This 1920 Parker 25 Jack Knife Safety BF in Black Smooth Hard Rubber. Before the button-fill, the 25 was sold as both as a “click-fill” pen and an eyedropper-fill “Trench Pen” with a compartment on the bottom for ink tablets. A larger, hard to find size. Fine, flexible nib (rare to find a flexible nib). Some imprint wear (almost all readable), otherwise near mint. Item #162 in Catalog #82
Is there any way to fix a watered down vintage black rubber pen? It’s an old one from a garage sale. Fountain pen restorers can fix the pen up for you but if the black hard rubber is faded and whitened by light and/or water exposure, but there are treatments that can darken the material. Whether you truly want to alter your fountain pen this way is up to you.
This 1928 Parker is a True Blue BF set. Designed as a lower cost market entry than the Duofold, initially named “Three Fifty” and the color called “Modernistic Blue and White,” production lasted only two years. GFT. Almost always found with heavy ambering, mint sets, such as this one, are extremely hard to find and highly desirable. Extra-fine/fine nib. A hint of ambering where the barrel is protected by the cap, otherwise near mint+ (could …
A 1910 Waterman with an unusual filling mechanism! This Waterman is a (5)12 SF “Sleeve-filler” in 14K Solid Gold “Filigree” pattern on black hard rubber. In-between the “Pump-filler” and “Coin-filler” Waterman produced the Sleeve-filler in 1910. A sleeve on the barrel slides downward to reveal a press bar used to fill the pen. A rare and wonderful example of this early Waterman filling mechanism. Barrel indicia engraved in Old-English script “TBM.” Broad, flexible, italic nib. A …
Do $2 fountain pens really have iridium tips? Iridium is expensive and fairly scarce, so it is unlikely it is truly iridium tipped.
Can I filter my mouldy ink and use it? This will not help, as the biostatic agents in the ink have likely expired. It’s best to discard mouldy ink and not put it in your fountain pens!
What does 750 on my nib mean? Last week, we answered this question with regards to 585 on a nib, so this makes sense to follow with! This is the gold content of your nib – it is 75.0 % gold, which translates to 18 karat gold. An 18 karat gold nib is not “pure” gold, which would be 24 karats, and too soft for a nib.
What does 585 on my nib mean? This is the gold content of your nib – it is 58.5 % gold, which translates to 14 karat gold. The 14 karat gold is not “pure” gold, which would be 24 karats, and too soft for a nib.
This 1910 Waterman (4)12 Black Hard Rubber fountain pen has a signed “Sterling” overlay in the Art Nouveau pattern. These rare, early, electroformed silver overlay Watermans, with their recessed barrel overlays, have only before been found signed “Fine Silver” or “.999 Fine Silver,” not signed “Sterling.” I thought it may be an error, but my research clearly shows that the electroforming process can be used with both Fine Silver and Sterling Silver. Right now, this is …
I thought this post would be fun to show some flex while listing a few of the pen brands. My favorite happens to be Waterman, because my first vintage pen was a red ripple Waterman 52V with a F-BBB wet noodle flex nib. I’m still crazy about it. I later added a few Mabie Todds (Swan, Swallow, Blackbird), a Wahl-Eversharp (Skyline, Doric), Pelikan (400NN x 2), Montblanc (220, 22, 344), and in the Waterman range: 52V, …
