Happy collecting!
I just took a survey of ink in my home office area and found the following: 4 bottles of Parker Quink (Blue, Dark Blue, Black, Green), Sheaffer Skrip (Peacock Blue), 2 bottles of Montblanc (Blue, Red), Aurora (Blue), Chesterfield (Night Sapphire), 2 bottles of J Herbin (Grey, Green), Bexley (Mountain Violet), Private Reserve Ink (Daphnie Blue), Iroshizuki – Pilot (Brown), Pelikan (Blue) and Paradise Pen (Purple). Add to that a bottle of Waterman Blue and a bottle of Cross Black which were used up a few years back. So what does this all mean? At various points in time I saw a bottle of ink that I might like to try and bought a bottle. What do I use on a regular basis? The Parker Blue is my go to ink when I fill a vintage fountain pen. I have not made a scientific evaluation of these bottles of ink that sit on my shelf. I simply like the Parker Blue when I put pen to paper. Add to that the fact that it doesn’t seem to clog pens that I put aside for a short period of time. And, it flushes easily and thoroughly from my pens. I am in no way affiliated with Parker nor do I write this as an endorsement. I simply like the ink and my vintage fountain pens write well when filled with it. What ink(s) do you use in your vintage fountain pens? Why do you make those choices? I would very interested in knowing. I encourage all who read this blog to chime in.
Happy collecting!
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Just when I complete the purchase of a vintage fountain pen I am already thinking about the next possible purchase. Case in point – when Gary Lehrer opened his March 2016 catalogue I purchased a Parker True Blue. Later that same day I saw a Parker 51 with a Rhodium cap in the catalogue that I just had to have. Collecting vintage fountain pens is a fun hobby. However, I warn you – it can be addictive. So, I am curious to the readers of this blog – where do you purchase your vintage fountain pens? There are many sources. These are my go to sources.
I love the thrill of the pursuit when it comes to finding the next vintage fountain pen to add to my collection. Unlike some of my fellow collectors I use my vintage fountain pens on a daily basis. Considerable thought is given to which pens I will carry. I select 2 -4 pens to carry with me to work. (2 in my shirt pocket and 2 more in a vintage pen case that I bought from Gary Lehrer.) I am a creature of habit so typically I will carry 2 Parkers and 2 Sheaffers all inked up with blue Parker Quink. (I find Parker Quink to be good for vintage fountain pens and will opine on this subject in a future blog.) In a typical work week I attend numerous meetings and take notes the old fashioned way with vintage fountain pens and a Rhodia notebook. A colleague of mine who retired a couple of years ago gave me a framed reprint of a 1928 Waterman add for Christmas after we discussed my passion. (He liked to write with mechanical pencils.) Another colleague called me a pen snob! My biggest fear at work is that someone will ask me that all time dreaded question, “Can I borrow your pen?” Yikes! I must admit I keep a supply of cheap pens on my desk and in my briefcase should that horrible question arise. I do enjoy the reaction of some to my habit. Last week I was cashing a check in the bank and the teller said, “I haven’t seen one of those in years!” If you are a vintage fountain pen collector don’t be afraid to use and enjoy your pens. Just be sure to keep a couple of cheap pens on hand in case someone asks to borrow your pen. Happy collecting!
I like the Parker 61 and have a bunch in my collection. I think the 61 has received some bad press over the years and I am writing in its defense. The downside to using fountain pens was that the process of filling them with ink was a messy business. Hence the ballpoint pen gained popularity in the 1950s. To address this problem Parker introduced the 61 in 1956. To fill the 61 you unscrew the barrel and place the back end of the pen in a bottle of ink for a few seconds (the length of time is debatable). The pen contains a porous material and fills thru capillary action and when you remove the pen from the bottle of ink there should be almost no ink to wipe off (this is debatable as well). You then screw the barrel back on and the pen is ready to write. Now, in my experience there always seems to be a small amount of excess ink which needs to be wiped off with a tissue. I’m willing to live with that minor issue. One of the major concerns about the filling mechanism was it clogging when not in use. True, but any fountain pen that has not been flushed and left for a period of time unused will have issues. In a later version of the 61 Parker did switch to a squeeze style converter for the filling mechanism. Another concern was that the decorative inlaid arrow on the gripping section was prone to falling off. That’s true, however, I’ve collected a number of them over the years and that has not happened to the ones I own. In comparison to the very popular 51 the 61 is a little shorter and smaller in girth. Like the 51, the 61 did come in a variety of colors and you can find them with both lustraloy and gold filled caps as well as a very attractive rainbow cap. There are pencils to match and both flighter (cap and body are stainless steel) and signet (cap and body are gold filled) versions. I think they write nicely and with proper care will serve you well. For more detailed information check out parkercollector.com. Happy collecting!
I’ve been collecting vintage fountain pens for some time now and I’ve come to the conclusion that the Parker 51 is my favorite. They write beautifully and are an easy to use/very reliable pen. One of the fun things about collecting 51s is that there are many varieties. The pen was made from the early 1940s to the early 1970s. For example, the early 51s came with a vacumatic fill mechanism and then Parker switched to an aerometric fill mechanism. Caps came in a variety of materials such as lustraloy (brushed stainless steel) and gold filled. Clips came in a variety of styles as well. The early 51s had a clip similar to the later Vacumatics and subsequently Parker switched to the arrow clip similar to the early Vacumatics. These pens came in a variety of colors and some of them, such as Nassau Green and Yellowstone (some call this mustard), are difficult to find. Some have the single jewel on the cap and some are double jeweled. Finally, the pen came in 2 sizes – standard and demi. And, by the way, there are mechanical pencils to match as well with all of the various caps and colors. OK, you can see where this is going – there are a lot of variations of this pen for the avid collector. Fred Rosenthal, owner of Bromfield Pen shop in Boston asked me on a recent visit, “How many 51s do you have?” While I have quite a few I am no where near finished collecting all of the variations out there. A good source of information is Parker51.com so check it out and happy collecting!
I run across tons of old print ads from small fountain pen manufacturers from all over the globe. They are so creative and engaging. Not just for the cool pens that they advertise, but also for the artwork and for the trip back in time.
It is wonderfully nostalgic to think back to the successful and large manufacturing base that the U.S. used to have where all of these small businesses used to compete rather successfully for market share (they probably didn’t call it that back then). You can also find antique pen catalogues, posters, paraphernalia and ephemera for sale online and in various antique shops. You can also find vintage fountain pen commercials on You Tube like this one for Parker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4iFXsadK7o Just Google, “Vintage Fountain Pen Ads” and see what comes up! The Moore Pen Company based in downtown Boston, manufactured quality fountain pens until the mid 1950s. The company began in 1899 as the ‘American Fountain Pen Company’ who’s claim to fame was a black hard rubber pen called the, "Moore's Non-Leakable Safety Fountain Pen."
Here’s how they started ….. The idea for this Moore-branded pen originally came from a local musician, Morris W. Moore, who really didn’t have the stomach for commercial business. Thus William Cushman, an optical salesman, stepped in and, in conjunction with a Boston stationer, Walter Cushing, they labored to create the American Fountain Pen Company, and subsequently developed Moore’s idea. They made this pen for nearly 30 years. In 1917, the company eventually changed their name to ‘The Moore Pen Company’. In 1918, they began to make high-quality chased hard rubber lever fill fountain pens as well as the flattop Moore Life Maniflex. This line extension grew to eventually include the ornately decorated “Tuscan” model, which was very popular. The first Moore plastic pens then appeared in 1927. As times changed, Moore bravely tried to compete with the bigger, more widely known pen manufacturers. However, Moore pens, although well made and popular in the Northeast, were rarely original in their design. Only with the Fingertip Model (1946-1951) did Moore make a leap into truly creative pen design. Unfortunately, this terrific-looking pen had mechanical issues, and never reached a mass market, and the last years of the Moore Company were spent making mediocre aerometric fillers (the "Moore Specialist"). Sadly, the company gave up pen manufacturing in 1956. The good news is that you can find plenty of vintage Moore fountain pens for sale on eBay and other online stores. I have a few myself! Where do you buy your pens? Online, at pen shows, estate sales, or do you patronize a brick-and-mortar pen shop? Perhaps you use a combination of all of these?
I have a couple of favorite stores that I patronize when I am in Boston, Washington and New York. I also do purchase both modern and vintage pens online. I love the real shops, and I always learn something from the wonderful staff that I talk to there. It’s also fun to interact with other pen aficionados who shop in the same places. But – is this necessary? Many pen shops around the U.S. have closed in the past 5-7 years. Perhaps some have simply lost their lease like Art Brown in NYC, or made poor business decisions. But is there a cultural trend going on here? Are these shops doomed due to succumb to online alternatives? Let’s hope not. Thoughts? I tend to scour antique shops for unwanted fountain pens, and frequently run across fountain pen desk sets. When I was a kid, I received one from my family for a graduation present, and although I have always kept it on a desk or a table around the house, I never thought about it much.
Now, I think that they are quite handsome. I feel bad when I see lonely ones just sitting on antique shop shelves. Why do so many nice antique desk sets end up being ditched in shops, yard sales, estate auctions, etc.? You can also find many brand new desk sets – fine ones still being made by Cross, Parker, Mont Blanc, etc. There are also quite a few handmade ones from custom fabricators and artists. I’ve seen some beautiful acrylic and wooden desk sets for sale online. Do you collect fountain pen desk sets? If so, which ones are you favorite? I have been hearing a lot lately about “nib creep”. What is nib creep, you ask? Well, since many ink brands are less viscous (i.e. they flow very easily), they can move easily via capillary action through a defect in a pen nib around the slit. If your nib has a nick, a scratch, a burr, etc., it may give the ink a capillary path to ‘creep’ out of the defect and flow onto the top surface of the nib. This is "nib creep."
Do you experience nib creep form time to time? If so do you…
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