Stub O' The Day

[Bo Bo Olson]

Sigh....

I only have one stub, '36 Canadian Parker BB stub nib on '38-9 Vac.

 

Living in Germany I chased semi-flex and 'flexi' pre'66 Obliques.

 

dcpritch

Thanks for opening my eyes a bit on stubs and that they made stubs with some flex. One can learn wallet abusing things here. :roflmho:

You have some very pretty pens there.

That Bexley is a grand pen.

[pajaro]

The Strand and the Bexley are such beautiful pens, and the nibs are divine. I also love stubs, but only have Parker 51 and Esterbrook stubs, and the Estie relief stubs are hard to use sometimes. They are sharper than the Estie 2312 italic I am using today.

[peterpen53]

Great show, David! As you know, stubs are a sight for my sore eyes.

It might interest you to know that the celluloid on your Strand

pen is similar to that which Sheaffer used on their Balance pen

in the 1930's--it was a red-veined,silver celluloid.

 

 

John

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to remember Sheaffer using this type of celluloid (or a similar acrylic) for a modern special edition of the Balance pen, probably in the nineties(?).

 

 

Cheers,

Peter

[dcpritch]

I only have one stub, '36 Canadian Parker BB stub nib on '38-9 Vac.

 

Well if you are going to have only one stub, that would certainly be a sweet one to own. Sounds like you and Penmanila, though on different sides of the globe, have some great nibs in common.

 

And I love your phrase, "wallet abusing things." Don't we know all to well what that means!

[reprieve]

This thread = :wub: :wub:

[dcpritch]

The Strand and the Bexley are such beautiful pens, and the nibs are divine. I also love stubs, but only have Parker 51 and Esterbrook stubs, and the Estie relief stubs are hard to use sometimes. They are sharper than the Estie 2312 italic I am using today.

 

Thanks so much, you and others are very generous with your appreciation.

 

I've read elsewhere about your fabulous 2312 nib and I'm sure you would attest that when an Estie nib is good, it is very good. I generally have a hard time with Estie relief nibs, though a particular 9314-B Relief Broad Stub is among my favorite Estie nibs. My primary Esterbrook nib is a 2284 that is not the prettiest thing, but oh-so-smooth, and then of the non-stub variety I have a 2668, 2968 and 9968 that I will use (the 2668 belonged to my grandmother); beyond that the Estie nibs I've tried leave me wanting something else.

[dcpritch]

... the celluloid on your Strand pen is similar to that which Sheaffer used on their Balance pen

in the 1930's--it was a red-veined,silver celluloid.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to remember Sheaffer using this type of celluloid (or a similar acrylic) for a modern special edition of the Balance pen, probably in the nineties(?).

 

Hi Peter, I did a quick search and came up with this photo from a 2007 thread on Fountain Pen Community, showing the varieties of modern Sheaffer Balance pens. I don't see a match to the Strand Pen; perhaps John has a photo showing the material he mentioned?

 

http://captjack.exaktaphile.com/Pens/ModernBalances.jpg

 

ETA: these are some great looking Balance pens!!!

Edited January 24, 2013 by dcpritch

[Lszuk]

What a GREAT idea for a thread! The Bexley is beautiful and your script with the stub looks great. Looking forward to many many more posts on this thread.

[penmanila]

now that we've gotten all warmed up (many thanks to david), here are three more of my stubs, all double-broad. the targa and the MB 146 came to me this way; the duofold i stubbed from a factory BB that i replaced the original M nib with. they're all very smooth writers and are in my daily rotation. enjoy

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8081/8411796003_5bc4ee39c1_z.jpg

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8323/8412938204_5709702809_z.jpg

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8507/8412936804_9d0a35e89a_z.jpg

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8191/8411830035_48a37a2b74_z.jpg

[penmanila]

indeed i can't recall a modern remake of that particular pattern, either, at least not in the balance line. the closest pen to it would be the limited edition "fort madison" on the far left--pretty but notoriously brittle. i came close to picking one up at auction a month ago. kind of close, but not quite:

 

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll296/penmanila/Madison_zpsc7dff796.jpg

 

 

On 1/24/2013 at 3:33 PM, dcpritch said:

On 1/24/2013 at 3:00 PM, peterpen53 said:

On 1/23/2013 at 6:30 PM, sumgaikid said:

... the celluloid on your Strand pen is similar to that which Sheaffer used on their Balance pen

in the 1930's--it was a red-veined,silver celluloid.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to remember Sheaffer using this type of celluloid (or a similar acrylic) for a modern special edition of the Balance pen, probably in the nineties(?).

 

Hi Peter, I did a quick search and came up with this photo from a 2007 thread on Fountain Pen Community, showing the varieties of modern Sheaffer Balance pens. I don't see a match to the Strand Pen; perhaps John has a photo showing the material he mentioned?

 

http://captjack.exaktaphile.com/Pens/ModernBalances.jpg

 

ETA: these are some great looking Balance pens!!!

Edited January 3, 2022 by amberleadavis
add images back in from broken link

[Frank C]

Beautiful pens and nice legible handwriting. I have a couple of stubs myself. Lately, I've been getting custom cursive italics. I don't find them to be any harder to write with and I prefer the greater line variation.

[penmanila]

and here's a pelikan m1000's OB nib that i converted to a broad stub, smooth and springy:

 

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8334/8413063380_467bbe4334_z.jpg

 

[sadiemagic]

Love this thread! I have several stubs too - a Sheaffer Targa in sterling, a Bexley Corona in summer storm, and a Stipula Passaporto LE Baltimore Blue Harbor - all factory stubs. And then my stub on my Nakaya Blue Dragon portable cigar, ground from a BB by John Mottishaw.

 

Love seeing these stubs! Keep 'em coming!

[markiv]

Another great thread where I can look forward to some beautiful pens with incredible nibs. I am so aware about your preference for stubs that if I see one I imagine how you would love to write with it. My preference lately has started to move towards fine flex tips but I don't mind the broad stub on my BHR Chilton at all.

[olivier78860]

http://i.imgur.com/i9J2RHG.jpg

Sometimes I wish I were right-handed.

[dcpritch]

Love this thread! I have several stubs too - a Sheaffer Targa in sterling, a Bexley Corona in summer storm, and a Stipula Passaporto LE Baltimore Blue Harbor - all factory stubs. And then my stub on my Nakaya Blue Dragon portable cigar, ground from a BB by John Mottishaw.

 

Love seeing these stubs! Keep 'em coming!

 

I've found many of the modern factory stubs to be excellent writers straight out of the box, but there's something special about a broad nib that has been smoothed and customized by one of the masters. I'll be dragging out a Nakaya stub sometime soon, on a pen not nearly as pretty as a Blue Dragon, but a great nib nonetheless.

 

Another great thread where I can look forward to some beautiful pens with incredible nibs. I am so aware about your preference for stubs that if I see one I imagine how you would love to write with it. My preference lately has started to move towards fine flex tips but I don't mind the broad stub on my BHR Chilton at all.

 

Thanks Vik, and remember if you see a pen I would like please don't hesitate to let me know.

You make me think perhaps your Chilton stub nib would be more at home on one of my Chiltons, especially if it is being neglected as you move toward flex nibs. Wanna trade?

 

 

Sometimes I wish I were right-handed.

 

Olivier, with pens like that it looks like you are doing fantastic. Beauties!

[dcpritch]

Today we have a frankenpen of sorts. The nib was liberated from one pen, laid out on a workbench and remade into something only a mad scientist could conceive, then put into another pen of the same family. Transylvania would be proud. Take a look:

Sheaffer Saratoga

This nondescript, non-white dot Saratoga sports a Sheaffer #5 open nib from an Admiral that Nathan Tardiff modified to be a three tined music nib. For those who are new to pendom, Nathan had a short but brilliant career in pen repairs and nib work before he turned his attention to ink and created Noodler's Ink. He made quite a few unusual nibs and seemed to be limited only by his imagination, which appears to be boundless. The nib writes beautifully--not too wet, not scratchy at the edges, very nice line variation between the broad verticals and thin horizontals. It has never needed adjusting, as is common with three tine nibs. The Saratoga pen was made between 1952 and 1959 and was originally equipped with an open 14k gold nib with a platinum mask. Its snorkel filling system works marvelously.

Pictures tell the story better than words:

(Out of production Sheaffer Kings Gold ink used here)


Pretty hum-drum, don't you think? But then look what's under the hood!




It really makes some sweet lines:


Here's the back side, sorry about the lousy photo.


I love pen clips and imprints:

[ethernautrix]

Hm... I need to call a Pen Posse Stub (Bring Yer Stubs!). These are lovely -- and the photographs, too! Nice work, David!

 

The King's Gold ink is pretty, too.

[peterpen53]

... the celluloid on your Strand pen is similar to that which Sheaffer used on their Balance pen

in the 1930's--it was a red-veined,silver celluloid.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to remember Sheaffer using this type of celluloid (or a similar acrylic) for a modern special edition of the Balance pen, probably in the nineties(?).

 

Hi Peter, I did a quick search and came up with this photo from a 2007 thread on Fountain Pen Community, showing the varieties of modern Sheaffer Balance pens. I don't see a match to the Strand Pen; perhaps John has a photo showing the material he mentioned?

 

http://captjack.exaktaphile.com/Pens/ModernBalances.jpg

 

ETA: these are some great looking Balance pens!!!

 

That picture is a great find, David. As penmanila already suggested, I did mean the 1997 LE on the extreme left. I agree the colours are off compared to your Strand pen, but to my, arguably imperfect, memory it made a similar impression. And I'm not a Sheaffer expert by any stretch of the imagination.

I sure hope we can keep this thread going, I'm really enjoying it.

 

 

 

 

[markiv]

http://i.imgur.com/En2aBts.jpg

The Swan Visofil is quite nice and relatively rare. I want one but have not found a specimen to my liking. Does it have the screw type filler?

Another great thread where I can look forward to some beautiful pens with incredible nibs. I am so aware about your preference for stubs that if I see one I imagine how you would love to write with it. My preference lately has started to move towards fine flex tips but I don't mind the broad stub on my BHR Chilton at all.

 

Thanks Vik, and remember if you see a pen I would like please don't hesitate to let me know.

You make me think perhaps your Chilton stub nib would be more at home on one of my Chiltons, especially if it is being neglected as you move toward flex nibs. Wanna trade?

 

That Chilton is a cherished pen (you can see the nib on my signature below) but sure I can fancy a trade given your nice collection

Nice - these don't come by often! It looks massive akin to a hammerhead's snout.