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Hello, F.P.N. people from away down south in Dixie. I go by "The Leverist," I tinker with antique anything until it works, and I'm a random person on the internet. That's all you really need to know about that, so let's get down to the important business and talk pens. Okay, so I did the Sumgai thing and ended up with a pile of wrecked pens. One Parker 21 was the only one still workable, and it was cracked. Model cement to the rescue! It's fine now. Others were a mostly third-tier accumulation of pens that survived the Great Depression, and look like they rode in the glovebox of a Model T out to the land of opportunity. Here's the body count: 1. Fifth Avenue, built by Safford Pen Co. Red celluloid marbled. Condition: Poor--mangled brass nib, broken J-bar, obligatory ossified sac, and no cap. Has a red Waltham's cap with bent clip. 1. Wearever, Model "Deluxe 100," double jewel, brown striped celluloid. Condition: Very Shiny, but the nib tipping crumbled away when I touched it. "Special Alloy," indeed. Clip not quite right, lever very corroded, J-bar ok. 1. Champion. Model unknown. A very YELLOW pen colored like a Duofold, but shaped like a blend of old Sheaffer Balance and new Nemosine Singularity. Condition: Really good! Well, except for the sac. Everything else is just the way I never find them! 1. Sheaffer Balance Jr. Vac fill, flat ball clip, black with pearlescent flecks. Original Junior nib. Condition: I would tell you, if I could get the vacuum rod to move more than half an inch. Other than that, it's scuffed up but will polish nicely. Section is stuck on pretty good (regular non-triumph nib.) 4: Epenco's . Eagle Iridium Tipped nibs, GP steel. One burgundy, one navy, two really cool striped blue ones with a thunder-and-lightning pattern, like Noodler's acrylics but old-school. Condition: Every single one had a good sac (considering) but the J bars were neatly broken. 3. "Penman" pens. Look almost exactly like Nemosine Singularity pens. One black, missing cap band. Two grey flake celluloid, one in much nicer shape than the other, but I can't bring myself to part out the really grungy one. Curvex nibs, 14k Gold Plate. And--broken J-bar on one gray one. The other hasn't deigned to come apart yet. So There You Have It! I don't know what to do with the nib on the Wearever--not fond of Fleabay, but if I have to then I will. It doesn't have to be original Wearever, it just has to write. Fifth Avenue is cool but really battered. The Epencos are neat, the Penman pens are nice shapes, the Champion is really well preserved, and the Sheaffer is a seized-up but beautiful pen. The Parker? It's cool--testament to the most practical designs in history, if not the prettiest. I have already resacced another lever pen of mine (Gold Flex!) but these are pretty messy. Mostly I need nib ideas for that poor old Deluxe 100. Then, on to discussion of caps and clips, and freeing up the Sheaffer--which I think might be a 1935 model. I will trade a 1950ish Sheaffer Tuckaway Vac parts pen, with a beautiful pencil matching it, if someone can come up with either some parts or another project lever pen. The Tucky just needs the barrel bored and tapped and a new nib unit. A recognized pen mechanic quoted me $85 but I didn't have the money then. Anyhow, thanks for watching, and stay dipped. The Leverist (Who should have probably posted pictures.)

Appearance & Design (9) – The appearance is fine. The top of the cap is a slanted gold tone finial followed by a well made, clip with the right amount of spring. The cap terminates in a wide gold tone band with the Skilcraft name imprinted. The barrel has a thin band where the cap snaps on, with a very rigid and solid snap. The barrel has 3 thin bands within the first third. The end of the barrel ends with a gold tone finial. The design is good. As a metal pen it is somewhat heavy. The feeder is plastic and the nib is gold tone and engraved "Iridium Point". There is a small amount of humble scroll work. Construction & Quality (8) – The Navy Blue barrel is made metal with a reflective, almost iridescent lacquered finish. The quality is very good being that it is solid and feels quite durable. The weight of the cap is the only drawback. Weight & Dimensions (9) – It is 145.2mm capped, 117mm unposted, 155mm posted. The width at the section is 10mm, and 11.6mm at the barrel. The weight of the pen is 18 grams, 31 grams capped. The cap itself is 13 grams, making it quite back heavy when posted. Nib & Performance (10) – When the cartridge is inserted ink flows within mere seconds. The nib comes in fine. According to video reviews the nib also comes in med. It appears that the nib can be replaced with a standard #6 nib. The nib writes very well. On some paper the flow is mildly wet like on Rhodia Dot paper, on others like journal pages, not so much. It will bleed a fair amount on standard legal pads and the more fibrous the paper the more it will bleed. Filling System & Maintenance (9) - This pen takes a small international cartridge while holding a spare in the barrel, a long international cartridge, or a standard international converter. Maintenance is easy. The nib and the feed cleans easily with a simple injection of water. Whether it can be used as an eyedropper remains to be seen. Cost & Value (10) – The pen, Skilcraft Executive Fountain Pen, Fine Tip, Navy Blue Barrel, costs $10.20 on Amazon, $15.44 on ebay or $6.99 from National Industries for the Blind at blind-made.com. The $6.99 price is more than good value for this pen. You won't worry about dropping it, tucking it into a purse or pocket, using it for an every day pen in and out and about. Conclusion (9) - This is a pen that is made in America of Chinese parts assembled by Industries of the Blind. It's an effort that gives the disabled jobs, hope, esteem, and the ability to work for themselves and support families. I don't see how you can go wrong supporting something like this. For anyone that likes a good fountain pen at a good price, well built, attractive in appearance although maybe a little retro 80s, that is easy to use both at home and at work, the purchase of which will support a worthy charity, this is the pen.