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Thread: Pen with a curved barrel

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    Default Pen with a curved barrel

    I have a distant memory of a pen with a curved barrel, the idea being that the curve of the barrel fitted over that fleshy part of the hand between the base of your thumb and your index finger. The pen was lever filled,

    I wonder how many of you are now looking at that part of your hand and wondering how that would work.

    The pen was a comfy fit but the pen was very much a third tier, I suspect that it was sold by mail order.



    Does anyone have an example?

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    Senior Member fountainpenkid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pen with a curved barrel

    Never heard of a FP version of this, but it does come to mind:

    https://www.staples.com/Baumgartens-...QaAoCYEALw_wcB
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    Default Re: Pen with a curved barrel

    Quote Originally Posted by fountainpenkid View Post
    Never heard of a FP version of this, but it does come to mind:

    https://www.staples.com/Baumgartens-...QaAoCYEALw_wcB
    Indeed, I think that pen is suggested for people with painful joints in their fingers.

    This is another modern example, interesting that there is a left hand and right hand examples.

    https://www.espocatalogue.org/WebCon...S-7600.OS-7680

    The pen I was thinking of was much older, perhaps 1940s/50s.
    Last edited by RobJohnson; February 1st, 2021 at 01:36 PM.

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    Default Re: Pen with a curved barrel

    I've had some Esterbrooks that fit this description.

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    Senior Member Jon Szanto's Avatar
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    Default Re: Pen with a curved barrel

    "Doesn't the heat gun go any higher? This section is really stuck!"
    "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."

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    Default Re: Pen with a curved barrel

    I had a rotring rive in the 90s. Still have it. Very ergonomic and comfortable pen in my student years...

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    Default Re: Pen with a curved barrel

    Waterman Serenite. Montgomery pens still lists them - expensive though!

    Visit Main Street Pens
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    Please contact us by email, and not PM for repair inquiries.

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    Default Re: Pen with a curved barrel

    Thanks to all.

    I will keep looking. I used to buy job lots of pens to experiment, this pen was one of those although it wasn't unique, I saw others at the time and they were all of the same colour, red barrel with a gold coloured cap. The curve was such that it would make the pen sit so that the end of the barrel was just behind the knuckle.

    A gimmick to appeal to the buyer without a practical application.

    Thanks again

    eta

    That is a serious coincidence.

    https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/f...omment-4395509
    Last edited by RobJohnson; February 1st, 2021 at 06:29 PM.

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    Default Re: Pen with a curved barrel

    Quote Originally Posted by RobJohnson View Post
    Thanks to all.

    I will keep looking. I used to buy job lots of pens to experiment, this pen was one of those although it wasn't unique, I saw others at the time and they were all of the same colour, red barrel with a gold coloured cap. The curve was such that it would make the pen sit so that the end of the barrel was just behind the knuckle.

    A gimmick to appeal to the buyer without a practical application.

    Thanks again

    eta

    That is a serious coincidence.

    https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/f...omment-4395509
    Interesting. Only one responder suggested it was made like that.

    However, that one in the forum thread doesn't look as "regular" as other manufactured versions. I can't see why it would be designed to have the pressure bar fitted so badly that it could easily fall out. On balance, I'm in the "it's warped" camp with Jon.
    Last edited by Chrissy; February 2nd, 2021 at 12:57 AM.
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    Default Re: Pen with a curved barrel

    Those are easy to make. Give a few pens to an antique dealer and they will put them in a case at the outdoor flea market... it is called pen under glass.

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    Default Re: Pen with a curved barrel

    I bought one a long time ago, it came with many others as a job lot on ebay. As I recall it broke when I was taking it apart. It was identical to the pen in the FPN question.

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    Default Re: Pen with a curved barrel

    I have some Rötring with a bulbous rubber section that isn't a Rive, but from a similar era. Its name escapes me at the moment.
    My other pen is a Montblanc.

    And my other blog is a tumblr!


    And my latest ebook, for spooky wintery reading:

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    Default Re: Pen with a curved barrel

    Quote Originally Posted by RobJohnson View Post
    I bought one a long time ago, it came with many others as a job lot on ebay. As I recall it broke when I was taking it apart. It was identical to the pen in the FPN question.
    Maybe it was warped pen then

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    Default Re: Pen with a curved barrel

    To my eyes, the Waterman Serenite is one of the most beautiful and elegant pens ever made. It is my grail pen. Back in the early nineties I saw one in a shop window while visiting Amsterdam. Foolishly, I did not buy it because I thought cartridge pens weren't authentic fountain pens. I regret that decision to this day. If you are interested in a pen with a curved barrel, you should at least look at that pen.

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    Default Re: Pen with a curved barrel

    Pens in cars in the sun while their minders are getting coffee = ergonomic pens


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    Default Re: Pen with a curved barrel

    The summer sun in Malta is harsh. For many years a British naval base with all the bureaucracy that entails, there were a great many pens of all brands that had been left in full sunshine while the owner went to lunch. As a result many banana-shaped pens were available at the Sunday market in Valletta. I picked up quite a few of the better ones for spares. I didn't find it possible to straighten any of them in a time that made the process economically worthwhile.

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    Default Re: Pen with a curved barrel

    Quote Originally Posted by eachan View Post
    The summer sun in Malta is harsh. For many years a British naval base with all the bureaucracy that entails, there were a great many pens of all brands that had been left in full sunshine while the owner went to lunch. As a result many banana-shaped pens were available at the Sunday market in Valletta. I picked up quite a few of the better ones for spares. I didn't find it possible to straighten any of them in a time that made the process economically worthwhile.
    That's interesting as I was starting to wonder if they could somehow be reheated and bent the other way to straighten them.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

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    Default Re: Pen with a curved barrel

    I believe this may be the pen you search for. The very limited edition Sheaffer banana pen:

    Sheafferbanana.jpg


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    Default Re: Pen with a curved barrel

    Quote Originally Posted by Chrissy View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by eachan View Post
    The summer sun in Malta is harsh. For many years a British naval base with all the bureaucracy that entails, there were a great many pens of all brands that had been left in full sunshine while the owner went to lunch. As a result many banana-shaped pens were available at the Sunday market in Valletta. I picked up quite a few of the better ones for spares. I didn't find it possible to straighten any of them in a time that made the process economically worthwhile.
    That's interesting as I was starting to wonder if they could somehow be reheated and bent the other way to straighten them.
    They sometimes can but it needs a piece of metal of the right shape and size inserted into the barrel to keep them from folding or distorting further. I had the opportunity to play with plenty bent pens but the success rate was not high. As few of them were expensive pens I didn't care too much.

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    Default Re: Pen with a curved barrel

    Quote Originally Posted by carlos.q View Post
    I believe this may be the pen you search for. The very limited edition Sheaffer banana pen:

    Sheafferbanana.jpg

    Now you just need to put a curve in the plunger rod, and you are good to go.

    Bob

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