guider Guider Push Cap Double pen.

[hari317]

I have been after Mr GL Rao of Guider to make this pen for my child who uses double pens for school. A push cap is very convenient for daily use. In the 1907 catalog of Parker I saw a pen called the Bookkeeper’s special no 100. This is not a recreation of that but something similar. 

One end is brown to determine the ink color. 
 

Kanwrite no 4 nib. 
 

 

Kanwrite no 4 feed. 
 

L-R: Woodex 56, Guider, Mohi Panache. 

L-R: Woodex 56, Guider, Mohi Panache. 
Cheers 

Hari. 

[mhguda]

I've got one that looks a little like that, only the caps are seamless fitting screw caps. Here is a group picture of some of my Guiders.

It's the third pen from left. Not in rotation at the moment... but it looks a lot like the Capsuls we got from the group buy some years ago, that Amberlea organized.

[Harish N V]

Wow. That's nice. Nice of mr Rao to have made this. I like the thin nature of the ebonite. Makes it usable. Also like the feeders

[hari317]

2 hours ago, mhguda said:

I've got one that looks a little like that, only the caps are seamless fitting screw caps. Here is a group picture of some of my Guiders.

It's the third pen from left. Not in rotation at the moment... but it looks a lot like the Capsuls we got from the group buy some years ago, that Amberlea organized.

Yes. Guider has made quite a variety of models to suit every taste. The seamless design twin head pen is a staple of Indian pen makers. But that design necessarily causes a barrel to section step down which is not my thing. So I need a perfectly seamless barrel. The cap can project out no issues. And guider is the only one who offers a push cap ebonite at the moment. Truly vintage style. 

[hari317]

2 hours ago, Harish N V said:

Wow. That's nice. Nice of mr Rao to have made this. I like the thin nature of the ebonite. Makes it usable. Also like the feeders

Thank you. The chassis I used to explain him what I wanted was the push cap desk pen. That’s a very practical pen too.  Once the feed is upgraded. I have already upgraded the nib and feed on one side to JoWo. Thinking about the second side as I type this. 

[hari317]

When a push cap pen is rapidly uncapped, a significant vacuum is created. Thus the air inside the barrel is sucked out to balance this. The air comes out through the nib; ejecting/spraying ink out. To mitigate this, vintage push cap pens had vented caps. A breather hole used to be drilled near the very top of the cap so that air could rush in from there instead of the barrel to equalise the pressure. However a vented cap means nib dry-outs. So the Guider’s cap is without a breather hole. Thus if you buy a Guider push cap with a friction fit nib you have to make sure you install a feed which is heavily buffered. This buffer in the feeder ensures the capture of the ink droplets during rapid uncapping. Screw in nib units from Bock/Pelikan/JoWo/Schmidt have adequately buffered feeds. The Kanwrite feed is no good in this situation as was discovered after a week of use. So whenever possible order a push cap pen with these nib units. However some pens might be too slim to accommodate a screw in nib unit. Like this double sided push cap pen. In such pens I create an in-situ “housing” shape inside the section to directly friction fit the nib and feed. This is what I have done yesterday evening. One side fits the new style JoWo no 5 nib feed.  The other side fits the old style JoWo no 5 nib feed. Here are the results. 

 

JoWo #5 new style. 
 

JoWo #5 new style. 
 

JoWo #5 old spear style. 
 

JoWo #5 old style. 

cheers 

Hari

 

 

[K Singh]

23 hours ago, hari317 said:

I have been after Mr GL Rao of Guider to make this pen for my child who uses double pens for school. A push cap is very convenient for daily use. In the 1907 catalog of Parker I saw a pen called the Bookkeeper’s special no 100. This is not a recreation of that but something similar. 

One end is brown to determine the ink color. 
 

Kanwrite no 4 nib. 
 

 

Kanwrite no 4 feed. 
 

L-R: Woodex 56, Guider, Mohi Panache. 

L-R: Woodex 56, Guider, Mohi Panache. 
Cheers 

Hari. 

All 3 look beautiful in their own way. Good to have such choices in 2-in-1 pens 👍 

 

For some reason I never felt attracted to them though. I find it simpler to have two pens inked instead. 

[hari317]

1 hour ago, K Singh said:

All 3 look beautiful in their own way. Good to have such choices in 2-in-1 pens 👍 

 

For some reason I never felt attracted to them though. I find it simpler to have two pens inked instead. 

Thank you. It’s convenient in the class to have both ends open to quickly switch between black and blue ink. 
 

however regarding simplicity nowadays ( even 40years back) people find it most simple to use a ball point of some sort. That’s why most have ditched the fountain pen and it’s relegated to the dust bin of history and the pockets of a few enthusiasts who are trying to pass it on to the next generation. 

[Azulado]

On 10/20/2024 at 5:19 AM, hari317 said:

 

When a push cap pen is rapidly uncapped, a significant vacuum is created. Thus the air inside the barrel is sucked out to balance this. The air comes out through the nib; ejecting/spraying ink out. To mitigate this, vintage push cap pens had vented caps. A breather hole used to be drilled near the very top of the cap so that air could rush in from there instead of the barrel to equalise the pressure. However a vented cap means nib dry-outs. So the Guider’s cap is without a breather hole. Thus if you buy a Guider push cap with a friction fit nib you have to make sure you install a feed which is heavily buffered. This buffer in the feeder ensures the capture of the ink droplets during rapid uncapping. Screw in nib units from Bock/Pelikan/JoWo/Schmidt have adequately buffered feeds. The Kanwrite feed is no good in this situation as was discovered after a week of use. So whenever possible order a push cap pen with these nib units. However some pens might be too slim to accommodate a screw in nib unit. Like this double sided push cap pen. In such pens I create an in-situ “housing” shape inside the section to directly friction fit the nib and feed. This is what I have done yesterday evening. One side fits the new style JoWo no 5 nib feed.  The other side fits the old style JoWo no 5 nib feed. Here are the results. 

 

JoWo #5 new style. 
 

JoWo #5 new style. 
 

JoWo #5 old spear style. 
 

JoWo #5 old style. 

cheers 

Hari

 

 

 

How do you know it's an old style Jowo #5 feeder? I ask this question because I have been trying to identify the origin of these feeds for a long time. 
I have quite a few Inoxcroms mounted on them. I always thought that this Spanish brand made them in their own factory. However, I recently learned that several Diplomat models use the same feed when I saw it in a picture of a review of the Traveller model. 
Inoxcrom started using these nibs on their small nib fountain pens in 1990. I know that Inoxcrom and Diplomat had a very good relationship. The owners were close friends. The fact is that Diplomat still uses these nibs on some of their models. 
This is interesting because Diplomat uses Bock nibs. On their website they list Diplomat as a customer. I also read recently that when Jowo was part of the GDR, they made cheap nibs for Bock. Perhaps that is the origin of this story. 

 

http://plumahispana.blogspot.com/2015/12/los-plumines-de-inoxcrom-2-parte-y-final.html

https://rupertarzeian.com/2021/07/03/early-thoughts-on-the-diplomat-traveller-fountain-pen/

 

[hari317]

37 minutes ago, Azulado said:

How do you know it's an old style Jowo #5 feeder?

I know because I removed the nib and feed from the old style JoWo no 5 nib unit and fitted both to this pen. I have a bag full of these nib units purchased from the JoWo distributor. Perhaps you know him. I can post a clear pic of this feeder this coming weekend when I am free if that will help you. Bock has a list of customers on its website. But the customers are free to have more than one OEM. They can have different OEMs for different product lines. The history of JoWo is somewhat sketchy I agree. I will read through your links in leisure. Thank you. 

[arun.upb]

Cool mods, does your child like using the pen? I mean in terms of length, the cap probably making it top heavy, etc.

 

thanks for sharing this beautiful pen.

[inkstainedruth]

@hari317 Interesting looking pen.  
I do have a question about the holes drilled in one of the nibs.  I've never seen anything like that before.  So what's the purpose of the holes (as opposed to just having the nib slit)?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[hari317]

7 hours ago, arun.upb said:

Cool mods, does your child like using the pen? I mean in terms of length, the cap probably making it top heavy, etc.

 

thanks for sharing this beautiful pen.

Thank you. That’s a great question and reason why I asked Rao sir to keep it as small as possible. The pen weighs a little under 13gms uncapped. It’s still early days for verdict on comfort. Maybe a few more weeks. 

[hari317]

6 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

@hari317 Interesting looking pen.  
I do have a question about the holes drilled in one of the nibs.  I've never seen anything like that before.  So what's the purpose of the holes (as opposed to just having the nib slit)?

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

The holes are just cosmetic on this nib. There is a version without the holes as well.