Faber-Castell Progress 55S

**Jeph** · February 9th, 2014, 01:56 PM

This is a Faber-Castell Progress 55S. The 55 was the midrange model from the early 60’s between the top of the line 66 and the student 54VT. The 55S had the stainless cap and nib while the 55G swapped the SS nib for a gold nib. There was also an all plastic version called the 77S. This is after F-C had completed the takeover of Osmia, yet there is a hidden Osmia symbol engraved on the nib. The symbol is not exposed with the pen assembled.

At first glance it is a pretty standard German piston filler from the time. It has a streamlined plastic body, a slip-fit metal cap, a piston filler with ink window and a semi-hooded nib. My first hint that this pen had something different to offer was that it just refused to flush clean. After 30 flush cycles the ink window showed clear but ink kept coming out. Once I gave up and started taking it apart I finally figured out why. Almost the entire nose section of the pen encloses a huge ink collector. The nib mounts directly to the collector which has a slot that matches the feed slit on the nib. The thin feed is inserted in the center of the collector and never actually touches the nib. The feed delivers the ink to the collector that in turn delivers the ink to the feed. The nib does have a breather hole and the feed ink channel is the standard W shape that sends ink down both sides and returns air in the center. In addition, there is a small breather hole on the underside of the nose housing that feeds an air slot on the bottom of the collector. The design is like having the goodness of a Parker 51 type collector with the convenience of a piston filler with ink window.

The pen writes exceptionally well. I did not have to align the tines and I did not perform any nib smoothing. It writes a smooth, precise fine line. There is no flex or even appreciable spring to the nib. The gold coloring on the nib is a little more persistent than the normal cheap gold washes but you can still see where the coloring is rubbing off near the breather hole. I don’t know why you would color a stainless nib gold on a pen that has silver colored trim everywhere else. If I can ever run this pen out of ink I will take it apart again and rub the plating off of the nib so that everything matches. The pen posts well but for some reason it feels like it is grinding when you cap it. I have looked and cleaned both the cap and the lower portion of the barrel 4 additional times and I can’t find the cause. What makes it stranger is that when you post the cap it is smooth without any rough drag. The other downside is that due to the huge collector if you ever want to change ink colors you pretty much have to take the pen apart to get all of the ink out. The good news is that is very simple to do. The nose simply screws away from the barrel while the nib, collector and feed push easily out the back of the nose as a unit.

I also added a picture of the F-C 55S next to a Pelikan Silvexa 20 and a Geha with 14K nib that I have forgotten the model number of. If I had the choice, and I do, I would choose the 55S. I currently have it inked with Pelikan Königsblau and will add it into the rotation for at least a week to see if I can find any more issues. I forgot my calipers at work so you will have to live without the dimensions.

F-C 55S Closed.jpg F-C 55S Open.jpg F-C 55S Posted.jpg F-C 55S Components.jpg F-C 55S Parts.jpg F-C 55S Nose Views.jpg F-C 55S Nib.jpg
F-C 55S Compare.jpg

**whych** · February 10th, 2014, 01:27 AM

The cap comes apart. Jam something into the cap to hold the nut and unscrew the jewel on the top of the cap.

**Tony Rex** · February 10th, 2014, 01:53 AM

Excellent post bud. Keep 'em coming!

**Jeph** · February 10th, 2014, 02:38 AM

Originally Posted by whych

The cap comes apart. Jam something into the cap to hold the nut and unscrew the jewel on the top of the cap.

Yes it does. I even have the proper tool to take it apart but it was too clean to be worth the bother.

I have found the source of the grind when capping. There are deep scratches from the clutch ring where it rests inside the cap. So it grinds going past the clutch ring but not going onto the back of the barrel. Now that I have seen them with the borescope my poor eyes can make them out with the light angled properly. I can take care of that this evening when I get home.

I have also been leaving the pen uncapped on my desk and so far it has started right up each time.

**Jeph** · February 11th, 2014, 11:47 AM

Well I was able to smooth out the worst of the scratches inside the cap and is caps better now. There are also some tiny burrs on the clutch ring but the pen will need to come back apart to take care of that.

The collector does not appear to allow the pen to remain uncapped any longer than any other pen. After 15 minutes uncapped it will hard start and after as little as 32 minutes it will be bone dry. The Pelikan ink may have something to do with that but I doubt another ink will make a significant difference. That is disappointing as I had high hopes of this pen offering something special. It behaves very well otherwise if you keep it capped like you are supposed to.

**RuiFromUK** · February 12th, 2014, 12:51 AM

It is always a pleasure to see a beautifully clean and restored fountain pen.

Well done Jeph.

**Blackandwhite** · June 26th, 2016, 04:45 PM

Thank You for this review, Jeph. I found a 55G KF ( gold nib model) in France and only started to use it yesterday, - I had the same "wow"-impression : this is a pretty nice writer in this pen category. All that can be said You said it so well, I simply wanted to thank You for the review so I immediately could find some useful information about this fountain pen. I think the gold plating on the SS models is to give the illusion it is a 14cts nib - it is the only reason I can find to this.