Onoto nibs again

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I am on the search for a nice pen, and I see them on ebay now and then. Does anyone know if Onoto every fitted their pens with nibs marked "14 carat Warranted"? Buying from the web can be a bit of a chance, and I already have had a couple of less than ideal purchases. I'm mostly aiming at intact pens in original condition, or close to at least. What to look for in an Onoto? They had decades of pen production and I am open to early models as well as later.

[ChrisJ]

The vast majority of Onto nibs are branded - Normally with "DE LA Rue" "ONOTO" "LONDON" with the De La rue and London as the top and bottom of a circle and ONOTO in the middle but there are many variants. There were some nibs advertised from around 1920 which have "14 CARAT GOLD" on the left side of the nib parallel to the nib slit and "WARRANTED" on the far right hand side - But I've never seen these in the wild - See Stephen Hull's "Onoto the Pen" p106
onoto14ct.jpg

[eachan]

Onoto pens have outstanding nibs. The buyers of those pens long ago knew how to make the best of their writing; there are many stubs, obliques and flexes. It pays to know the restorer of the pen you buy. Plunger Onotos are not especially hard to repair but getting them to work really well is another matter. I wouldn't buy a restored Onoto on eBay.

[RobJohnson]

' It pays to know the restorer of the pen you buy'

Wise words.

I have had an Onoto restored by a well known repairer, I thought it could have been done better, not being a knowledgeable Onoto person I asked Custom pen Parts for their opinion.

'Total mess' was their view.

I agree with Eachan, apart from the K3 I would not buy an Onoto from ebay but from only from an established pen seller who will stand by their product, unless it is super cheap and you intend to send it to someone like Eachan for attention.

[eachan]

Sorry, Rob, it wouldn't help to send it to me. I no longer do plunger Onotos (the lever ones are fine) and I don't take in repairs for other people, except exceptionally for customers.

Though I don't think he has any at the moment, you can trust an Onoto from Laurence Oldfield (penpractice.com). I am told that Heritage Collectables (https://www.heritagecollectables.com/) make a good job of plunger Onotos. There will be others, of course, but being in the restoration business myself I don't buy restored pens!

[Seattleite]

The vast majority of Onto nibs are branded - Normally with "DE LA Rue" "ONOTO" "LONDON" with the De La rue and London as the top and bottom of a circle and ONOTO in the middle but there are many variants. There were some nibs advertised from around 1920 which have "14 CARET GOLD" on the left side of the nib parallel to the nib slit and "WARRANTED" on the far right hand side - But I've never seen these in the wild - See Stephan Hull's "Onoto the Pen" p106
onoto14ct.jpg

I bought a handful of old french pens, which included an Onoto over/under with a similarly marked nib. In this case it was marked WARRANTED - 18 CARAT GOLD, which would make sense for the French market.

Bob

[RobJohnson]

Ah ok, sorry about that. I have only once done a repair for someone. A man on FPN, I do not normally name people but I would treat this as a Public Service announcement, Brown Argus, he was asking if anyone could do him a favour by resaccing two Burnhams, for free because he was a pensionner and didn't have much money. I said I would do it and wouldn't charge, not even for the postage. The Burnhams arrived, I noted that the nibs were different. I put two new sacs in the pens, gave them a light polish, checked they were working and sent them back. He then asked if I could swap the nibs between the two pens, I said ok and made the switch. two weeks later, he said he had changed his mind and could I swap them back, he said sorry so that made it alright.


Laurence has some very nice Onotos for sale, not silly prices either

https://www.penpractice.com/page17.html

Heritage Collectibles are a new name to me, does anyone know the person behind it?

I note that they have a ballsy boilerpate

"Home To The Uk’s Leading Site For Fully Restored Vintage Fountain Pens And Pencils. No.1 UK Site for Restored Vintage Fountain Pens 1000+ to choose from! 7 Day Return Policy."

Website looks pretty good though despite rather than because of their description.

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Thanks for the replies, it gives me something to go on, even if mostly after a purchase. It tricky to get it right. I may go for a restoration project, complete pen, but have it sent some where.

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Are there spare parts available for old Onotos? Do the repair guys keep gaskets and rubber parts? I have once or twice managed to track down the odd part, but it hasn't been easy.

[eachan]

Google is your friend. A search on "Onoto spares" will lead you to repair kits and a repair manual.

[Seattleite]

Funny coincidence. There is an Onoto on Ebay right now that has one of the Warranted nibs. Interesting thing is that it is a large Onoto over/under feed model. If curious, search "Mammoth Onoto". Seller is in the UK.

Bob