English/British Made Fountain Pens?

[Chrissy]

I wonder are my Sheaffer pens British?

 

I must dig them out and have a look

[Matlock]

[RMN]

Thanks Peter, a beauty she is.

 

Make sure she get's a good restoration.

 

 

 

D.ick

[Matlock]

Thanks Peter, a beauty she is.

 

Make sure she get's a good restoration.

 

 

 

D.ick

 

Thanks D.ick

Will do.

 

Peter.

[Guernseytim]

Very similar to my "the pen", recently had it services by Eckiethump.

 

I love the quirkiness of the filling system.

[Cob]

I have wanted a National Security button filler for ages. Manufactured in Liverpool by Curzon/Langs, they often came in nice patterns and despite the rubbishy cap bands, and the wrong clip, I am very pleased with this pen.

 

 

Cob

[mitto]

Matlock , I loved your pen. Keep it with extra motherly care as was kept by your dearest Mom. I assume she has passed away from your words "( she used it as a dip pen towards the end of her life )". May Allah rest her soul in Paradise .Amen.

[Matlock]

Matlock , I loved your pen. Keep it with extra motherly care as was kept by your dearest Mom. I assume she has passed away from your words "( she used it as a dip pen towards the end of her life )". May Allah rest her soul in Paradise .Amen.

 

Thank you for your kind words mitto. Yes she passed away in 1993. A fountain pen user all her long life.

[mitto]

Thank you for your kind words mitto. Yes she passed away in 1993. A fountain pen user all her long life.

You are welcome Matlock. So was my father who passed away in 2005. (My mother left us , though , way too early when I was in high school in 1968). Would like to share with you the pen I inhereted from my father whenever I get a good picture of it.

[alc3261]

 

QUOTE (QM2 @ Mar 1 2009, 10:35 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Parker is an American company. There is also the new Onoto, but so far they only produce LEs which are quite pricey.

 

Conway Stewart and Yard-o-Led are the only two big houses with standard production runs.

QUOTE Thanks, yes Parker are American but have a factory in England and from what I can tell their UK market pens seem to be made here so I guess that counts. The brand was British owned for some time until it passed over to Newell Rubbermaid I think.

The Parker Pens produced at the Newhaven factory were entirely different models to the US production.

[Daddy-O]

Cob

 

I have a National Security pen in black that came in a job lot. An interesting pen with a two-piece chased barrel, a 14 ct nib and a button filler with a breather tube. The strip of metal that depresses the sac appears to be broken off and is only a small u-shape now. I'm not sure how to proceed with repairing this one as net searches don't yield much information.

 

Mark

[Cob]

Cob

 

I have a National Security pen in black that came in a job lot. An interesting pen with a two-piece chased barrel, a 14 ct nib and a button filler with a breather tube. The strip of metal that depresses the sac appears to be broken off and is only a small u-shape now. I'm not sure how to proceed with repairing this one as net searches don't yield much information.

 

Mark

Very interesting that one!

 

I once bid on a NS bulb-filler that I was annoyed to miss.

 

Can you post some snaps of your pen?

 

Best wishes

 

Cob

[Daddy-O]

Finally had a chance to take some (sorry about the quality!) photos of the National Security Autotank.

The pen is 'as found' as I want to learn more about it before I attempt to clean it up and make it operational.

 

.

[Cob]

Yes it's a sort of bulb filler but more sophisticated than the Mentmore one I have. A very interesting pen - I am envious! I have a soft spot for National Security pens.

 

The centre section has a nipple for the sac (strictly speaking, the bulb) which is compressed by the button on the end. EDIT: it occurs to me that perhaps there was some sort of short pressure bar inside that acted on the bulb - one would need to have a look inside!

 

On my Mentmore, one just removes the end cap and squeezes the sac (bulb). Bulb fillers work really well - others include the Wyvern 808 and 909 and of course Parker's "aerometric" system is merely a variant of the idea.

 

The clip suggests that your pen was made by Langs. An expert told me that he thought my NS button-filler may have been manufactured not by Langs but by Henry Stark & Hamilton (whoever they might have been).

 

Best wishes

 

Cob

Edited December 18, 2014 by Cob

[Matlock]

I found this if it is of any help.

 

National Security pens are by no means rare but we know surprisingly little about them. They along with Rosemary were the house brands of British Carbon Papers. Other than the fact that they were wound up in 1948 I can find little information on BCP. They shared premises at Farringdon Ave with Henry Stark, Son and Hamilton who made most of their early pens, while later ones appear to have been made by Valentine and Langs. Apparently BCP was not popular with the rest of the pen industry as they refused to join the price-fixing arrangement of the time and undercut their competitors

[Cob]

I found this if it is of any help.

 

National Security pens are by no means rare but we know surprisingly little about them. They along with Rosemary were the house brands of British Carbon Papers. Other than the fact that they were wound up in 1948 I can find little information on BCP. They shared premises at Farringdon Ave with Henry Stark, Son and Hamilton who made most of their early pens, while later ones appear to have been made by Valentine and Langs. Apparently BCP was not popular with the rest of the pen industry as they refused to join the price-fixing arrangement of the time and undercut their competitors

Thanks; I love pen industry history. This is particularly good because of course some of the manufacturers who made the National Security pens for British Carbon Papers, were probably amongst those who were complaining about the under-cutting!

 

There can be no doubt that there were many more brands than makers, other interesting mysteries include the John Bull pens and the Pitman's College or Pitman's Fono pens; one would like to know who made these - there have already been discussions around the 'net on this subject, naturally.

 

Cob

[Matlock]

Thanks; I love pen industry history. This is particularly good because of course some of the manufacturers who made the National Security pens for British Carbon Papers, were probably amongst those who were complaining about the under-cutting!

 

There can be no doubt that there were many more brands than makers, other interesting mysteries include the John Bull pens and the Pitman's College or Pitman's Fono pens; one would like to know who made these - there have already been discussions around the 'net on this subject, naturally.

 

Cob

Your welcome. Sometimes information on little known pen makers comes up in the Writing Equipment Society Journal. Worth joining if your not already a member.

[northlodge]

Thanks; I love pen industry history. This is particularly good because of course some of the manufacturers who made the National Security pens for British Carbon Papers, were probably amongst those who were complaining about the under-cutting!

 

There can be no doubt that there were many more brands than makers, other interesting mysteries include the John Bull pens and the Pitman's College or Pitman's Fono pens; one would like to know who made these - there have already been discussions around the 'net on this subject, naturally.

 

Cob

 

With the exception of possibly the most modern, I believe the Pitman pens were made by Waterman. This generally becomes clear when an example is broken down and the design of the section & feed is compared with a Watermans of the same period.

 

I will have a look at my NS bulb fillers to see how the one above operates, although I think it was still a case of squeezing the sac manually.

 

Paul

[Orrell Post]

Mr Pen sells pens made in the UK by small companies/individuals. Worcester pens are very nicely made from good materials. Onoto have the worst customer service I have ever known and the pen was nothing special, it handles no better than many fountain pens I use.

[PeterBeoworld]

In my experience, Onoto has the best customer service of any company I have ever dealt with. Good communication, excellent product and very responsive. They listen to their customers - goodness, they even designed a pen practically to my own specifications. I can only assume you have been very unfortunate.

The nibs are fantastic - I tend to get mine turned into stubs by the bespoke service offered by Onoto through Oxonian - and the packaging is sophisticated and elegant without being over the top. I carry my Doctor's pen with me always. I have four of the new Onotos and a good number of the De La Rue Onotos as well. I am impressed with them all.