Pens with hourglass section?

[antarmukhee]

Which are the fountain pens that have hourglass sections, that you have used and liked ?

[K Singh]

I have Woodex Model 4 and Ranga 8b with such a section. I'd say give a try to Woodex 4, it's an excellent pen for the price.

 

Hari317 Sir has already shared a detailed post with his Woodex pens. You can check the pics there. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/361971-woodex-pens/

[antarmukhee]

45 minutes ago, K Singh said:

I have Woodex Model 4 and Ranga 8b with such a section. I'd say give a try to Woodex 4, it's an excellent pen for the price.

 

Hari317 Sir has already shared a detailed post with his Woodex pens. You can check the pics there. https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/361971-woodex-pens/

 

Thanks.. I like woodex-4..

[Noihvo]

 

[Karmachanic]

Only one at present. MB 234 1/2

[Bo Bo Olson]

22 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

MB 234 1/2

I have a '52-54 only Deluxe model of that, a nice medium-large girth.....absolutely great balance, (not expected), and a semi-flex KOB nib. Had never thought of it as hourglass.

It is a standard length pen. My # 1 pen for balance, in spite of the brass guts that gives it a bit of back weighting.

[bunnspecial]

Super common on vintage-among others the Parker Duofolds and Vacumatics, Sheaffer Balances, and some German pens.

 

Among modern pens, I'm really fond of the Parker Duofold range and they have this shape section.

[sansenri]

one already mentioned, the Ranga 8B, the section is mildly hourglass but very comfortable
but also the smaller 8 has a slightly concave section.

 

Stipula Etruria, a lovely pen (this is a Rainbow, but some very nice ones are in celluloid)

 

The Sheaffer Balance is one very obvious one.

This is a Balance II

 

Stipula Suprema also

 

and as Bo Bo has shown, a lot of vintage MBs have hourglass sections.

[sansenri]

The Newton Orville also has a mildly hourglass shaped section

[sansenri]

and as Noihvo mentions, quite a number of FC pens have hourglass sections

 

This is my Pearl

 

The Collier is also a great pen.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I'd not thought of swelled middles to be hour glass....live and learn.

[inkstainedruth]

Another vote for vintage Parker Vacumatics, with the possible exception of sub-Debutante size pens (I have small hands and even I had a little trouble getting used to the section on that one).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[ele]

Montblancs pre-1960 and Soenneckens are among the most comfortable hourglass sections.

[antarmukhee]

On 1/14/2022 at 10:50 PM, Noihvo said:

 

 

Thank you for sharing, and for the nice pictures.. The pens look amazing..

[antarmukhee]

On 1/15/2022 at 9:34 PM, Bo Bo Olson said:

I have a '52-54 only Deluxe model of that, a nice medium-large girth.....absolutely great balance, (not expected), and a semi-flex KOB nib. Had never thought of it as hourglass.

It is a standard length pen. My # 1 pen for balance, in spite of the brass guts that gives it a bit of back weighting.

 

Thank you for the pictures.. Nice pen.. Why is it called MB 234 1/2 ?

[antarmukhee]

On 1/16/2022 at 3:31 AM, sansenri said:

and as Noihvo mentions, quite a number of FC pens have hourglass sections

 

This is my Pearl

 

The Collier is also a great pen.

 

Thank you @sansenri for the wonderful pictures, as always.. Does FC mean Faber Castell?

[Bo Bo Olson]

4 1/2 is the size of the nib. MB 234 1/2.

It is the only MB pen I have with a size makrking, KOB and model number 234 1/2

I have a rolled gold 742 from this time period early '50's....but no nib size. Eyeball F.

 

There is no markings like normal on my '50-60  medium large 146 (1/2 cm smaller in cap and body and a tad thinner than the Large '70-now 146.

The medium large 146 has better balance than the larger 146 pen, and has a maxi-semi-flex nib. Eyeball OB.

 

I wish I'd taken a photo of that medium-large telescopic piston (that I can now see) MB 146 before sending it to Francis to be repaired. It was part of a live auction lot....the nib was great, but it really shammed me to have something that was so very, very beaten up and ratty.

If it was for the great balance,I'd had Francis pull the slick feed and maxi-semi-flex nib and put it in one of my large 146's.

It needed the cap to be straighten out so I could comfortably screw it on, it was sort of rough there. It had two empty slots in it was missing the the cap band. I'd just hoped for some brass bands. To keep the cap from deforming again.

(I do have better balanced pens, my Pelikan 605 is better balanced.....but has a now stubbed semi-nail. (There were times when I ran a semi-flex B on it.) Down from BB to 1.0/B. )

I'm using old 146 pen to use up the last of my 4001 Brilliant Green. Filled it three times in a row and will do it for the last of the ink also. So I do like the balance just fine.)

 

The MB 234 1/2, 742 and the small 146 all have the telescopic piston of that era.

(All three have been re-corked....in I find properly prepared sized cork, boiled in oil&beeswax "the smoothest of all gaskets" as said by Marshal & Oldfield in their book 'Pen Repair'. Francis then slathers the prepared cork with silicon grease.

(The MB pre'24 Safety Pen has been covered elsewhere.)

That wonderful 'astounding' cap band on the 146, looks like MB made it for me.

 

That mottled green red stropped pen needed to be shrunk back to fit the piston. A 1948-52 Italian Columbus, semi-flex.(Not original nib, gold plated semi-flex)

 

This last semi-flex is a no name brass overlay that had besides needing a new gasket had a broken amberish piston knob, that Francis made a new one for the pen.

From when I was disappointed with a LE MB orange ink.

Just because a pen is a cheap no name, don't mean it shouldn't be repaired, especially when it has a nice nib. A nice writing pen. One had to make a good balanced pen Back in the Day or folks wouldn't buy it; in everyone made good balanced pens; at least in the '50's where I place that pen. It has that 'Pfortzheim' style clip.