meant that the person who out bid me on the '61 apparently received a Parker '61 with a Parker '45 cap. I took out the medium point gold nib and installed it in a nice black Parker 45 and put its stainless steel nib away. What to do? I listed the Parker '61 cap on Ebay. It was listed for nearly two months with no takers (that surprised me) so I eventually took it down. Then one day I thought, "what the heck." I got out the super glue and glued the barrel back together. They actually fit together quite nicely but the pen truly looked like "Frankenpen" what with the glue seams showing glaringly. After the pen had dried for about an hour (hey...I was experimenting and did not expect it to work anyway) I grabbed some 2000 grit wet or dry sandpaper and lightly sanded away at all of the seams under the kitchen faucet. What emerged was a pen barrel that at first glance looks totally fine. Closer examination will, however reveal the seams and one small, tiny, tiny, tiny (did I say tiny?) piece that had disappeared in the envelope and was too small to glue in there anyway.

 

As you can tell in photos, the section of this pen has suffered from the plastic shrinking somewhat but I was able to fit the stainless steel nib that I had into this pen. I got a real cheap Jinao International converter (the short variety) and drilled out the opening to fit the Parker, loaded the pen with some Hero 232 Blue Black (a fine ink if you can find it anywhere anymore) and was pleasantly surprised. My little Parker 45/61 Frankenpen goes with us everywhere. It is aboard our boat each sailing season in the navigation drawer. All log entries are made with that pen. It has been in my carry on luggage to Europe and been loaned out a few times. It is a very smooth writing pen and believe it or not, the Parker 61 cap, while not feeling quite as secure on the barrel as a 45 cap does the job. The pen can sit idle for a week or so and still start right up. In addition to the Hero 232, I have run KWZ IG Blue #1, Sailor Jentle Blue, and Hero Carbon Black in the pen. It doesn't seem to mind. I was going to find a new barrel and section and then just move the nib over and create a "perfect Parker 45 with a new cap" but you know what? I love my lowly Frankenpen!

 

So, in relating this story to you, it occurred to me that perhaps there are other Frankenpens out there that have a unique story and are actually being loved and used. Frankenpen anyone?

 

The pen as it arrived:

post-125189-0-67182600-1574038601_thumb.jpg

 

...and after the glue job and wet-sanding...

post-125189-0-41853500-1574038661_thumb.jpgpost-125189-0-27830000-1574038682_thumb.jpg

Edited by Bristol24

“The only thing most people do better than anyone else is read their own handwriting.”  John Adams

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 12
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Bristol24

    3

  • Intensity

    2

  • Runnin_Ute

    1

  • Zookie

    1

.

Edited by Runnin_Ute

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice! Frankenpens are fun to create, and use. I have a few.

Edited by Zookie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great story of pen rescue! Its a good looking combination.

“I admit it, I'm surprised that fountain pens are a hobby. ... it's a bit like stumbling into a fork convention - when you've used a fork all your life.” 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice! Frankenpens are fun to create, and use. I have a few.

Thank you. My hope is that others out there have a Frankenpen or two with an interesting story.

 

Great story of pen rescue! Its a good looking combination.

Thank you. Actually, the '61 cap fits the '45 pretty well...sort of an upgrade. I keep thinking of the person who bought the '61 in that auction. They have a Parker 61/45 Frankenpen. Hopefully their '61, which was no doubt "packaged" the same way, made to them in one piece.

 

Cliff

“The only thing most people do better than anyone else is read their own handwriting.”  John Adams

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I accidentally broke an eversharp skyline in half the other day. I carefully filed a notch around the inside edge for extra surface area and used JB weld to adhere it back together (the crack was right through the threads) Pen works great and is rock solid again.

 

As for pens stuck together from bits - I'm currently in love with a FPR himalaya in brown ebonite that I put the feed from another junk eversharp skyline into along with the steel XXF semiflex nib from a pelikan C100. it writes ungodly well. I've had it inked for like two months now and just can't seem to put it down. It made me fall in love with that pen so hard I just bought another in acrylic and the #6 version in green ebonite.

 

And I also decided to find a replacement nib for my opus 88 since I didn't want the broad - I found that the TWSBI 580 nib fits PERFECTLY, in addition to being much wider, looks more "fitting" on the pen than the skinny little factory JoWo they come with.

 

fpn_1573380820__20191110_004813.jpg

Edited by Honeybadgers

Selling a boatload of restored, fairly rare, vintage Japanese gold nib pens, click here to see (more added as I finish restoring them)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another person in FPR Himalaya fan club. It's such a nice pen! I prefer the ebonite versions for warmth and tactility/grip; also prefer the #5.5 nib size for precision. I generally prefer smaller nibs.

“I admit it, I'm surprised that fountain pens are a hobby. ... it's a bit like stumbling into a fork convention - when you've used a fork all your life.” 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

An update on my Parker 45/61 Frankenpen: I mentioned in this post that this pen goes with me everywhere.  Why?  Because it is a nice writer, looks good, and I would not feel all that bad if it met an untimely end...at least that is what I thought.  Six months ago it started having flow issues.  I thought it was the "frankenpened" converter because I had had to replace the piston and seal due to so much use.  That did not fix the problem.  Repeated flushing a did not fix the problem.  Putting the section in the ultrasonic cleaner did not fix the problem.  This Frankenpen's faithful utilitarian service was being missed.  I completely disassembled the nib assembly and with a loupe, discovered that the channels in the feed were clogged.  This was no doubt the result of the way I had used various inks (iron gall as well as pigmented).  Flossing the feed with some brass shim stock put Frankenpen back in service.  I discovered that this pen is unique in it's use and special to me after all.

 

Cliff

“The only thing most people do better than anyone else is read their own handwriting.”  John Adams

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 11 months later...

Here is an interesting red and black hard rubber "franken-pen" I happened upon on an online marketplace. It has a Mabie Todd & Co. Swan #2 nib (the reason I bought the pen in the first place for another pen), a Union cap (unsure the model), and what turned out to be (though I didn't know it at the time of purchase) a Montblanc Simplo (224, I think??) barrel! The cap fits surprisingly well, even though the mottling is a bit different between the cap and the barrel. But if anyone here is in need of the Montblanc barrel for a fair price, let me know. It would be better suited as part of a complete pen than its current state. But note, there is a (fairly well-)repaired crack that one hardly notices if not looking for it (see photo near button cap). But all in all, an attractive frankenpen, nonetheless!

20220608_181659.jpg

20220608_181838.jpg

20220608_181545.jpg

20220608_180921.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This 400nn "Beater" with a medium steel M200 nib...

 

fpn_1595177175__400nnbeater.jpg

 

...and this pen is a true beater! Assembled with orphaned parts from at least four other damaged and abused pens I acquired solely to reclaim parts from.

 

I thought at first, I would put it together and have it as a loaner, or ink tester, but after spending much more time on it than I ever expected I now keep it inked up and use it often. I almost gave up on getting the broken piston out of the barrel, as well as the nasty inky gunk that was in it, and even the M200 nib was put together from two other damaged nib units that I again spent too much time straightening and tuning. I couldn't even bring myself to put a new seal in it, but instead used an old one that I had replaced in another pen that stilled looked usable enough.

 

And though I have no money invested in it I think I would truly be sad if any thing happened to it. It writes great and I really enjoy using it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those are two nice pens, even if made from odds and ends.

If you are to be ephemeral, leave a good scent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a few frankenpens, mostly found in the wild.  One is the Mabie Todd Swan ringtop I found in an antiques store in the western edge of Erie, PA a few months ago.  I didn't realize what it was at first, and thought it was a no-name, but bought it for a very good price, mostly because the nib on it was a Parker Lucky Curve nib.  It wasn't until I got home with the pen and looked at it more carefully that I noticed there was writing around the end of the barrel, so pulled out my loupe.

Another is a Dusty Rose Laidtone Duofold that has a Sheaffer nib on it.  That was found in a place in Rimersburg, PA one time a few years ago when I was going on a "meander" drive (no set destination, just sort of going "Hmm, I wonder where this road goes...").  I think that was the time I also got that Pilot that was apparently made in Koreas, for the Korean market.

Then there is one pen that got frankenpenned at a pen show a few years ago.  It started out as a no-name lever-filler bought in Corry, PA at what I think was a thrift store, across the street from a big antiques mall, at around 20 of 5 in the afternoon (found nothing in the mall, BTW).  I asked the guy in the place if he had any pens and he said no, but then I spotted the lever filler, and some Sheaffer that I couldn't figure out how to get open (I think it might have been a Touchdown, but couldn't get the back end to work).  The no-name had a 14C (yes, that's right) MUSIC nib on it. I took it down to the Triangle Pen Show one of the times I went, and took it to Ron Zorn's table.  But he couldn't get the pen open and asked me how aggressive I wanted him to be.  I said "Well, the important part is the nib and feed...."  Ron said he was rehabbing a Parker Parkette and thought the nib and feed would fit.  We negotiated a price and while I don't use the pen a lot, that music nib is AWESOME (I've been told that it's either English-made, or German-made but for the English market).  Paul Erano thought the original pen might have been an Arnold, IIRC; Richard Binder said "I have a bunch of these at home -- they're 'no-namies'...." (i.e., "no name" pens).  I left the rest of the pen with Ron since I had no further use for it (I suspect that he could harvest at least some of the rest, like the lever box, for parts).

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."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...