Any Arnold Experts Out There?

[PAKMAN]

A wonderful gentleman from church came up to me a few weeks ago and handed me a pen and pencil set that he had bought and used in high school back in the 50's. It was a green Arnold Pen set and looked pretty rough. He knew I used fountain pens and wanted me to have them. After some TLC and restoration efforts the pen and pencil are up and running and I am writing with them today.

 

What can anyone tell me about the history and time period that "Arnold Pens" were made and sold. Was the company a part of a bigger company?

 

Before and after photos below:

 

 

[betweenthelens]

How lovely! They're very attractive, especially the color.

[pen2paper]

not your expert, but do google Remy L. Arnold. 1935. Virginia.

 

http://www.brandlandusa.com/2008/11/06/way-cool-remmie-arnold-pen-co/

[PAKMAN]

Thanks for the link, way cool! Remmie Arnold Pen Company of Petersburg Virginia!

 

Anybody out there have or collect Arnold Pens???

[Hooker56]

Nice job, Perry

 

I've restored about three. The first was a black & White confetti style It dated to about 1938. It looked much like a very slender Lifetime Balance. Funny, just the reverse happened to me as I gifted it to a lady at my church that was a retired teacher with the surname of Arnold .

I've got another that is faded rose color confetti and a black one that's similar to yours. I'll try and post some pics tomorrow. Because they started life as 'inexpensive' pens they don't restore well. The 'punched' steel nibs often don't survive well either.

 

Cheers!

Clayton

[Hooker56]

Looking at your set, they are earlier (better quality) than any that I've found. Very nice!

[79spitfire]

I have an Arnold combo that I restored, as I understand it, Arnold only went out of business in 2007. They specialized in advertising pens and pencils.

[DanDeM]

Roots go back to the Edison Pen Co who made pens like this:

 

 

and this.

 

 

Edison folded around 1915, or so, but came back as the Southern Pen Co.,

which evolved into Arnold. Some of the principals spun-off and started

Artcraft (see: Spring 2013 issue of Pennant).

 

I probably have three or four Arnolds. They make Wearever look good.

Scratch around here on FPN for more. Fascinating history.

 

Nice work on your set.

[inkstainedruth]

For some reason I keep trying to post to this thread and it keeps getting dropped.

I picked up an Arnold combo pen on Ebay a couple of weeks ago and it has some sort of dried black stuff on it that oozed around the lever. As a result the lever doesn't work.

For those of you who have restored one of these: any thoughts about what this stuff is and/or how to remove it safely? I'm presuming the barrel is celluloid. I thought at first (from the photos in the listing) that the black might be dried ink, but now I'm worried that it is the sac (can't move the lever at all); or some sort of sealant/glue/epoxy. I also don't know what size leads to use (the pencil end seems to work at least somewhat)

Sorry, no pix at the moment; I tried to include the original Ebay listing:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151135614475?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

 

Any advice on repairs would be greatly appreciated.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[philm]

Some additional Arnold information and photos from my collection...

 

Arnold Pens

 

Phil

[PAKMAN]

Thanks for the info Phil!!

Ruth, yes it is likely the sac that is goopy and keeping the lever from moving.

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the info Phil!!

 

Ruth, yes it is likely the sac that is goopy and keeping the lever from moving.

As I feared. At least the seller offered a partial refund. And hopefully also got a lesson in how to respond to questions about condition (I told the seller "I don't know" would have counted as an acceptable response...). Sigh.

So. Anyone have a clue as to what size sac(s) I will need to get? I also picked up this one:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/141111732800?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

 

which will likely also need a new sac (although the lever seems to be working just fine).

Didn't actually get to see it until I got back from the Thanksgiving gallivant because it (natch) came the day after we left town. (Slight grumble -- I could have driven from Pittsburgh to Cincinatti and back several times faster than the seller and USPS got it to me).

So. Several questions for folks:

1) Any advice on cleaning the two pens -- especially the combo? I'm presuming they're celluloid, with which I don't have lots of experience. I could just soak them, but didn't know whether ammonia solution is safe.

2) Any tips for measuring what size sac I will need? I haven't taken either pen apart (I suspect that will involve heat, but don't know if the nib and feed are friction fit or not). Having them turn out to be the same size as Esterbrooks would just be too much to hope for, although I got lucky on that with the Craig ringtop I got at DCSS.

3) For the combo: any good way to remove the goop (sac or otherwise) from around the lever, other than just scraping at it with a tool? I have a set of picks and such that I got from Pendemonium (IIRC) awhile back. But I'm a bit worried about scratching the pen, so would heating the barrel (and thereby the goo) with a hair dryer be a good idea? Or not?

4) For the mini-pen: if it turns out that I *also* need a j-bar for it, any idea as to what size? The pen, capped, is 3-3/8" (~8.5 cm) long, with a measurement of 2-1/4" (5.4 cm) from the end of the barrel to the threads (which start just below the section). There does appear to be something in there (I just checked when I lifted the lever) but can't tell for certain until I actually get the pen apart.

Thanks in advance for any and all assistance. I would feel kinda dumb sending the pens out for repairs, since that would cost more than I paid for the pens. And if it's just a simple re-sac job, I ought to be able to do it myself, but I don't know how to figure out what size sac(s) to get. I think my husband *might* have really precise calipers kicking around someplace, that was a Christmas gift a few years ago from his late brother the machinist: "Oh, you need a 1/2" hole drilled -- how many thousandths would that be okay to be off by?" Which toolbox the calipers are in, and where the box got stashed, is a completely separate issue....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[79spitfire]

Be careful, Arnold pens are usually not hard to repair, but can be challenging, The sections are often glued in (un-evenly!). Heat and patience are your friends to getting the sections out.

 

I would be very careful with heating the barrel of the pen near the lever, the ring inside will push out the celluloid, deforming the barrel. Soaking the barrel can cause it to discolor, and some Arnolds have hard rubber sections, which will discolor as well. Having said that, soaking for short periods of time should be ok, just don't leave the pens sitting too long, or overnight.

 

As far as the sac sizes, it's going to be hard to guess. Same with the j-bar if it needs it. Just too many variations.

 

Good luck,

[terim]

..... probably an Arnold, the nib i says Arnold but there are no other marks. The nicest pattern I've seen on a low end pen in months!

 

http://www.peytonstreet.com/pens/misc%20brands/combo_greenblack_checks_4.jpg

[rwilsonedn]

..... probably an Arnold, the nib i says Arnold but there are no other marks. The nicest pattern I've seen on a low end pen in months!

 

 

That is a really attractive pen. Seems a little bit more substantial than most Arnolds I've seen, so I wonder if the nib might be a transplant. (That would be a first--someone intentionally putting an Arnold nib in another pen ...)

Looks like you did a great job restoring it.

ron

[terim]

That is a really attractive pen. Seems a little bit more substantial than most Arnolds I've seen, so I wonder if the nib might be a transplant. (That would be a first--someone intentionally putting an Arnold nib in another pen ...)

Looks like you did a great job restoring it.

ron

That would indeed be strange! We didn't have to do anything other than re-sac it. We wouldn't have bothered if it had not been so primo to begin with.

[boybacon]

I have 5 of them, I believe. Mostly the swirl celluloid colors (red, green, brown). One purchased in an antique mall, 2 ordered through eBay, one of un-remembered origin and one very special pen that belonged to either my grandmother or my grandfather. I have them all in writing order, and only one of them needed a sac replacement. Amazingly, the other four all worked fine with the original sacs. One of them has a broad nib that really writes with character. Three out of the 5 write relatively smooth and without much fuss.

 

I know that they are considered a third-tier brand, but I really enjoy my Arnold pens.

[inkstainedruth]

Be careful, Arnold pens are usually not hard to repair, but can be challenging, The sections are often glued in (un-evenly!). Heat and patience are your friends to getting the sections out.

 

I would be very careful with heating the barrel of the pen near the lever, the ring inside will push out the celluloid, deforming the barrel. Soaking the barrel can cause it to discolor, and some Arnolds have hard rubber sections, which will discolor as well. Having said that, soaking for short periods of time should be ok, just don't leave the pens sitting too long, or overnight.

 

As far as the sac sizes, it's going to be hard to guess. Same with the j-bar if it needs it. Just too many variations.

 

Good luck,

 

Thanks for the tips. I have been afraid to play around with it or soak it (fearing damage to the pencil side mechanism if nothing else). And I would feel extremely foolish taking an inexpensive third tier to a professional.

I also have a tiny little yellow Arnold pen. It's yellow and about 3" long. I bought a #12 sac, but am worried that even that might turn out to be too large a size when I get around to getting the pen opened up. But it was too cute not to buy.... And not expensive.

As opposed to the third Arnold -- for which I seriously overpaid at $30 US and is worth about $10 (and it doesn't even have an Arnold nib on it). The scary part was that the seller had one or two more "just like it" -- including the non-Arnold "Veri-Smooth" nib -- and managed to rook nearly $50 out of some other poor sap (the original asking price -- per pen -- had been $100 -- I didn't even pay $100 for my Parker 51 Demi Aero Plummer...).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth