Be Kind to your pens! Waterman Fountain

I did some work on a Waterman recently and was given permission to shoot some before and afters for you. This one is obviously the before shot. Looks like have we a few years of ink leakage.

Another shot if the crust. Yes, that actually looks fuzzy. Click for bigger views. This might have been dipped in Mint Jelly at one point and then buried underground for a while. (kidding) I know everyone cleans their pens before they ink another one right? (right.)

A simple tear down, soaking, ultrasonic cleaner and some elbow grease was all it took. Here we are all cleaned up, shiny and back in the game. I still need to do some polishing on the body, but the nib looks like the day it came out of the factory. This pen came in a set with a ballpoint and I hope I added a few more years to their life.

Back in the case and back to the owner. This is sort of why I love working on fountain pens. This pen went from sitting in a drawer possibly forgotten about...to being a great writing instrument that can be appreciated. Have a great weekend everyone.

Pilot Fountain Pen (Tee Hee)

If you would have seen me today, you would have seen a big goofy grin on my face. It's because of this pen.
I wrote about the black version of this pen here in the past and I was able to pick up a clear version in New York City this week and it is perfect.
It's like someone handed me a big bowl full of kittens and sunshine. (No kittens were harmed in that joke.)

Even Hell's Kitchen cannot get me flustered right now. I'm like..."whatever Chef---I have a new pen." this beasty has an EF point that is nearly perfect for me.

Here's the new family. Just happiness. Happy. Happy. Happy.

Four pictures in one post? It must be love. I am going to go back to my giggling now. Have a great weekend.

Very Good Pens.

Seth (tee hee)

Levenger Fountain Pen

Now that all that silly contest stuff is over, we can get back to the good stuff...the pens.
Here we have another fountain pen that was gifted to me years ago. I wish I could remember what the model name is- but my memory on it is failing.

What's not failing is the pen. It still fills and writes like it's brand new and it's a pen that I like to throw in a coat pocket for a night out. The weight is such that I always know that it is there and it's always ready to write. This one does not accidentally slip out of your pocket...it has some serious heft to it.

I also love the little star burst emblem on the cap. It's a little detail thing, but Levenger got it right. Congrats again to Shade for winning the giveaway, her ink will be dropped in the mailbox tomorrow.

Have a great weekend everyone- By the way, Twitter has been hot and heavy with the pen and ink talk, feel free to follow me here if you do that sort of thing. http://twitter.com/dunkind

The Before Shots: A new Fountain Pen

Part of the fun of getting a fountain pen for a dollar is seeing what it's inside. It could be a shining star or it could be less than stellar.

Aha! A Gold(ish) nib that is fairly smooth. I will take that any day. A few ink stains that I am sure will come out. Should be a nice Wearever when I am done.

And a busted sac. No biggie, came out clean in two pieces. I didn't have to scrape out 50 years of crust and ink and whatever in there. The filler lever was in good shape, it should be a simple fresh sac, polish and enjoy. Some may argue that it doesn't really make sense to put a $4 sac in a $1 pen, but I disagree. I will get the afters out in another post once I finish it.

This has nothing to do with the post other than that is a camera shot of a camera looking at pens. Click for a better view and have a good day.

Not Another Wearever Fountain Pen

First off...my fellow pen blogger Nrepose over at Unposted put up some great shots of some work I did on his Sheaffer Cartridge. I have been doing a ton of repairs lately and it was a pleasure to get that pen back in writing mode for him. Post and pictures here!
He's running a great blog so be sure to keep an eye on it. Good Stuff.

Now to my pen and yes, it's another Wearever, in a few prior posts I went over my love for these pens and this one is no different. I think this one is the Wearever Supreme from the 60's... and supreme it is. This one also has a surprise...

Click the picture, yes that section has a clear feed on it. Lucite I believe. I cleaned it up here for your viewing pleasure. All shined up... it looks great, inked it looks like a clear feed with some ink on it and there's no getting around that. This one now has a fresh sac and is ready for another 40 years of use.

The paper was not a great choice here, but the pen does write very well. With a little Rose Cyclamen J. Herbin we are good to go. I love that they put a hood over the nib copying the styles of the times. It does class the joint up a little bit and we all can use a little of that every now and then. Good Pen. Have a nice Thursday!

Sheaffer Cartridge Fountain Pen

So yesterday I inked up an old Sheaffer cartridge pen on a whim and literally did not put it down since then. Usually my choice in pen wanders more than a clown in a 4 ring circus, but I have been sticking to my guns on this one. I wrote about a similar pen back in December, but it needs repeating.

Part of my joy is in the 304 (which I believe Sheaffer considered a fine, (and the 305 was the medium version) nib. It's smooth as silk and with a little twist...

A normal fine 304 nib writes a little finer upside down. You have to be a little gentle, but it works. The ink is Levenger Ravens Black, the paper is just your everyday note pad and the pen is one I not ashamed to use it.

I know tomorrow I will probably wander off a bit, but this simple little pen has been a star lately. These little pens are right up there on my list of solid writers.
Good Pen.

Oh, and without doing a ton of math, I believe today is my 6 month anniversary of a pen a day. Wow. Time flies..

The Pilot Varsity Fountain Pen

When I hear the words "disposable" and "fountain pen" I grab my wallet and without having a second thought, pay up... you can count me in. Lady's and Gentlemen, the Pilot Varsity Fountain Pen.

I don't think this was my first fountain pen I ever owned, but it was up there early on the list and I probably have burned through 100 of these since then. All colors, all styles and I have refilled these before. The usual process: yank the nib, rinse, syringe ink in and pop the nib back. I hate to throw them away if the ink is flowing and the nib is still solid.

You can tell this one gets thrown around. It's beat up and has seen a ton of paper and use. Cheaper is not always better, but in this case, cheaper means a dependable pen that you can loan to someone to use if needed and not fear having your nibs pointing east and west from some heavy handed Bic user.

Parker Sonnet Mk1

Click for better views. This is the first pen from the Christmas cup post and I really am getting into this pen. I filled it up with some Heart of Darkness and put the 18k nib to the test for the past week and I could not be happier with the end result.

In your hand it's a much substantial pen than it looks here. It has a great weight and feel to it. I haven't seen this color combo before and a quick Google search came up empty on the exact name but it works for me.

I shoot at night without any natural light and am trying to avoid the light box. I switched over to RAW format for these, but didn't do any photoshopping. I think I might need a lens upgrade. Lovely.

I believe this model is the MK1, Parker went with a wider band on the cap with the later models. It's a Good Pen with a fun nib. I will get a writing sample up in a day or two. thanks for looking and I will see you tomorrow. I know I have some unanswered comments out there, I will reply this weekend. -Seth

Wahl Ring Top Fountain Pen (little fella)

Not shown actual size. Objects in pictures are smaller than they appear. This pen is tiny. Like... lost in the bottom of the pen cup tiny. The initials are L. A. E. sorry they are upside down, but I have a habit of shooting with the point on the left if you noticed. This was a gift years ago and I shined it up, threw in a fresh sac and have been in love with it ever since.

The nib is a Wahl 2 - 14K and flexes very well. My copperplate is coming along nicely but I am no where near posting the progress yet. I have more fun doodling more than anything. This ink is Private Reserve Midnight Blues and I am in love with it. I should be putting up a review shortly as well of that.

I told you it was tiny. Being a guy, I don't usually flaunt this pen. I don't whip this one out on poker night to show the boys, but in secret, when it matters, I am not afraid to ink this one up and go to town. It's a good pen.

Sheaffer "Vac" fountain pen and homeward bound

For those of you paying attention, you know I shot this like on Sunday of last week or something, but do not skip over this post. This is one of my favorite pens. I shot ahead of time to be able to keep up with my travel schedule.

I have a feeling that this pen would make his Holiness swear a little bit. Like "Damn, that's a sweet pen." I restored one of these for someone a few years ago and later I was able to buy one, I jumped on it without any questions. How do you not love black and gold? I need to polish this out a little bit, but absolutely happy with how it looks now and a perfect nib.

Yes, this is the filling system, it's fun, by the way, and not always filled. It's not a special occasion pen but more of a "I want to use" sort of pen. Always black ink in this one and usually bulletproof ink to seal the deal. It is definitely a Good Pen.
Monday will be back to Boston and normal (not drunk) blogging.  Cheers.

Have a great weekend.

Dork, Dork, Dork! Good Pen alert.

So I planned ahead and shot one of my favorite pens to have cued up and ready to blog while away in sunny Puerto Rico. Until I looked in my bag and saw the pens I had packed for the trip and realized I needed to change my plans and document this.

Let's review:

6 Fountain pens:
1 Esterbrook Cartidge
1 Preppy,
1 Pilot (man, I love this pen)
1 Sheaffer Cartridge
1 Parker 45
1 WingSung 612... all inked and ready to go.

2 Pilot G-6's both with Sarasa .4 guts. 1 red, one black.

1 Pilot g-2 .38
1 Sarasa Stick .4
1 Pilot Hi-tech-C .3
1Pilot Gel g-3 .38

and 1 pencil. .5 Pentel ICY.

That's 13 pens for 4 days. Don't count the 3 Ritz pencils I grabbed already. Like I said before, it's a known issue.

Cheers.

Another Sheaffer Fountain Pen Cartridge filler (Meet Speedy)

If I shared the nicknames for all my fountain pens I would scare you. However, I would like you to meet "Speedy #3." There are 2 reasons for the name: #1. It was over-nighted from an eBay auction and #2 It's a cartridge filler. It as impossible to photograph, but there is an imprint on the pen that says: $2.35. Yeee-haw. that makes me so happy. In stark contrast, I paid more than that for my coffee this morning.

This pen would write for days and be happy about it. I am pretty sure you could copy the phone book, re-write a thesaurus and turn around and this pen would say" what else you got?" "yeah, I am talking to you."

It's more the blue color than anything else that makes this pen. It just makes this pen perfect. It's not special or overly expensive. It just is, to me, the classic fountain pen, sleek lines, good nib and easy to refill. Spot on...Good pen.

You will hate me, but I might not be overly creative because I am in sunny Puerto Rico this week hoping to not miss a post. Please excuse any delays on emails though. cheers!