Which Vintage Pens Have Large Ink Capacities?

[kealani]

Can anyone make a short list of Vintage Pens With Large Ink Capacities?

 

 

 

I'm enjoying expanding my vintage pen collection.

At present, a 1947 Parker Vacumatic, a 1941 and 1945 Skyline Eversharp.

 

Thanks for the help.

jim

[sidthecat]

Eyedroppers. Totally.

[MsRedpen]

Pelikan 400NN, a piston filler with 2 ml capacity.

[fphilipp]

Aurora 88P: its a piston filler that holds a lot of ink. I have never measured it but it seems to never empty.

[OMASsimo]

My vintage pen with the largest ink capacity is an OMAS Lucens from the late 1930s with the "stantuffo tuffante" filling system, a kind of a plunger filler. It holds 3 ml of ink! And it fills much easier than an eyedropper. Only problem: find one that's affordable.

[SoulSamurai]

How old is "vintage"? Do the Pelikan Levels count?

[Bo Bo Olson]

The '50-65 standard sized 400/400n/medium-long 400nn hold near 2.0.....and they are very well balanced and nimble.

 

An MB 149 = only 1.60..........the same as the large Sheaffer cartridge.

Modern Pelikan 200/400/ @ 1.27, 600/800 @ 1.37, and 1000 @ 1.47, which could be where the 146 is. Two short international cartridges 0.74 x 2= 1.48.

 

A decade or so ago, we use to have flame wars between Waterman being thinner than Pelikan....(Japanese pens were not quite IN yet, so didn't get into the conversation), and Pelikan holding more ink than Waterman.

 

Then the myths were busted...... .........a Shaffer cartridge holding as much as a honking big 149; how little modern Pelikan actually held, or pre-98 Pelikan's EF was narrower than Waterman's.

[7is]

Eyedroppers. Totally.

I agree with sidthecat.

 

Anyway, among British pens, there were Swan Visofils (2.5 ml), Onoto plungers and Ford Patent pens with the biggest Ford Magnum with the capacity well over 7 ml.

Edited June 30, 2019 by 7is

[sirgilbert357]

How old is "vintage"? Do the Pelikan Levels count?

 

+1. The Levels hold a lot.

[Honeybadgers]

Anything with a finer nib. A sheaffer snorkel with an X4 is going to last FOREVER.

 

Otherwise, go for piston fillers like the pelikan 140 or mertz 120, or eyedroppers, or button fillers, or vac fillers, and supposedly the capillary converter on the parker 61 holds a boatload.

[kealani]

Anything with a finer nib. A sheaffer snorkel with an X4 is going to last FOREVER.

 

Otherwise, go for piston fillers like the pelikan 140 or mertz 120, or eyedroppers, or button fillers, or vac fillers, and supposedly the capillary converter on the parker 61 holds a boatload.

 

Good point.

Thanks a lot.

Am looking into the Pelikan 400nn series but takes time to find a good vintage one that's restored and clean and tuned.

j

[Runnin_Ute]

Anything with a finer nib. A sheaffer snorkel with an X4 is going to last FOREVER.

 

Otherwise, go for piston fillers like the pelikan 140 or mertz 120, or eyedroppers, or button fillers, or vac fillers, and supposedly the capillary converter on the parker 61 holds a boatload.

Actually the Pelikan 120 Merz & Krell from the 1970's holds only .65 ml. A 1950's 120 about double that.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Vintage 400's really don't need to be tuned......perhaps a bit of the brown paper bag trick*** to remove drag of sitting in the dark of the drawer for a couple generations but the nibs are good and smooth, considering they are stubs and semi-flex.

 

There isn't all that much tipping to go, having someone over polish the stubbed nib looking for Butter Smooth, when the normal one level lower Good and Smooth does just fine.

PS with Good and Smooth slick paper is not the problem it is with Butter Smooth.

 

 

***Can be done in 15-20 seconds with micro-mesh if one is experienced with micro mesh........otherwise the brown paper bag trick is perfect for drag. (three-four 15 second sets)....it can not make a nib butter smooth, and is much harder to ruin a nib than with micro-mesh.

 

Once micro-mesh was once hard to come by.....actually, good quality brown paper bags also.

Whole generations didn't know a good brown paper bag from a poor one....why one guy used a hairy brown paper bag.....yes, he did end up with all sorts of hair wedged in his tip. Do Not use a hairy bag. Should be brown; not slick red, blue or white.

I bought lots of old used pens, so could use all 8 sides of a brown paper bag, getting rid of drag.

 

 

There are more detailed instructions for the brown paper bag trick.....look in search under my name. Always rotate the adjusted nib tip, and figure 8's (even in micro-mesh) are bad for a nib. Ol'Griz (RIP) said they cause baby bottom.

 

OK, While rotating the adjusted nib tip, do circles left, right; squiggles left, right, and up and down. Do a bit of low, a bit of high.

For 15 seconds.

Test for drag removal. Up to 4 times.....if you need to do more than 4 sets, go to micro-mesh, you have a problem.

Remember the brown paper bag will only remove drag, it will not grind a nib, nor make it butter smooth.

With a lot of work, and not rotating the nib tip, you can if you put your mind to it, make a flat spot.......not as fast as micro-mesh, but you can.

Edited July 1, 2019 by Bo Bo Olson

[kealani]

Vintage 400's really don't need to be tuned......perhaps a bit of the brown paper bag trick*** to remove drag of sitting in the dark of the drawer for a couple generations but the nibs are good and smooth, considering they are stubs and semi-flex.

 

There isn't all that much tipping to go, having someone over polish the stubbed nib looking for Butter Smooth, when the normal one level lower Good and Smooth does just fine.

PS with Good and Smooth slick paper is not the problem it is with Butter Smooth.

 

 

***Can be done in 15-20 seconds with micro-mesh if one is experienced with micro mesh........otherwise the brown paper bag trick is perfect for drag. (three-four 15 second sets)....it can not make a nib butter smooth, and is much harder to ruin a nib than with micro-mesh.

 

Once micro-mesh was once hard to come by.....actually, good quality brown paper bags also.

Whole generations didn't know a good brown paper bag from a poor one....why one guy used a hairy brown paper bag.....yes, he did end up with all sorts of hair wedged in his tip. Do Not use a hairy bag. Should be brown; not slick red, blue or white.

I bought lots of old used pens, so could use all 8 sides of a brown paper bag, getting rid of drag.

 

 

There are more detailed instructions for the brown paper bag trick.....look in search under my name. Always rotate the adjusted nib tip, and figure 8's (even in micro-mesh) are bad for a nib. Ol'Griz (RIP) said they cause baby bottom.

 

OK, While rotating the adjusted nib tip, do circles left, right; squiggles left, right, and up and down. Do a bit of low, a bit of high.

For 15 seconds.

Test for drag removal. Up to 4 times.....if you need to do more than 4 sets, go to micro-mesh, you have a problem.

Remember the brown paper bag will only remove drag, it will not grind a nib, nor make it butter smooth.

With a lot of work, and not rotating the nib tip, you can if you put your mind to it, make a flat spot.......not as fast as micro-mesh, but you can.

 

This is outstanding.

Have not used the "brown paper bag trick", will do so.

thanks again,

jim

[OMASsimo]

I only can second what Bo Bo Olson writes. Vintage Pelikan 400/400NN are great value and mostly hassle-free. The nibs are among the best you can find easily, especially the broader ones and particularly the obliques. In my experience a bad Pelikan vintage nib that needs work is quite an exception. And the synthetic piston gaskets of the 400/400NN seems to be made for eternity.

 

In case you get a Pelikan and it turns out there is a problem, you can get a lot of supportive information here from the forum. The only problem you can't fix as far as I know is a faded barrel, which happens occasionally when the pen was sitting in the sun for years without being used. So, check any pictures carefully for any sign of uneven fading of the green or tortoise colour.

[kealani]

I only can second what Bo Bo Olson writes. Vintage Pelikan 400/400NN are great value and mostly hassle-free. The nibs are among the best you can find easily, especially the broader ones and particularly the obliques. In my experience a bad Pelikan vintage nib that needs work is quite an exception. And the synthetic piston gaskets of the 400/400NN seems to be made for eternity.

 

In case you get a Pelikan and it turns out there is a problem, you can get a lot of supportive information here from the forum. The only problem you can't fix as far as I know is a faded barrel, which happens occasionally when the pen was sitting in the sun for years without being used. So, check any pictures carefully for any sign of uneven fading of the green or tortoise colour.

 

Thanks for your help.

I will start the hunt for a vintage Pelikan 400nn, restored, fine point, in mint condition. . . .

mahalo,'

jim

[inkstainedruth]

Another vote for a vintage Pelikan. Okay, mine from the 1950s not so much because it's got an OB nib....

Parker 51s and Vacumatics are also good choices (particularly Vacs because the barrel becomes an ink chamber).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[peroride]

The insanely voluminous Sheaffer one stroke plunger vac filler with a fine nib (writes like XF) I got from Gerry Berg took so long to empty, I've started using it as a portable ink tank for other pens.

 

The same can be said for the Pelikans and probably easier to do the transfusion with the screw piston. Also take care to deal with a good dealer on the 400nn. Ours sprung a rare bleed leak at the junction between the section and barrel. Luckily, the dealer did a swap and all is well

 

Thank you for@AlohaJim for starting the thread that revealed @Bo Bo Olson 's brown bag trick, awesome as always

[mana]

Seeing that you are in the US I would recommend Rick Propas ( https://www.thepenguinpen.com ). He is an expert on vintage Pelikans and usually has a great selection of restored pens available with plenty of options when it comes to nibs and whatnot. Naturally there is a premium compared to pens bought from ebay or found in the wild but... you do get what you pay for.

 

Thanks for your help.

I will start the hunt for a vintage Pelikan 400nn, restored, fine point, in mint condition. . . .

mahalo,'

jim

[mana]

...and yes, you can't go wrong with vintage (post war) Pelikans and the 400NN is a great choice for an everyday writing pen, they really are workhorses with great design, nibs, ergonomics and ink capacity... also, robust and just the right size to carry around that extends to a full size pen when capped.