Pelikan, as you know, makes more than just great pens. The Pelikan Edelstein range is named after gem stones, and in this case, Jade. This is just a representation of the gemstone, which can apparently vary in color. Being a natural material, that’s not surprising. I like this one a lot.
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 …
There’s such a range of turquoise inks, and I’m not sure if they’re all accurate in their naming system. I don’t really care, because they’re pretty. They also look very different when used with different nibs. What’s your favorite turquoise?
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 …
Turquoise. One of my favorite ink colors, and there’s so many to choose from! Of course, one of my favorites is no longer available: Caran d’Ache Caribbean Sea. I’m still looking for a close match.
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.
What’s a little royal blue? What’s your favorite royal blue? I used to think this was a boring color to put in my pens, and then it started to grow on me. I kept using it because many of them were easy to wash out, as many were washable, and I thought, maybe these aren’t so boring after all. Now, I have at least two bottles on hand at all times. Go figure! Pictured: Montblanc …
