Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 39

Thread: Vintage venting and other peeves

  1. #1
    Senior Member AzJon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Location
    Flagstaff
    Posts
    764
    Thanks
    1,204
    Thanked 826 Times in 352 Posts
    Rep Power
    9

    Default Vintage venting and other peeves

    The one thing that drives me absolutely mad, beyond any other fountain pen sin, is the over-polishing of vintage pens. Clean up some dull places, sure, but seeing a lineup of lovely vintage pens all so polished they look wet, just bugs me on a base level. There are new pens that aren't that slick. The pen is decades old, let it keep some character. To a lesser extent, this also applies to gold nibs whose patina has been thoughtlessly polished away to a squeaky-clean, gleaming gold nib.

    Anyhow, what are you fountain pen peeves?

  2. The Following 11 Users Say Thank You to AzJon For This Useful Post:

    + Show/Hide list of the thanked

    ceebert (September 24th, 2019), Deb (August 24th, 2019), fountainpagan (August 24th, 2019), FredRydr (August 23rd, 2019), Kaputnik (August 24th, 2019), pajaro (September 5th, 2019), penwash (August 23rd, 2019), popp (December 16th, 2022), Sailor Kenshin (August 23rd, 2019), silverlifter (August 23rd, 2019), Waski_the_Squirrel (August 27th, 2019)

  3. #2
    Senior Member silverlifter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Posts
    616
    Thanks
    359
    Thanked 772 Times in 355 Posts
    Rep Power
    6

    Default Re: Vintage venting and other peeves

    I'm more sanguine about overpolished vintage pens. I figure that if someone has gone to the trouble to restore a pen and wants to make it gleam, it is their pen and they can knock themselves out. Obviously, it must make them more attractive to some buyers, otherwise they wouldn't do it.

    My pet peeve is people that collect Sheaffer OS Vac-fill Balances: there aren't enough to go around!
    Vintage. Cursive italic. Iron gall.

  4. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Posts
    157
    Thanks
    1,404
    Thanked 76 Times in 44 Posts
    Rep Power
    8

    Default Re: Vintage venting and other peeves

    I like my stuff to have the patina/scuffs/scars which I put on it, not the previous owner. So I think I don't mind.
    EDIT: if it can be polished to a "gleaming wet" look, it probably was in an excellent condition to begin with, so I especially don't see it as a big loss of character.

  5. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Ahriman4891 For This Useful Post:

    azkid (August 24th, 2019), SIR (August 24th, 2019)

  6. #4
    Senior Member christof's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Confoederatio Helvetica
    Posts
    1,875
    Thanks
    1,892
    Thanked 7,813 Times in 1,426 Posts
    Rep Power
    17

    Default Re: Vintage venting and other peeves

    well, polishing is removing material (like grinding, just a lot finer). so if the pen doesn‘t lose caracter, it will lose material at least 😂
    c.

  7. The Following User Says Thank You to christof For This Useful Post:

    ceebert (September 24th, 2019)

  8. #5
    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    11,400
    Thanks
    6,872
    Thanked 10,361 Times in 3,977 Posts
    Rep Power
    24

    Default Re: Vintage venting and other peeves

    A couple of my fountain pen peeves are used pens that have bite marks on the ends of their barrels, or marks around their barrels where their caps have been posted.

    I have a gold plated Sheaffer Targa and the top of it's barrel annoyingly always tarnishes to a different shade where the cap was previously posted on there.

    I don't mind pens being polished. Most of mine aren't particularly old or vintage. I try to keep my pens as undamaged as possible and like to find similar examples that look good.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

  9. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Chrissy For This Useful Post:

    pajaro (September 5th, 2019), Pendragon (August 23rd, 2019)

  10. #6
    Senior Member fqgouvea's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    Waterville, ME
    Posts
    393
    Thanks
    114
    Thanked 254 Times in 134 Posts
    Rep Power
    9

    Default Re: Vintage venting and other peeves

    My biggest peeve is always pens that leak into the cap when they’re in my shirt pocket. I don’t know if it’s body heat or just jostling. (But I don’t tend to move all that much!) getting that surprise when I open the pen is dismaying... especially when I post the cap before noticing the leak.

    On the other hand, nibs that dry up just because they haven’t been used for a day or two are also evil. (I’m looking at you, Faber-Castell Ambition, you and your fine nib.)

    As for ultra-polishing, It ain’t nohow permanent, so why do it?

  11. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to fqgouvea For This Useful Post:

    azkid (August 24th, 2019), NibsForScript (September 22nd, 2019), pajaro (September 5th, 2019)

  12. #7
    Senior Member azkid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Colorado, USA
    Posts
    2,016
    Thanks
    3,725
    Thanked 1,703 Times in 822 Posts
    Rep Power
    9

    Default Re: Vintage venting and other peeves

    Drip-prone pens drive me batty. I have this issue with a couple Parker 21s and a Sheaffer Balance. Otherwise they are great writers but surprise blobs of ink on the page make me unhappy.

  13. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to azkid For This Useful Post:

    Kaputnik (August 24th, 2019), pajaro (September 5th, 2019), Sailor Kenshin (August 24th, 2019)

  14. #8
    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Dallas, as in the 80's TV Series
    Posts
    3,661
    Thanks
    3,363
    Thanked 6,701 Times in 1,971 Posts
    Rep Power
    14

    Default Re: Vintage venting and other peeves

    As a restorer, looking back, one of the things that drive me up the wall is weird sized feed and section. When I have a beautiful barrel that came with a crummy nib, and I have the perfect replacement nib that will make that pen a darling, but the odd size and fit between the nib, feed and section prevented that from materializing.

    And of course I ended up trying out and swapping nibs/feed/section left and right, finding a fit for only two but not the other. It's like trying to build a house of cards next to a running fan.

    Plus in the end none of them would fit just right. Now that's quite irksome.
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

  15. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to penwash For This Useful Post:

    NibsForScript (September 22nd, 2019), pajaro (September 5th, 2019)

  16. #9
    Senior Member Kaputnik's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    By the long tidal river.
    Posts
    1,043
    Thanks
    2,713
    Thanked 2,570 Times in 695 Posts
    Rep Power
    14

    Default Re: Vintage venting and other peeves

    Over polishing my vintage pens has never been a concern. Indeed, even with my prettiest vintage celluloids, I don't polish them at all any more. Clean them, yes. I did get some wax for them years ago, but have used it so seldom that I just had to get up and take it off the shelf to remind myself of what it's called. "Renaissance" wax. Just a little bit used off the top of the container.

    For peeves specific to vintage pens, as azkid says, the tendency of some otherwise excellent pens to spit a drop of ink from time to time is particularly vexing. Or perhaps what is annoying me in some cases is my inability to find out why a particular vintage pen is doing that.

    Other than that, I can't think of anything in particular. I have four pens inked right now, and three of them are vintage. I have vintage pens that are unreliable, or that don't have good nibs, or have other defects, but they are used pens, in some cases overused pens, and I don't let it bother me. Some will eventually get some therapy that may make them better. And I already have a number of vintage pens that work well, and fit into my regular rotation.

    Now I have some peeves with brand new modern pens that have problems out of the box, or were overhyped (and I fell for it). But that's another story.
    "If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly."
    G.K. Chesterton

  17. #10
    Senior Member azkid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Colorado, USA
    Posts
    2,016
    Thanks
    3,725
    Thanked 1,703 Times in 822 Posts
    Rep Power
    9

    Default Re: Vintage venting and other peeves

    My other peeve is under-polished pens.

  18. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to azkid For This Useful Post:

    Kaputnik (August 24th, 2019), NibsForScript (September 22nd, 2019)

  19. #11
    FPG Donor ♕ KrazyIvan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Texas-USA
    Posts
    5,068
    Thanks
    1,476
    Thanked 1,798 Times in 943 Posts
    Rep Power
    20

    Default Re: Vintage venting and other peeves

    I don't mind polished vintage pens. I have three pens from a certain restorer that has an eye for British pens and shows them off on YouTube. The ultra-polished feeds that glimmer under my LED lamp brings a warm joy to my heart as no other ebonite feed has ever done.
    Fountain Pen Sith Lord | Daakusaido | Everything in one spot

  20. #12
    Senior Member Paddler's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
    Location
    Northeast Ohio
    Posts
    468
    Thanks
    61
    Thanked 602 Times in 307 Posts
    Rep Power
    9

    Default Re: Vintage venting and other peeves

    Parker 21 Mk I and Mk II pens don't have enough feed capacity to cope with air expansion in their sacs. Early Sheaffer balances (those without fins all the way around their feeds) are similarly handicapped. You have to treat these pens as if they were eydropper fillers: During the night keep the pen vertical, nib up, in your pen holder. Extra ink in the feed will leak back down into the reservoir. In the morning, when the pen is cold, clip the pin in your shirt pocket, nib up, until it warms up. Then you can hold it in your hand and write with it and it won't hork a blob onto your paper.

    The Parker 21 Super has extra capacity and doesn't have the problem.
    "Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little." -Epicurus-

  21. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Paddler For This Useful Post:

    azkid (August 24th, 2019), Kudzu (September 17th, 2019)

  22. #13
    Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2019
    Posts
    47
    Thanks
    19
    Thanked 34 Times in 16 Posts
    Rep Power
    0

    Default Re: Vintage venting and other peeves

    My biggest pet peeve with fountain pens is being a prisoner of dye based inks. Although other options are available, they really are a pain to clean. A little piece of dust or something imperceptible getting in the tines and ruining the consistency of the line can also be very annoying.

    If it has to be about something someone else does with fountain pens, I guess letting my friend have a go with my pen and then watching them write with the nib rotated wrong strikes fear into my heart.

  23. #14
    Member Butthurticus-VIII's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Posts
    55
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 26 Times in 15 Posts
    Rep Power
    6

    Default Re: Vintage venting and other peeves

    Quote Originally Posted by azkid View Post
    Drip-prone pens drive me batty. I have this issue with a couple Parker 21s and a Sheaffer Balance. Otherwise they are great writers but surprise blobs of ink on the page make me unhappy.
    Yeah huge peeve of mine. Nothing pisses me off more than a huge blob of ink on the last page of a correspondance.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  24. #15
    Senior Member AzJon's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2015
    Location
    Flagstaff
    Posts
    764
    Thanks
    1,204
    Thanked 826 Times in 352 Posts
    Rep Power
    9

    Default Re: Vintage venting and other peeves

    Oooooo.....Yeah, the dripping thing can be a hassle.

    @Chrissy, yeah, I can understand the toothmarks thing. Largely because I don't understand the need to chew ones pen. Fortunately, I haven't had the misfortune of finding too many of those.

    @Penwash the mismatched nib/feed thing is such a hassle. Same can be said for modern pens, as well. On the flip side, over time I've managed to have a few spare nibs sitting around just waiting for the perfect pen to rest it in.

    On further consideration, the high gloss bugs me more when I see those pens for sale as "near mint" condition, which I guess is true to an extent, if not disingenuous. Your own pen is one thing, but one slated to be sold? Nah.

  25. #16
    Senior Member Kaputnik's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    By the long tidal river.
    Posts
    1,043
    Thanks
    2,713
    Thanked 2,570 Times in 695 Posts
    Rep Power
    14

    Default Re: Vintage venting and other peeves

    Well, maybe there is one more thing, although it's not a problem with my most commonly used vintage pens. On some of them with gold nibs, the tines seem to want to be out of alignment, a kind of metal memory perhaps. On a couple, I can get the tines nicely lined up, put the pen away without writing with it, take it out the next morning, and find that one of the tines has magically crept up during the night.

    Maybe there's some sort of nibmeister magic where you take the entire nib out of the pen and give it a special alignment massage so that its natural state will be aligned. Most of my minor alignment tweaks last for a very long time on both modern and vintage pens, but sometimes I run into a problem child.
    "If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly."
    G.K. Chesterton

  26. #17
    Senior Member Deb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Highlands of Scotland
    Posts
    1,747
    Thanks
    2,347
    Thanked 1,927 Times in 842 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: Vintage venting and other peeves

    Sometimes when tines persistently return to a position out of alignment the problem lies with the feed. It may be that it is a little rotated or even has a small imperfection.
    Regards,
    Deb
    My Blog

  27. The Following 7 Users Say Thank You to Deb For This Useful Post:

    Ahriman4891 (August 27th, 2019), AzJon (August 28th, 2019), Chrissy (August 27th, 2019), FredRydr (August 27th, 2019), Kaputnik (August 27th, 2019), pajaro (September 5th, 2019), penwash (August 27th, 2019)

  28. #18
    Senior Member FredRydr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Carlisle, Pennsylvania USA
    Posts
    4,907
    Thanks
    1,396
    Thanked 6,390 Times in 2,505 Posts
    Rep Power
    18

    Default Re: Vintage venting and other peeves

    Quote Originally Posted by Deb View Post
    Sometimes when tines persistently return to a position out of alignment the problem lies with the feed. It may be that it is a little rotated or even has a small imperfection.
    This is so true!

  29. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to FredRydr For This Useful Post:

    pajaro (September 5th, 2019), wingwiper (August 28th, 2019)

  30. #19
    Senior Member penwash's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Dallas, as in the 80's TV Series
    Posts
    3,661
    Thanks
    3,363
    Thanked 6,701 Times in 1,971 Posts
    Rep Power
    14

    Default Re: Vintage venting and other peeves

    Quote Originally Posted by Kaputnik View Post
    Well, maybe there is one more thing, although it's not a problem with my most commonly used vintage pens. On some of them with gold nibs, the tines seem to want to be out of alignment, a kind of metal memory perhaps. On a couple, I can get the tines nicely lined up, put the pen away without writing with it, take it out the next morning, and find that one of the tines has magically crept up during the night.

    Maybe there's some sort of nibmeister magic where you take the entire nib out of the pen and give it a special alignment massage so that its natural state will be aligned. Most of my minor alignment tweaks last for a very long time on both modern and vintage pens, but sometimes I run into a problem child.
    Another variation of this, are those vintage nibs whose tines are downright crooked, and it should write like a nail on the chalkboard, but amazingly, it's one of the smoothest nib you have.

    I've encountered a few of these.
    - Will
    Unique and restored vintage pens: Redeem Pens

  31. The Following User Says Thank You to penwash For This Useful Post:

    pajaro (September 5th, 2019)

  32. #20
    Senior Member Waski_the_Squirrel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    North Dakota
    Posts
    394
    Thanks
    98
    Thanked 693 Times in 209 Posts
    Rep Power
    11

    Default Re: Vintage venting and other peeves

    I was recently criticized because I do not polish my vintage pens. Holy cow, some of the pens in question were older than me and the other person put together. Let them show some age! I believe this is part of their character.

  33. The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to Waski_the_Squirrel For This Useful Post:

    AzJon (August 28th, 2019), Deb (August 28th, 2019), johniem (August 28th, 2019), Kaputnik (August 28th, 2019), Sailor Kenshin (August 28th, 2019)

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •