fountain pens

[John in Covina]

! I use a sheaffer balance with snub nib as my everyday.

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Stub nib? That is a rare find indeed, Sheaffer was not noted for flex nibs either, so to find any of them is rare too.

 

[John in Covina]

By the way, someone mentioned using an old bottle of ink. That is NOT a good idea. Fountain pen ink is water based and forms a sediment that will gum up the pen. It is advised that you not use ink that is over a year old. At hardly more than $5 a bottle, it hardly breaks the bank to replace ink once a year or so.

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Actually there are many people that seek out old fountain pen inks to use, what they will do is shake it vigorously several times and then pour it thru a filter like a coffee filter to remove any particles. Many have no problem using older inks. In addition to the color there are lubricants and other anti mold growth agents. I have had an attack of SITB, Slime in the Bottle, where a algea or mold takes over a bottle of ink, now that you want to toss and also flush any pens that came in contact.

There are inks that people seek out such as the Saphire made by Parker about 40 years ago. There is a "Persian Rose" color that is a mystery color for the ink crowd.

Storing ink in a cool dark place, and inspecting the contents prior to use is a good idea along with cleaning and flushing your fountain pens regularly.

 

[geo]

I have a Parker 51, which I got from my Dad when I was 10 years old. How can I tell when it was made?

 

[John in Covina]

I have a Parker 51, which I got from my Dad when I was 10 years old. How can I tell when it was made?

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If I remember right on the plastic body the section that the nib protrudes from has a year date on it and I think the nib has one on it also, The nib has to be out to see it though.

You'll need a magnifying glass to see them.

I have 3 and when I had them restored Fred at the Fountain Pen Shop in Monrovia woud take them apart and say, "this is an early one 1944" also the components and type of filling system will help identify the version you have.

If you can find a local club bring it to one of their meetings, they'll be able to let you know.

Happy writing!

 

[John in Covina]

Parker 51 book

http://www.booksaboutpens.com/catalog_en/index.asp?id=2763

 

[PenMan]

This is probably the best starting point for dating a Parker 51. They phased out date codes in 1952, but the pens evolved a bit each year, like cars, so many have little telltale signs.

http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref_info/51_profile.htm

Parker sold about 30 million of them, and unless it has been mishandled, the pen from your dad could last another generation. I have a couple: they are incredibly reliable, fairly leakproof, easy enough to repair, and, because of the hooded nib, write for a long time per filling.

I wouldn't mind seeing a picture if you are able to post one.

 

[Colonel]

Inks

Any favorite inks? I like the Noodlers Legal Lapis for most uses. The bullet proof black is also excellent. I also have their Eternal Brown, but I've found it a bit washed out looking for my taste - great for an antique look though when you also need something that will last as long as the paper it's written on.

 

[John in Covina]

Any favorite inks? I like the Noodlers Legal Lapis for most uses. The bullet proof black is also excellent. I also have their Eternal Brown, but I've found it a bit washed out looking for my taste - great for an antique look though when you also need something that will last as long as the paper it's written on.

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Let's start a new thread "Fountain pen inks" for this one.

 

[jay_b]

I used to have an awsome fountain pen I got from a shop that sells off stuff when a store goes out of business, for really cheap. It was the nicest writing pen I had ever used. Unfortunately, it died one day and no amount of tinkering could bring it back.[huh]

 

[John in Covina]

I used to have an awsome fountain pen I got from a shop that sells off stuff when a store goes out of business, for really cheap. It was the nicest writing pen I had ever used. Unfortunately, it died one day and no amount of tinkering could bring it back.[huh]

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Flushing it out with the 409 solution or maybe freds secret sauce. What type of ink were you using?

 

[Katt in Hat]

I've almost a full litre of Pelikan 4001 (brilliant black).

I have found that I hardly use my 20 year old Montblanc 149 from Season to Season. The ink is great and I poured my supply into many smaller bottles for some damn reason, and the working 2 oz. are in a Montblanc glas slipper. I am fearful that rot will set in and that I'll have to pour the dregs into my condo pool one dark night after our next hurricane,(Wilma left us dark for 8 days), and write off my $40 investment. What the hell was I thinking when I bought in bulk? Beats me..
Perhaps there's enough poison in the ink to keep it from spoiling.

A great resource, Ink Palette has closed but left a recommendation for Bertram's Inkwell.

I had given my business partner the pen after we closed a very big deal, back in the '80s. When I found out that he had had it stashed in his safe for years, I nicked him of it with the proviso that I would Will it back to his son should I ever die.

The acquisition bug bit and I now have a MEISTERSTÜCK LE GRAND ballpoint and two pencils, an 0.7 & an 0.9mm to go with the pen. Thank God that I was able to pull myself up short before springing for the roller ball, the document writer and the 0.5mm pencil.

There is a moral to this tale.

Don't be an Indian Giver !!!

 

[John in Covina]

Montblanc

Hi Katt!

Your 149 is a good pen and is better than the ones they make now. Some time back they switched the plastic formula or prescious resin as they call it.

Current Montblancs are much more prone to cracking than the old ones and are much less likely to survive being dropped than the older ones.

Montblanc is supposed to be doing some type of nib customizing service for their customers.

 

[jay_b]

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Flushing it out with the 409 solution or maybe freds secret sauce. What type of ink were you using?

I honestly don't remember.....it was about 6 or 7 years ago when I was in high school.

 

[John in Covina]

A decent pen or one that was well loved may be worth sending in for repair.

 

[John in Covina]

Mister Fix It!

Well, I finally got fed up with one pen that had that start and stop writing problem, my Stipula Venti Due (22) which is named after the atomic number 22 for Titanium. One of the few Titanium nibed and titanium trimed pens out there. However, the feed ink channel is so miserly even with Tanzanite it would not work. From a couple of look ups I found that the fix comes down to changing the feed to a true hard rubber feed with a better channel, and posible opening up the tube that leads to the feed channel. Well I took it to Fred Krinke at the Fountain Pen Shop in Monrovia. Eventually we did replace the feed with a hard rubber one and it seems to be close to fixing the problem. Fred said try it for a week and if it still is skipping we look at drilling out the tube a hair or so.

While I was there a gentleman came in looking for a vintage Parker 51 and wound up getting two 51 pen and pencil sets and a Cross Ball point! And a lady came in for a replacement Pelikan gold nib for a 400 and some converters

 

[binkmeisterRick]

I joined FL a while back and still lurk on occasion when I have the time or am doing a bit of research. But rekindling my love of fountain pens has brought me back as of late. I've got some research to do on some of the newer brands mentioined here, but I find I love the good, vintage pens. I have a scarce few, but I may have caught a slight collecting bug.

My favourite pen is a vintage early 40's Eversharp Skyline which writes like a dream. It's got a burgundy body and striped cap.

John in Covina said

A decent pen or one that was well loved may be worth sending in for repair.

This is so very true. I have a 1937 Parker Vacumatic which belonged to my grandfather which is currently being restored. You can tell he used this pen every day from the wear and discolouration of the pen body. His inicials were delecately engraved on the clip, too.

One question I have, though... I write very delecately with my fountain pens. I let the weight of the pen do its thing instead of carving into the paper with the nib. I've always prefered pens like this. I know there are some vintage pens which allowed you to write carbons, but I'd still feel uneasy using a vintage pen to write carboned checks with. Any recommendations as to which new pens could handle the extra pressure required to write a carbon, while still writing smoothly when little pressure is used? I know some folks like the Phileas - would that do?

bink

 

[John in Covina]

Carbon Copies!

For carbon copies: this is a little tricky, while most manufacturers do not make flex nibs, there is only so much pressure a nib can take without failure. Chances are an every day pen will be able to be pushed hard enough to make some carbon copies. In the old pens a carbon copy nib was refered to as MANIFOLD. Pens that will diffenantly do the job would be the Pilot Knight, a Cross Verve, and some of the Shaeffer's where the nib is inlaid as part of the body like the Verve.

The Eversharp Skyline was noted for some great nibs, and several of their models continued to have the same nibs for a while like the Symphony which can be found with a "slipper" cap. That is a nice looking pen too.

 

[binkmeisterRick]

That's what makes me uneasy about using a fountain pen to write checks with. That type of use can't be healthy for any nib in the long run. I might just stick with carrying an extra ball point just for checks.

 

[John in Covina]

No Checks! In God we Trust, all others pay cash.

That's what makes me uneasy about using a fountain pen to write checks with. I might just stick with carrying an extra ball point just for checks.

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You should NEVER write checks with a fountain pen because.... 99% of all fountain pen inks are washable, meaning they can rinse your dollar amount off with water and replace with what they want.

Unless you get a permanant ink like the "Eternal" inks from Noodler's, they have a chemical reaction to the paper and set up when dry so they can't be washed out.

Also Never use India Ink or any drawing ink in a fountain pen the drying agents will gum up the insides, often bad enough to make the pen unrepairable!

Now they still make writing nibs for DIP pens and there you can use India ink for check writing.

 

[John in Covina]

For writing that is more comfy, most roller ball pens and the Gel pens are pretty smooth writers. I love Pilot G2 & G7 pens they are my usual non fountain pens of choice.