Oversize Vac Buying Suggestions

[bunnspecial]

I’ve been trying to add an oversize Vac to my collection, but I’m afraid I’m a buy out of my element on them. I have several Vacs, but all in smaller sizes. 
 

The one I tried hardest on was a boxed one with a pencil on EBay earlier this week where I think I was the underbidder at $350. I bowed out there because I seem to have seen few enough for sale that I don’t have a geat pulse on price. 
 

There is one now available for a $600 BIN, but that’s a lot to pay considering ballpark “I don’t have one but if I did it would be about $xx” estimates I’ve had from a few dealers. 
 

I’m not picky and want user condition. Can anyone maybe suggest both sources outside EBay and what a reasonable price for one is, either serviced or as is? 
 

I’d like to learn to service these also, and  have been trying to buy some less expensive ones(unsuccessful) to practice on before tackling something like a valuable color or an Oversize.
 

 

[Paul-in-SF]

I'm not sure what you mean by Oversize, I don't think there's a model called that. It might help your search for price ranges to decide on actual model names that you're interest in, as a start.

 

This year's PCA calendar has a great photo (by Brian McQueen) of 8 different sizes of Vacumatics in the 1942-1948 era, all in the blue stacked celluloid. It was a real eye-opener for me. For one thing, it gives a good idea of relative sizes from a Sub-Deb on up.

 

The two largest (by far) models are called Long Major and Maxima (there are other Maximas that are not Vacumatics, so some caution is called for there). Next size down is Major. I think you're going to have a lot more success finding a Major at a reasonable price than either of the two larger models.

 

If your heart is set on a Vacumatic Maxima, it may be a long search. I suspect those are grail pens for some people, the largest size of any vintage pen series often is (or so it seems). One way to use eBay efficiently is to establish a saved search that will run automatically every day or so and email you a list of new items that meet the search criteria. As I'm sure you're aware, lots of people selling on eBay don't know what they have, so you have to make the search terms general enough to catch what you want even if it isn't properly described. I've gotten a few bargains that way, items that were poorly described with a low starting bid, and only a few watchers in the auction. 

 

My only other suggestion is to try out a pen show or two, and/or to make friends with a Vacumatic expert who might be able to help you. That is one line of pens that had a lot of variations over the years. 

[silverlifter]

There was an OS:

 

 

600 for one in good - excellent condition sounds plausible to me, especially if it is from a reputable seller.

 

[bunnspecial]

The s is the model to which I’m referring

 

http://parkerpens.net/vacumatic/lockdown-oversize.shtml

 

I’m familiar with the Maxima, and have a Long Major which I believe is the same size as a Slender Maxima. I have had a few other standard size Majors and also have what I think is a standard size Vac with a lick-down filler. 
 

What I’m looking for is the pre-Maxima “big” pen and I have seen a few of these change hands on EBay. 

[bsenn]

Unfortunately the web site seems to be down right now, but Gopens (Gary Lehrer) has their catalogs online. You can look at the past few to see what they sold large vacs for.

 

Brian

[bunnspecial]

Well, thanks to Reddit I just picked up a very reasonably priced Maxima Senior(under $300 inc. shipping). It's someone with a bunch of sales to their name and with a fresh diaphragm. Transparency isn't great on it, but it will give me some idea of the size and if I really want to hunt for some nicer examples.

 

I was offered a beautiful burgundy OS, but $750 is a bit more than I want ot spend now.

 

I also signed up to get the Gopens catalog, since I saw at least one OS in the most recent catalog(already sold) and they seem to regularly have some other want-list items like a celluloid MB 146.

[silverlifter]

The Maxima is a great size pen. I like to carry mine with an OS Balance "Premier": they make a great team.

 

I'd be interested to know how much bigger the Vacumatic OS feels in the hand than the Maxima, if anyone cares to share their experience with both pens.

[bunnspecial]

12 hours ago, silverlifter said:

The Maxima is a great size pen. I like to carry mine with an OS Balance "Premier": they make a great team.

 

I'd be interested to know how much bigger the Vacumatic OS feels in the hand than the Maxima, if anyone cares to share their experience with both pens.

I’m still watching for an OS, so will see how they compare. 
 

I seem to have missed some affordable users, but I’m sure another will come up. 

[bunnspecial]

Well, a month later I have sort of checked a couple of boxes with two each Oversize and Maximas.

 

 

The OSs just arrived yesterday(two different sales, but affordably priced and acceptable to me transparency) and I've had the Maximas for a little while. The left most one-not sure what to call the color as it's dark/amber striped-has been a reliable writer. The Golden Pearl I think may be the winner of the bunch with a big juicy B nib. Unfortunately, I bought it cheap knowing this, but it needs some serious repair work on the section and I've spoken with Ron Zorn about a fix(which fortunately he can do, especially given that a replacement might not be terribly easy to find). I'll probably also have him redo the washed out Rhodium on the nib-he did superb work for me not too long ago on a much newer Montblanc nib, so I'm sure i'll be more than happy with his work.

 

I've not inked either Oversize yet. The Silver Pearl is obviously a bit more "rough"(although I did get a pencil with it) but it was claimed to have a recent diaphragm replacement and it does fill completely and correctly. I'm tempted to pull it apart and look at it anyway as the plunger is a bit "sticky" which makes me wonder if the diaphragm wasn't trimmed, but that's another topic. Hopefully I'll have time to ink and write with the two OSs today and can see how they compare in feel to the Maximas.

[silverlifter]

The OS pens are the ones on the right with the triple cap bands? They look very similar in size to the Maximas. That black one on the far right is a very handsome pen. Congrats on picking them up!

[bunnspecial]

Thank you!

 

Yes, the OSs are the two right ones. The Maximas are on the left with the blue diamond clips and the single wide "Maxima" cap band. I've actually learned in all of this that one of the things that differentiates a Maxima of any size is that the cap band is wider than the Major. The Majors I've had have the same style art-deco-ish ////\\\\\ type band, but the Maxima is noticeably wider.

 

It's not particularly easy to tell them apart based on dimensions from the photos, I will agree. The OS pens are a bit "chunkier" while the Maximas taper more especially at the blind cap end of the barrel. Since the OS uses a lockdown filler and the Maxima a Speedline, the blind cap is longer on the Maxima and I suppose Parker used that extra length to "smooth it out" a bit more.

 

Incidentally, and I haven't actually tested this, but I understand that the OS holds a bit more ink than the Maxima since more of the barrel can be given to ink capacity while keeping the same OAL.

 

I'm interested to see just how different they feel in hand. In general I take well to this size pen, and I've enjoyed the Maximas tremendously. They are all similar in size to the competing Sheaffer OS Balance, which I also have, and also pens like the MB 146 and modern Duofold Centennial.

[bunnspecial]

So, a bit of a report.

 

First of all, I had writing issues straight out of the box after inking on both OSs. That's always a bit of a disappointment.

 

If you can see in the above photo, the black one has its nib sticking quite far out relative to the other pens. It also would not flow at all. I could see ink in the slit, but not reaching all the way to the tip. I noticed, though, that the tip was quite far out from the end of the feed-I normally see them, and if I'm setting one will set the nib such that it just covers the feed(if that makes sense). In messing with the nib, I noticed it loose in the section, and a gentle tug had the nib and feed in my hand. I dropped the feed in the ultrasonic for a minute(didn't want to try the nib since the plating is looking a bit iffy on it) then dried it off and reset the nib and feed to what I think of as a correct positioning. With a bit of tweaking to get the nib slit centered over the feed groove, it came to life and put down a nice wet line.

 

Surprisingly enough, the nib on this one is fairly flexible. I don't routinely check American nibs, especially of this age, for flex since it's not overly common, but this one showed itself just in my normal writing pressure.

 

The other was writing inconsistently, skipping, and was rough feeling. It was sold as "fresh diaphragm" but I suspect the person who sold it to me may have bought it, inked it, let it dry, and then sold it a few years later. The plunger action feels "sticky", so I'm wondering if the diaphragm was cut to length(seems that they are a lot of hacked and half-you-know-whatted vac repairs out there). In any case, I flushed this one pretty thoroughly when I got it(actually both, although the first came out clean) and I kept getting black ink out of it. I didn't ink it until I was satisified it was clean, but I'm wondering if it needs a bit more work and maybe a trip through the US. I flossed the nib and then ended up widening and aligning the tines and it's better but still not great.

 

The second I may drop a new diaphragm in if the "stickiness" doesn't clear and I get brave. I'm getting a bit more confident in my vac skills. I pulled two fillers last night(plastic ones) from parts pens, managed to get the pellets out without any collateral damage to the pellet cup, and fitted new-properly trimmed-diaphragms to both. One complete filler went in the parts box, while the other made its way into a Duovac that I now can say is working properly. I need to order more deb-size diaphragms as I'm down to two of the initial 5 I ordered. I optimistically ordered 3 OS diaphragms

[bunnspecial]

Alright, a bit more of a report:

 

I have the black OS writing well and I've been using it a decent bit. I've also been writing with the black Maxima a decent bit.

 

Despite their similarities, it's amazing how even a small change can sometimes make a big difference in the feel of the pen.

 

The speedline filler+streamlined blind cap make the Maxima a bit longer uncapped than the "stubbier" blind cap covering a lock down filler on the OS. An uncapped Maxima is only a few millimeters longer than an Oversize. The balance is very similar-without weighing them I'd expect the Lockdown and Speedline fillers to be about the same weight. The Speedline is obviously extended in use, where the lockdown isn't, but to me the Maxima seems to be balanced a bit more toward the center. It's subtle.

 

None the less, the small length difference is actually a big deal to me. I find the blind cap of the Oversize just lands on on the web of my hand, which makes it a bit too short for my liking since the back of it isn't properly supported. Consequently, I find I need to post the Oversize. The slightly longer Maxima is supported on the web of my hand just enough that I can use it comfortably unposted.

 

Still, though, the nib on my black Oversize is fantastic.

 

 

[silverlifter]

Great! Thanks for the write up.

 

It means I don't have to obsess over an OS: I can happily keep writing with my Maxima.

[bunnspecial]

1 hour ago, silverlifter said:

Great! Thanks for the write up.

 

It means I don't have to obsess over an OS: I can happily keep writing with my Maxima.

 

Honestly the differences are fairly subtle.

 

I don't know if the flex nib on the black OS is common on these or not. As I said, most of my arrow nibs are nails...

 

I think you can enjoy and use your Maximas with pride! I'd have not rested until I had at least one OS and at least one Maxima, and you see where I am now...

[Vladpu]

Pauls Pens has one in "Row B" in black with fine nib.  Have to check with him though - he does not always keep his site up to date.