Blue Pen Club- Show Me Your Blue Pens!

[Doug C]

4 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

  “ Once you start down the dark (blue pen) path, forever it will dominate your destiny.”

I'm getting a little scared now...

[Penguincollector]

 

4 minutes ago, Doug C said:

I'm getting a little scared now...

I’m paraphrasing Star Wars 😬

[ZeroDukE]

[Penguincollector]

10 minutes ago, zeroduke said:

  Oh so pretty! I really want a blue 51 with a blue diamond 😍

[ZeroDukE]

[Penguincollector]

1 hour ago, zeroduke said:

How do you like the 18C nib? My green came with a bouncy 14C M and it’s been a loyal soldier for most of my life now. I’ve always wondered about the difference. 

[ZeroDukE]

50 minutes ago, Penguincollector said:

How do you like the 18C nib? My green came with a bouncy 14C M and it’s been a loyal soldier for most of my life now. I’ve always wondered about the difference. 

 

The 18C nib is a pleasure to use.  I haven't got the 14C but I tried one long time ago.  I think that the 14C proved to be more flexible.  The 18C glides on paper as it were glass.

[Penguincollector]

59 minutes ago, zeroduke said:

 

The 18C nib is a pleasure to use.  I haven't got the 14C but I tried one long time ago.  I think that the 14C proved to be more flexible.  The 18C glides on paper as it were glass.

Ahh, I see. That’s pleasurable in a different way. I like that type of pen on laid paper.

[ZeroDukE]

[Penguincollector]

2 hours ago, zeroduke said:

 

  Some of the design elements are really neat- the clip and cap finial especially. The  18k nib is much nicer, of course, but the etching reminds me of Baoer. I was not aware of this model, it’s cool.  I really like Cross pens.

[Radius Solis]

Faber Castell Ambition OpArt Sky Blue is my first fountain pen and I really love the resin barrel and pattern. And have a lovely finish ( don't know why but it's smoother than Dark Sand or Flamingo Red finishes ) 

[Penguincollector]

1 hour ago, Radius Solis said:

Faber Castell Ambition OpArt Sky Blue is my first fountain pen and I really love the resin barrel and pattern. And have a lovely finish ( don't know why but it's smoother than Dark Sand or Flamingo Red finishes ) 

  What a beautiful choice for a first pen!  I love that greyish blue, it would go well with many of the new dual shading inks.  That pattern is really neat, reminds me of the tulle patterned Sheaffers.

[ZeroDukE]

1 hour ago, Penguincollector said:

 

  Some of the design elements are really neat- the clip and cap finial especially. The  18k nib is much nicer, of course, but the etching reminds me of Baoer. I was not aware of this model, it’s cool.  I really like Cross pens.

 

About the design, I found that  in an article by Ian  McIntosh (Pen World) it is said that  Mr Kingsley (designer) said  that “this pen is inspired by fine race cars… The clip is reminiscent of an automotive tool,  From a side view,there is a hex bolt on the pivot point. It feels like a car door hinges. The logo is very bold, as when you open the hood of the car and you see the name cast in the engine. It's meant to have that feel­ing. And inside each letter, there's a chiseled treatment." the chrome appointments at top and bottom are meant to resemble the facets of wheel lug nuts, while the center ring has a strong, mechanical appearance.“

 

Interesting...  those are the points that caught your attention.

[Penguincollector]

4 minutes ago, zeroduke said:

 

About the design, I found that  in an article by Ian  McIntosh (Pen World) it is said that  Mr Kingsley (designer) said  that “this pen is inspired by fine race cars… The clip is reminiscent of an automotive tool,  From a side view,there is a hex bolt on the pivot point. It feels like a car door hinges. The logo is very bold, as when you open the hood of the car and you see the name cast in the engine. It's meant to have that feel­ing. And inside each letter, there's a chiseled treatment." the chrome appointments at top and bottom are meant to resemble the facets of wheel lug nuts, while the center ring has a strong, mechanical appearance.“

 

Interesting...  those are the points that caught your attention.

My father owned an auto parts store when I was little and I was fascinated by all the shiny parts.

 It’s been a while since I read Pen World, I should go back to doing so.

[Bo Bo Olson]

A Cross Townsend...don't remember exactly which of the few shades of blue it is. Fancy looking steel nib...regular flex.

One of the few new pens I've bought out side of the 200's.  It was one of those famous Galeria Kaufhaus sale buys. It and the ball point hidden away with the rest of my wife's too good to use ball points.  €100 back when that was actually over my border.

 

 

...............................

Before the War...Original Reform like Tropen were mostly German Export fountain pens. Tropen got saved for a while, when the British labor Government refused to rebuild the bombed flat  British pen industry. The The Brittisn Army in the north of Germany ordered 50,000 pens from Tropen. Tropen was the first German pen to recover from the War. I have on in black.

 

Original Reform was a very solidly made Pen I have two of his black war pens....and very solid. I should keep my out for his very early ahead of or at least up to date design fountain pens. In the late '40's-mid '50's.

 

His pens were so good, his foreign wholesalers sent him cash in advance so he could buy supplies and start up his factory again.

In the middle of the '50 the ball point came in....The owner of Original Reform refused to make a second class pen to keep up with the ball point. So he closed down his factory.

Some years later he sold his factory and name to another Heidelberg second-third class pen company Mutschler...who made cheap pens.

Including the 1745....and it's nibs were made by Degussa, which took over Osmia' 1922 nib factory in 1932 for debt. The workers refused to move 40 miles to Pfortzheim, so the nib factory remained in the Osmia factory in Heidelberg, the then Pen Capitol of the World. ....and Degussa continued to make nibs for grand nibs for Osmia, and like Bock '38 or Rupp '22 for anyone else. Rupp closed @1970.

@ the year 2,000 Mutschler sold it' factory tooling and the Original Reform name to China. That's when Dugusa a stopped making nibs.

 

So China ship's pallets of caps and other pallets of pen bodies to Germany where they are screw together to make a pen...being 'made in Germany'.

I have at times seen the 1745 go for 2 for €5.

 

This is a Mutschier 'Original Reform' pen....and I haven't opened the NOS package to check the nib.

 Up to date or even ahead of time.... in the late '80's W. Germany..... a coated black nib.

 

 

 

 

(Soennecken which was even before MB, one of the top three German fountain pen makers, got into the ball point market too late and therefore died @ 1960. or a bit.) MB and Pelikan and perhaps Kaweco got into the ball point market in time to save their companies.

All three of these, MB and Pelikan and perhaps Kaweco have gone bankrupt....Pelikan 2X and I think Kaweco more...in once it was made in Greece. ...15-20 years ago.

[The Elevator]

46 minutes ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

A Cross Townsend...don't remember exactly which of the few shades of blue it is. Fancy looking steel nib...regular flex.

One of the few new pens I've bought out side of the 200's.  It was one of those famous Galeria Kaufhaus sale buys. It and the ball point hidden away with the rest of my wife's too good to use ball points.  €100 back when that was actually over my border.

 

 

...............................

Before the War...Original Reform like Tropen were mostly German Export fountain pens. Tropen got saved for a while, when the British labor Government refused to rebuild the bombed flat  British pen industry. The The Brittisn Army in the north of Germany ordered 50,000 pens from Tropen. Tropen was the first German pen to recover from the War. I have on in black.

 

Original Reform was a very solidly made Pen I have two of his black war pens....and very solid. I should keep my out for his very early ahead of or at least up to date design fountain pens. In the late '40's-mid '50's.

 

His pens were so good, his foreign wholesalers sent him cash in advance so he could buy supplies and start up his factory again.

In the middle of the '50 the ball point came in....The owner of Original Reform refused to make a second class pen to keep up with the ball point. So he closed down his factory.

Some years later he sold his factory and name to another Heidelberg second-third class pen company Mutschler...who made cheap pens.

Including the 1745....and it's nibs were made by Degussa, which took over Osmia' 1922 nib factory in 1932 for debt. The workers refused to move 40 miles to Pfortzheim, so the nib factory remained in the Osmia factory in Heidelberg, the then Pen Capitol of the World. ....and Degussa continued to make nibs for grand nibs for Osmia, and like Bock '38 or Rupp '22 for anyone else. Rupp closed @1970.

@ the year 2,000 Mutschler sold it' factory tooling and the Original Reform name to China. That's when Dugusa a stopped making nibs.

 

So China ship's pallets of caps and other pallets of pen bodies to Germany where they are screw together to make a pen...being 'made in Germany'.

I have at times seen the 1745 go for 2 for €5.

 

This is a Mutschier 'Original Reform' pen....and I haven't opened the NOS package to check the nib.

 Up to date or even ahead of time.... in the late '80's W. Germany..... a coated black nib.

 

 

 

 

(Soennecken which was even before MB, one of the top three German fountain pen makers, got into the ball point market too late and therefore died @ 1960. or a bit.) MB and Pelikan and perhaps Kaweco got into the ball point market in time to save their companies.

All three of these, MB and Pelikan and perhaps Kaweco have gone bankrupt....Pelikan 2X and I think Kaweco more...in once it was made in Greece. ...15-20 years ago.

Wow your posts always contain such interesting nuggets of fountain pen history. Thank you 🙃

[Bo Bo Olson]

I learned much of it here on the com. There is other info that I'm not quite sure of, but often at flea markets in Heidelberg, there is a fountain pen scholar named Thomas, Kaweco on the com, who can give me an hours discussion. Heidelberg was once the Fountain Pen Capitol of the World.

 

He talked the city of Heidelberg into letting him have an old Art Nouveau fire engine building for a his fountain pen museum across from the Handschue castle ruin. Handschue is a glove, and back then only Bishops could afford gloves with fingers, that we are now use too.

 

Unfortunately some drunk climbed up on the top of a monument on a fountain and fell off killing the fool. so the City wouldn't let him put in a second floor of industrial gitter.,,,in case some drunk wanted to skydive. in a fountain pen museum.

 

Here is a few pictures of Thomas's Museum. These are old pictures from the start, it is much better now that he had time to put out more of his collection. 

Something to do with nibs.

Nib press...a smll one he had one much bigger.

A pen body maker.

He has been offered a fortune for thees 'raw' pen bodies. And will never sell.

A pen body maker...adjusted one way for the caps.

Last time I was there he had this an this and other glass cases more filled....lots o fink bottles also.

 

A lizard pen, whose name I forgot. He had 40 or more fine minor brand pens  in a pile in the 'back room'.

 

More pen gadgets.......and at home he has a full 5 foot by 4 foot nib machine, he was trying to find space for. His uncle worked for Kaweco, so he has lots of stores about that pen brand.

I've been at this for some 15 years, and learned from many fine posters who were knowledgeable.

Knowledge kept secret gets moldy!

 

[Penguincollector]

  Wow, @Bo Bo Olson  -that NOS Reform looks so modern- I was actually looking at a Cross Century in the same color scheme yesterday! I have one Reform, I am unsure how old it is or what kind, but I bought it in a hotel gift shop 33 years ago for $10. There were two, and I regret not buying the second one. It has a very simple gold plated steel nib and is a delightful little pen. My one Degussa nib was a happy accident,  Rick Propas replaced the unusable nib on my little George the Penguin pen  with a lovely 14k broad. It writes a gorgeous line that is actually thinner than more modern medium nibs. 
  Your Townsend is so elegant in blue and chrome. 

  The museum looks really interesting,  another reason to revisit Germany besides the great beer and football.  I’m glad that there are kind, intelligent people sharing their love  and knowledge of fountain pens around the world.

[Bo Bo Olson]

The late '40's-early '50's  were to me shockingly modern....but when I did see a couple a long time ago...I was too ignorant to chase them....I'd not learned the real Original Reform was a very good solid pen, not that  cheap 1745.

Pelikan was then about my max.

back then €60-80.

 

[Penguincollector]

26 minutes ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

The late '40's-early '50's  were to me shockingly modern....but when I did see a couple a long time ago...I was too ignorant to chase them....I'd not learned the real Original Reform was a very good solid pen, not that  cheap 1745.

Pelikan was then about my max.

back then €60-80.

 

  The futuristic designs from that era are some of my favorites, in just about any discipline. It feels very optimistic to me.