Mysterious Pen

[jiwonkim12]

Hello there,

 

I am fairly new to fountain pens and I have begun investing into the art. Last Friday, I came home for Thanksgiving break and while looking through some old stuff, I found two boxes with pens inside. Through some research, I found that one box contained a set of Parker 75 Prince de Galles (ballpoint and fountain.) The other box however has left me a bit puzzled. Both the box and pen say "Swiss Military" but I have been unable to find anything about it online. The pen is fairly heavy and I would love to try it out. Unfortunately, there is no cartridge or converter inside. I was wondering if any of you would be able to identify this pen or perhaps lead me in the right direction. I have attached images and if anymore images are needed, I am more than willing to upload more.

[Jerome Tarshis]

I think this is a generic fountain pen. "Swiss Military" is not an established brand name for fountain pens. There are objects manufactured in Switzerland that are described as Swiss Army knives or Swiss Army watches. Those say they are made in Switzerland, and the ones I know about will carry the name of a manufacturer; in principle the object is of a kind bought by the Swiss Army, although I somehow doubt that the actual Swiss Army issues such a large variety of wrist watches as are manufactured by, for example, Wenger. But Wenger is a real and indeed well-known manufacturer.

 

The illustrated pen, which ought not to be associated with Swiss manufacture unless it or the package says "Made in Switzerland," and possibly not even then, is intended to sell to people who have heard about the good reputation enjoyed by Swiss manufacturers. It may write well. Or not very well. I have owned nibs labeled Iridium Point Germany that wrote smoothly. Indeed, the excellent nib of my Italix Parson's Essential began life as an Iridium Point Germany nib before being modified to a medium italic by or for its seller, Peter Ford. Other such nibs may be equally satisfactory, or not.

 

My practical advice is to take the pen to a shop that sells ink cartridges and converters and find out, by trial and error, what fits the pen. Standard international cartridges would be the most obvious guess, but some such pens will take a different cartridge. Then write with the pen. In the present-day world it may or may not be enlightening to find out who made something. Or who paid to have it made.

Edited November 19, 2012 by Jerome Tarshis

[watch_art]

Looks Chinese to me. Why? The nib. Same shape and markings that come on lots of kit pens.

[LedZepGirl]

Looks Chinese to me. Why? The nib. Same shape and markings that come on lots of kit pens.

 

I was going to say the same thing. It's probably like those fake Swiss Army knives that can be found in sketchy gas stations, ect. They kind of look like the real thing but really aren't.

 

Anyway I've never seen a pen like that before.

[nxn96]

Well, it does have an "International Guarantee", for what that's worth....

[FPFan]

A good place to start to find a cartridge IMO would be with an international size cartridge. They seem to be a little more along the lines of a "standard" size. If that fails, you will just have to keep trying anything you can get your hands on. Sorry! It is an interesting looking pen, though.

Edited November 19, 2012 by FPFan

[jslallar]

For what it's worth I was given a gift box by a pharmaceutical representative. The box contained a typical Victorinox red knife (8 functions) and a ballpoint, which has a silver colored cap and red plastic body which seems to have been made from the same plastic as the knife sides. The refill is a Caran dAche. The pen is well made, much better than I would expect from a Chinese product, and works by twisting the cap. There is the ubiquitous cross engraved on the cap. "Victorinox" and 'Swiss Army" are Shiny band between the cap and the body.

Edited November 21, 2012 by jslallar

[alfredop]

For what it's worth I was given a gift box by a pharmaceutical representative. The box contained a typical Victorinox red knife (8 functions) and a ballpoint, which has a silver colored cap and red plastic body which seems to have been made from the same plastic as the knife sides. The refill is a Caran dAche. The pen is well made, much better than I would expect from a Chinese product, and works by twisting the cap. There is the ubiquitous cross engraved on the cap. "Victorinox" and 'Swiss Army" are Shiny band between the cap and the body.

 

Your ballpoint pen seems to be a Caran D'Ache Dunas, so as it effectively is a swiss product (or at the least the brand is swiss).

 

Ciao

Alfredo

[jslallar]

So my pen is a CdA but with only the coat of arms of Victorinox - so obviously a pen made for a gift box.

 

The pen in the pic posted by the OP has a strange cross, neither Victorinox nor Wenger, the only two companies which had a contrcat to make Swiss Knives (Wenger BTW now is owned by Victorinox.). Look for these two names in the Gaurantee card.

[jiwonkim12]

Thank you all for your replies! I really do appreciate them.

 

For now, I am just going to assume it to be a generic pen. I have purchased an international cartridge and it works fine. The cartridge fits in there nice and snug.

 

Although it is not a fancy pen from a well-known company, I am pleased to say that it writes very well. Smooth nib, nice ink flow, and a slight amount of flex to give it some line variation. Thank you all for your input.