Fountain Pen collector - help, please

[Alpo]

I know there's at least one collector on here.

I just bought one, new, and it came with no instructions. I need help figgering out how to get the ink in it.

You know, a statement like that makes you feel awful damn stupid.

 

[H Richard]

I haven't used a "fountain pen" in over 40 years, but I recall two methods to fill one. 1. There was a lever on the side that compressed the bladder and you slowly drew ink form the bottle. 2. You unscrewed the front part of the pen, and it exposed the bladder which you pinch to expel the air and then draw the ink form the bottle.

 

[Dennis The B]

I know there's at least one collector on here.

I just bought one, new, and it came with no instructions. I need help figgering out how to get the ink in it.

You know, a statement like that makes you feel awful damn stupid.

We need some specifics. What is the brand name? Is it new, used, old, collectible?

Some modern fountain pens use cartridges. Others use bottled ink, and draw it up through the nib. The brand will generally tell us how it fills.

 

[Alpo]

This one has what it says is a "converter", which I presume means it is a refillable dingus that lets you use bottle ink, instead of using prefilled ink cartridges.

The back of the converter screws, and you can see, through the transparent walls, the plunger going up and down, depending on which way you screw it (strangely, it has a left-handed thread). There is a little plastic ball, in the front of the plunger. I guess that is supposed to work like the marble in a spray-paint can, and help to keep the ink from clogging.

But I don't know if you are supposed to suck the ink up through the nib, or if you remove the converter from the pen and stick the end of the converter in the ink bottle.

Logic says the converter is removed and IT is filled, instead of sucking it through the nib, but not knowing HOW it comes out (because there are no instructions) I'd hate to pull on it and break it.

 

[Alpo]

The brand. This 'un. New. Chinese. Nowhere near collectable.

Amazon.com: Vintage Black Calligraphy 1.5mm Fountain Pen Golden Ring & Tip with Push in Style Ink Converter: Office Products

 

[hoppes-no9]

The brand. This 'un. New. Chinese. Nowhere near collectable.

Amazon.com: Vintage Black Calligraphy 1.5mm Fountain Pen Golden Ring & Tip with Push in Style Ink Converter: Office Products

Take the cap off. Unscrew the "section" (the end with the nib) from the barrel. Inside you'll find (probably) a plastic converter with a plunger that's operated either by push/pull or by a thumbscrew on the end. Push in (or screw in) the plunger all the way. Dip the entire nib end of the pen in a bottle of ink and pull/unscrew the plunger to fill the converter. Take the nib out of the ink, wipe it off, and reassemble the barrel onto the section.

Done!

 

[Alpo]

Did that. Two or three times. Kept expecting the transparent reservoir to fill up with ink. It didn't.

But, I wrote with it, for about 5 minutes, and it kept writing, so apparently it got some ink in it somewhere.

Maybe I didn't dip enough of the nib into the ink. I'll put it deeper in the bottle next time. One of the comments on the Amazon page says something about "doing it slowly and it sucks up more ink", so maybe I was turning the screw too fast. I'll try it slower.

That's how it seemed like it oughta work, but it didn't seem like it was. I'll continue on that way. Thanks.

Another question.

I've got my mother's pen. If I can remember where I put it. Its reservoir appears to be a flexible plastic tube, with a flat piece of steel going up one side, over the top and down the other side. The steel is also flexible, and I presume it to be both protection for the reservoir and a spring.

It looks like you squeeze the two sides of the steel together, which compresses the reservoir between them. Then you stick the nib in the ink and release the steel, which allows the reservoir to expand, drawing ink up into it, like using an eyedropper.

Does that sound correct?

I have no idea what brand that pen is, but I know Mama used it when she was nursing (RN), and once Daddy got out of college and got a job, Mama quit the hospital. That'd be about '69, so it's probably 50 years old, at least.

 

[Dennis The B]

Your mother's pen may be a Parker, either a Model 75, or perhaps a Model 51. They use that type of filler mechanism. The Model 51 has a very small nib, and is one of the best pens that Parker ever made; almost impossible to destroy. They were originally brought out in the late 1930's, on Parker's 51st anniversary. The shape is very aerodynamic, and it's the only pen ever displayed at the New York Museum of Modern Art.

PS - As Alpo cites, you need to completely immerse the nib, all the way up past the nib and collector. Work the screw back and forth, completely expelling any trapped air. Turn the screw back, allowing the converter to fill, and let it sit for a few seconds, allowing ink to completely fill the reservoir.

 

[Alpo]

Just tried filling it again. Dunked the entire nib into the ink. Filled and emptied the reservoir several times. Each time the ink went higher up into the pipe.

Success.

 

[VAdoublegunner]

For pens with those types of converters, it helps to run some water through the converter before you insert it into the pen section. Even better is water with just the slightest amount of Dawn in it, say a drop to a gallon type of slight. It acts as a wetting agent and helps to swell the plunger to obtain a seal.

When you insert the converter, make sure it is fully in snug (don't want the thing to be "out of battery") then make sure you dip the nib fully into the ink when you are filling it, almost up to where the first gold ring is on the section. Operate the fill mechanism a couple of times to fill the converter, then push out a couple of drops back into the ink bottle, then retract the converter plunger to the fully back position. It should work fine then.

Twist converters work pretty well once you learn how to use them. All of the higher quality modern Parker Duofolds and Watermans have them.

BTW, someone mentioned Parker 51s and 75s above....here are a few (along with some Eversharp Skylines). Later Parker 75s used a twist converter like the one you have.

 

[Bullet Bob]

Be careful, those darn things multiply like firearms.

I decided to buy one just to improve my handwriting, which has really gone down hill with the advent of computers.

These are all Japanese, nothing uber expensive:

 

[Texas Star]

Love the Parker 75! I have one like that in the middle of the photo, checkered sterling silver.

But the nibs aren't available, so I don't use my fountain pens much. I think my Cross pens may have spare nibs made,but not the Parker 75's and the Premiere.

I have matching ballpoints to my fountain pens, and those are what I mostly use, and Parker's basic T-Ball Jotters.

It's gotten to where I have to go to an office supply to find even ballpoint refills. "The public" prefers disposable pens!

 

[VAdoublegunner]

No doubt, Texas Star, the Parker 75 was/is one of the best everyday use pens they made since the 51. The Premiere is also a great pen, have a few of those around.

The one in the pic is an early one with a squeeze filler converter, the others screw twist filler converters. I also have a first year 75 cisele that was made out of much heavier silver than the later models.

For an everyday pocket fountain pen, it is still hard to beat the Parker 51. A thoroughly modern design from out of WWII, it is still as good as they come. Interesting note about them: The Pli-glass ink sac, actually an early PVC polymer, of the aerometric models starting in the early 50s had a life expectancy of about 30 years, but most of them are still going strong! Man, that's back when America made 'em right!

Also interesting are the Parker 61s, a unique capillary fill mechanism that was a commercial flop but an interesting early application of teflon and other space age materials.

Here are a few more modern Parkers, the Duofold re-introductions of the late 80s/early90s:

 

[Dennis The B]

That's a very nice group of Duofolds you have. They're my favorite writers. I have four pre-1930 Dufolds which are superb writers. I also have nine of the modern Duofolds. They're all great writers, but none of them, even with 18k nibs, write as nicely as the old 14K nibs of the twenties and thirties.

I managed to pick up a Model 75 cisele which came with a #70 broad stub nib. The fellow had it on eBay, and I got it for the princely sum of $70. It's a U.S.-made one, with the completely flat cap.

I still use a Model 51 flighter, made in 1951. It is a pleasure to use, and that tiny nib really saves on ink. It came with an italic nib.

My favorite Parker is my 1928 Duofold. I also have a couple of Diamond Medal pens which have very nice nibs.

 

[VAdoublegunner]

You may notice that the blue modern Duofold has the flat cap bands. It is a first year introduction. It came with a medium 14K nib, but I sent the section back to Parker for a nib exchange to an oblique italic. It was an 18K. So in case anyone wanted to question whether it was a first year or not, I have the Parker letter!

I agree about some of the older pens. I particularly like pens from the golden era of the 20s. Some of those have nibs so heavy they could pierce beer cans, while others have very flexible nibs that give great writing character. One of my black 1927 Duofolds is a favorite writer, has a good tip. Good osmium/iridium tip material was difficult to obtain. Some of the best came after WWII when the Manhattan Project resulted in so much of it being produced. It is a very rare material. Scientists made a request for a 10" sphere of osmium during the project; it was denied because that would have taken more than the entire known world's supply at the time.

Here are a few Parkers, Sheaffers, and misc from the late 20s/early 30s. All of them are used for writing on occasion. I like big pearl and blacks, even those discolored from the ink sacs. Gives them more character.

 

[RightArm]

Texas Star, try ebay for refills. I've found some there that I couldn't find in office stores. I know how a lot of people feel about ebay (about the same way I feel about Amazon). But, ebay has its uses and refills and even cool handmade pens is one of them.

 

[Bullet Bob]

A good source for parts, repair, etc. is nibs.com, a respected dealer.

You can also find a lot of good information about your pen at http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/; if you'll take the time to search first, you may find exactly the information you are looking for. If not, you'll have a better idea of what questions to ask.

 

[sophie]

I really didn't know that anybody used fountain pens anymore. This is an eye opener for me. Interesting to say the least.

_________
James

 

[Deacon KC]

I carry my fountain pens everyday. You will find everything from 1920s Shaeffers to Modern Pelikans and Cross in my pen mug.