A&w Fountain Pen

[doggonecarl]

I was browsing my local brick and mortar pen store and ran across a pen I had never heard of, by A&W. As far as I know, A&W Products aren’t pen manufacturers but rather are distributors of office and school supplies. There was no designation on the blister card except “Made in Germany.”

 

Appearance and Design

 

The shiny, black plastic pen resembles an “art” or calligraphy pen, such as the Pelikan or Lamy, being long and slender and having a tapered barrel. The grip section is knurled, reminding me of the one on the Rotring Tikky automatic pencil. Rotring calls this design “wave formed” for comfort. There is a gold-colored spacer between the grip section and barrel, which breaks the monotony of the black body and matches the color of the nib.

 

The clip on the cap seems functional enough, but the pen is too long to fit in a shirt pocket. Not sure when the clip would be used.

 

Construction and Quality

 

The construction is what you would expect from an inexpensive plastic pen. There are only five components to the pen: Cap, nib, grip section, barrel and spacer. The cap snaps on, but not with the sense of security I desire. Nor does the cap post on the pen.

 

Weight and Dimensions

 

This is a light pen. It is 6 5/8” capped, 6 ¼” uncapped, and 6 ½” posted. As mentioned, this a slender pen, almost the same diameter as the Noodler’s Nib Creeper.

 

Nib and Performance

 

I like the way the nib writes, but then, I like the nib on my $3.30 Pilot VPen. Nib is a medium, gold colored. On it is inscribed “Iridium Point.” With very little pressure, the pen lays down a wet, broad line. No skipping. Pressure produces slight variation in line width. There is almost a stub-like quality to the nib, with minimal tooth using Noodler’s Black.

 

Filling System

 

This is a C/C pen. It holds two small international cartridges. I have it fitted with a Schimidt converter, the same one I use in my Ohto Spirit.

 

Cost and Value

 

This pen cost me $9.95. I think my Pilot Plumix provides better value, for less money.

 

Conclusion

 

The A&W fountain pen is cheap, no-name writing implement, saved by the performance of the nib. It inked up quickly, didn’t leak, and for those reasons alone, won’t get thrown away. If I ever decide to play around with nib modifications, this is the pen I may pick for the experiment.

[Biber]

Root beer ink anyone?

[Uncle Red]

PR Copper Burst would give the Root Beer effect I think. I'm surprised it's a broad, it's a pleasant surprise.

[Dan308]

Root beer ink anyone?

 

lol.

When I read the thread title, I thought someone had trimmed up a straw, and inked it up with ketchup while waiting for the kids to finish their burgers. I might actually try that someday : )

[2GreyCats]

Which store did you find it in, if I may ask? I have 3 'Marquis' FPs marketed by A&W years ago, and I only know that they are 'Marquis' from memory -- the gold script on the cap has long since worn off because I used them heavily when I bought them, and use them heavily now that I've resurrected them from the back of my desk drawer. The burgundy one is my regular 'grading' pen and is filled with either Skrip red or Diamine Poppy, and presently with a mixture of the two... :embarrassed_smile:

 

I keep hoping to find more of them somewhere. They write as well as any Sheaffer I've ever had, and I'd probably cry if I lost one, even if they were just an $8.00 pen in the Phar-Mor store.

[79spitfire]

Root beer ink anyone?

I was thinking the same thing, or perhaps a promotion...

 

Here kiddies! With your junior value meal, a real pen, instead of another POS toy! YAAAAAY!

[Mags]

Root beer ink anyone?

 

lol.

When I read the thread title, I thought someone had trimmed up a straw, and inked it up with ketchup while waiting for the kids to finish their burgers. I might actually try that someday : )

 

Dan you have been to my local A&W and watched me with the kids....ketchup or mustard works well in the straw.....lol.

[Dan308]

Root beer ink anyone?

 

lol.

When I read the thread title, I thought someone had trimmed up a straw, and inked it up with ketchup while waiting for the kids to finish their burgers. I might actually try that someday : )

 

Dan you have been to my local A&W and watched me with the kids....ketchup or mustard works well in the straw.....lol.

 

I was reading a thread here on FPN a couple of weeks ago that had something to do with "...you know you're FP manic when..." I think this qualifies Mags!

[swanjun]

Which store did you find it in, if I may ask? I have 3 'Marquis' FPs marketed by A&W years ago, and I only know that they are 'Marquis' from memory -- the gold script on the cap has long since worn off because I used them heavily when I bought them, and use them heavily now that I've resurrected them from the back of my desk drawer. The burgundy one is my regular 'grading' pen and is filled with either Skrip red or Diamine Poppy, and presently with a mixture of the two... :embarrassed_smile:

 

I keep hoping to find more of them somewhere. They write as well as any Sheaffer I've ever had, and I'd probably cry if I lost one, even if they were just an $8.00 pen in the Phar-Mor store.

 

 

I have one A&W pen and now I wonder if it's a Marquis, too... It very possibly could've come from a Phar-Mor, as I think I bought it right around the time my first, beloved Sheaffer school pen (I'd named it "Bob") finally bit the dust. The nib is a little corroded now, but it still writes really well!

[2GreyCats]

There is an A & W Marquis (I know it's the Marquis because it's the identical twin of my grading pen) in this auction up today. It's the second one from the right, the dark red one with the goldtone ring around the end of the barrel.

 

http://tinyurl.com/cfdqc4h

 

You can't really see it in the pic, but the section has an odd little grid-shaped texturing for the fingers to grip.

[2GreyCats]

There's a burgundy Marquis-style one in a current auction, if anyone is interested in a cheap-but-good writer. It's a bit newer than mine, as the font of the imprint is different.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=121048150991&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123