Time To Expand The Collection: Vintage Pen Suggestion.

[Bornin1992]

Hi, all,

 

I have an itch to expand my collection and am looking for suggestions. I had a Parker 51, but decided I disliked the design. I also am missing a Sailor, but am learning more toward vintage fountain pens.

 

Modern: Wing Sung 601 (F), Jinhao X750 (M), Pilot Metropolitan (M), Sheaffer 300 (M), TWSBI ECO (M), Faber-Castel Basic Black Carbon (M), Kaweco Sport (M), Fountain Pen Revolution Himalaya (Ebonite, flex), Fountain Pen Revolution (F),Pelikan M200 (F), Pelikan M200 ( , Lamy 2000 (M), Butter Knife Creations Custom, Jean Pierre Lepine Casanova (M), Parker Duofold Centenial (M) Pilot Custom 74 (B + F), and a Platinum 3776 Century (

Vintage: Esterbrook J (9668 and 2556 nibs), Parker 21, Parker 45, Sheaffer Balance Oversize (Feathertouch), 1953 Parker Vacumatic, Waterman 52 (black), as well as an Ebeco and two Senators collecting dust.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Edited February 28, 2020 by Bornin1992

[PAKMAN]

Parker Duofold from the 1920's!

[Bornin1992]

Parker Duofold from the 1920's!

Thanks! I do have a modern Duofold Centennial Big Red (I forgot to include it in my post!). Would one from the 1920s still be worthwhile?

[carlos.q]

Nothing says vintage better than a nice Pelikan 100N. A Pelikan 400NN is also nice.

[em_the_pen]

Sheaffer Triumph

[Karmachanic]

Nothing says vintage better than a nice Pelikan 100N. A Pelikan 400NN is also nice.

Nonsense! 400 Tortoise

[silverlifter]

One of Sheaffers' inlaid nibs would be a nice addition to your lineup, a PFM in PdAg or Gold, an Imperial or Targa.

[OMASsimo]

If you want to go vintage, the sky is the limit. There are so unbelievably many great vintage pens off the beaten tracks. What you may find depends a lot on where you search. Here on FPN the majority of members seem to focus on the North American market and only a few big players. There's a lot to discover on the European side of the big pond. There were countless smaller manufacturers who made outstanding pens and nibs. I even found no-name pens which are outstanding because jewellers or stationary shops made their own pens from standard components produced by some major companies in the buisness. Just stay open to get surprised...

[inkstainedruth]

What are you looking for, Bornin1992? Are you looking for things that are a similar size and weight to what you have, or different? Are you looking at different types of fill systems? Are you trying to expand your range of nib widths (or look for ones with specific characteristics, like flexing)? Different styles like ringtops or desk pens? Exotic materials (wood/bakelite/interesting celluloids)?

Because OMASsimo is right -- the sky really is the limit.

I'd recommend that you look at the thread that I think is titled "Interesting and Unusual Pens". And don't diss the lower tier brands either -- I have a Wearever that has a pretty nice nib on it, and lucked into a couple of Parker 51s at an antiques mall near me because they had the wrong caps on them -- the Aerometric in one dealer's booth was labeled as a Frontier -- because that was the cap on it; and the 51 Vac had some third tier cap on it and no price tag (and was grouped in another booth's case with a Wearever and an Epenco with a badly discolored barrel. The reason I even looked at the 51 Vac is because a friend of mine said that even lower-end pens could have nice writing nibs on them.

But for the time being, I'll give you a couple that are at completely opposite ends of the spectrum, and were designed to deal with the encroachment of ballpoints onto the market: Shaeffer Snorkel (with the most convoluted fill system on the planet; the PFM that silverlifter suggested has the same fill system as Snorkels but is a larger pen) and Parker 61s (the earlier ones with the capillary fillers, which is the simplest fill system: remove the barrel, stick the capillary section into a bottle of ink and wait a little, and it just wicks the ink up like a sponge). I have both and like both.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Carguy]

What are you looking for, Bornin1992? Are you looking for things that are a similar size and weight to what you have, or different? Are you looking at different types of fill systems? Are you trying to expand your range of nib widths (or look for ones with specific characteristics, like flexing)? Different styles like ringtops or desk pens? Exotic materials (wood/bakelite/interesting celluloids)?

Because OMASsimo is right -- the sky really is the limit.

I'd recommend that you look at the thread that I think is titled "Interesting and Unusual Pens". And don't diss the lower tier brands either -- I have a Wearever that has a pretty nice nib on it, and lucked into a couple of Parker 51s at an antiques mall near me because they had the wrong caps on them -- the Aerometric in one dealer's booth was labeled as a Frontier -- because that was the cap on it; and the 51 Vac had some third tier cap on it and no price tag (and was grouped in another booth's case with a Wearever and an Epenco with a badly discolored barrel. The reason I even looked at the 51 Vac is because a friend of mine said that even lower-end pens could have nice writing nibs on them.

But for the time being, I'll give you a couple that are at completely opposite ends of the spectrum, and were designed to deal with the encroachment of ballpoints onto the market: Shaeffer Snorkel (with the most convoluted fill system on the planet; the PFM that silverlifter suggested has the same fill system as Snorkels but is a larger pen) and Parker 61s (the earlier ones with the capillary fillers, which is the simplest fill system: remove the barrel, stick the capillary section into a bottle of ink and wait a little, and it just wicks the ink up like a sponge). I have both and like both.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Second on the Parker 61 Capillary fill.....many are scared of this fill system, but I find it elegant in its simplicity

 

Mike

[Tseg]

Sheaffer Pen for Men writes like a dream, is super ergonomic, and has a cool filling system.

 

Edited February 28, 2020 by Tseg

[taimdala]

Sheaffer Pen for Men writes like a dream, is super ergonomic, and has a cool filling system.

 

That is a NICE picture!

 

Now I want one ...

[inkstainedruth]

Second on the Parker 61 Capillary fill.....many are scared of this fill system, but I find it elegant in its simplicity

 

Mike

 

Yeah. The only issues is that you don't want to use a highly saturated or cloggy ink, and that they are sort of a PITA to fully flush (I generally will flush one with distilled water just enough to get it writing again, and then use the diluted ink; my first one? Once I reconstituted the ink enough for it to flow, I wrote with whatever it was. Repeated that every time it went dry -- and eventually after four MONTHS, when the ink was so diluted as to be illegible on the page, I finally flushed it out completely. One of mine has a small crack in the plastic (about a 1/4" long or less) but it does not appear to affect the pen otherwise.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Carguy]

Yeah. The only issues is that you don't want to use a highly saturated or cloggy ink, and that they are sort of a PITA to fully flush (I generally will flush one with distilled water just enough to get it writing again, and then use the diluted ink; my first one? Once I reconstituted the ink enough for it to flow, I wrote with whatever it was. Repeated that every time it went dry -- and eventually after four MONTHS, when the ink was so diluted as to be illegible on the page, I finally flushed it out completely. One of mine has a small crack in the plastic (about a 1/4" long or less) but it does not appear to affect the pen otherwise.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

They can be a pain to flush, but I’ve found that the capillary fill models write and flow better than the later models with a version of the aero fill. That filling system seemed to be more common on English versions of this pen.....at least that’s what I think LOL

[corgicoupe]

Also consider the Parker Duofold International size and the Sheaffer Connaisseur.

[Runnin_Ute]

Pelikan 140 or any of the 400/400N or 400NN. I have both a 140 and a 400NN.

[SpecTP]

Hi, all,

 

I have an itch to expand my collection and am looking for suggestions. I had a Parker 51, but decided I disliked the design. I also am missing a Sailor, but am learning more toward vintage fountain pens.

 

Modern: Wing Sung 601 (F), Jinhao X750 (M), Pilot Metropolitan (M), Sheaffer 300 (M), TWSBI ECO (M), Faber-Castel Basic Black Carbon (M), Kaweco Sport (M), Fountain Pen Revolution Himalaya (Ebonite, flex), Fountain Pen Revolution (F),Pelikan M200 (F), Pelikan M200 ( , Lamy 2000 (M), Butter Knife Creations Custom, Jean Pierre Lepine Casanova (M), Parker Duofold Centenial (M) Pilot Custom 74 (B + F), and a Platinum 3776 Century (

Vintage: Esterbrook J (9668 and 2556 nibs), Parker 21, Parker 45, Sheaffer Balance Oversize (Feathertouch), 1953 Parker Vacumatic, Waterman 52 (black), as well as an Ebeco and two Senators collecting dust.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

look for a 9128 nib for that Esterbrook.

[Bo Bo Olson]

German factory stubbed Semi-flex nib of the '50-70 era.

Standard sized pens are posted for the great balance they have....then they are not too short. Large pens do not have good balance outside the large thin Snorkel which has great balance posted.

 

Cheapest is the standard sized Geha 790, with three rings on the cap finial. Can be had for E60 or less if you HUNT!!!! on German Ebay.

Torpedo shape was very In in the '50's Swan, Pelikan 140/400nn, MB 146/9, Geha, Osmia and so on.

The three true rings polished up better than the picture I use from having bought pen...1959-60.

 

You do need the three rings this shown or the 'true' one. The semi-flex nib is a tad better than the Pelikan ' 140-400-400nn pens.

A factory stubbed semi-flex is a flair nib.....gives you that old fashioned fountain pen flair with out you doing anything at all.

(Don't fall into the trap of trying to make it a calligraphy nib and springing it. The tines expand out to 3X a light down stroke......not more.)

 

Vintage nibs are 1/2 a width narrower than modern.....so an OB would be like an OM, and is a writing nib, not a signature nib......and the sweet spot is wider so it's easier than the more precise paper placement needed by a OM or OF..................and Only the vintage German '50-70 Oblique nibs are worth buying.....all other obliges that are Not semi-flex are a waste of money. I do know, I have or had some.

Geha 790 '61-72.....

 

 

Those two 790's are the best buys for semi-flex.....you can hunt in German Ebay....E60 is a fair price. The seller needs to take paypal, and ship out of Germany some don't and won't.

Do be aware the Pen Seller Cartel has jacked the prices in Germany by offering bid pens starting at E10 less than their Buy Now Idiot prices. Those buy now idiot prices are stateside prices.

 

So you have to hunt a lot harder than last year to get a fair price on a pen in Germany.

 

The Geha school pen is the best buy for a nice springy regular flex nib....can be had from E12-19 if you hunt.....the Cartel wants E60 for them saw them offered for only $89 to idiots in the States.

It looks very much like the 790, but has a serial number and says school pen on the cap....regular clip ring as cap ring.

I have 4 790's and 2 school pens.

I was most amazed by the overly high stateside prices...must have a Cartel working there too. But living in Germany and finding pens I'd been recommending at E100-120 suddenly going for stateside prices of E285 or more....am so glad I got mine when honest sellers were around.

Now everyone knows they can get a fortune for Gramps pens.

At those prices one might as well buy new.

[Addertooth]

Bornin1992,

 

Start basic. There were some models of pens which were very popular, back in the day. There were solid reasons why they were popular. Most typically their popularity was a result of their form/function/price.

High volumes of sales were a strong indicator the pen manufacturer "got it right".

 

Some pens which a lot were sold of were:

 

Waterman 52 family (52, 52 1/2. 452, 0552, 552, etc). Generally, they were wetter writers, with many of them having flexible nibs. Classical flat-to look on most. Hard rubber models and metal models.

 

Eversharp Skyline family. Not as wet as the Waterman 52 family, but with a more aerodynamic shape which some find appealing. Some had flex nibs. Acrylic Plastic with some models in Celluloid.

 

Schaeffer Triumph family. A fair amount of variety, piston fillers, nice celluloid choices, most had little or no flex.

[chromantic]

I will second Runnin_Ute's suggestion on a 140, understated, yet very elegant in it's simplicity.