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Nib Of The Month: Eversharp Flexible Half Stub

terim

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First of all, I'm writing about this nib because it literally caused my jaw to drop when I came across it while sorting thru our latest batch of new old stock 1960s Eversharp Symphonys.

 

Secondly, try to ignore the surroundings in the photo below. New old stock pens are not always pretty, and some are too far gone to be one of our "seconds" offerings. Sometimes you can only salvage the nib, but in this case ooh-la-la, it was quite a nib.

 

http://www.peytonstreet.com/PSP/blog/sticker_flex_half_stub_500.jpg

 

The name -- Flexible 1/2 Stub -- says it all, but before you get excited and say "where can I get one of these?!", please note that we only found two of these nibs in literally hundreds of Symphony pens. This one was found on a Symphony 915, making the nib the middle size Symphony nib, the same as was found on the more common 701. The pen was totally trashed from many rough years in storage, with abjectly corroded trim and a rusted away lever/pressure bar assembly. We pulled the nib and threw it and its accompanying feed and breather tube into one of our mid-size 4CS Ranga eyedroppers, and it's been a real joy to write with for a week.

 

The nib has really nice flex, which when combined with the italic cut delivers easy line variation when unflexed, and a nice pay-off on the downstroke when flexed. (You wouldn't want to flex on the horizontal stroke as you would pull the tines out of alignment, just an FYI.) This is the kind of nib for which people look to vintage Pelikans, though the nib thickness is a little thinner on the Eversharps.

 

 

Here's the writing sample:

 

http://www.peytonstreet.com/PSP/blog/sample_flex_half_stub_500.jpg

 

Here's the nib:

 

http://www.peytonstreet.com/pens/ranga/915_halfstub_4cs_2.jpg

http://www.peytonstreet.com/pens/ranga/915_halfstub_4cs_3.jpg

 

This is the model that originally hosted the nib:

 

http://www.peytonstreet.com/PSP/blog/symphony_915_500.jpg

 

And here is where it currently lives (a Ranga 4cs eyedropper):

 

http://www.peytonstreet.com/pens/ranga/915_halfstub_4cs_1.jpg

 

If I put together another one of these and can make it available for sale, I'll post an update.

 

Though I call this posting "Nib of the Month," I'm not sure how often I'll find unusual and interesting nibs to feature. Sometimes it seems like there's a good candidate every week, but I don't want to commit to that as it seems overly ambitious and dependent upon more than a little bit of luck.

 

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7 Comments

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RMN

Interesting.

Not only because of the nib, but also because of the state of that "NOS" pen.

 

You should collect some pictures of the (sorry) states you find some pens in and post them here....

 

 

D.ick

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terim

The nib looks beautiful and really wonderful to write with I'm sure.

I am a relative newcomer to the fountain pen world. I've been obsessed for about a year now, but have been very conservative about what I add to my collection because of a very tight budget, but also because I just don't feel I know enough about vintage or higher end pens and nibs to make a good judgement call. I'm trying to learn more and more everyday.

I love stub italic nibs and try to opt for them whenever I make a new purchase. I've yet to spend more than $150.00 on a pen which sounds incredibly cheap in comparison to a lot of the collectors I come across on the network.

Do you have any advice on a near future purchase that is within my budget? I love the way the vintage Waterman flex pens from the 20's and 30's write and I know there are countless others available that provide the same fluid line variation.

In any case, I enjoyed looking at your pictures and sharing your enthusiasm of your great find. I hope to come across more of your posts in the future.

Thanks for your comments! I understand your reluctance to plunge into vintage pens, but if you are working with a reputable seller then it is no more risky than a modern pen. We've got a flexible nib section on the web site, and often you will find some of the lesser known pen makers will have nibs are that flexible and still reasonably priced. When it comes to stubs and italics, few modern pen makers do a better job than Sheaffer on these, and it's not too hard to find a Legacy with one of those great nibs.

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terim

Hi:

 

I'm looking for an eyedropper with this type of nib, a flexible, broad/stub, preferably a wet noodle. If you were to sell this one, what will you be asking for it? Thanks!

It's fairly uncommon to find a super flex nib in a broad/stub configuration unless it has been worn down to that shape. Most of the overly flexible were designed to produce maximum line variation and thus "started" at extra fine or fine, and that is certainly true of the eye droppers. If I had a wet noodle nib that was a broad, I'd consider it less than desireable and price the whole pen (assuming there's no brand on the pen or the nib) around $125.

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terim

Oop, I forgot to ask - was this nib "factory" or was it modified after the fact? I'm curious, because if it was factory, then there is still hope that I might eventually find what I'm looking for!!

 

Nyleen

It was definitely "factory" as is evidenced by the sticker. The stub nibs we have on other Symphony models are really similar to this nib, though their lines are a little wider.

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terim

Interesting.

Not only because of the nib, but also because of the state of that "NOS" pen.

 

You should collect some pictures of the (sorry) states you find some pens in and post them here....

 

 

D.ick

It's kind of embarrassing to show the original state of some of these ....

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terim

Well, yes and no. We had a batch of our 4cs pens made specifically to fit the mid and large size Symphony nibs. They don't have a stock model that fits these nibs.

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terim

Actually, we have been able to clean up the plastic and the gold plated/filled trim amazingly well. It's the internal metal components (pressure bar and thin loop) that have corroded and resulted in so many homeless nibs.

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