Although this 1970 Parker ”Big Red” Rollerball in Yellow is no longer available from Catalog #77, it is interesting to see how a vintage pen, mint in box, can still be a great gift or a perfect addition to a collection. This one was configured to use Parker Rollerball refills, was new-old-stock, and even had the original price label with the box. Refill was included, so it was ready to go. It’s a great size, …
How do I fill my eyedropper pen? The great thing about eyedropper-filled pens is they’re so simple! Uncap the pen and unscrew the section. Hold the open barrel upright to do this, of course. You can use a glass pipette if your pen was supplied with one, a plastic pipette, a syringe, or you can even pour ink in directly from a small container (if you’re careful). Fill the barrel nearly to full. Try to keep …
A lovely 1954 Montblanc 204 Desk Set in black – perfect for your desk, and a very classic, timeless look. The front and back are rounded; sides slant slightly inward. Base has “DUWAG” Logo (“DUWAG AG” – large German rail car company) lightly engraved between the star and the trumpet. The nib is ideal for a desk pen – a 14K ”Wing” nib in fine, which is useful for quick notes, and fast drying. Pen #19 …
I sometimes see vintage inks for sale – are these safe to put in my pens? Do they expire? Quite a few people still use vintage inks in their pens. There are antimicrobials added to inks to preserve them, such as fungicides. ”Contamination” can occur, and your ink can spoil, slime can develop in the bottle, as well as mold. If you see any such contamination, the ink needs to be disposed of …
We love Waterman pens around here, as you might know! This 1929 Waterman Patrician lever-filler in black hard rubber is equipped with a medium, flexible nib. This is a new-old-stock, mint in original box specimen. Although the box shows some wear, the pen does not. This is a gorgeous set with a classic, timeless color scheme, and you can’t go wrong with this nib. This set has been sold already, but if you would like …
If I plan on selling my pen later, should I keep the box and papers? If you already know you want to sell a pen, you should certainly keep the original box and papers, as this will add to or raise its value, depending on the pen. Some collectors will only purchase a pen that comes with its original box, and others are more interested in owning the pen itself. It depends on what you …
Another extraordinary beauty from Catalog #77 – a 1977 Pilot Buddhist Scriptures Custom cartrige/converter filler in Sterling Silver. The cap & barrel hand engraved with Kanji characters of the Heart Sutra, the best known of the Buddhist scriptures. Each Buddhist Scriptures pen has been blessed. The pens were taken to Buddhist temples in Japan where Priests performed a ceremony to grant good fortune. The clip has inlaid black enamel. The fine nib is also inlaid with …
What’s the difference between an ebonite feed and a plastic feed? Ebonite is a hard rubber, which can typically be molded to the shape of the nib using heat. This is beneficial if you have nib work done, or if your nib is damaged and needs repair. Both can provide optimal ink flow, so long as they are properly coupled/set to the nib. Ebonite can saturate with an ink, whereas plastic feeds tend to …
Catalog #77 is full of extraordinary pens – especially Parkers! This 1973 Parker 75 ”Rainbow” is a cartridge/converter-filler in 18K gold-fill concentric rings, and as you can see, in varying shades of gold. It was a very complicated and difficult manufacturing process that resulted in many rejects, and in turn, an excessive manufacturing cost. This gave way to a very short product life. Given this, these 75 ”Rainbow” pens are very rare today, especially to …
Do all vintage pens have flexible nibs? No, and just because a nib is 14KT gold doesn’t guarantee it will be a flexible nib either, so unless you know what kind of nib you have, it’s not always a good idea to test it with pressure! Some vintage nibs were made to be quite rigid intentionally, such as Accountant nibs/Manifold nibs.
