Faber Castell 14K Fountain Pen - More Info Please

[AndWhoDisguisedAs]

Does anyone have any information about this fountain pen? It has to be at least 30 or 40 years old. I vaguely remember buying it at a garage sale long before I became infected with the fountain pen flu. I found it cleaning out a desk junk drawer.

 

On the cap, it says "Faber Castell" though the "Castell" is a slanted italic.

 

On the barrel, it looks like "5554" and "M" are stamped near the twist feed.

 

The nib is gold color and says "Faber Castell" and what looks like 14K. There is also what appears to be circle with 3 inside."

 

I have not tried to fill the pen or write with it.

 

I'd appreciate any history. How old the pen might be, if it's worth anything, and whether or not it pays to restore it.

 

Note, I tried to take pictures but have been unable to capture any of the imprints or writing on the nib. I needed a magnifying glass to make out what I think is on the pen.

 

Thank you!

[Bo Bo Olson]

A picture would be of much help....

Looking in a book of mine...Faber-Castell

 

Some numbers like Castel 9375 or Castel36/50 are also possible in '30's pens.

 

 

Faber Castell was a second tier pen made by the pencil empire.

They bought up Osmia a first tier but poor company in 1950....then over the next few years erased Osmia from the pen.

Bought up nobility ego problem.

 

Osmia had 4-5 different cap jewels...one was it's famous mark..a diamond...like a MB's snowflake or a Pelikan's bird. Four or five different clips...one with Osmia on it...and one just like it with out...and generic clips also.

 

Osmia didn't have an office supply company backing it like Soennecken, MB, Pelikan or Geha....or a pencil empire, so was always broke.

 

If on the nib there is a Diamond with the 3 in it. It is an Osmia nib......from mid late '50's and should be semi-flex....the tip of the nib will be stubbish...with out the American Bump Under...as normal for German pens with some flex from the '30's-65.

Faber Castell eventually erased Osmia off the nib...but Osmia's Diamond was famous...so they left it. Eventually the ball point killed Faber Castell....just like Soennecken.

 

 

I expect mostly 3 numbers to be Osmia-Faber-Castell....there were some early 1950 pure Osmia 3 number models...some have said.

 

554? would be a normal model number. M= size of nib, and it is a piston pen. I have both a 54 and 540 models. One made by Osmia, the other after Faber Castell took over and the pens were still marked Osmia....at first on one side, then on the same side as the Faber Castell....and then which I don't have is the later models where only Osmia is on the nib, or the diamond is left.

 

Lay it under water in the bathroom sink....let a bit of water sink in.....jiggle....twist the piston slightly a bit at a time back and forth. The ink will be all dried up.

 

When the piston has taken up some water....shake it around for a while, then expel the water/ink.

If the ink comes out a nice blue cloud .... You have the best ink for drying in a fountain pen for 2 generations....Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue.

 

If it comes out in dark blue strings....a Blue Black and will take you 20-30 minutes longer to clean out the pen. Fill the same way, shake, and empty.

 

What ever you do, Do Not Hurry.

 

It could well be you have a very good fountain pen...which is what Faber Castell ended up....even after Osmia got erased.

 

Some Osmia-Faber-Castell pens have screw out nibs....but they need to have the ink holding them loosen....and other O-F-C pens are not screw out nib pens. Something to have a slight idea of what you are doing before you take the pliers and twist..... Pliers and hammers are not good pen tools.

 

I have some 7-8 Osmia or O-F-C pens.....I like them a lot.

I have similar...but this is someone else's picture....I picked because it shows the nib.

I inherited a very similar one...which got me into fountain pens.

this looks like a '50's model...62 and not 620...Osmia and FC on different sides of the pen.1951-52.

Both were Heidelberg pen companies.

I do have plain black rubber pens also. They write very well.

 

Make sure you hold the fountain pen behind your big index knuckle so the nib floats in a small puddle of ink...making it so easy to write. No, repeat, No Pressure is needed.

If you hold it like a ball point...it must plow furrows through the paper....like plowing the Grand Caynon...and that can cause skipping....if you hold it hard and press like looking for oil...you can bend the nib.. ..and It's a Very Good nib.

 

Hold it lightly like a featherless baby bird.....a fountain pen is not like a ball point which is like plowing the south forty with out the mule.

Do not make baby bird paste!!!

 

A semi-flex nib......IS NOT a so called 'Flex' nib.(superflex) that does Olympic Splits.

It has a max tine spread of 3X a light down stroke.... if you don't want to spring the nib and $$$ repair it. A semi-flex is 'almost' a flex....when one has the rigid manafold/nail nib it is so. But if one has the once regular flex....it's only a springy ++ fun nib.

 

Normally most folks new to fountain pens are heavy handed....the nib can survive that....if you don't try to get super fancy and think it's a 'Flex' nib and bend it in half.

Even if it's 'only' black and gold....I've been happy with mine.

Notice the Diamond with the 2 in it.

Faber Castell's late '50's pen no longer had Osmia on it....just the diamond.

 

Yes, to restoring it...if you can't get it to ink. The nibs's a very good one. The pen's made up to Osmia standards....even if the name is not on it.

 

It is fun to scribble with a fountain pen ...or we'd not be here....we'd all be over on 5 color Ball Point Com....

 

 

 

http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o707/boboolson1/faber_osmia_62_f_marbled_kompl3_zpswqya6snw.jpg

Edited November 25, 2016 by Bo Bo Olson

[Noihvo]

 

[Tas]

One of my favourite pens - I know very little of it too.

http://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_parase_sailor_jentle_black.jpg

http://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_venice_postbox_close_up.jpg

 

Oh what a nib.

 

Keen to find out more from your post.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Osmia was the only company I know of that you could tell if you were getting a semi or maxi-semi-flex nib. All others were luck of the draw.

The Osmia/O-F-C pens, the Osmia Diamond + #, was semi-flex. Those with Osmia Supra were maxi-semi-flex.

So the Faber Castell nibs so marked with the old Osmia diamond were the 'Osmia' nib.

 

An Osmium nib material is patented by a Heidelberg professor in 1922. The Boehler brothers buy the patent. Because of that change the name of their brand new company to Osmia. It was one of the very best of the tipping materials of the day.

 

1928/9 Osmia sells it's self to Parker....Lamy takes over. 1929/30 the Depression starts, Parker/Osmia can not sell it's overly expensive Duofold in Germany....to many cheap Duofold clones, and the Duofold don't hold quite enough ink.

192930...Osmia buys its self back after a technology transfer.

 

Still not having an office supply company to carry the pens like Soennecken, MB, or Pelikan, Osmia sells it's pen factory to Degussa. The workers refused to move 40-50 miles to Pfortzheim where Degussa a silver/gold company was. The Osmia nib is still made to it's spec, on it's old machinery, in it's factory.

Degussa, like Osmia sells nibs to anyone who wants it....to their specs like Bock does today. 1970 Degussa and Rupp (1920-1970) stop making nibs.

I do have some Deguassa nibs....and old Bock nibs.................. I was almost, but was not quite so stupid as a 'nooblie' to throw them out as can't be any good....only in shop nibs are any good.

 

The US company Morton, had made the best nibs in the world from @1900-1914 and later. Kaweco used only that nib...to have the best nib in Germany. April 1914 Kaweco buys machinery from Morton and imports American workers to train their German work force in how to make nibs....then came August 1914 and the Americans went home. Kaweco made the nibs the same way until because of other investments the owner went bankrupt. The first thing the new owner did in 1930 was stop making the best and most expensive nibs in the world. Hand hammered, hand annealed, and the 'iridium' nib tip was stuck in a potato so the 'iridium' would not burn off. Lots of potato soup in the Canteen.

 

I have semi-flex from Degussa and Bock. I have first stage of super flex; Easy Full Flex from Degussa.

 

 

1936 1st tier Osmia broke again, starts selling itself to Faber Castell who made a second tier fountain pen. 1938 the Boehler brothers split the company. I assume, Faber Castell was starting to cause problems...wanting to run things.

Boehler continues to make pens using the same model numbers. In both cases, both companies are saved by the war. Boehler stops making school pens in the '70's.

 

I have a few Boehler pens that I'm quite willing to call Osmia. Same model number. a 54. my only full tortoise pen. But in this case...I'm not sure if Deguassa wasn't making a deal or that the nib was after the Sumer of '38 when Hitler stole the gold. The nib is either Italian or Croat....in it was illegally gold plated/washed....and not Degussa/Osmia. Still a good semi-flex nib. Later Boehler had Degussa nibs.

When I buy a pen...I assume I have the use of the picture also. Otherwise I do ask permission.

http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o707/boboolson1/ZL6RrVDHwYC11282498416S_zpsz4g0ib8v.jpg

 

 

 

Some say...Faber Castell had the say from 1946 on....others say 1950/51 was when Faber Castell completed buying out Osmia.

 

So those later Faber Castell pens did have those Degussa made Osmia nibs, that Faber Castell was still proud enough to leave the famous Osmia Diamond on them.

 

I have always found both the grand steel and grand gold nibs to be equal....none of this...gold is better BS. Same with Geha.

Edited November 27, 2016 by Bo Bo Olson

[AndWhoDisguisedAs]

First off . . . WOW.
The detail and care of your responses is exactly why I love Fountain Pen Forum!
And I wish I was able to take pictures good enough to show you any details.

But, yes, the "3" is indeed inside a diamond! The numbering is 5564 and there is "M" below it.
The cap has no logo or any design. It's rounded and comes to a point. All the brass is tarnished from age and I'm wondering if I can use Simichrome Polish to shine it up.

Also, I have Goulet Pen Flush, will that work better than water to clean the pen from any gunk that has to be decades old? Or is water preferable?

Oh and what ink? I'm thinking something safe and relatively bulletproof like Parker Quint. Suggestions?

Again, thank you!

[Bo Bo Olson]

I Knew nothing when I was an 80 post 'noobie'. But I had lots of help from all sorts of folks. Knowing more is not quite .... knows a lot.

I regret being a long time member of the Pen of the Week or later Month in the Mail Club.

There were Osmia pens I could have bought instead.

 

Yes, use pen flush.

Finger polish with semi-chrome....better to do that three times gently, than take a dremel to it; or rub like hell.

 

It is an M semi-flex.....

What papers do you have?

80g copy paper is not good enough.

90g laser is the starting paper...................never ever Ink Jet the feathering champ.

A ream of 90g laser will last years as long as you don't waste it in a printer. If possible pure laser....no laser & Ink Jet.

Ink Jet must absorb ink very fast....so it can't sit on top and shade. A combo paper must make compromises....that is great for a printer.

Not so good or rather not perfect for fountain pens.

 

I'd flown to the States on business, and getting paper was on my things to do.I have some Southworth..... a good name....not too bad a paper...but a combo. How much better could it have been as a pure laser paper.

 

Typewriter paper if you can find some....good for only one side...but that's ok.

Antique Eatons' Corrasable Typewriter paper....16 lb, 25%.....

 

100&50% cotton...good to write on, but swallows shading...tends to feather. 25% is best.

 

Fugi-Xerox...don't know which one (you would have to find out..is three?), is reputed to be better than HP.

Long term, 90, 100, 110 & 120g papers are wanted.....long term. Gives you a chance to get good to better papers lined up.

Remember LA was not built in a Day.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

What ever the new name is for the old Waterman South Sea blue....a blue turquoise that shades well.

Serenity Blue???? My bottle says South Sea Blue.

 

 

Not 4001 royal blue...shades too little, fades. The other 4001's are ok all shade but the black...the brown is reddish-brown, the violet is good, you can't get Blue Black unless you order it from Europe. Turquoise matches Lamy's.

Pelikan black is ok...if used on non-crapy paper. but might as well get the slightly Aurora black***...if you are going to waste money on a black ink. Noodlers has the blackest inks....but has to be cleaned out more frequently in they are supersaturated.

Living in the Golden Age of Inks...and one buys a black???

 

*** Going to get a bottle of Aurora, just to say I have it....still got half a bottle of Pelikan Black....in I find black ....boring.

 

Pelikan 4001, is an inexpensive green-green ink that shades. ..Yep, after I got a bottle of that on sale...the next year I got 11 of the 14 green/greenish inks I now own. R&K Verdura finished first, a nose ahead of MB Irish Green, a neck before 4001 Green. All three inks will shade.

 

The problem the wetter semi-flex has is it takes a better paper/ink mix to shade than the old drier 'true' regular flex nib.

R&K Scarabosa or Salix...both are IG inks but I'd not worry about that...clean every 6 weeks if you don't go through that ink before.

Herbin, Lie de The` , Cafe des Ills,

 

A bit expensive Edelstein Topaz is the best of the Edelstein inks...IMO.

 

 

PS....when I buy a pen...I assume I've bought the picture used to sell it....in I make horrible pictures.

Edited November 27, 2016 by Bo Bo Olson

[AndWhoDisguisedAs]

Papers? C'mon. I bought the pen at a garage sale for $2 and forgot about it. It's gotta be a decade or more. So, no, no papers. I did spend time flushing the pen with water and then Goulet Pen Flush to get rid of what looked like blue ink. How long should I give it to dry before I can fill it?

 

Otherwise, I'm on my second coat of Simichrome Polish for the nib.

 

Is there anything I can do to bring out the writing on the barrel itself?

 

I generally write on Levenger Legal Pads (which have since been discontinued). Also in a British journal I get from Barnes & Noble. Both are study and can stand up to most fountain pen inks.

 

For my maiden voyage with the Castell, I'm planning to use something bullet-proof like Parker Quink, Pelikan Blue or Black, Aurora Black, or a Mont Blanc blue or grey.

 

Bo Bo and everyone else, thank you so much!

[Bo Bo Olson]

Papers....I did not mean papers and or box of the pen.

Papers to write with.....makes a huge difference. Go to Ink Reviews and look at reviews by Sandy1 :notworthy1: Our ink guru. She uses 5 normal pens of different width nibs, 4-5 not overly expensive but good papers. The ink often looks so different you would not believe it is the same ink.

 

Simichrome Polish for the nib!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OK, I never do that....wanting to keep all the gold wash or plating as possible on the nib.

Simichrome Polish for body of the pen...& very lightly on the trim.

 

Take some school chalk and rub it over the imprint.

 

Black is boring. If so the Aurora....it is a tad better than the 1/2 filled bottle of Pelikan that I've had and half filled at that for 7 years.

 

We live in the Golden Age of Inks......the golden age of Pens died @1965...the Golden Age of Papers died unnoticed sometime in the '70's.

 

There are vivid monotone (boring ) supersaturate inks. Two tone shading inks . You need both.....later you can chase inks with sheen.

 

Try Herbin, Lie de Thee` a wonderful light brown shading ink. I have 4 or five Herbin inks. Cafe des Ills, blue Provence(sp).

R&K any.....are very good inks. Verdura is a fine green-green shading ink, Scabosa and Salix are great shading IG inks. (I have some 15 green/greenish inks....started with a partly filled 4001 ink on sale....12 green/greenish inks bought in a year.) Do suggest having a basis before charging off a cliff.)

IG inks unless you are unusual, most folks change inks every time they empty their pen. If you fall in love with those two IG inks....then, clean your pen every six weeks of constant use. Every 3 months was good enough back in the '50's when a BB had more IG in it than today.

Pelikan 4001 inks outside the fading blue are good inks. Economical and dry inks.

Waterman was considered a wet ink until Noodlers came in. Now Noodler users think Waterman is a dry ink.

 

Gray inks are for the more experienced. I have five good gray inks....that I use too seldom.

 

What ever the modern name for Waterman South Sea Blue....is a nice shading ink. Sort of a blue turquoise.

Lamy turquoise is the basic turquoise....but you need 90g paper so it shades.

Again it comes back to paper.

And I don't know US paper. There is some sort of Brazilian paper at Staples everyone raves about.

There are grand US papers...that are US only in they are in inches and not metric. I've read they can match best Euro paper.....but Euro paper is in A-4....not 11 1/2x 8".

 

No need for me to order from the states....in the States has the most expensive postal service in the world in Congress took bribes from UPS and Fed-Ex to ruin the US mail.

It is lots cheaper to order paper from Germany. In fact I sometimes suggest certain papers be ordered on line from Germany and mailed to the states. Germany has much cheaper international mail.

Once back in the days when the US had a merchant marine, we had cheap...wait six weeks and cheap....it's only a book not ice cream, shop in late Sept for Christmas, sea mail. We lost our merchant marine, (since then got a tiny bit back...but too little way too late.) So mail was forced to go into then and now expensive air mail.

 

 

Southworth is completely adequate papers....if they were pure laser instead of a laser&ink jet combo, I might be more impressed. But ink jet paper absorbs the ink fast....don't let it sit on top of the paper to shade. I don't regret buying them. I had had to go to the states on business, and planned to go Ape on US paper. First I couldn't find any that was more than copy paper...then when I found the Southworth, I bought one of $ach. Later .... saw all were combo papers.

 

Do not use normal 80g copy paper nor ever, ever Ink Jet paper. For every two bottles of ink buy a pack, or ream of good to better papers. Such papers only cost a couple of cans of mechanically delivered cans of Coke or two cups of Starbucks coffee. You will soon have a good selection of paper.

Using cheap paper, is like putting cheap oil in your stop light to stop light, winner gets the keys racer.

 

Cheap paper feathers. If cheap paper was worth using...we'd all use it instead of the better papers.There are affordable papers. Fugi-Xerox...is better than HP....don't know which...was always going to look it up to see which of the three they were talking about.

 

If you buy a ream of good or a box of better paper....that is not paper that ends up in the printer. So it should last half a life time..... if you only buy one box....of course it will get used up!!!!!!

Like inks, you will want the basic 4 types, Hammered, Laid, Linen, and or marbled. There may be 3-4 other types of basic paper too. I'm sort of 'noobie' with papers. Expecting nothing of the marbled paper was shocked it beat the other three.

 

Re-cycled paper is not for fountain pens...who knows what crud is in it....to chip at your nib tip. That is printer or ball point only paper.

 

Writing is 1/3 nib width&flex, 1/3 paper and 1/3 ink, and in that order.

 

What ever ink you buy, go to Ink Reviews and see what Sandy1 says.

There is ink samples one can buy from Gulette (major misspelling) (can also buy the ink) but I'm not in the States. I did order two Noodler inks through him to be delivered to a US Motel I'd reserved a room at. It was waiting. And he packs to drop out the air plane with out the parachute.

 

The major trick to fountain pens....is take your time. Never, Ever, Ever...Buy Now. The pen you wish will be there next week, next month.

 

I made the mistake of buying lots of pens, before buying 'enough' inks....and finally started chasing papers.

 

Chasing paper from the start will make the whole experience better.

That I have some 40 papers is nothing. Many of those papers are good if I can match the ink and nib to it. There are better papers.

There are hand made Italian papers that you need to give up the key to your Lamborghini for. Then there are papers that cost E35/$40 for 35 or 50 sheets.

Gmund makes art papers....never buy art paper unless you are going to do art on it. For pure hand writing friendly paper for fountain pens....art paper is not what is wanted for writing.

So living in Germany, I wrote Gmund asking which were the fountain pen friendly papers. I had thought then...and proved slightly wrong that heavy papers would be best....heavy 150-170g.

I got a couple sheets for free and then ordered in four or so different papers, from 90-100-110-120, 150 & 170g paper. Total 15 or so sheets and @ $1.00 out side the first two free samples. ((I thought my self ready for the next big step. My wallet had me in court for Wallet Abuse so fast it would make your head spin.))

 

I tested them with different inks and nibs, over a time of the 'normal' ink check12-15 of what ever came in or got inked inks.

Then I started dithering. No paper was perfect. Not the 170 or the 100. Each paper worked well with some of the inks and nib width and or flex. At E35....I dithered for 3 years. I finally decided the 120 was better than the exact paper in 170.

Finally while looking at inks for an other thread....I made up my mind. I'd buy the Blanc Beige 120g

, in beige rather than the Blank Beige-creme- 170g. I fear to ask if they have the 170g in beige..... No, it is too late, it would take forever to re-ink that many pens and try again...for a 1-1 1/2% improvement possibility.

 

I can do that with a couple other companies....should. It will keep me out of high classed bars.

 

There is no perfect nib, no perfect paper, no perfect ink. There is how ever a perfect combination....do write it down...and save it.

Then go look for the next.

Edited November 30, 2016 by Bo Bo Olson

[AndWhoDisguisedAs]

Where would you recommend I send the pen to be looked at and repaired?

[Bo Bo Olson]

I only know of Ron Zorn, who comes on the com with great comments and advice.

[MuddyWaters]

Bo bo, any idea which pens a diamond-3 faber castell nib would fit in? Is it a #5 size nib?