PENS with COLOR SWIRLS, WAVES and PATTERNS... Where to start?

[AlexItto]

All the pens I own so far are one-color articles. Or a combination of metal and plastic or metal and wood.

I have recently been intrigued by the colorful pens with patterns. Think Edisons, Narwahls, the Esterbrook Esties....

I am confused about the materials, though. Acrilic, celluloid...?

Other than nib quality and a mechanism that's not prone to clogging, what should I be looking for in pens made with these materials? There seem to be several small companies that specialize in these types of pens.

what are the differences between these materials? I thought there should be a thread with the basic info. If someone could help me find it or provide a link to a webpage or YT video, I'd be super grateful

¡Gracias!

[A Smug Dill]

30 minutes ago, AlexItto said:

what should I be looking for in pens made with these materials?

 

Whatever is pleasing to the eye to you.

[Paul-in-SF]

There is a thread about different resins, that might be a place to start. Most plastic pens made these days are made of some flavor of resin or acrylic. As far as choosing one over the other, I would pay more attention to the quality and reputation of the maker, rather than to a general opinion of the pen materials. That's just my opinion, for what it's worth. Good luck in your search.

 

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

Look on German Ebay.

Actually for the most colorful pens, the mandrel wrapped pens of the late '30's are best.....try English Ebay.

There are some from the US of that era also.

There are some new American makers, Edision?.... I don't know their names in they sell new, therefor expensive pens.

Shawn Newton does custom binde (the insides of a Pelikan fountain pen)  work.

 

The old pens I'm showing you can be found in various Ebays....and one has to Hunt in different countries to find their basic pens.

 

The perhaps third prettiest pen I've ever seen was a Swan, Blackbird (their second level pen) So look at old English pens.

 

I've been chasing pens for 13 years. with luck one or two fall into my hands every year.

In 1938 the Boehler brothers split their Osmia fountain pen factory into Boehler and Osmia.

Mdl 54 full tortoise.

 

1950 Faber-Castel completed the buy out or buying of controlling interest of Osmai.

Osmia-Faber-Castel standard sized mdl 540 made in 1950...it did need a new boiled in oil and beeswax cork gasket. That is the smoothest of all gaskets.

 

I have some pictures by someone a long time ago, of a similar pen but a different model. He took good pictures.

Mdl 62 is a medium-small pen.

Mine don't have that zebra ink window.

 

The below are late '50-60 pens.

A cracked ice....one of my 'smallest' pens.

This is a pen I missed out on, but saved someones picture....then after 4 or so years I lucked out.

 

I can't take good pictures....this is one of my top 3 pretty pens, and Italian Columbus piston pen @ 1950.

There are many beautiful Italian pens........not all are cheap.

 

Look in the US and Italy for real pretty swirly pens, but don't forget to hunt for the old pens.

 

[SpecTP]

On 12/5/2021 at 9:24 PM, AlexItto said:

All the pens I own so far are one-color articles. Or a combination of metal and plastic or metal and wood.

I have recently been intrigued by the colorful pens with patterns. Think Edisons, Narwahls, the Esterbrook Esties....

I am confused about the materials, though. Acrilic, celluloid...?

Other than nib quality and a mechanism that's not prone to clogging, what should I be looking for in pens made with these materials? There seem to be several small companies that specialize in these types of pens.

what are the differences between these materials? I thought there should be a thread with the basic info. If someone could help me find it or provide a link to a webpage or YT video, I'd be super grateful

¡Gracias!

 

You may want to look up alumilite.

 

on this site:

 

[Bo Bo Olson]

I'd never run into the term ...alumilite...before.

Very colorful.

[SpecTP]

1 hour ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

I'd never run into the term ...alumilite...before.

Very colorful.

 

for the last couple of years, it's become very popular in the maker space. very easy to work with and can create wonderful blends of colors. the results are quite durable.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Thanks for bring it to my attention.

I'll have to go over to there and take a gander. I'm bound to have a nib to fit. I don't care for nails or semi-nails.

 

 

[amk]

First decision, vintage or new?

Vintage - some lovely celluloids. German and most British celluloids are stable, French celluloids apart from Waterman can be prone to warping and crystallization. Italian vintage isn't an area I know well.

I sort-of-collect vintage celluloid patterns and I have a few pages on my blog you might find interesting - lots of interesting pens I've found mainly in junk shops and at auction.

 

Osmia:

 

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/3169635896447410730/6650923940896364881

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/3169635896447410730/4424218506926896152

 

Merlins:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/3169635896447410730/7391382778211667664

 

Oldchap:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/3169635896447410730/5465064559626272994

 

Visi Inks / Auto Tanks - British pens:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/3169635896447410730/5475924097120408006

 

1980/1990s 'vintage' Watermans - tiny but cute, the Lady Elsa and Lady Agathe pens use vintage galalithe stocks. Le Man 200 'caviar' designs might also appeal, but Waterman was too French to veer wildly away from good taste.

 

New - everybody has jumped on to the swirly wagon. There are quite a few reports of issues with the materials in Omas and Aurora modern celluloids so I might be a little wary of them. Santini has some nice pens. Visconti too, but their quality control isn't what it could be. So while the Italians look good, you might want to do a lot of due diligence before plonking your money down.

 

Acrylic and alumilite appear to be more stable materials, and I'd pick out as the ultimate swirlmeisters Edison pens (I collect the Colliers, the Persimmon Swirl acting as my gateway drug to that model!), besides which Brian is just lovely to deal with and I've never had a bad nib from them. Kanilea are also well worth your attention (I don't have one... yet).

 

Pelikan is normally stripy, but there are some interesting specials like the 101N series in bright tortoiseshell and snakeskin patterns. Also custom versions - there's a chap in Austria who sometimes sells custom bindes on eBay, of which I managed to acquire two.

 

The first generation Kaweco Sport Art pens are gorgeous but increasingly rare on the second hand market. I don't like the latest generation nearly so much.

 

What should you be looking for? 

- as another poster says, eye candy!

- know your preferences for size and weight. The Collier is a bigger pen than my preferred Pelikan m400-600 size, but because it's light, is really comfortable for my quite small hands.

- know your dealbreakers (for me it's a big step between the barrel and the section: I really don't like that at all)

- if you can get a pen which uses standard nibs, or sells spare nibs, like Kaweco, or Pelikan, then if later on you find you'd prefer a broader or narrower nib, it's easy to change. 

- if you're dealing with a small maker, check out their reputation here on FPN. Most are really great.

 

I hope this helps. I've no doubt missed a few goodies out (like the fantastic candystripe pattern used in Valentine, Parker and other pens, and the Sheaffer 'screaming souls in Purgatory' and 'microchip' patterns). 

[Bo Bo Olson]

AMK, I'd sure like to see your blog stuff, especially the Osmia pictures, but after I signed in to a place I never use...was 'registered' long ago, they wanted all sorts of info.....that I decided I need more than they do.

 

Can you load those pictures up in plain sight?

 

[bunnspecial]

4 hours ago, amk said:

 

Vintage - some lovely celluloids. German and most British celluloids are stable, French celluloids apart from Waterman can be prone to warping and crystallization. Italian vintage isn't an area I know well.

 

How do you rank American celluloid in this?

 

I have a few Sheaffers and a bunch of Parkers, and apart from things like sac-induced discoloration on lighter Parkers, or of course ambering of clear celluloid(again, a big thing on Parkers and Vacumatics specifically) the material itself seems solid...

[amk]

Sorry about the pics on the blog. I'll see what I can do. I now use Imgur instead of youknowwho. The little photos are showing up for me (not full size though) but obviously YMMMV.

 

In response to Bunnspecial - I'm based in Europe so I see UK and European pens, mostly. Among US pens I'm fond of Sheaffer but most of their patterns are stripes not swirls.

[sansenri]

Another material you may wish to look at is ebonite. Although resin is usually cheaper and colour blends are now rather popular (aluminite has been mentioned) ebonite has a different, warmer feel in the hand.

Some ebonite materials can look rather pretty.

Tipically they are made in India and Japan, but a number of producers use this material also in US, and other places (Italy for example).

One of the best know makers of ebonite is in Germany, another in Japan, Indians also have own production.

(this is a Ranga in premium ebonite)

[Runnin_Ute]

The photo below is of my Newton pens. On the left is a Townsend in dark purple ripple ebonite. On the right a Elizabethan.  The section and cap top is Bob Dupras Black Velvet Hibiscus the remainder is just black. These are his "small" size. 143 mm capped.

 

 

[brokenclay]

On 12/10/2021 at 1:47 AM, amk said:

I have a few pages on my blog you might find interesting

 

@amk, note that you've linked not to the blog pages themselves but to the URLs for editing the pages, which is why @Bo Bo Olsonencountered a request to sign in to a Google account.

 

These might be some of the pages you were referencing:

 

https://fountainpenlove.blogspot.com/2013/10/two-and-half-wonderful-osmias.html

https://fountainpenlove.blogspot.com/2016/02/my-merlins-so-far.html

https://fountainpenlove.blogspot.com/2014/03/bring-me-my-pen-would-you-oldchap.html

https://fountainpenlove.blogspot.com/2014/11/visi-inks-and-auto-tanks.html

 

 

[ParramattaPaul]

Manuscript ML 1856 Fountain Pen Red Storm | Cult Pens

 

[ParramattaPaul]

Or (also from Manuscript):

[txomsy]

Don't forget the ebonite pens made in India. They have beautiful swirls, and are typically cheaper. Most may be eyedroppers though. But you can have a look at FPR (the Fountain Pen Revolution) or Ranga pens or many other brands.

 

 

[amk]

Oh dear, I have been a real klutz. Thanks brokenclay for elucidating the mystery! 

[Bo Bo Olson]

Thank you Brokenclay, AMK's Osmia's make me cry..........such were seldom on German Ebay and much, much to expensive for my pocket then.

I seldom surf Ebay any more...but I just got the urge to look again.