Id This Eagle

[tandaina]

I just did something I don't do. I bought a pen on pure whim. I know nothing (literally nothing) about Eagle brand fountain pens. But while scrolling through the Ebay this evening I ran across a totally ignored auction ending in 10 minutes. $22 for a little vintage green pen with a 14k nib. Hmm. Didn't seem like much of a gamble, and a chance for me to try learning how to replace a sac, and clean up a vintage pen. Besides. It is PRETTY. (And I don't own a green pen!)

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8201/8163069435_a4b561b4bf_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7132/8163075197_317bb15a1a_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/8163106896_1b8cd1557e_b.jpg

 

The pattern of the body was really interesting to me. Very pretty and eye catching. Looks to be in pretty good shape. But there is no indication of just how old this might be, or what model Eagle pen it is? I'm having trouble finding a site to help me ID the pen. Anyone want to take a stab at it? I'm sure once it arrives I'll be back searching for rehab advice. Hopefully not a dud, but at $22 it seemed like a pretty safe bet for a pen to try learning a bit of rehab on?

[jbb]

Nice! I don't know much either but I would have given it a try too. Eagle brand pens go waaaaaay back.

Edited November 7, 2012 by jbb

[TimGirdler]

I have an Eagle pen--it's burgundy-ish--and I restored it during the recent hurricane. It cleaned up much nicer than I expected, and I have really enjoyed writing with it. It's a third-tier pen. Still it's nice, and very functional.

 

Get some simichrome and a sunshine cloth and it'll clean up nicely!

 

Tim

[Bo Bo Olson]

That is a very pretty pen , I do think though a gold nib moves it into the second tier range.

 

A lot of companies made good pens besides just the big 4.

 

At that price, You are almost a Somegi....

[tandaina]

Tim thanks for the tool names. The sunshine cloth is the silver polishing cloth? Correct?

 

Do folks do anything to bring a bit of shine back to the pen BODY, or is that best left as is? The gold nib was what pushed me into the "take the chance" position. Hard to argue with $22 just for a gold nib.

[Ernst Bitterman]

Polishing the body isn't unknown, but it's not something you need feel driven to do. As far as working out a model name-- there's not a lot of resources about. It might be a Prince, but I base that only on it looking something like one I worked on which had the model name still legible on the barrel. I shouldn't worry about it over-much, though, as an anonymous pen may still write nicely.

[TimGirdler]

Tim thanks for the tool names. The sunshine cloth is the silver polishing cloth? Correct?

 

Do folks do anything to bring a bit of shine back to the pen BODY, or is that best left as is? The gold nib was what pushed me into the "take the chance" position. Hard to argue with $22 just for a gold nib.

 

Yes, the sunshine cloth is a polishing cloth. Though, I don't think it's specifically a "silver polishing cloth." I think it's rated for silver, gold, copper, etc. The gold nib on my Eagle cleaned up very nice using only the sunshine cloth. Of course, I polished it after I knocked out the nib and feed and soaked them in a 1:10 ammonia solution. This helped to remove any of the old, dried ink. The "tarnish," for lack of a better term, was easy to remove with the cloth.

 

Actually, I didn't use simichrome on any of that pen. Simichrome can and does remove material much more quickly, though a single-tone gold nib might not show it. I'm of the opinion that simichrome be used to remove dried shellac, dried schmutz, etc, and only on nibs and pen bodies very sparingly.

 

I'd love to see pictures of your pen when it is restored!

 

Tim

[Uncle Red]

Nice, the pen looks like a thirties model to me. I don't exactly when the Eagle Pencil Company started making pens but it was in the 19th century, they had a lot of practice by this point.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Simi-chrome, should be used gently. After marking off the pen inscription with say masking tape, polish it on with your finger tips, and wipe off with a flannel rag.

It might take a time or two to get the pen to a well maintained look. In vintage I really don't want it looking brand new...but that's me.

Also be careful when doing the 'furniture' with it or you can end up with brass instead of gold plating.

 

I've used something similar to semi-chrome on almost all my 'old/vintage' pens; many needed it. But if you have a few bucks more there are better safer polishing compound sets.

Nova I think. It has three compounds and can polish airplane Plexiglas.

 

Maybe some one can give you that name or another.

 

One or two of the pen repair guys sells a polishing compound. One seems to be out of business.

Try Guolet (sp)the Ink guy, or Richard Binder's com.

 

After a light finger polish or two, a good wax will really make it shine.

Edited November 7, 2012 by Bo Bo Olson

[philm]

I agree with whomever stated that this is probably a 1930s era pen. Sounds about right. The Eagle pattern you have came in many colors, and I have seen one with a chrome cap as well. All were lever fillers and the nice thing about finding them is that they often have nice 14K nibs, which it appears you have.

 

Here is a photo of red and blue pens having a similar pattern

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/munsonhsr/eagle%20pens/DSC_0003r-2.jpg

 

Phil

[TimGirdler]

I agree with whomever stated that this is probably a 1930s era pen. Sounds about right. The Eagle pattern you have came in many colors, and I have seen one with a chrome cap as well. All were lever fillers and the nice thing about finding them is that they often have nice 14K nibs, which it appears you have.

 

Here is a photo of red and blue pens having a similar pattern

 

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/munsonhsr/eagle%20pens/DSC_0003r-2.jpg

 

Phil

 

That is EXACTLY the same red (burgundy) pen that I restored!!!!!!!! It isn't bad at all! It beats the tar out of an EpenCo pen I restored at the same time. Actually, I am developing an affinity for my burgundy Eagle.

 

Tim

[philm]

Tim,

 

Glad you are enjoying your pen. Actually, Epenco is short for Eagle Pen Company, so they are related. I am in no way and expert on Eagles, but they went by both names/markings.

 

Phil

[tandaina]

Yup, that certainly looks like it! Thanks for all the advice. Really looking forward to getting to play with my first old baby. I love the idea of bringing back something that has been used for so long.

[TimGirdler]

Tim,

 

Glad you are enjoying your pen. Actually, Epenco is short for Eagle Pen Company, so they are related. I am in no way and expert on Eagles, but they went by both names/markings.

 

Phil

 

Phil,

 

Thanks! I think I read somewhere, probably Richard's website, that Epenco was a derivative of Eagle. If my memory is right, Epenco was Eagle's cheaper brand. So, if Eagle was a third-tier pen, I guess that makes Epenco a fourth-tier pen. If Epenco is a third-tier pen, I guess that makes Eagle a second-tier pen.....anyway............

 

It is a surprisingly nice pen. I would definitely be into finding and restoring more of these Eagles.

 

By the way, I really appreciate your website.

 

Tim

[georges zaslavsky]

very cute pen indeed

[Paddler]

If the pen has deep scratches, I use the finest wet/dry sandpaper available. Then take the sandpaper scratches off with 00 or 000 steel wool. Finish with white Colgate toothpaste, followed by Turtle wax. I start with the toothpaste to see how radical I need to be with the other abrasives.

[Cepasaccus]

There is a city very near to Nuremberg here in Germany where I live called Fuerth (actually Fürth). There was the first German railroad to Nuremberg. Also Henry Kissinger was born in this city. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kissinger) In 1856 Daniel Berolzheimer founded there a pencil manufacturing company. It was certainly not much fun at this time to work in such a company. In 1868 his son Heinrich Berolzheimer went to New York and founded with two others the Berolzheimer, Illfelder & Co.. In 1882 the others left the company and the company was renamed to Eagle Pencil Company. It seems the Eagel Pencil Company was renamed to Berol Corporation in 1969. 1986 it was bought by Empire and in 1996 that by Rubbermaid. What happened with the first company in Fuerth, I have no idea.