What is Urushi lacquer? Urushi lacquer, often used on Japanese pens by Nakaya, Danitrio, Platinum, and more, is made from the sap of the urushi tree. It’s thick and takes a lot of care and patience to work with this substance when making an Urushi lacquered pen. You often find pens that are Urushi lacquered are costly – we must consider the hours of time a pen maker has spent on these pens!
Some people have the idea that vintage pens are boring and are usually just plain black hard rubber. Not this one! Here is a 1925 Waterman 52 lever-filler set in Cardinal Hard Rubber. What a great color! Very rare – especially in this condition! Extra-fine, flexible, italic nib. New-old-stock. Except for a slight shade difference where the barrel was covered by the cap, mint in original box. Not only is it a great color, the condition …
What’s so great about those pigmented/carbon inks? Inks like Platinum Carbon Black and Sailor Kiwa Guro Pigmented Nano Black are nice inks because they are so dark and intense, especially for those who like a really solid color. They’re great for artists who use them in watercolor drawings, those who sketch, and if you need an ink that is water-resistant. The downside is these inks contain fine particles that can clog your pen’s feed, so …
This 1906 John Holland has an unusual filling mechanism. A model 52 “Pull-Filler” in gold-fill Repousse on BHR. Circles of high repousse roses on an etched “bark” background. Exquisitely beautiful! Sometimes called the “saddle-fill”, since it’s a saddle shaped device the user lifts to fill the pen. Holland claims to have started fountain pen manufacture in 1865, and introduced this particular filling mechanism in 1906 (a year after they introduced their “sleeve-fill” pens), and used it …
Do water-resistant inks damage pens? It can happen. Iron-gall/permanent inks are acidic and can corrode the metal parts of your pen, especially if they are constantly exposed to the ink. This can take time, so you probably won’t have a crumbling nib after one use, but it’s wise to practice proper pen care and maintenance.
We are often asked for an attractive pen with a flexible nib, not just a user-grade pen. This 1905 A.A. Waterman is a #3 Twist-fill Cone Cap in a Gold-filled Filigree overlay on black hard rubber. The filigree is reminiscent of the Parker 16 and may also have been done by Heath of New York. Indicia engraved in script, “AW.” The nib on this specimen is a fine, triple-flexible, and the pen is complete with original box. …
How do I know if an ink will fade? If an ink is not labelled as light-fast, fade-resistant, or iron-gall, it will likely fade over time – and faster when exposed to sunlight/light. If you need an archival ink, iron-gall inks were designed for this purpose. Permanent inks should not fade either.
Long before Danitrio made the more modern Snake, the snake motif was also produced by manufacturers Waterman and Parker. Parker produced this very successful Snake in 1908. This 38 Snake eyedropper-filler is Gold-filled on black hard rubber. The eyes are emerald, making this pen even more unique. Parker ordered George Heath, a skilled designer of jewelry, to cover a pen with a snake motif, with the motivation of having something eye-catching to get his salesmen’s foot into …
Are these new sparkly inks safe for my vintage pens? If you want to be really, really safe, then putting inks like Waterman or Sheaffer in your vintage pens is best. As there is shimmery, or gold/silver particles ink these newer inks, it can reduce flow if the ink dries out in your pen. It can also be more difficult to clean out of pens that use sacs – the particles may stick to the …
A name like that already suggests a rare and special pen! This 1950 Parker 51 Princess Demi Aerometric-filler is gorgeous. It is the smooth gold-filled finish, with a cap surrounded by 12 rectangular clear glass crystals. According to Zazove & Shepherd in their Parker 51 book (2004, p. 71), “The rarest Demi in existence…was designed by Don Doman and introduced in the mid west USA. Only a limited number were made and it never went …
