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Pen Production Runs: What are the Models Longest in Production?


N1003U

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17 minutes ago, N1003U said:

...When did the 146, regardless of design (if it has ever changed significantly), first appear?

 

according to fountainpen.de, the 146 was produced between 1949 and 1960

 

Link: http://fountainpen.de/sini-146-50.htm

 

and has been completely redesigned between 1970's and 1980's:

 

Link: http://fountainpen.de/old-80er-146.htm

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I immediately thought No Nonsense, Safari/Lamy 2000, and Parker 45. Different versions, but all sharing the same basic construction, same nib units, same cartridges as far as I'm aware. 

 

For Parker, 51 is the classic, but 45 is the workhorse!

Whereas for Lamy both the classic and the workhorse have a long and splendid history.

 

Waterman, on the other hand, has had a redesign of the entire range nearly every 20 years or so. Which may have something to do with its changes of ownership, I don't know.

Too many pens, too little time!

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10 hours ago, amk said:

 

For Parker, 51 is the classic, but 45 is the workhorse!

Whereas for Lamy both the classic and the workhorse have a long and splendid history.

 

Waterman, on the other hand, has had a redesign of the entire range nearly every 20 years or so. Which may have something to do with its changes of ownership, I don't know.


That is often a good product development question, isn’t it? When you have a solid, popular product, do you say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?”, or do you ask, “what else interesting and new can we offer?“

 

This is one place where I give Montblanc full points as a brand: they continue to produce limited editions that are very creative (whether they are interesting, attractive, and/or absurd, I leave to individual customers to decide, but many are certainly different), AND they fastidiously maintain their more traditional (dare I say iconic?) product lines, for those customers who know and love the traditional designs/models.

 

Even the old models MB have evolved with advances in material technology and mechanical refinements, but the black cigar with gold trim and a white star has, at least in my mind, has defined Montblanc since forever, and that cigar is unquestionably still available.

 

I could maybe say similar things about Parker (though I don’t know so much about Parker)—they have a couple of models that seem to evoke the essence of their brand.

 

Part of my point though, in starting this thread, was to ask the following: which pens were so well thought-out and executed that they continued (or still continue today) to be produced in essentially the same form?

 

 

 

 

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23 hours ago, N1003U said:

Has anything changed about the Cristal? Size? Materials?

 

yes, it was revolutionary and really transformed the pen industry.

 

The ferrule has changed from brass to plastic, and the ink formulation has changed + probably some less noticeable. 

 

Also there are modern variants like the 1.6mm Crystal which are very pleasant to write with, and you can still pretend you are writing with a classic of design.

--“Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people.”
Giordano Bruno

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47 minutes ago, GeneralSynopsis said:

 

The ferrule has changed from brass to plastic, and the ink formulation has changed + probably some less noticeable. 

 

Also there are modern variants like the 1.6mm Crystal which are very pleasant to write with, and you can still pretend you are writing with a classic of design.

 

I'd call that pretty much unchanged, especially after 70 years. Good ideas may not be timeless, but the best ones do seem to be long-lived. :)

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21 hours ago, N1003U said:

Another question (or questions) I wonder about that might be appropriate in this thread (if if is answered over in the MB forum somewhere, even a simple link will do):

 

When did the MB146, in its present incarnation, first appear? When did the 146, regardless of design (if it has ever changed significantly), first appear?

 

I’ve seen the date for the revival given as 1974. 

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1 hour ago, gyasko said:

 

I’ve seen the date for the revival given as 1974. 

That's a respectable run. Not as many years as I have been around, but still a decent number of years... :) 

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22 minutes ago, Beechwood said:

The Pelikan Pelikano was launched in 1960, so that is 61 years.


Has the Pelikano also not gone through several design changes?

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3 minutes ago, N1003U said:


Has the Pelikano also not gone through several design changes?

 

As far as I know the filling system is unchanged although I would expect that the looks and colors have been refreshed whilst keeping to the original ethos/

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On 1/19/2021 at 7:29 PM, N1003U said:

 

 

.....which fountain pens have been in production the longest without major changes to their design......

 

61 years is correct, but I wouldn't say it hasn't seen major changes to the design:

 

15471111437_5eba1e4513_o.jpgPelikano 1960 - 2010 von -C.M.Z-

 

c.

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4 hours ago, christof said:

 

61 years is correct, but I wouldn't say it hasn't seen major changes to the design:

 

15471111437_5eba1e4513_o.jpgPelikano 1960 - 2010 von -C.M.Z-

 

c.

 

Indeed. One can see the evolution, but if I were to put the 1960 version and the 2010 version side by side in front of someone and ask the person if the pens are the same, I don't think many would say yes. I actually find it interesting to see the changes in thinking along the way: in 1973 the pen got shorter, then in 1979 it got longer even that the original. Then there is the transition away from metal parts to more plastic parts, and to simplified parts, I suspect efforts to reduce cost and improve quality (and also, one could also argue, a recognition of the advancement in materials and high-volume manufacturing techniques over the years).

 

I found it also interesting that the (original?) 1960 model even had a traditional pelican-beak clip, which then quickly disappeared.

 

Were all of these pens cartridge fillers? I find it interesting that up though the 1993 model, the pen had an ink window--the 1989 and 1993 had both and ink window and a viewing slot.

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24 minutes ago, N1003U said:

 

Were all of these pens cartridge fillers? I find it interesting that up though the 1993 model, the pen had an ink window--the 1989 and 1993 had both and ink window and a viewing slot.

 

Yes, all Pelikano are cartridge fillers. The window in the barrel was to control the second cartridge...

the newest Pelikano has an inkwindow in the barrel again.

 

I find it interesting to see that the change in 2000 was probably a reaction to the current trend with translucent and colored plastic...

(first Imac from 1998)

 

applenotes01-0908-nkkJhM1Mf2gcwvLOMTZykw

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Not a fountain pen, but a writing instrument still. Known to generations of Dutch children at primary school: the Bruynzeel pencil has been in production sinds 1948 and remains virtually unchanged to today.

8712079442378_24.jpg

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  • 3 months later...

this topic is interesting.  The cheapo Parker 45 was discontinued and I don´t know the reasons as it looked relatively cheap to make but functioned very well as a writing instrument.

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  • 2 years later...

Very nice topic! 

 

Here are some of the long-running Japanese pen lines, starting with the obvious:

  1. Sailor Mini (pocket): Started 1960, still running, so 63 years and counting. Many versions, many changes, same principles. 
  2. Pilot Capless: Started 1963-4, still running, 60 years. Also many versions, many changes, same principles. 
  3. Platinum #3776: Started 1978 (prototype from the 1950s, modeled after Waterman's Hundred Year Pen of late-1930s), still running, 45 years. The outside changed over time but, with the notable exceptions of the Glamour and of a run with steel nibs, the core remains the same. 
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  • 4 weeks later...

OK, but how many of the pens that have old designs have actually been in continuous production by the same company? I know the Pelikan M800 has been in production since 1987.

Paige Paigen

Gemma Seymour, Founder & Designer, Paige Paigen

Daily use pens & ink: TWSBI ECO-T EF, TWSBI ECO 1.1 mm stub italic, Mrs. Stewart's Concentrated Liquid Bluing

 

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