Vintage Pens With Their Nibs, And A Brief Writing Sample

[SchaumburgSwan]

Wow, that's some writer! Great pen!.

 

Fantastic nib. I wouldn't bother cleaning it, it looks good as it is.

If you do clean it and decide you want it to look like it did before, you'd have to wait the best part of 100 years!

 

Enjoy.

 

Thank You,

 

well, the old question about how much patina should be preserved...

In the meantime I've cleaned the nib, but did not polish the many micro scratches off.

I'll leave the rest of the pen as it is - brown and scratchy, no blackening or polishing here.

 

Best

Jens

[cunim]

Another scruffy Wahl. This little ring top is discolored and has brassing on the fittings. However, it is a comfortable pen to use (posted) and that tiny nib does a good job of laying down a wet flexy line. Ink is Edelstein Jade.

 

 

[SchaumburgSwan]

Another scruffy Wahl. This little ring top is discolored and has brassing on the fittings. However, it is a comfortable pen to use (posted) and that tiny nib does a good job of laying down a wet flexy line. Ink is Edelstein Jade.

 

 

 

Ahh, a nice one. The nib is how I like it.

 

Best

Jens

[Marcwithac]

I think this is now my favorite thread. I love seeing these old gems in action. While I have a bunch of pens that would feel right at home here, regrettably, I have neither the photography skills nor the handwriting to do them justice.

[cunim]

This is an interesting one - a Waterman's 94 (Serenity Blue ink) channeling Longfellow. In its ability to create fine hairlines, this nib is more like a dip nib than any other I own. It does not flex as widely as some (about 1.6 mm max), but it is responsive so that it snaps from fully flexed to a fine hairline very quickly. Its only real problem is that it is a bit toothy, even for a needlepoint. I would consider retipping, but don't want to change the character of what is a pretty unique bit of kit.

 

 

 

Edited August 22, 2018 by cunim

[SchaumburgSwan]

This is an interesting one - a Waterman's 94 (Serenity Blue ink) channeling Longfellow. In its ability to create fine hairlines, this nib is more like a dip nib than any other I own. It does not flex as widely as some (about 1.6 mm max), but it is responsive so that it snaps from fully flexed to a fine hairline very quickly. Its only real problem is that it is a bit toothy, even for a needlepoint. I would consider retipping, but don't want to change the character of what is a pretty unique bit of kit.

 

 

 

Hi Cunim,

 

wow, a very nice pen and such a great nib!

 

Hmm, it is a bit toothy you say. Have You checked if the tines are aligned perfectly and the setting of the nib? The tipping looks fine using a loupe?

Anyway I wouldn't regrind it.

 

Best wishes

Jens

[cunim]

Here are two American icons. One is a pen (a Waterman's 52) and the other is a phrase. Both are valuable and, sadly, both are rare these days.

 

Ink is Waterman's Absolute Brown, paper is Tomoe River.

 

 

[Erik Dalton]

I think this is now my favorite thread. I love seeing these old gems in action. While I have a bunch of pens that would feel right at home here, regrettably, I have neither the photography skills nor the handwriting to do them justice.

Well said. I think you speak for a lot of us. Well for me at least...😇

[Madeline]

I feel the same way. It would be very informative to hear about the type of camera, lens, etc., all of you are using to take these spectacular photos. Are these photos accomplished with a close-up lens? Do share if you can!

[cunim]

I am delighted that people are enjoying this thread. I am also, and love seeing the photos from all the contributors.

 

Madeline, my own photo equipment is just what is around here and ready to hand. As so many shots in this thread show, you don't need special gear to take wonderful pictures, just like you don't need a gold Visconti to write well.

 

I use medium format cameras and optics. What gives many of my shots a subtly different flavor is that I mount the lens and the camera back on what is called a view camera. This is a studio tool, as opposed to being something you would lug around. The lens and camera back are on discrete holders with a bellows in between. Therefore, I can manipulate the angles between the lens and camera independently. It is called "moving" the camera and allows one to create geometric corrections or exaggerations within the camera. View camera usage is a dying art - much like handwriting. As with fountain pen writing, though, some people enjoy the slow and contemplative process of view camera photography. Retro is new all over again.

Edited September 6, 2018 by cunim

[Madeline]

Thank you, cunim! There is so little in this world that retains the contemplative dimension. But indeed your view camera recaptures that necessary quality. Thanks so much for sharing those details.

[fountainpen51]

Waterman 54 BCHR

[cunim]

This Gen 1 Wahl Doric is an interesting but troublesome pen. Despite looking like a used snark harpoon, the very fine nib flexes easily, makes really thin hairlines, and has excellent springback. However, the nib is so fine it is quite hard to control when pressure is not applied. Therefore, my hairlines tend to be wobbly. Practice required.

 

Ink is Sailor Rikyu Cha.

 

 

[Madeline]

Gorgeous shading. Wobbles lend character. What would life be without character?

 

And an interesting quote... whose?

[cunim]

Gorgeous shading. Wobbles lend character. What would life be without character?

 

And an interesting quote... whose?

 

Thanks, Madeline. More of a joke than a quote. Various forms of it have been around for a long time.

[cunim]

Lots of interesting posts here and I'd love to see more. Sadly, I'm running out of pens to show (a few left) so I'm hoping others can keep posting. Cursive text, drawings and cell phone pics are great. It is not about the quality of the writing or the pictures. It is about what the pen and nib do when used for the type of writing that interests you.

[cunim]

Here we have a Waterman's 55 in woodgrain rubber. Ink is MB Oyster Grey. The quote ..... well ... Honest Abe remains a shining light, even today.

 

With a light hand, this nib it is quite capable of laying down an XF line. However, it shifts to F or M as soon as I start doing any real writing with it. I have other pens which are better at holding a very narrow unflexed line (something I value). Looking at the underside of the nib, it is 18K - made for the French market (probably). Perhaps the higher grade alloy makes the nib a bit more eager to do that first little bit of spread. At any rate, it is a nice flexer and the tipping is good. So, it is pleasant to write with.

 

 

[AlohaLani787]

Waterman 3V. I have not practiced with this pen enough to do it justice. On second thought, I guess it's not necessary to state the obvious.

[fountainpen51]

this has come,

[SchaumburgSwan]

Hi,

I like to bring vintage Mabie Todd Swans back to life.
The pen below is a blue marbled 6242, while the celluloid looked good after some polishing, the tipping of the nib was damaged and the Clip is missing.
So I placed a nib out of a damaged 6260 here. The donor pen was sold "for parts" as the cap was cracked / clipless and the nib was totally out of shape. It is a very flexible one that must have been overflexed first, before someone took unprotected pliers and gave it a strange shape (I should have taken a photo...).
Anyway after many hours of carefully restoring the original shape the nib looks ok and writes wunderfully.
The pens seems to flex just when looking down on it!
What remains to be done is to give it a new clip, I'm not sure if I'll do that myself... we will see.

Here the pen and a short writing sample (sorry, in german):

 

 

Best

Jens