What is a "Stubby"?

[Paddler]

I went to the Breezy Springs flea market this morning. The season is just beginning. The weather was perfect, but the place was only 1/3 filled with sellers.

 

I saw a really strange pen there. It is called a "Stubby". Made in Japan. Assembled length is approx.5" (I didn't have a tape measure along). The diameter has to be at least 1.5"! A fat fat pen. It would have to hold at least an ounce of ink. The section unscrews and reveals a hollow barrel coated with dried ink. A rod runs down the center of the barrel and the end of this rod fits into a hole in the section. The other end of the barrel has a blind cap. The rod is fixed to the center of this blind cap and moves back and forth in the barrel. There was no piston on the end of the rod. The rod did not make a good seal at the blind cap end of the barrel.

 

It has a standard size steel open nib. The nib's point was bent under at a right angle - bent right out near the tipping. I looked carefully at this point and it looked like the bend was made on purpose. It was a very clean, sharp bend - not like something that would happen if you dropped it or pushed it into something. Could this be a "feature" of this nib.

 

The seller wanted $20.00 for the pen. I didn't buy it because the nib was bent in a way I'd never seen before and I don't understand the rod and blind cap mechanism. Can anyone enlighten me?

 

Paddler

 

[Shangas]

At first I was inclined to think it may be a cheap way of tipping the pen...but...apparently...um...

I'm at a loss for words here. I don't think I'd buy such a pen, though. Especially not for $20!!! Keep searching!

[amh210]

I'm guessing the pen was an eydropper filler and the piston thing was the ink shut-off valve. This is not unusual in some Japanese pens.

 

I can't imagine the right-angle nib bend is intentional. I can't see how it would facilitate any type of writing, even Japanese characters.

 

As to whether it was worth $20? As a curiosity, most certainly. As a user pen or exemplar of its type for display, most certainly not.

 

You passed it up and now we will never know

 

Andy

[izlat]

This sounds very interesting!

 

If I were a collector I'd certainly buy it. Since I am not, I would only buy it if I know it's a real treasure of a pen - which it very well may be, from what I hear

 

I myself don't want to (and don't) keep many pens - but this one sounded interesting enough to buy and then give as a present to some of the collectors here - I'm sure you have friends who would appreciate it (if not the pen - then the gesture) and $20 isn't all that much

 

Cheers

Ivo

[ANM]

I am almost certain that amh210 is correct that the piston is a shut off valve, not a filling mechanism. Lots of Japanese pens were eye dropper fillers with a shut off valve to keep them from leaking. Because the rod was loose at the blind cap, I would be afraid that the ink would leak out of the pen at that point.

 

As to the nib, I have seen some nibs bent that way because the nib was not seated far enough in the section and the cap tightened down on it and bent it.

[FrankB]

Paddler, it is very late and I am goofy with sleep. I cannot recall when it was, perhaps a month ago or so, that the "stubby" pens were discussed to some extent in the Japanese pen forum. I think that winedoc had posted a photo of a prototype pen that FPNers in the discussion called the "Gojira" (Godzilla). The pen is huge, with a matching nib. Kevin explained that the pen is a take off on older (pre-WWII? or 1950's?) Japanese pens that were super chunky and usually eyedropper fillers.

 

When I am fully conscious, I will see if I can locate that thread for you. I can say that for $20 I would be all over that pen.

Edited April 22, 2008 by FrankB

[Bill]

Pardon the interruption, but where is Breezy Springs?

 

Bill

[Phthalo]

Jumbo eyedropper pen... fairly common. Usually ebonite and urushi coated to prevent discolouration. Good price.

[Rufus]

A beer bottle with a very short neck is affectionately referred to as a "Stubby". Can't help with pens though.

[Ernst Bitterman]

If the point was bent upward, I'd think it was a "calligraphy" type to make brush-stroke flavoured marks. I know that the esteemed R. Binder does a downward curve for a similar effect on his Condor point, but in neither case is it such a steep angle. I once got a cheap Chinese pen in the mail, brand new in it's box, that had taken a bend which looked very deliberate but was just the result of mis-chance.

[Paddler]

I am almost certain that amh210 is correct that the piston is a shut off valve, not a filling mechanism. Lots of Japanese pens were eye dropper fillers with a shut off valve to keep them from leaking. Because the rod was loose at the blind cap, I would be afraid that the ink would leak out of the pen at that point.

 

As to the nib, I have seen some nibs bent that way because the nib was not seated far enough in the section and the cap tightened down on it and bent it.

 

Yes, the piston did leak; there was dried ink inside the blind cap. Imagine an ounce of ink getting loose in your pocket!

 

The nib is really a strange one. I have seen nibs that were apparently pushed into something. When that happens, the bend is a gentle curve and, if the bend is enough to make the point 90 degrees to the body, the tines cross. These tines weren't crossed; they were very well aligned. The bend was sharp, like someone used a pair of pliers with very narrow jaws. There were no mars or dings or any other evidence of tool use. Also, the bend was not straight across the slit. It was slightly left-footed oblique.

 

You could be correct. If the heat of welding the tipping softened the metal a short way back, bottoming out in the cap could have made the bend.

 

Paddler

 

[Paddler]

You passed it up and now we will never know

 

Andy

 

That is not necessarily so, Andy. I have stalked several nice pens for months through that crazy flea market (one of them from one season to the next) until the price came down. It will probably still be there next week. The price came down $5 while I was walking away. This thing doesn't even look much like a pen. My wife saw me looking at it and thought it was a capsule for a clarinet mouthpiece. She was afraid I was going to buy a clarinet or a sax or something.

 

But then, last week I saw an executive sized Skyline with a gold cap and a gangrenous green body. What a grotesque, ugly thing that was! It was gone this time. So you never know.

 

Paddler

Edited April 22, 2008 by Paddler

[MYU]

A few Chinese pen makers have made nibs like what you're describing--bent upward by about 90 degrees. I believe Fuliwen is one of them, perhaps also Hero. I bought one from ISellPens.com, but now I can't seem to locate the pen on their website.

[Paddler]

A few Chinese pen makers have made nibs like what you're describing--bent upward by about 90 degrees. I believe Fuliwen is one of them, perhaps also Hero. I bought one from ISellPens.com, but now I can't seem to locate the pen on their website.

 

This nib was bent downward 90 degrees - toward the feed. Like the fang on a phonograph needle. Jeepers, if you are younger than about 30, you have probably never seen a phonograph needle.

 

Paddler

 

[Have Fun]

The Sailor Calligraphy Pen has a similar nib you alter the pen angle from near vertical (fine) to 45 degree (broad)

 

I've been meaning to post some lettering samples

[Ernst Bitterman]

Jeepers, if you are younger than about 30, you have probably never seen a phonograph needle.

 

Are we talking a Victrola disc player or an Edison cylinder machine?

[Paddler]

Jeepers, if you are younger than about 30, you have probably never seen a phonograph needle.

 

Are we talking a Victrola disc player or an Edison cylinder machine?

 

In the late '80s I had to take a business trip to LA (that's Los Angeles, not Lower Akron ). Before I returned, I decided to visit a large consumer electronics store that was touted as THE place to go for stereo sound equipment. I asked to see their selection of phonograph cartridges. They didn't know what I was talking about. I had to order one when I got back to the sticks (Lower Akron).

 

Paddler