Vintage Pens Designed To Compete With The Parker 51?

[Noihvo]

 

 

[NumberSix]

That's a comprehensive list.....http://richardspens.com/ref/design/hooded_nibs.htm

 

Great page!

 

I am interested in this one, but I can't figure out to search for it on ebay:

 

Tower, made for Sears by National Pen Products Company

Catalog giant Sears, Roebuck & Company has always been known for selling products under its own brand names. The Tower name was applied to product lines as diverse as binoculars and fountain pens. Superficially similar to the Webster above, this Tower pen is far superior in quality, very solidly made and a very good writer. The Tower also offers an interesting look at the ways in which some makers dealt with their inability to conceal their pens’ feeds.

[praxim]

Estycollector

 

My view is that the major step was the Wing feed which Parker introduced. Hooding helps further.. Without them a pen needed to allow a generous feed of ink which slowly evaporated the chamber contents, if the feed itself did not dry up the flow first.

 

By way of example, Onoto did not add a shutoff valve in 1905 so their pens could be used in high flying aircraft, but to stop undesirable ink flow when the pen was not in use, especially in a pocket. Hence, on opening the valve it takes a few moments for the nib to refresh from the chamber.

 

Yes, Parker added a relatively fast drying ink (or so I have read), which was possible exactly because of the first two innovations to reduce dryout and enable prompt starts. Thus, they had a pen which was reliable, efficient, and characteristically clean.

Edited May 16, 2020 by praxim

[Estycollector]

Estycollector

 

My view is that the major step was the Wing feed which Parker introduced. Hooding helps further.. Without them a pen needed to allow a generous feed of ink which slowly evaporated the chamber contents, if the feed itself did not dry up the flow first.

 

By way of example, Onoto did not add a shutoff valve in 1905 so their pens could be used in high flying aircraft, but to stop undesirable ink flow when the pen was not in use, especially in a pocket. Hence, on opening the valve it takes a few moments for the nib to refresh from the chamber.

 

Yes, Parker added a relatively fast drying ink (or so I have read), which was possible exactly because of the first two innovations to reduce dryout and enable prompt starts. Thus, they had a pen which was reliable, efficient, and characteristically clean.

 

Thank you for responding. If I understand your intent, it was not the hood alone?

[praxim]

 

Thank you for responding. If I understand your intent, it was not the hood alone?

Far from it.

 

Clarifying: yes, it was far from being the hood alone.

Edited May 16, 2020 by praxim

[Freddy]

Honorable mention to Camlin 47 / Parker Inflection for inclusion into the comprehensive list being assembled......,......

 

Fred

Give me liberty or give me death.......Patrick Henry

[welch]

Great page!

 

I am interested in this one, but I can't figure out to search for it on ebay:

 

Tower, made for Sears by National Pen Products Company

Catalog giant Sears, Roebuck & Company has always been known for selling products under its own brand names. The Tower name was applied to product lines as diverse as binoculars and fountain pens. Superficially similar to the Webster above, this Tower pen is far superior in quality, very solidly made and a very good writer. The Tower also offers an interesting look at the ways in which some makers dealt with their inability to conceal their pens’ feeds.

 

I have a Sears & Roebuck Tower. It is about the same size as a P-51 Demi. Nice pen that I don't use often enough.

[pajaro]

Esterbrook Phaeton has a hooded nib. Slim pen with a steel cap and a squeeze converter. I had forgotten about Phaeton.

[OCArt]

Pelikan, my personal favorite brand, made a hooded pen too. The P1 from 1958. A full review from the Pelikans Perch here

[Estycollector]

Esterbrook Phaeton has a hooded nib. Slim pen with a steel cap and a squeeze converter. I had forgotten about Phaeton.

 

I have never seen a vintage one.

[Paul-in-SF]

I recently tried a Waterman's Stateleigh 897 Taperite lever-filler model, and I would say they did a good job with it. The body shape and size is very close to the P51 -- the hood is shorter and the nib is only semi-hooded so it extends further, so the length is very comparable. Having a semi-hooded nib allows for some flex in some of the nibs (the one I tried still has a sticker on it that says it is "Fine Flex" but there is no flex at all, so I suspect the nib was changed out at some point over the years). I had to fuss with the nib, the ink wasn't flowing hardly at all, but once that was taken care of it became a pleasure to write with, quite competitive in quality and feel with the P51.

 

I have a Mentmore 46 coming soon, and I'll post about that one after I get it. It's a strange-looking beast if you've never seen one before.

Edited May 25, 2020 by Paul-in-SF