A Boy Scout Pen

[Deb]

This is another mottled vulcanite Conway Stewart, a smaller, more slender pen than the Combridge which I wrote about before. It's a little older and has the flange lever. It isn't in perfect condition; there's a hairline crack in the cap lip and the fixed clip that once graced the cap has gone. I don't mind. It has other features that more than make up for these flaws.

It's The Empire Pen, designated No 46, and like many Conway Stewarts it was made to order, in this case by The Boy Scout Association. Baden-Powell created the Boy Scouts, ostensibly to take boys off the streets and give them a useful training. The training was somewhat military and was aimed at educating the boys to be future servants and officers of the British Empire, hence the title, "The Empire Pen."



We find all of that a little distasteful nowadays but it's no reflection on the excellent pen. The missing clip would have borne the fleur-de-lys logo of the Boy Scouts. The flange lever carries the entwined 'C' and 'S' of Conway Stewart. The two metal tabs keep the lever securely in place, a design unique to Conway Stewart. The warranted 14 carat gold nib is correct for this pen. It probably wasn't very expensive, built down to a price that could be met from schoolboy's pockets. Decoration is limited to a single slim cap ring.



The nib if original, and I have no reason to believe it isn't, is interesting. Schoolchildren tend not to be very choosy about nibs but this one is an unusual form, a broad oblique stub with some flexibility. It seems more like an adult choice. Perhaps it was the Scout Master's pen.



The pen is rather too slender to be comfortable for long writing sessions and with the thick line it lays down, it would get through ink and paper rapidly. I use it for signing. With its breadth and flexibility, it makes quite an impression. It's always on my desk, filled with ink and ready for use. It has seen some hard use in its 90 years of existence but it's still a great pen.

[FredRydr]

As I've mentioned before, I'm a sucker for those early mottled HR pens.

[Deb]

Can't get enough of them!

[penwash]

I love these mottled/woodgrain red and black hard rubber pens so much.

And that nib! I would choose that nib over any Fines or Mediums. I agree with you, that's an adult's choice nib.

[Deb]

I've never come across a nib like that in a Conway Stewart before.

[Seattleite]

Nice cross collectable.

Here is an American Boy Scout pen. Based on the Fineline, but fully marked Sheaffer's. I'm guessing mid 1950's





By the time I was in the Scouts, fountain pens were out. I still have a scar from my Cub Scout pocket knife.

Bob

[Deb]

I don't see it, I'm afraid.

[Seattleite]

Oops! I actually have two. One is impossible to see. This one might show up a little better



Bob

[Deb]

That's a great pen! Fifties would be my guess too. The fleur-de-lys image on the barrel is beautifully crisp and clear.