Caws 1930's Button Filler

[bongo47]

I recently purchased a Caws vintage button filler from Yesteryear's Fountain Pens on eBay (no affiliation). It was described as from the 1930's, and restored. I thought I'd ink it up and take it for a spin.

First impressions (1-10): 7. The pen is tiny. I knew this from the sale description, but its hard to wrap your head around such a dainty pen. But the marbled jade green is very striking. It's nice looking tiny pen, with a tiny gold nib, in great condition.

Appearance and Design (1-10): 8. Getting over the size, this is a standard designed pen, with a very nice color and well proportioned. Though it feels very light, it has stood up to many decades, and is doing great. Can't argue with the design in that regard. The metal clip shows wear mostly on the balled end, but is otherwise rather prestine. The metal band has lost some of its plating, but is still shiny.

Weight and Dimensions: No score. This pen obviously was designed to be small, and well, it succeeds.

Nib and Performance (1-10) 8. The nib has an engraving of a bird and the words Trade Mark Caw. The nib is sunk into the section such that "CAW" is only half visible. It is not stamped with any gold designation, but given it's age and that there is not evidence of plating loss, I'm guessing it's at least 14K. It is a very small nib, with a very fine point, though there is no size marking. It's also so amazingly we and smooth. It writes amazingly. I have not tried to flex it, but it takes almost no pressure to get a consistent line.

Filling System (1-10) 6. It's a button filler, that has been fitted with a new sac. It seemed to fill easily. I'm guessing it will be a bear to clean though.

Cost and Value (1-10) 8. For a restored vintage pen that writes great, I feel the $37 was a great value. I had been searching for a Caws pen for a while, and seeing this one come up was exciting. Given it's size, I don't think this will stay inked and in my rotation often. But it's fun to try it out, and have it in my collection.

Conclusions: A cool little, functional, attractive piece of pen history.

Edited July 22, 2017 by bongo47

[birchtine]

Thank you for the review! I have a feeling that the pen is rather from the 50s. Anyway, these small Dutch pens can be splendid writers.

Edited July 22, 2017 by birchtine