A Bossman "university Of Córdoba" Pen

January 9, 2019

I do not know the model name. This is an old pen that I was gifted for lecturing in a course at the U. of Córdoba, in Spain (EU). The nib is engraved "Iridium point Bossman", so I guess that, missing any other identification, Bossman must refer to the maker.

FWI have been able to gather, Bossman seems to be a maker specialized in corporate gift pens, many ads mention that the pens sold can be engraved with the company name.

The pen has a metallic body in black and silver, with two engraved black rings in the silver part close to the section. It looks like aluminium, with a thick walled body. And yet I think it cannot be described as heavy (sorry I do not have a precision balance), and has an oblong shape, thicker in the middle and thinner in the extremes. It is engraved "Universidad de Córdoba", and came in a nice wooden box with a paired ball-point pen. I am not much in friendly terms with ballpoint pens (actually hate them), so I passed that on to one of my sons.

The section is dull chrome plated (i.e. not shiny), which actually helps the grip, although it also has some engraved rings, I suppose to help gripping too. It is thinner than the body, it's shape reminds me of some pictures I've seen of the Bossman 207 and 208. The cap closes with pressure, and has a minimalist clip adorned with three black lines. It gets a classy look when capped. I do not like that much the looks when uncapped, but I reckon it is functional and well designed.

It takes international cartridges and can easily accommodate a long (double size) one, which makes it most convenient for holding a larger ink capacity and long writing sessions.

I do not really use it much. At first I was very happy, since I tend to look for metal pens that can stand abuse and become an EDC, but truth is that the nib is not much to my like. I do not really know how to explain it, but although it writes smoothly (no scratching), it tends to drag, to offer some buttery resistance that personally I do not find comfortable for long writing sessions. May be it is a matter of breaking-in, and it would solve itself with use, or may be it is because the iridium point is relatively big. I don't know and haven't been able to force me to try and find out. It writes well, doesn't skip or show hard starts, and if it wasn't for that muddy, dragging feeling, it would probably have seen a lot of (ab)use.

On the other hand, you can get some minimal line variation with it without much pressure, but it is certainly not a flex nib, nor does it has any spring, though it isn't a nail either.

All in all, it has a classy look, and is nicely presented. Not too bad, and with a softer gliding nib it might become terrific.

Bottom line, since I was gifted it, I do not know the price to balance, but I think it may do a nice memorabilia for the University, nice for nostalgics, ex-students, and as a souvenir of the University, it is a heavy-duty yet classy pen, and if it weren't for the nib, it would make a really nice professional pen.

January 10, 2019

Nice souvenir! Very often that draggy feeling can be resolved by polishing the nib. Simply writing your name 20 times on thick brown paper . . .

Here's tutorial! :-)

Cheers,

Ralf

January 10, 2019

Thanks, I'll try that. I do indeed have thick brown paper for these situations, but hadn't thought of applying it to this pen. I'll follow the link instructions and see how it comes out.

Added: not much improvement, I fear. I can't spot anything wrong with the tines under a loupe, but that doesn't mean there is nothing. I will keep trying from time to time and maybe one of this days it'll become a nice writer.

Thanks again.

Edited January 10, 2019 by txomsy

January 10, 2019

It would be good to have a smooth experience of memorabilia from such a beautiful city. My dream would be to retire there. Stunning place with quite a unique vibe.

I'd recommend getting to a nib specialist who would be able to smooth it out for you. Pen shows tend to have folk that are able to do it there and then (if you're early) and you can always post the pen to someone to do the work. It doesn't tend to be that expensive.

January 10, 2019

Thanks, I'll wait for the next Madrid Pen Show and bring it to see if there's something to be done. Or may be I'll try to escape one day and pay a visit to the Pen Museum in Madrid. But it is certainly a noteworthy suggestion.