Osmiroid - A Short History

[Ebberman]

http://hans.presto.tripod.com/nibs/osmiroid02.html

I find it interesting. Rather than copy & paste it I've given you the link.

[Ebberman]

Berol Ltd bought Osmiroid in 1989.

Sanford UK has been formed by the

amalgamation of six separate companies. The Sanford product range now includes Parker Pens, Paper Mate, Berol, Waterman, Rotring and Sanford.

Then, I believe, Sanford UK was bought by Rubbermaid.

 

It sickens me that these firms swallow up smaller firms simply to close them.

Osmiroid was a small fish swallowed by a bigger fish which in turn was swallowed by an even bigger fish which was swallowed by a whale.

Goodbye Osmiroid. It's thanks to you that a whole generation took up calligraphy.

[Methersgate]

Just so. I think I used Osmiroid pens - at first the 65, then the 75, for the whole of my education.

 

Sic transit gloria mundi.

[Gloucesterman]

I still use them. They have decent calligraphy nibs in a wide variety of sizes and formats. Some of them accept Esterbrook nibs and Esterbrook can use some of the earlier Osmiroid nibs as well.

 

Overall it can be a dependable pen with versatility of nibs. They also can be found for "less expensive" purchase prices.

Be sure to keep in mind "caveat emptor"

[Ebberman]

I have a few of the later nib assemblies, but literally hundreds of brand new earlier ones - the ones that fit Osmiroid 65 & 75. Italic, music, rolatip, mari, shorthand, mari left-hand et cetera. I should off-load them. I can't use them all. When I take up a hobby I get a bit obsessional and have to buy the paraphernalia wholesale - "I don't know what I need so I had better buy it all".

Circumstances cooled me off in the form of three autistic children.

If you are short of a nib or two let me know.

[MercianScribe]

Dribbling and frothing, I've just let you know!

 

And yeah, I agree about Osmiroid wholeheartedly, from their worth to their demise. They were excellent nibs, but the plastic was always a bit substandard I guess... even then, they supplied more several generations of budding calligraphers, and still do!

[pipemakermike]

I got into collecting Osmiroid pens in 2015 because a close friend was struggling ot replace her favourite nibs lost over the years in many moves. I bought a couple of pens on Ebay and was hooked. I have been asked to give a talk on Osmiroid pens and nibs in Orkney where she is building an interest locally in proper handwriting and calligraphy. As a start for this endeavour I have been trying to put together a few pages of information and would like input from anyone who has information on these pens and especially the dates of manufacture. My first pass effort can be found here:-

http://www.machineconcepts.co.uk/osmiroid_models_&_descriptions.pdf

A lot of the information is rather speculative but it is the best I can do with so little information.

Mike

Edited July 11, 2018 by pipemakermike

[Ebberman]

pipemakermike

The link at the start of this thread gives loads of history, dates and points of interest for talks.

I can't get your pdf link to work.

Perhaps your friend could join us if she needs information on Osmiroid and the whereabouts of nibs.

 

Correction: I clicked on your link several times and nothing seemed to happen, then I found that the pdf file had downloaded 5 times. I've opened it. It looks good but, as you mentioned, lacking in dates.

I've looked at Ebay - your purchase of 40 nibs for £28 is good, but unusually cheap it seems to me.

It's worth asking on this site if anyone knows of a stock of nibs. If you read the last few posts on this thread you'll notice that I have too many, all new. Some people contacted me and ended up buying 12 for £5 excluding postage.

Edited July 12, 2018 by Ebberman

[AAAndrew]

The original link is a decent summary of the company's history. The early bits about how James Perry got started and the extent of his contribution relies more heavily on the myths and less on reality, but that's the common story.

 

The story does gloss over the rather significant advances E.S. Perry made in stainless steel dip pens. He called them Iridinoid pens, vaguely references iridium. Their later name, Osmiroid, is also a vague reference to osmium, another metal associated with iridium.

 

I have a couple of the non-stainless dip pens from the 20's. They're good quality pens.

 

Another role that E.S. Perry played in the market besides advancing stainless steel nibs, was that they were often the spoiler in contracts with the British government. Most of the large pen companies had been consolidated into a few firms in Birmingham and they tended to bid for government contracts as a whole "Association. This "other" Perry company was not part of those consolidated Birmingham conglomerates and they often undercut the bids of these larger competitors for supplying the British government, especially when it came to supplying stainless steel pens right before the war.

[Ebberman]

AAAndrew

Yes, I agree that it's not a complete history. I find it significant that the link is to a Swedish site. Okay, it was written by Berol but is no longer available. The Swedish guy archived it.

I've made a discovery recently which may be of interest to owners of Osmiroid Easy Change pens.

They were designed for cartridges but sometimes supplied with rubbery squeezable replacements for cartridges which effectively converted a cartridge pen into a fountain pen. My discovery: Jinhao converters fit. They have the correct diameter hole, but they must be the thinner converters - the ones that have a slide action instead of the 'twist-to-fill' action. Now I don't need to re-fill old cartridges with a syringe.

[AAAndrew]

Great hint!

[Emby]

I have a few of the Osmiroid pen bodies, unused in original packaging. How much do these usually go for?

[Maurizio]

I know this is not the usual place for an ad but I believe this thread is a rare market for a niche product. Moderators forgive me if I have violated protocol.

 

I have one Osmiroid pen, along with a compatible converter, with 4 Osmiroid calligraphy nibs, the gold-plated ones. The nibs are all lightly used as is the pen. I am willing to sell the lot for $30.00, buyer pays shipping.

 

I will be happy to post some photos.