We wrote about the scissor barrel configuration some time ago, but here we have an actual 1945 Colorado double-barreled, double nibbed piston-filling scissor barrel vintage pen. This model is in the Red Laminated finish, with red dot and white dots on the gripping sections so you can identify your inks. The scissor swivels to allow the user to fill each of the two reservoirs separately, so you can have two different inks. The pen is …
Diamine Silver Fox is a nice mix of a medium to dark grey, and silver. It’s not shimmery or glittery, but the silver is obvious when compared to other normal greys. The ink shades nicely, and although silver can be difficult to capture in a non metallic ink, this one did well, I think.
In 2005, Pelikan released the M620 City Series: Piazza Navona Famous Places Special Edition. This piston-filling fountain pen is quite pretty, in semi-transparent amber with bronze elements. It has gold-plated trim, including the bands on the cap, barrel, and upper lip of the gripping section. New-old-stock. Mint. One available with a two-toned 14C, fine nib. Item #52 in Catalog #76
I think my ink stained my pen. Can I use rubbing alcohol to remove it? No! Rubbing alcohol can dissolve pen materials, or at the very least, fade and discolor it. It’s best to start with water, and if necessary, you can try some pen flush or an ultra sonicator, but water is the safest to work with. The more you know about the material of your pen, the better you can care for your …
I came across a bottle of Sheaffer Skrip Black, in the older style inkwell glass bottle. I love these bottles, and the black ink inside is pretty nice, too. I’m always looking for a true black – one without shading – just a true, solid black. Do you have a favorite black? Please share it so I can check it out!
This 1950 Montblanc 642-G Masterpiece piston-filler is in the beautiful green striped with a gold-filled cap in the “Alternating Pinstripe and Plain Panels” pattern. Two-toned, medium, flexible nib. There is some fading of the turning knob, otherwise near mint. The gold-filled cap complements the golden tones in the green striped barrel perfectly. It’s a very attractive combination. Item #129 in Catalog #76
What does gold-filled mean? Gold is bonded to a base metal using heat and pressure. Gold-filled is more difficult and expensive to achieve than gold-plating, as the gold is 100 times thicker than gold-plating, and it won’t wear off with use, which often happens with gold-plating.
Depending on the color, iron-gall ink may change when it dries. Montblanc’s Midnight Blue iron-gall ink changes from a dark blue to a solid, somewhat matte, blue-black color. It smells quite rusty, too.
This 1933 Soennecken Rheingold 915 is a button-filler in black, with gold-filled trim. This is a top-of-the-line model. The cap top has the “Starburst S” logo in it. The black sleeve surrounding the button on the bottom of the pen screws into the barrel so the user can depress the white button and fill the pen. When in the “down” position, the sleeve prevents the user from accidentally pushing the button. This specimen has a …
What is vermeil? Pens with vermeil trim look like they have gold trim, when in fact it is gold over sterling silver, which is often reflected in its price and weight. To be used as vermeil, the gold has to be at least 10KT, and at least 1.5 micrometers thick. As it is thicker than gold-plating, it is more resistant to wear, and the base metal is sterling silver.
