British Pen Makers you wish….

[Colourfingers]

would make a comeback and why

For me it’s Osmiroid. They were great pens I’m still using the one I had at school and I’m nearly 50. Their 22 carat gold nibs write perfectly so for a reasonably priced pen they were very well made.

[inkstainedruth]

My first roommate in college (who was a year ahead of me) was taking a calligraphy class and used her Osmiroid set.  I was soooo disappointed when I took calligraphy the next year with a different professor and we got relegated to Speedballs....

I have a few Osmiroids now, including a calligraphy set (don't know if it was the same set as what my first roommate had -- I didn't really like her for a LOT of reasons), plus have picked up a few spare nib units over the years (apparently they also fit vintage Esterbrooks -- the nibs were included as freebies when I bought a vintage Estie on eBay about 8 years ago).  One is I think an Osmiroid 65 lever filler which came with an Italic B "Straight" on it, plus a "B4" nib on it (looks like a music nib, in that it has 3 tines).  The other two are both squeeze fillers.  Don't know what the model is on one of them.  The other one was an "India ink Pen" which was in the original box, and included a gadget to pull the nib (and instructions) for cleaning "waterproof ink" (such as India ink) out of it (my notes say the imprint on the pen says "England" and either "HE" or "MF".

I keep meaning to see about getting those three pens up and running, but they keep getting passed over by "higher priority" repairs/checkups -- most recently including a couple of 51 Vacs, and the little "Shirley Temple" pen I found in an antiques mall the next county south.  And of course, not at all sure where the "India ink Pen" has gotten to.... 

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth 

[dms525]

For anyone interested in calligraphy or italic handwriting, Osmiroid would surely be at the top of the wish list. BTW, their nibs were gold plated, not solid gold.

 

Several of the higher end British pen makers that currently are in business have the names but are actually different enterprises than Onoto and Conway-Stewart, for example. In the latter case, the present company is the third iteration. Really, it's even more complicated because the C-S name belongs to a different company than the remaining stock of parts.

 

David