"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."
~ Benjamin Franklin
Jon Szanto (June 11th, 2021)
Fair enough if that's how you want to go but I can't accept as obscure pens that had production runs in the thousands - rather more than most modern pens. The problem here is the limitation of people's knowledge of pens made in countries other than the US.
mizgeorge (June 12th, 2021)
Eachan, let's suppose a member from UK posted here that he found a neat little pen called WASP.
That brand may be obscure to him, but not to me, so I would tell him that WASP is a sub-brand from the mighty Sheaffer, and there are quite a bit of them produced back then. The result is that the member from UK learned about his new pen, and I am reminded that WASP may be an odd and obscure brand from someone who are not pen collector in the US. Which is totally fine with me.
That scenario is exactly what just happened here. A member posted about some pens whose brand is obscure *to him*. And you pointed out that those are actually quite common pens in the UK.
One of the outcomes is that even I (not the OP) learned a new brand called Altura that I wouldn't have known apart from this.
The other outcome is that everyone learned *from you* that those brands are quite common in the UK.
With this give-and-take approach, I think we all would continue to benefit from this thread.
And alluding to what Jon said earlier, this thread is not my "crusade", it's just a friendly chat among pen friends, that happens to be international in scope. I hope that you would consider this perspective and continue to have fun here
Cyril (June 22nd, 2021), Sailor Kenshin (June 12th, 2021)
Nothing I was said was intended to be unfriendly or to spoil anyone's fun. I just made what I felt was a necessary clarification. Lets leave it at that.
That's my takeaway, too. I think we are just casually cataloging pen brands that we had not personally been aware of. IN that light, and in the thread of the discussion, we become enlightened by our colleagues with different and/or broader experience. The unknown becomes the known.
And it's among friends.
"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."
~ Benjamin Franklin
As per Jon's request, here's another look of the now christened "Gee Bee Steiner" pen
This old woodgrain ebonite pen of sizeable dimension (for vintage pens) is not only in a nice condition, but also has a unique name fit for this thread. On the barrel, the brand is Steiner None Finer.
I thought someone had a real sense of humor engraving that on a commercially marketed pen. It's catchy!
And probably that was exactly the response they were hoping for.
The only thing this pen was missing is its original clip, so I put a stop to it, a rollstop, that is.
Yes, this pen is now working again. It came with a Warranted 14K which is really flexible. Deliciously so.
For more info on how the rollstop came to be, go to this thread which has a sketch of the airplane also.
Last edited by penwash; June 16th, 2021 at 05:21 PM.
AzJon (June 16th, 2021), eachan (June 17th, 2021), Jon Szanto (June 16th, 2021), mizgeorge (June 16th, 2021), Sailor Kenshin (June 16th, 2021), Scrawler (June 16th, 2021)
I haven't suggested any make of pen because of suspect that if I know about it then I can't be obscure.
Scrawler (June 18th, 2021)
This thread is about learning together about pens that are not known.
Whether it's not known to some of us, one of us, two hundreds of us, doesn't matter, as long as collectively we all learn something that enrich our enjoyment in this hobby.
If you want to be pedantic about the actual meaning of the word "obscure", then yeah, this thread probably won't be that useful for you.
But if you consider switching your perspective, and take this thread as it was intended, then for sure you can participate, and have fun with the rest of us.
Suggest any make that you think could inform or educate others.
Just leave Scheaeffer out of this...
Last edited by penwash; June 17th, 2021 at 08:38 AM.
Jon Szanto (June 17th, 2021)
There's the Rex Lady 100, my little piston-filler. Ever heard of that?
IMG_3974.jpg
CrayonAngelss (June 18th, 2021), eachan (June 17th, 2021), Jon Szanto (June 17th, 2021), KrazyIvan (June 17th, 2021), mizgeorge (June 17th, 2021), penwash (June 17th, 2021), Sailor Kenshin (June 17th, 2021), Scrawler (June 18th, 2021)
What a very pretty little pen
Thank you for clarification.
I almost feel as though I've been scolded and should say, 'Yes Mother. I'll do better next time.' That aside, my comment was in response to the exchange above discussing one's awareness of only one pen of a brand that may have numbered in the thousands as one respondent put it. My comment was my ignorant attempt to express the sentiment that there, people like me, who despite a long life of fountain pen use -- seven decades in my case -- understand that our experience is in fact limited, and that we do not know it all, nor do we pretend to do.
You have my apologies for my ignorance.
Scrawler (June 18th, 2021)
I just enjoy these beautiful pen pictures!
Uncertain if the Federal I posted way upthread is considered obscure. The two accompanying NoNami probably are.
My other pen is a Montblanc.
And my other blog is a tumblr!
And my latest ebook, for spooky wintery reading:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CM2NGSSD
penwash (June 17th, 2021)
Hey, it made the list! Obscure enough for me!
Let's all just take a step back for a moment. This thread is not comprehensive nor rigorously academic and not meant to be exclusive. It is a light and casual attempt to survey anyone who wishes to contribute and answer a very simple question: "what is the most obscure pen you have come across?". There isn't any need to make it more or less than that, no one knows them all, many of us have slim knowledge compared to the great collectors of the hobby, and we're trying to have an enjoyable thread collecting pens that surprised us with their mysterious lineage.
Eachan brought up a good point about regional brands, and I think we've addressed this. Please, please: there isn't any need for defensiveness or any other grievances. Chalk it all up to the inability, at times, for the written language to adequately convey our meanings. I can state, without any hesitation, that neither Will nor I have a desire for anything but for people to have a good time looking at lesser-known pens. Nothing more. Take the thread for what it is and let it give you a bit of respite from the difficulties of our world at large.
"When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."
~ Benjamin Franklin
penwash (June 17th, 2021), Sailor Kenshin (June 17th, 2021)
That part I am highlighting above is not a fair statement.
I have *always* been very careful in crafting the sentences that I put out in a public forum.
Yet somehow my statements seem to reached you in a way that I *never* intended.
Nowhere in my attempt to appeal for the purpose of this thread, have I not being respectful of your perspective. By inviting you to *consider*, I am leaving the choices to you -- out of courtesy.
How that can be implied in any shape or form that I am "scolding" you, is beyond my comprehension.
Also, you don't have to apologize for anything, we are fellow members of this forum and as far as I'm concerned, we are of equal standing, and there are no "offences" recorded anywhere.
As Jon mentioned above, there are enough issues in the world, shall we just leave things that are meant to be light-hearted stay that way?
Jon Szanto (June 17th, 2021)
Hush!
My other pen is a Montblanc.
And my other blog is a tumblr!
And my latest ebook, for spooky wintery reading:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CM2NGSSD
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