I Finally Went Vintage

[Waski_the_Squirrel]

My vintage fountain pen experiences have been limited and very bad. My father owns a Parker 51, and I just didn't like it when I used it as a kid. I wonder if I'll like it now. (And, at that time, I did own several fountain pens.) As an adult, I once bought some fountain pens in a store. The latex sacs inside had hardened and turned into crust. Trying to make them work was a total failure. Since this was pre-internet and they were cheap, I got rid of them.

So, I recently found two vintage pens at reasonable cost and actually liked them. I have a Reform 1745 and a Kaweco V14s Masterpiece. It may help that they use pistons rather than latex sacs. In any case, I'm actually enjoying these pens. They don't look like much, though I do enjoy the blue ink windows on both pens. They remind me a bit of the Noodler's Nib Creaper. The Reform pen in particular seems to have a flex nib. It reminds me of the Noodler's nibs or the Pelikan m205 nibs.

[Lady Onogaro]

I have one of the Reform pens, and it performs very well. I currently have it inked with Seitz-Kreuznach Dark Orchid.

[Quantum Sailor]

I received a reform for Christmas one year and it turned out to be a very pleasant pen. I've found a few cheaper pens that have turned out to be more enjoyable than some of my more expensive pens.

[Kaputnik]

Nice pens. My Reform deserves to be used more, but it's fighting for a spot with so many other pens. I've been curious about those older Kawecos.

Now that you do have some online guides available, you might find it interesting to restore a simple lever filler. Esterbrooks are usually pretty cheap, and good quality as well. But they won't necessarily write any better than what you have already.

[Scrawler]

The Reform has a springy nib rather than a flex nib. They were German school pens and that springiness is typical of those pens. It was needed for the German blackletter style of writing. I bought a lot of them from Terri in San Diego so that I could give them to kids. I have kept one for myself, despite it being too thin for me to use comfortably. If you like that thing I expect that you will eventually move on to the adult variety, like a Soennecken of the same period.

[penwash]

I received a reform for Christmas one year and it turned out to be a very pleasant pen. I've found a few cheaper pens that have turned out to be more enjoyable than some of my more expensive pens.

Isn't that right? I find this almost every week.
The keyword here is: enjoyable.

All of the pens I restored and sell are very enjoyable to write with (after tuning, matching, adjusting, etc).
Otherwise I won't sell it.

Funny thing is, the ones I kept for myself are also enjoyable to write with, but either they have issues (that I could live with) or they are too ugly to sell.

[ethernautrix]

I have owned and enjoyed many vintage pens, and through that experience, I learned that, nope, I don't care for lever-fillers. And that turned into "not crazy about pens with sacs at all." Sad, cos I've liked everything else about those pens -- the nibs and looks (and if not crazy about the looks, the nibs alone).

I finally decided to stop goofing on myself and have only c/c pens (and maybe some irresistible piston-fillers, generally with nibs that screw out in case of piston breakage).

Of my remaining user pens, almost all are modern and most c/c. I recently acquired a vintage Pilot Super 250L (ca. 1959) that the previous owner had converted (ha! converted!) to a converter fill. The converter can't be taken out, so it works as a piston-filler. Can't brag about the ink capacity (not at all great), but I don't mind filling the pen since no sac is involved. The nib is sublime!

I'm not knocking vintage pens - not at all. I've written with some beautiful old writers. But as Dirty Harry says, "A man's got to know his limitations."

I probably deliberately blur my vision on vintage and colorful (the gorgeous old celluloid patterns, for example), cos I really don't want to fall down any more deep, pen-related, rabbit holes.

Enjoy your journey!

[penwash]

I have owned and enjoyed many vintage pens, and through that experience, I learned that, nope, I don't care for lever-fillers. And that turned into "not crazy about pens with sacs at all." Sad, cos I've liked everything else about those pens -- the nibs and looks (and if not crazy about the looks, the nibs alone).

Just a curiousity question, what is it about ink sacs that bothers you?
Unless you are waist-deep with those like myself because I repair vintage pens, your interaction with ink sacs are very limited to filling inks, which should not be that often. I can understand if you can't get along with lever-fillers, but a nicely restored button-fillers are (to me) one of the most convenient filling systems to use (way better than messing with cartridges).

[ethernautrix]

I have owned and enjoyed many vintage pens, and through that experience, I learned that, nope, I don't care for lever-fillers. And that turned into "not crazy about pens with sacs at all." Sad, cos I've liked everything else about those pens -- the nibs and looks (and if not crazy about the looks, the nibs alone).

Just a curiousity question, what is it about ink sacs that bothers you?
Unless you are waist-deep with those like myself because I repair vintage pens, your interaction with ink sacs are very limited to filling inks, which should not be that often. I can understand if you can't get along with lever-fillers, but a nicely restored button-fillers are (to me) one of the most convenient filling systems to use (way better than messing with cartridges).

Oh, messing with cartridges is way better. I should know, because it's my preferred filling method.

I don't like sacs or the methods required to get the ink in them. I have had a variety of filling mechanisms (levers, aerometric, button, touch down, vacuumatic (or vacumatic), crescent, and so on). Actually, I do like the lever on my Waterman Lady Patricia; it works more like a pump, and the ink fills directly into the barrel, which is transparent enough that I can see the ink level.

My favorite method of getting ink into the pen is to fill the cartridge or pen (piston-filler with screw-in nib) using a syringe. Currently in rotation is a Mb 146, so I have to use the piston-filling mechanism -- no choice. Also, a Pilot Custom Heritage 912 with a cool button-filling converter -- and while I've used the button filler, I typically use the syringe (usually filling or topping off a couple of pens with the same ink).

Maybe the syringe is a bit fussy (and I don't think so), but, as I like to say, the syringe is how you know you have a habit.

[Empty_of_Clouds]

That is hilarious... then I looked at my own very small group of very low level pens and noticed that I have two lever fillers (Mabie Todd), one button filler (Parker Duofold Sr Streamline), two piston fillers (Aurora 88P, TWSBI 580AL), and two cartridge converters (Pilot 912, Ranga thingy). Although it could be argued that the 912 is a kind of button filler.

Going over my history for the past year I notice that the greatest number of outgoing pens has been lever fillers. From a visual perspective I feel that the lever breaks the lines of a pen. I've kept the two I have because they have nice nibs only.

As far as filling systems go in general, I am close to being fully converted.

[Eddie Southgate]

I have piston , button, lever , plunger , vac's , matchstick , crescent , eyedroppers , converter fillers and a couple I ain't really sure what to call . My preference is for piston fillers with ink view windows , too simple to use . Next has gotta be the lever filling sack pen because it is soooooooo easy to put a sack in even I can do it .

Eddie

[wingwiper]

Congratulations.............go vintage

[Wahl]

Welcome to the Club, all my pens have ink sacs.

Well...except the P45´s

[Waski_the_Squirrel]

Congratulations.............go vintage

I've really gone big into vintage since I posted this.

[penwash]

Congratulations.............go vintage

I've really gone big into vintage since I posted this.

Well, do tell us about your vintage collection today then

[KrazyIvan]

Congratulations.............go vintage

I've really gone big into vintage since I posted this.

Well, do tell us about your vintage collection today then

Youtube has all the goods on Waski's vintage pens.

[wingwiper]

Congratulations.............go vintage

I've really gone big into vintage since I posted this.

Well, do tell us about your vintage collection today then

Youtube has all the goods on Waski's vintage pens.

Wow......I wouldn’t know where to start. Used some FP’s in high school and then just started accumulating in the ‘80-‘90’s.

Since then just pick up a few here and there. Of course everything was less expensive back in the day. Mostly USA pens, then German and mostly Japanese now.

Lots of flex, italics, stubs, customs and so on. Feel bad for those trying to get in hobby now now as they are so expensive.

Have gifted a lot of pens, even expensive ones to some just to see them out grow their affection- bad on my part thinking they were lifers, my bad- but live and learn.

Love this site and everyone in it. I am user and a write a heck of a lot, even with all the IT out there today.

You guys keep it going and just don’t collect- write, use them!

Oh yea.......have more in boxes and so on



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wingwiper]

Welcome to the Club, all my pens have ink sacs.

Well...except the P45´s

P45's are one of my favorite pens.............inexpensive and have pretty much every nib on them Parker offered.

They're pretty much bulletproof and easy to take apart and clean. Even the steel nib ones are not too bad

[penwash]

Hot dang! That is a worthwhile collection of vintage pens.

Good job, Waski!

[Eddie Southgate]

Way to go Waski !