Jump to content

Omas Cracked Ice vs. Conway Stewart Cracked Ice


como

Recommended Posts

I like celluloid, Omas, vintage (and of course modern too)... For a long time I resisted getting a vintage Omas Cracked Ice. The combination of the rare pattern and vintage Omas makes it quite expensive to acquire a senior sized or even a mid sized Omas Cracked Ice. I also have a vintage Conway Stewart Cracked Ice, which is considered one of the most attractive Conway Stewart patterns (along with Herringbone, Tiger Eye etc). So I convinced myself that I didn't need an Omas Cracked Ice. That is until the right moment came. Recently I was able to acquire a vintage Omas Cracked Ice in the lady/ring-top size. As I understand, the Omas is made of celluloid (cellulose nitrate) and Conway Stewart of cellulose acetate. Here I made some photographic comparisons.

 

Some background notes: The Omas Cracked Ice pattern is known for discolouration. Most of the pens in this pattern are found in various discolouration on the barrel. Zero discolouration is extremely rare, as this celluloid (and indeed any "trasparente" patterns) is very sensitive to acidic ink. So my Omas is no exception, though I consider the discolouration here modest. I have seen better and some worse.

 

1. Both pens capped. Omas ring-top, 10cm long. Conway Stewart No. 24, 13.2cm long.

2060143021_cappedcomp.thumb.jpg.1779561fbe2137b08a7b37c2b071f638.jpg

 

2. Nib side pattern comparison. 

 

635284947_nibcomp.thumb.jpg.1afb30f53432f5f8f65ff4c6a4dcc771.jpg

 

3. Feed side pattern comparison.

 

2072375003_feedcomp.thumb.jpg.09be95c4c7cb85feab541e8a129d05a4.jpg

 

4. Omas nib side discolouration.

 

289844212_omasdiscolorationcomp.thumb.jpg.5c5562c1085cda52bba2d5059d236375.jpg

 

5. Omas feed side discolouration comparison.

 

1742931638_omasdiscolorationcomp2.thumb.jpg.4c6b0e8a496f439e1bd01bfe8890899f.jpg

 

6. Conway Stewart Cracked Ice cap and barrel, in cellulose acetate, no discolouration.

 

137932553_cscrackedicecap-barrel.thumb.jpg.057a285698b3bdd5d5d8be33c7070c1a.jpg

 

7. The "dark sides" of Omas Cracked Ice: Similar to the Arco pattern, the Omas Cracked Ice also has two "dark sides". This is what I love about this Omas version, that you can see that the Cracked Ice is revealed through cross-cutting the pearl like flakes in the celluloid, much like leaves in a pond! These "dark sides" are more intriquing than those of Arco in this aspect.

 

1224010836_omasdarksidecrackedice.thumb.jpg.98e8dce7fdc645b6d9f521bdcd2c434f.jpg

 

I hope you find the above informative! I've always enjoyed handling a vintage 🙂

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 9
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • como

    4

  • jmccarty3

    1

  • Carrau

    1

  • lionelc

    1

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

Interesting demonstration of the “cracking.”  I’ve seen so many pens whose materials carry that moniker, but instead of ice cracking, they often look more like the grain in rock like granite.  The “dark sides” in picture #7 do resemble the cracks seen in a chunk of ice viewed from the side, and I can see why the name was chosen.  Thank you for the post.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@CarrauYou are welcome! True there are quite a few "cracked ice" patterns by various vintage and modern pen makes. Conway Stewart even has a "reversed cracked ice". I like those that look like lightning. These shown in my photos above also remind me of the Omas Wild celluloid, very electrifying!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, lionelc said:

beautiful pens como - have you any issues with celluloid degradation in this particular finish?

No, I haven't had bad luck with that, or any of my Omas pens yet. What I've seen is that this finish (and other somewhat transparent pens from this era of Omas) has various degrees of discolouration (darkening or ambering on the barrel). If it's been properly cared for (safe ink and proper storage), it should be stable. After all, it has survived 80 years, and hopefully it doesn't just all of a sudden die on me. There are few of the very light and transparent coloured celluloid that survived in near perfect condition. You see more of them just discoloured but still are very beautiful pens. Once in a while you see one, light and transparent just like the day it was born, really amazing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes: gorgeous, both of them, como!  😊

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...