Legacy GoPens Blog

On Point With GoPens #24

What inks produce shading? Inks produce a gradient of their color that is more easily visible with wet writers, flex nibs, and broad/calligraphy-type nibs. Some inks that stand out are: Wate...

Handwritten Post - Anatomy of a Nib

I remember reading about nibs when I first started learning about adjusting them. I read that I should gently squeeze the shoulders of the nib. I remember thinking, ''what on earth are the shoulder...

The Bother of Breather Tubes

They're not much of a bother actually, unless you lose it. In fact, they're quite helpful. Piston-fillers and pump fillers often don't fill completely because the air gets stuck and cannot be exp...

On Point With GoPens #23

What is casein? Conway Stewart produced a lot of pens from casein as casein offered colors and designs that could not be produced by hard rubber. Casein is not vegan! It's made from renne...

Handwritten Post - The Free-Weight Pen Test

Complete with a modern Pelikan M101N Brown Tortoiseshell! I've tried this test on almost all my pens and have been surprised by how many have not passed. All the restored vintage pens passed. ...

Waterman's Smallest Safety Pen

This 1910 Waterman is ''World's Smallest Safety Pen''. It is currently available in Catalog #76. Eyedropper-filler in Black Hard Rubber. Spiral propelling/repelling unit in perfect operating ...

On Point With GoPens #22

My Swan fountain pen has a weird black rod on top of the nib. What is that? Mabie Todd pens sometimes have an under over feed - in addition to the feed that the nib sits on, there is a feed ...

One Person's Dream Nib...

I love this quote. I saw it while reading a fountain pen book and thought it was great, and very true. I don't know what my dream nib is, because I like too many - sometimes I like really broad, cr...

Time To Look! Catalog #76 Is Open!

Catalog #76 for September 2015 is open for viewing! I feel like this every time, but there are some truly outstanding and extraordinary pens to pick up, or just look at. Keep an eye out for some de...

On Point With GoPens #21

The clip broke on one of my vintage pens and I can't find that clip as a spare. Will another clip fit? It's possible another clip will fit, but it will depend on the clip. A lot of vint...