Search the Community

Hello to everyone. I found three really similiar looking fountain pens at my love's flat. I wonder what brand they could be or how old they must be, what their engraved subtitles refer to and so on. I took photos and luckily I can read small letters from close, so I can write what I found engraved on their tips. I will describe them according to their order on both photos, they are in the same order on both. On the left, no pattern: has a "Spirit of St Louis" graving at the bottom edge of the lid. On the point "Iridium point" and Germany are engraved with some nice spiral-decorated "frame" like pattern. It seems to be made of steel or some other lighter metal. Middle one, "stripy": on the tip it says "Radiant tipped" and "Made in USA". It has a very light, plastic feeling, especially the lid. The other two have more metal weight and feeling. On the right, with black shapes: on the tip it says "Matador", below that is an encircled "1" and below that is New York. The lid and body are made of metal. Thank you in advance Update: Found one more, it was in a Marksman titled case, but I'm not sure if it is one. It says "Iridium point" on the tip as well with the same nice swirls, but no "Germany" is engraved. It must have been a company gift, since there is a Philips logo on its lid. There is a very little figure on the golden clip which looks like a winged human figure standing on one leg and holding a stretch-out bow. Naturally the last photos with the dark blue pen count here.

I have ordered the Dorsal Fin Version 2 and I am anticipating its arrival. I was looking around for a used Decapod to by by-pass that long wait times, if possible. Please let me know if you have or or know of one for sale. Thank you for your help!

Hello, I recently purchased on the eBay, a Parker 51 vacumatic from 1945 American made. I soaked it, cleaned it up and it fills properly. It writes well in the beginning a nice slightly wet fine line. However, after about 3 or 4 minutes of writing the pen starts writing extremely dry. I mean the ink barley comes out. When I squeeze the filler, the ink flows normally. I need your advice on how to fix this issue. Do I need to open the hood and see what is going on? Please advise or should I send it for restoration to an expert. It feels well and does not leak. Thanks.

Just over a weekend ago I received an update from Ensso pens, advising me that they'd just launched a new Kickstarter project. Having backed (and very much enjoyed) their Piuma last year, I was right on top of this project too: a very reasonable 'start-up' price for what looks like a great EDC pocket pen. I have no financial interest in Ensso (other than as a backer), but one of his collaborators on the latest project (username caiello) has posted something about it on the "USA - North America" forum. As a new member of the forum, he's not able to post in Market Watch - so I've agreed to do so for him. The project is already well over the minimum level for funding (nearly US$50,000 for a $5,000 goal), but for the price/discount I'd say it's well worth checking out! Link to the project is below - to comment on the original post go to https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/333317-xs-pocket-fountain-pen-by-ensso. ================ Hello FPN friends, I am an architect and product designer and recently designed a pocket fountain pen for Ensso- a Los Angeles-based writing instruments brand. This pen was conceived with mobility in mind. It is one of the smallest fountain pens in the world, but it grows into a regular size pen when posted- making it ideal for everyday carry. In addition, the cap is secured by o-rings, allowing a fast uncapping. The XS has twelve facets that prevent it from rolling down your desk and it is available in several aluminum and brass finishes. It is equipped with #5 Peter Bock nibs made in Germany and it uses standard international ink cartridges or small aerometric converters. The XS is available to pre-order on Kickstarter at 50% off from the future retail price. I hope this is a good place to inform the FPN community about the design if not, I would appreciate if you could point me in the right place. I am looking forward to hearing your comments.

Hello again experts, After everyone was so helpful to finding out more about my Swan 105/60 I'd been on the hunt for more Mabie Todd pens. I snagged this at auction recently and it has none of the numbers I was expecting on it. Is because it's an American made pen? In any case, I'd love some more info on it if anyone has any. Looking forward to restoring this beauty!

During an internet outage this evening, I went out to one of my local Walmarts and came away with triplets. A set of Norcom composition books, one each from the US, Mexico, and Vietnam... http://i.imgur.com/qFkKf7S.jpg Mexico top left, Vietnam top right. I put them through their paces with different pens, inks, and nibs. The results speak for themselves, I think... http://i.imgur.com/bO1mX62.jpg http://i.imgur.com/oGnWhHj.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/tIXdXWt.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/DWmcLXp.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/5uaWfXm.jpg http://i.imgur.com/xUax6ZE.jpg The Vietnamese book far outperformed the American and the Mexican books. At 88 cents US, the Made in Vietnam Norcom composition book is an absolute bargain. (And it's a bit obvious what album I was listening to while doing these tests, hmm? )

Hi everyone, I am new to the forum and was hoping you guys could help me out with a new found hobby. I've recently retaken up writing with fountain pens and now I want to jump into the world of binding my own notebooks, it's fun and I get something really nice at the end. I've done a test run of all of the paper I could get my hands on so far and my favorite is the 85 gsm bioprima paper found in the Fabriano EcoQua notebooks, the problem I am having is I dont' know where to get just the paper. The EcoQua notebooks seem to be everywhere online and in local art stores but I can't for the life of me find a US source for the paper itself. The closest I have found was a bookbinding store in the UK known as Shepards but I would really like to avoid paying $30 in shipping to get paper. Does anyone know where I can get my hands on the paper?

Hi I have recently been getting into expiring this side of parker. does anyone have a definitive list of what parker produced in this area with regards to USA and Canadian types of black junior and juniorette black varieties. kind regards Rick

For the past 3 or 4 months, I’ve been wanting to get my hands on a Karas Kustoms INK – I’d heard so much buzz about this pen, but (cheapskate that I am) was waiting till I could jump on a good deal. The opportunity presented itself a few weeks ago, when Massdrop listed the pen for a second time – having passed upon the first offering, I wasn’t going to miss out again! The pen arrived yesterday, and I’ve been giving it a bit of a workout over the past 24 hours. So this isn’t a systematic review, so much as my initial impressions and a few photos. (For a more comprehensive review, not to mention more creative one, check out https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/276799-the-ink-karas-kustoms/). ______________________________________________________________________ 1. Appearance & Design A word on the packaging, first of all. Anyone who’s bought a Karas Kustoms pen will probably be familiar with the brown and red cardboard box it ships in – about as ‘workmanlike’ as you can get. With the Karas Kustoms logo on the front, silhouettes of a few of their pen designs, and the words “Fully Machined in the USA”, you know exactly what you’re getting. I had to smile, though, at the writing on the underside. “Dozens of satisfied customers” – I hope they’re not over-stating their popularity... http://i.imgur.com/Xws7agb.jpg http://i.imgur.com/zjXeGm6.jpg I like the instruction sheet, too – especially the last line or two of text! http://i.imgur.com/cV6dNXa.jpg After some to-ing and fro-ing (and having read the following review: https://thepassionatepenman.wordpress.com/2015/02/26/karas-kustoms-ink-fountain-pen-review/) I opted to pay an extra $10 for the brass grip section – which I think was a good move. It helps to move the balance of the pen a little more towards the front end. http://i.imgur.com/qi24Xkv.jpg http://i.imgur.com/pSHzztC.jpg The two words that immediately come to mind when I look at this pen are ‘industrial’ and ‘robust’ – it’s a solid, substantial pen to look at, and a fair bit of heft in the hand. The pen looks pretty cylindrical – though it does taper a little from top to bottom. It’s a shame that there’s such a large gap (2-3mm?) between the cap of the pen and the clip – it means the pen will be a little less secure in my shirt pocket. But that’s a minor quibble for me. This pen looks and feels like it could survive being run over a tank – which hopefully means it can withstand whatever abuse it might experience riding in my pocket as an EDC pen. … 2. Construction & Quality The build quality on this pen is just phenomenal – expertly machined from aluminium, with a semi-glossy anodised black finish on the pen cap and body. It takes about two full rotations of the cap to secure or unsecure – which is quite acceptable in my book. More importantly the cap screws smoothly and securely onto the pen body – likewise with the grip section. The clip stands out a long way from the cap of the pen (~5mm), which would be a liability if it were any less robust – but again, we’re dealing with solid metal materials here. http://i.imgur.com/U1NsIwo.jpg Here's a comparison with two of my other understated black pens - a Pilot Vanishing Point (top), and a Lamy 2000 (bottom): http://i.imgur.com/tqo3FZV.jpg … 3. Weight & Dimensions Capped, the INK is about 137mm long; uncapped it’s 127mm, which is a pretty good fit for my hand. Just as well – the pen is not designed for posting, and you’d probably scratch up the finish if you tried to ram it on! It weighs in at a hefty 50g – though roughly 1/3 of that weight resides in the cap. That’s pretty comparable to some of my Jinhao pens (the x450 and 159), but for some reason this pen feels a lot heavier in the hand! The exterior of the cap is about 14mm in diameter – this tapers down to around 11mm at the bottom end of the barrel. There’s a big step-down from the pen body to the grip section – but the way I hold the pen, that doesn’t matter. The grip section diameter is around 11mm at either end, tapering inward slightly to ~9.8mm in between. … 4. Nib & Performance The nib on the INK is a little smaller than I’d expect for a pen of this size – to my mind a #6 would look a little more natural than the #5 the manufacturers opted for. I’d also say that it lays down a broader line than I’d expect for a Fine nib – but I knew that would be the case when I bought it. The ink flow is generous, and the nib glides smoothly across the page. I’ve experienced a little bit of skipping – but I expect that will resolve itself as I “break the nib in”, and maybe give it a thorough rinse.. http://i.imgur.com/Fo9HTyE.jpg http://i.imgur.com/kCrXElz.jpg It’s worth noting that these pens utilise a Schmidt nib assembly that can be easily screwed out and replaced with another, compatible unit. The nib and feed are friction fit within the assembly, and can be pulled out with a bit of effort, if you want to experiment with #5 nibs from other manufacturers. http://i.imgur.com/LZLYRdj.jpg … 5. Filling System & Maintenance The INK is designed to take standard international cartridges, and a good quality cartridge converter is included in the price. … 6. Cost & Value I was able to get a good discount on this pen via Massdrop – especially considering the shipping costs from the USA to Australia. $70 for the pen, plus $10 for a brass grip section, plus $5 postage – that came to a total of US$85. That’s still not a cheap pen – but for the quality of the design, materials and workmanship, I’d say it’s worth it!

I received this on Friday in the mail. Beautiful Bexley Imperial in the Cappucino Swirl color. Medium nib, cartridge converter and all inked up with Noodler's Black. I must say that I like the feel of this pen in the hand! Yes, I do know that I've spelled "Cappuccino" incorrectly, but that's the spelling used by the manufacturer.

Just wanted to let anyone interested in buying Private Reserve inks about a vendor called pensavings on Ebay. I bought a few bottles of PR ink, and was rather shocked when i came to realise that P&P was $4.95, shipping from USA to the UK. I ended up asking the vendor if this was correct, as I realise how heavy ink bottles are, and that shipping cost are bound to be more. He explained that this was in fact the case, and that he just about broke even with fountain pen inks, but helped with other areas of the business. I subsequently ordered a few more, larger 110ml bottles, which the vendor ordered and has sent with the same remarkable postage rate. All transactions were smooth, and had great communication throughout. I've asked if he is likely to stock Noodler's any time soon, and he said he was talking to the distributer with a view to doing this at some point in the near future. Until then, any one looking for PR inks, check his ebay store out!

Sometime in 1986 or '87 my father gave me a Cross Century Classic set as a gift (black/ gold finish; fountain pen, ballpoint and mechanical pencil). Shortly thereafter, the fountain pen was damaged after falling from my shirt pocket and was never repaired (parts got lost along the way). As the years passed, I kept wanting to replace the pen with a similar one but for one reason or another, I never got to bought it back. Last week I finally went to a pen shop to look for it, but I came away empty handed and feeling sad for what was shown to me. A far cry from the great pen of my memories. The black finish had almost the same texture, but the pen felt noticeably lighter. Also, the blind cap was a gold-colored contraption about an inch in length, that look cheap and also made the pen IMHO, look like a pirated version of the original (mine had just a gold button up there). To make matters worst, I was told that Cross had moved their entire production to China, which kind of mooted the point of expending extra for the brand. I still own the pen and pencil, and they definitely feel much more solid and of better quality than the "new" fountain pen. Does anyone here has purchased this new version? How does it compare with a 30 year old model?

Does anybody know where I would be able to get Black n Red casebound, A4 sized, narrow-ruled notebooks in the USA? I can't find them anywhere! The wide ruled version is available everywhere, but the narrow-ruled one is nowhere to be found. Also, if you live in the UK and have access to these notebooks, I would be willing to pay or trade for you to ship me one if there are no US sellers. I could technically order off of UK websites that sell them, but the shipping they charge triples the cost for me.

Hi fellow FPN'ers, Does anyone of you guys know what kind of model this Cross inkwell is, and probably the history? I think the cap is made of 18ct (14ct?) gold and the bottle of glass (?) The weight of the inkwell is 700 grams, so very heavy! The inkwell had a price tag of 395 euro and was found in a closet in our office, nobody knows how its ended up there! Thanks for the comments!

I heard the country of manufacture for these pens is on the box.packaging, but because I bought it from a second hand store, I did not get any of the original packaging. I've been trying to research the net where my Cross ATX Matte Chrome Fountain Pen is made in, but I cannot find anything conclusive. Would anyone have any ideas as to how I can find this out?

I recently acquired this pen, its an ED, the nib is marked Alloy Steel USA and on the clip is engraved FLEX. The Barrel has the words Flex, Free Flow printed. The colour and classic feel of the pen attracted me, looks mint. Google look up did not show any information...can anyone here help me identify this pen...

Am i misstaken to identify a bunch of Montblancs on the table, during the meeting of the president of the USA and the primeminister of Sweden, in Stockholm today? (4th september 2013)