Vintage Dunhill-Namiki

[alfredop]

Today I found the following pen

 

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w253/gennyesposito/NamikiDunhill/DSCN3457_zpsf311c11e.jpg

 

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w253/gennyesposito/NamikiDunhill/DSCN3461_zpsee699476.jpg

 

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w253/gennyesposito/NamikiDunhill/DSCN3458_zps15543657.jpg

 

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w253/gennyesposito/NamikiDunhill/DSCN3462_zpsb271b56e.jpg

 

As you can see it has a cigar shape and the nib (which need some work) is marked Broad-Namiki-14K-6, the barrel is marked Dunhill - Namiki - Made in Japan.

The cap has a ring missing, but in my opinion it is not original. Indeed it has the typical shape of anonymous italian pen and moreover it is does not perfectly fit when screwing it on the barrel.

From the search I've done the pen should be a pre-war production, and I would like to find the correct cap, do you know of any source?

 

Thank you

Alfredo

[Nikolaos]

Hi Alfredo,

 

This is indeed a pre-war lever filler. Like you pointed out indeed the cap is incorrect. Finding the correct cap will be like looking for a needle in a haystack. You might want to consider getting a replacement cap made out of black hard rubber to match the pen if you plan to use it. The size 6 nib is a great find in itself so another idea could be to use the nib in another pen or a custom made pen.

 

Just some ideas.

 

Thanks for posting,

 

NIkolaos

[stan]

Agree with Nikolaos. Repair the nib and have it installed in a better (or, another) pen.

If having a new cap made you should consider that the ebonite will never match the 1930s ebonite of the barrel. The clip will new to be refinished and reinstalled too.

Try as you might, the only sources for a different cap are:

Yahoo Japan: Likely, you will need to buy a lot of old pens before you find one of the same size and threading.

EuroBox: Eizo Fujii might be able to assist. Write first and if he is interested, you will need to mail him the cap. Might take four to six months before you find out he cannot assist.

Pen shows: At the LA Show (don't know about the others) there are several people who sell lots (and, I mean lots) of parts. You may be able to find a cap that works for you.

Onoto: This is a long shot. A friend had a similar Pilot pen and found an Onoto cap that fit. A number of Japanese makers in the 1920s and 1930s modelled their pens on Onotoi.

 

So, the two big variables are diameter and threading.

 

Best answer. Fix the nib and use it on a spectacular celluloid model - country of origin up to you.

[guyless]

Wow! What an absolutely spectacular find-- however sad its present condition. And sad it is.

 

Pre-war oversized pens by any of the major brands with their original gold nibs are very scarce indeed, and Dunhill Namiki branded Pilots-- made for the European market with nibs that are not the usual Fine-- are especially nice.

 

Accordingly, for me, it would be a great shame to give up on this as a long term project for restoration (at least if the barrel is not cracked or it doesn't present some other significant problem).

 

In terms of finding an actual Dunhill Namiki cap Nikolaos is right-- indeed I'd say "a needle in haystack" rather understates the difficulty.

 

But this said, the caps used on plain black Japanese urushi pens made in the early 1930s look very similar to each other and they were very very popular. Typically, these had a domed top, a gold band or not, and either a gold plated or urushi finished ball end clips (with or without a brand name if gold).

 

So, there's every chance there might be a no-name pen of very modest value out there somewhere that would be a far more harmonious and convincing solution than something new. And a cap with a black clip would look quite correct. (For a decidedly not so convincing solution, the Nov 30, 2011 Bonhams "Dunhill Collection" is instructive, and lavishly illustrates Dunhill's own slightly misguided attempt at mating old barrels with new caps; insofar as I know, none sold, despite the hoopla and fanfare.)

 

Working against you is-- as both Nikolaos and Stan have said-- (1) matching the thread. And rather worse than this, I suspect, (2) a pen with a No 6 nib would normally be an oversized pen-- which were very uncommon in Japan in 1930s. More specifically, judging from pens I own, my guess is that with its original cap your pen would have originally been in the range of 140mm– while the vast majority of similar looking pens were 132mm or smaller, or indeed much smaller. (See my scan below of 2 Pilots, an SSS and a no-name pen).

 

So, hunting at long distance on Yahoo is unlikely work rapidly or without you potentially acquiring quite a large collection of not especially good pens (with long waits for delivery and lots of fees paid to proxy services).

 

Accordingly, Eizo might be your only really good hope, unless you can entice Ron Dutcher (who seems not to be involved with pens the past few years) or someone else avidly buying old pens in Japan to help in a very hands on way.

 

Since the pen is not maki-e by a Dunhill Namiki artist either esteemed (Grade A) or unknown (Grades B or C), at the end of the day, the necessary time and cost invested in really doing right by the pen will likely be quite high for what you get. But wow, it has the potential of being a really truly spectacularly fine and very beautiful writing instrument, imho.

 

 

 

[alfredop]

Thank you for your informations, I've straightened (at my best) the nib, which now write quite well with some flex (although I would not call it a flexible nib). On the back of the nib there are the digit 3.33, hence as I've understood the nib should have been produced during the march of 1933.

I've also cleaned the barrel which is in very good condition, so as I will take your suggestions about the search of a cap, in the mean time I will use the pen as a a desk pen.

 

Here are some other photo of the nib after my partial restoration

 

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w253/gennyesposito/NamikiDunhill/DSCN3465_zps6186b503.jpg

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w253/gennyesposito/NamikiDunhill/DSCN3464_zps5f028eec.jpg

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w253/gennyesposito/NamikiDunhill/DSCN3466_zps688fb598.jpg

 

Alfredo

Edited September 1, 2013 by alfredop

[guyless]

Well done! And it already looks 100-% better.

 

From my very limited sample-- I have two French Market 18 Dunhill Namiki nibs-- my impression is the Dunhill nibs are smoother and noticeably less flexible than similar nibs (Fs or Ms) that were made for the domestic market, all things being equal. And if you decide to have someone with supernatural nib fixing talents work on it (Eizo used to be extremely good indeed), it ought to be absolutely superb. One great advantage of LFs over EDs is changing an old sack does not present much of a challenge even for those of us with subnormal DIY pen fixing skills.

 

And of course if one day you get bored with it, do let me know. Meanwhile, wow.

[georges zaslavsky]

looks great