Author: rupertarzeian

The London Autumn Pen Show, 2023: my haul.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 7 Comments

Here in London, our autumn Pen Show has just taken place on Sunday 8 October, at the Novotel, Hammersmith.

I had been eagerly looking forward to this event as always. The last two shows had set me on a path of seeking out vintage Parker fountain pens. I had bought several more on eBay, in the arid months between shows. I did not have much specifically in mind to look for this time, other than to find a cap jewel for my Parker 51, which I had bought on eBay without one.

The show was well attended. There were more vendor tables than in March although the venue provided ample space without feeling crowded. I cannot list everyone but for many great photos and videos from the day, head over to John Foye on Instagram, @stjohnspens.

Claire and Derek sporting pink hair at Stonecott Fine Writing.

It was wonderful to see and chat to numerous friends from the pen community throughout the day. My fellow blogger Gary dapprman had his own table, aiming to release some pens from his collection back into the wild. It was good to see Jon of pensharing recruiting plenty of new members for his unique service for the community. I enjoyed chatting to many vendors, including John Hall, John Foye and Kirit Dal, and the lady from Pen Friends whose name I did not catch.

Kirit Dal’s Aurora table is always enticing.

My first purchase of the day was at Mark Catley’s Vintage Fountain Pens table, where I found the cap jewel that I wanted. My Parker 51 is now complete.

For vintage Parkers, there were hundreds for sale in the room. At Graham Jasper’s Pen Estates tables, I handled a wonderful, mint condition Parker 51 in a sumptuous Forest Green, but this was one that got away.

I was keen to take a look at some Parker 61 pens, particularly an early model with the ingenious capillary filling system, which I wrote about in my recent post. After looking at a few tables, I found a tray of Parker 61s, and unlike on eBay, had the luxury of inspecting them and dip-testing them in Quink blue black. I decided on a gorgeous classic, black model with a rolled gold cap and deliciously smooth nib.

My newest, but oldest Parker 61.
The Teflon-coated, capillary filler, or “cell.”

I caught up with my friend So-Jin, who mentioned that I had been rather negative about sheening and glitter inks in my blog post, on the 21 Pen Questions that did the rounds a few months ago. Having written that such inks were not my thing, it was strange that within minutes after our conversation, I found myself at Stonecott Fine Writing Supplies’ table, drawn to a very glittery Benu Euphoria Bourbon in gold and brown with tantalising patches of crimson. As I turned the pen in my hands, I envisaged filling this pen with Diamine’s Caramel Sparkle, available at the same table. I chatted with @claire.scribbleswithpens who was assisting Derek for a while. I did not purchase the pen immediately, but the temptation proved too much for me and I returned to buy it, along with a bottle of Caramel Sparkle soon after. Benu are based in Yerevan, Armenia, from whence my distant ancestors came.

Benu Euphoria Bourbon.

My final pen purchase of the day, was a Jinhao 82 in a pretty pastel jade green. I already have one in Caribbean Sea Blue with a fine nib and am very impressed with it. This pale green version has a medium nib and makes a great, inexpensive, EDC pocket pen.

Jinhao 82 in a particularly lovely, Jade green.

Finally, having largely resisted the many notebooks available, I weakened at the sight of an Endless Recorder A5 journal with Tomoe River at Louise’s table. Newer versions now come with Regalia paper. TR paper may sadly become extinct.

Endless Recorder, A5 journal.

Back home I felt that I had, broadly speaking, heeded my wife’s instructions not to go mad and not to stay too long. I enjoyed inking the Benu (which deserves its own post later) and the Jinhao 82, which I paired with Pelikan Edelstein Olivine. The new cap jewel and brass bush, found their place in the Parker 51.

But the biggest thrill of all was the Parker 61. The seller had removed her sticker from around the pocket clip and I had not noticed until later in natural daylight, that my pen was an edition called the Parker 61 Heirloom, featuring a rainbow pattern in two tone rolled gold on the cap. Given that my pen was made in England, I believe this pattern dates it between 1964 and 1967, from what I read on parkerpens.net. My pen remembers The Beatles.

The rainbow cap of the Parker 61 Heirloom.
Markings on the cap and barrel.

I rinsed the nib and polished the gold cap. Without attempting any cleaning of the capillary filler, I thought I would first try to fill it and see if it worked. I decanted a little Waterman Serenity Blue into the plastic ink receptacle in a TWSBI ink well. I then placed the capillary filler in the ink, and took a photo of the ink level at the start of filling and another one about three minutes later. The ink level had gone down significantly. I found this enormously exciting.

Preparing to try out the capillary filler for the first time!
Physics in action.

However, the pen did not write initially. I gave it a few gentle shakes downwards, but this did not appear to have much effect. Fearing that there may be a blockage from decades-old dried ink in the feed, I dipped the pen and began to write with the ink that the nib had retained. Once again, I revelled in its smoothness, but with a worry that this might last for only a paragraph before the nib ran dry.

But to my growing relief and exhilaration, the pen continued to write for a full page, then a second, a third and fourth page of my A5 Stalogy notebook, by which time I was certain that the ink I was seeing on the page was ink that the capillary filler had drawn up.

The nib writes a smooth medium-broad.

I am hugely pleased with the Parker 61 Heirloom and everything about it. It looks and feels great and writes like a dream. The filling system is unique. It was heralded as “the pen that fills itself” and, as I read, took 12 years to develop! Also, as a party trick, this pen can write upside down, on a wall or ceiling, because the flow of ink to the nib is a product of capillary action and not gravity. And the price of all this enjoyment? A modest £45.00. I recommend anyone who might be hesitating, to take a look at vintage Parkers.

My haul.

My new (to me) Parker 61 Flighter fountain pen.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 17 Comments

Lately I have got a bit hooked on buying vintage Parker fountain pens on eBay. I have been fortunate in finding some classic pens with gold nibs and plenty of life left in them, at attractive prices.

The latest to arrive was a Parker 61 Flighter. This was an impulse buy after receiving one of eBay’s thoughtful emails, that an auction of a pen I had viewed, was soon to end and inviting me to make my bid. By the time I read the email, the auction had barely 60 seconds left to go. I made a quick decision to bid and watched nervously as the final seconds ticked down. I did not have long to wait. The outcome was that three people had bid in the final minute. By a stroke of luck, my bid of £31.36 had won, by just 85p.

Parker 61 Flighter.

The pen arrived this morning. Although I have enjoyed Parker pens since the 1970’s, I had not owned a Parker 61 before. I recall being very enamoured with Parker’s Flighter pens, as a ten year old boy.

First impressions were good. The brushed stainless steel finish feels smooth and luxurious. The slip cap pulls off silently and easily yet feels secure enough when on. The pen is more sleek and tapered than my Parker 51, and slightly shorter overall, yet the grip section is about 1cm longer. The Parker 61 has a distinctive inlaid arrow on the section, introduced to help people know which way the tiny nib was facing, although these are known to fall off.

The Parker 61 was first introduced in the USA in 1956 but not in England until the early 1960’s. The early models featured an innovative new capillary filling system. This was part of the quest for a convenient method of refilling a fountain pen without the mess. This new system consisted of a cylinder coated in Teflon, a non-stick finish. To fill the pen, the user had simply to unscrew the barrel, place the pen, nib up, in a bottle of ink, and wait about 30 seconds for the cylinder to fill itself by capillary action. Then the pen could be lifted from the bottle and, in theory at least, ink would not adhere to the Teflon coating. The barrel could be screwed back on without a need to clean the cylinder.

In practice the Teflon would flake off eventually and some cleaning was necessary. It seems that the system was not as popular as hoped. Also, there was a tendency for the cylinder to get clogged up, if the pen was not cleaned out from time to time. Before long the system was dropped and instead, later versions used Parker’s new cartridges or else a detachable aerometric-style cartridge-converter.

My model has the cartridge-converter. I do not know the date of it. It was made in England, which puts it before the closure of the Parker Pen factory in Newhaven in around 2011. But I read on Tony Fischier’s site, parkerpens.net that the Parker 61 range was discontinued in 1983 and so my pen is at least 40 years old. It does not have the “Quality Pen” date code on the cap, introduced in 1980 and so I can narrow the date down to 1960’s or 1970’s. I suspect that there are other clues to discover.

The squeeze bar, cartridge-converter version.

On its arrival, my pen still had traces of blue ink and I gave it an initial flush in water, using the converter. On squeezing the converter, a healthy stream of air bubbles was emitted from the nib, an encouraging sign.

Then as I removed the converter to wash out the section, I noticed that the connector was loose and rotating. I carefully unscrewed this, whereupon I could take out the nib, feed and ink collector, separate them and give them a clean.

Connector, ink collector, feed, nib and shell, after their bath.

I was careful not to lose any small parts. In my excitement, and after cleaning and photographing the pieces, I forgot the sequence for reassembly and watched an informative YouTube video from Grandmia Pens, which set me right. Steff advises against unscrewing the shell in the Parker 61s, as they are prone to cracking and shrinkage. It is not advisable to apply heat to them to soften the adhesive, (as you might with a Parker 51) for this reason.

Although the pen in his video was the capillary filler version, the principles are largely the same, as follows:

  • first find the channel in the the ink collector. This should be aligned with the nib;
  • insert the nib carefully into the collector, pushing it in as far as it will go.
  • slide the black plastic feed into the ink collector from the back, all the way into the nib, which leaves a small part of the nib protruding beyond the feed;
  • insert the nib, feed and ink collector into the shell, or section; notches will align them correctly;
  • preferably, apply a little silicone grease to the threads, before screwing the connector inside the shell with the end of the feed passing through the hole in the connector;
  • push the converter back onto the section.

This all went very smoothly. I was pleased that the connector was not glued, enabling me to take the pen apart safely and clean the components. For those with the capillary version, there will be a retaining washer gripping the cylinder on the connector. This slides forward onto the ink collector, for the cylinder to be removed for cleaning, then later slides back over the end of the cylinder again to secure it. Note also that the plastic feed is much longer in the capillary fill version.

On examining the nib, there was no date code on it. The gold cleaned up very easily. The nib appeared very slightly bent and the tine gap was rather wide, such that the pen was likely to be a gusher. Rather rashly, I squeezed the sides of the nib together, to narrow the tine gap a little, which had the desired effect. After this it was necessary to realign the tines, for smooth writing.

At the end of this exercise, I filled the pen with Waterman Serenity Blue, and tried writing on a Stalogy A5 notebook. Success! The pen writes very nicely. Whilst the generous blob of tipping suggested a Broad nib, the line is closer to a Medium.

I have much enjoyed my first day with this pen, tinkering, cleaning, photographing and writing with it. For the pleasure it gave me today, I have already got my money’s worth and so every new day with my Parker 61 will be a bonus.

14k gold, smooth and juicy.

Early thoughts on the Jinhao Dadao No. 9019 fountain pen.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 31 Comments

This will likely be a shortish post, because there are many similarities to the Jinhao X159 which I have reviewed recently. The short version is that I like this pen very much.

Jinhao Dadao No. 9019

But whilst this pen might at first glance look like the X159, there are several notable differences, most evident when comparing the two pens side by side. These points, in no particular order, are as follows:-

  1. As well as the opaque versions, in black, blue or burgundy, the 9019 is also available as a demonstrator in clear, blue or pink.
  2. Although it still features the large, number 8 steel nib in extra fine, fine or medium, the body is different. The cap is shorter. The pocket clip sits higher up the cap. The clip itself is different. The means of attaching the clip to the cap is different, being a nut and bolt inside the cap, so that the cap and finial are seamless.
  3. The grip section is significantly longer on the 9019.
  4. The foot of the barrel is still rounded, but more bulbous and cigar shaped, than the bullet shaped X159. This is to accommodate the larger turning rod of the converter.
  5. The converter is larger capacity than that of the X159, and is now a screw fit instead of push fit.
  6. The converter is also considerably more fancy than the X159’s, having a gold coloured turning rod, which is rather impressive and a nice touch, given that it is always on show in the demonstrator editions.
A number 8, two tone steel nib, extra fine. You get a lot of nib for your money.

I first tried the 9019 at our pen club, (the “London Pen Fountaineers”) and was instantly smitten. For the features included, at the current price (£10.49 from Erofa, via Amazon) the purchase is a no-brainer. The nib unit alone and the converter alone, each seem worth more than that.

Note the longer section and larger converter on the 9019.

I ordered the blue demonstrator model, with an Extra Fine nib, having found the EF nib particularly enjoyable on my X159s. My pen was delivered the next day. It comes in a simple polythene sleeve inside a small brown padded envelope with no box or papers but arrived in perfect condition. The only adjustment that I made was to push the nib very slightly over to one side so as to be more accurately centred over the feed, but this was minimal.

I filled the pen with a blue black ink, Diamine’s Conway Stewart Tavy, which flows and lubricates well and is a dark, pleasing shade. I have lately been enjoying a Stalogy 018 Editor’s Series, A5 notebook and like the paper very much. The nib performed admirably, with just the right flow and feedback, that makes you want to keep writing for ever. For an extra fine nib, the tip is smooth and pleasant to write with, although firm. I was very pleased with my initial choice of ink and plan to stick with it.

Differences in barrel, cap and clip too.

It appears that there is no inner cap, but instead, a moulding in the shape of one as part of the cap design, so that the nib seals nicely once the section meets the inside lip in the cap. I have had absolutely no issues of hard starting or skipping.

I appreciate that the enhanced ink capacity is rather unnecessary, particularly in a demonstrator body where you can see the ink remaining and can top up at any time. Nevertheless, I find it strangely exciting to think how many pages I could write on one fill, paired with such a fine nib. We shall see!

Freshly filled with blue black ink and expectations.

Travelling with ink: Birmingham, August 2023.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 14 Comments

One of my recent Parker 17 acquisitions from eBay included the original box and user guide. On this, the purchase date of 22-10-66 had been written, and an ink stamp read “H.P.Pope Ltd, Pope’s Pen Corner, 114 New Street, Birmingham.”

As I was due to visit Birmingham, I was keen to see whether this pen shop still existed, 57 years on. An online search using instant streetview showed the building but the site was now occupied by Starbucks. I found an old image of the fountain pen shop. I still went to find the site, feeling pleased with my detective work.

Pope’s Pen Corner, 114 New Street, Birmingham, UK. (credit: unknown)
The shop is now a Starbucks.

However, during my two day visit, I discovered that Birmingham’s pen history contains rather more than that, to say the least. The city map shows a Jewellery Quarter, which includes a Pen Museum. Fortunately it was open. The Museum is located in a former pen factory, on Frederick Street. This particular one was the premises of W.E.Wiley, gold pen makers. I learned that the large scale production of steel pens, or what I call dip pens, had flourished in the nineteenth century, particularly from around the 1820’s.

The Pen Museum, in a former pen factory.

There was a lot of information to take in, from the displays in the Museum, spread across three large rooms. The figures were staggering. As the industry grew to a worldwide export trade, there were at one time 129 pen manufacturers in Birmingham, producing 75% of all the pens in the world! The industry employed 8,000 people in Birmingham, and a large proportion were women operating the hand presses to carry out the various steps in producing a nib, or other tasks such as grinding, or “looking over” which we now call quality control.

Across the road, another former pen factory, the premises of Joseph Gillott (1799-1873).

Hundreds of different types of nibs were made. We saw the Hinks, Wells & Co Star, from the 1866 Birmingham exhibition, showing nibs from the company’s stock of pens in daily use at that time. The museum also contains The William Mitchell Pyramid, shown at the Paris 1900 Exhibition.

The Hinks, Wells & Co Star.
The William Mitchell pyramid.

A helpful guide showed us a few of the stages involved in producing a pen, such as

  • Blanking: where a sheet of steel is fed through a press and, one by one, the operator punched plain blanks, or flat pieces of steel to form the nib;
  • Piercing: where another press punches a hole in the nib; this is to add elasticity and to prevent the slit (added later) from extending further, as well as for ornamentation;
  • Stamping, or Marking: where text is pressed into the pen;
  • Raising: where another press forms the blank into a curved shape;
  • Slitting: where a press cuts a slit, to form two tines.

We had an opportunity to try our hand at these stages and to make our own nib. There is some skill involved in operating the press with the right amount of force to get legible text. Getting the hole in the middle is not as easy as you might think. I found Slitting to be particularly fiddly and awkward. As there was space for the pen to move from side to side, it was difficult to ensure that the slit would be central. Mine was not. We had been warned of the risk of spoiling our nib at this stage and that we could skip it if we wished. Happily, our guide later gave us each a good one as a souvenir, at the end of the demonstration.

I have some pressing business to attend to.

Having spent a few minutes trying out these vintage presses at a leisurely pace, it was a shock to learn that a woman operating a press was expected to make 18,000 nibs in a 10 hour day. This is one every 2 seconds. It would take me several seconds just to pick up a blank from the heap on the workbench, then several seconds more to position it centrally in the press and get my fingers out of the way, before pulling the heavy handle. I suppose they got very fast with practice, but imagine how tiring and monotonous it must have been, doing that all day, every day.

The Museum is mostly concerned with steel dip pens although there were a few vintage fountain pens on display, as well as ink bottles, tins and boxes, advertisements, signage and other memorabilia.

An Aladdin’s cave of vintage pen memorabilia.
A selection of pens from William Mitchell (established in 1825).

It was news to me that Birmingham played such an important role in the history of pen making. Although this provided employment and enabled the entrepreneurs to become very wealthy, this new, large scale production of pens at low cost, including for schools, was very important in improving literacy around the world.

A display of vintage fountain pens.

The story of Birmingham’s past as a world leader in pen manufacture, is told in an authoritative book “People, Pens & Production in Birmingham’s Steel Pen Trade”, edited by Brian Jones MBE, which I bought in the museum gift shop. Also I could not leave without buying some nibs, including a set with two pen holders and a vintage-looking tin. There were few fountain pens for sale. I could have bought a Manuscript Clarity, demonstrator pen, but I already have two of them.

My merch from the museum shop.

Needless to say, I found that using a dip pen can be a frustrating business, the nibs being scratchy and needing to be dipped frequently. It was a relief to pick up a reliable, smooth fountain pen again. But having been inside this former factory, where hundreds of people laboured, from 160 years ago, I have a new appreciation for the art of pen making and the pioneering work to industrialise the process.

The Pen Museum were happy for me to take photographs and use them in my blog. As the museum is run by volunteers and has limited opening times and visitor capacity, booking is recommended, at http://www.penmuseum.org.uk. Tickets are £7.50 for adults.

A Birmingham tribute to another of its famous products.

“Two Supes.”

~ rupertarzeian ~ 8 Comments

Since discovering the Parker 17 range less than a year ago, I have accumulated seven of them. Two are small, Parker 17 Lady fountain pens. Of the five full size models, three are standard models and two are Supers, or Parker 17 Super Duofolds, to give them their full title.

My Parker 17 fountain pens. The two on the right are the Super Duofolds.

These Super Duofolds are distinguished by their wide gold cap band and decorative metal ring (called a tassie) at the end of the barrel. Otherwise, they are the same. All have the fixed squeeze-bar filling system known as the aerometric filler, although more basic than in the Parker 51 which is more enclosed and may also be larger capacity.

My red Parker 17 Super Duofold is the early model which was made from 1962 to 1964 only. This has an open nib, known as the beak nib, in an unconventional triangular shape. After that year, production switched to hooded nibs for the remaining run of the 17 range, ending in 1972.

Left: Early model with open nib. Right: Later model with hooded nib.

I had read good reports of these early, beak nibs and was keen to get my hands on one. When I saw this one for sale in an eBay auction I set my heart on winning it. The seller provided a series of good close up photographs. I looked at these many times in the days leading up to the auction, particularly the images of the nib, front and back. It looked in tip-top condition. It also occurred to me that the pen had some similarities to an old Sheaffer that my late mother had used, at least in its burgundy colour and wide gold cap band.

Parker 17 “Beak nib” (1962 – 1964 only).
And again.

After a tense finish to the auction, the pen was mine! The final price was £59.00 and I appreciate that you can buy a Parker 51 for that, but the early version Parker 17 commands a higher price than the later ones due to its rarity.

The package arrived just in time for me to bring on a weekend away, where I enjoyed cleaning it and trying it out with Parker Quink Royal Blue. The only visible markings on the nib are “14K, PARKER, ENGLAND.” It may be that there is more to see if the nib is removed but I have not done so. The nib writes beautifully. I would guess it to be a Fine. It is very smooth, fairly firm and has an ideal flow, all making for a very enjoyable writing experience, especially on my Stalogy notebook paper.

On close examination of the pen body with a loupe, I did find two hairline cracks, one on each side of the cap. These are not noticeable unless you look hard for them and do not affect the pen’s performance. I could run a little glue along these to seal them but there does not seem to be any real need. Crucially, I have not experienced any hard starts. The nib does not dry out, even though there is a round air hole in the cap, through which the nib can be directly seen. There is no inner cap. I am delighted with this purchase.

My green Parker 17 Super Duofold was another recent eBay purchase. On arrival, this did seem a problem pen. The slip cap was very stiff. There appeared to be a residue of adhesive above the cap band. Uncapping the pen, the grip section appeared slightly misshapen, as if deformed by having the cap pushed on too far or maybe, just by being capped tightly and left for years in a warm place. It could also be some chemical degrading of the plastic: I don’t know. It is some 50 years old, after all. But the pen filled normally and wrote with a buttery smooth feel. This nib could be a Broad or a Medium.

Unfortunately I found that the main issue with this pen was that, once the ink in the feed had been exhausted, it would dry up and stop. Ink was not getting to the feed. I suspected that this may be due to a blockage stopping air getting into the sac. I tried flushing and refilling the pen several times and changed inks but the problem persisted. Eventually, after a week or two, I disassembled the pen. Using a hairdryer, I warmed the section to soften the shellac to unscrew the section. However I was not able to remove it and suspected that it might have been glued with something stronger. Perhaps I should have persisted with my hairdryer to make sure.

Instead, I found that I had loosened the shellac holding the sac cover and, beneath this, the ink sac. I removed them both. This revealed the breather tube, which I pulled out of the section. But as well as this, there was something else in the sac: a loose, plastic rod. I gather that this is an ink agitator, to break any surface tension which may stop ink moving. It seemed a bit too long and I trimmed a bit off.

Parker 17 Super Duofold partly disassembled. The rod near the top is the ink agitator.

At this point, an ultrasonic cleaning bath would have been useful. As I do not have one, I washed the nib section by hand, also jetting some water through it with a syringe and then left it to soak in a jar of water for a few days.

Then, after reassembling the pen, I filled it with Waterman Serenity Blue, probably my favourite ink and a sort of “Pen-icillin” for pens. I was not holding out much hope that my efforts had solved the ink/air-flow problem but I began to write, in a Stalogy A5 notebook. Once again, the writing experience was super-smooth and silky. But this time, it kept going! I carried on writing for five pages, just to make sure. The problem of ink starvation had been resolved.

I am very happy with all my Parker 17’s. I gave a blue one to my niece recently, but promptly replaced it with an identical model from eBay, although every nib feels slightly different. I love the look, feel and writing experience, as well as the affordability of these pens.

A Parker 17 and a Stalogy A5 Editors Series half year notebook. Lovely paper!

Finally, for the benefit of anyone reading who was not around for 1980’s British tv comedy, the title of this post was a reference to the famed “Two Soups” sketch, starring Julie Walters and written by Victoria Wood, well worth a Google if you have three minutes to spare. I appreciate that this may be unfamiliar to many, but the pun seemed too good to waste.

My mum’s old Sheaffer (left) and the Parker 17 with a fine nib, that she would have liked.

On pens and pensions.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 11 Comments

I have mentioned before that I have a long-standing affection for Parker pens, which I can trace back to childhood well over 50 years ago. I can still recall a time when I became aware that a Parker ball point pen cost perhaps ten times the price of a disposable Bic Crystal. I associated seeing a Parker arrow pocket clip with wealth and thinking that anyone carrying more than one Parker pen must be very rich. My French teacher even had a Parker ball pen just for red ink, which seemed very decadent. On receiving my first Parker fountain pen, I had the idea that the 14k gold nib could eventually be sold to support me in retirement or if I fell upon hard times.

Parker 17 cap.

Now as I approach retirement age, I have long been aware that my understanding of relative values was somewhat distorted. It turns out that a Parker pen nib won’t go very far in covering one’s living expenses, after all. Learning this is one of life’s hard lessons.

Yet I still have my life-long interest in fountain pens. If my fountain pen journey were likened to a stationery-themed board game of Snakes and Ladders, then you now find me lingering on the Vintage Parker Pens square. A glance of my currently inked pens, of which there are 14, shows that five of these are vintage Parkers, all acquired in recent months as eBay purchases. Oh, and there is one other Parker 17 currently in bits, with the section soaking in a jar of water.

My fountain pen hobby continues to give me a huge amount of enjoyment. How can a value be put on this? In the BBC news, the newsreaders’ first question to their special correspondent is often an open question to quantify the unquantifiable: “So, how worried should we be about…” or “How much of a problem is this?”

As I am now at the age when retirement looms, I am getting to grips with my personal pension plans. The fund value of one of these in particular, has fallen by many thousands of pounds over the last couple of years, which is a depressing thought. But whilst a vintage gold nib will not fund my retirement, I have noticed that the enjoyment of the hobby does go a long way towards compensating for such financial losses, which gives a sense of worth to the hobby. I am constantly grateful for just how much pleasure I get, for relatively little expense, in wonderful combinations of pens, inks and paper. Perhaps my childish sense of relative values was not so far off, after all.

A Parker 17 and a Stalogy A5 notebook.

Early thoughts on the Sheaffer Icon, Lustrous Chrome fountain pen.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 14 Comments

On a recent visit to my old stomping ground of Uxbridge, in the north west outskirts of London, I took the opportunity to check out the options if one were looking to buy a fountain pen. From my brief reconnaissance, I found three shops: WHSmiths for some entry level Parker and Lamy pens and a few own brand cheapies; Ernest Jones, jewellers for a few Montblancs and finally, F. Hinds, another high street jeweller for some mid-range Parker, Cross and Sheaffer.

It was in the Bracknell branch of F. Hinds in April, that I had first seen a Sheaffer Icon, but did not know its name at the time. I had been struck by the gleaming chrome finish and the contours which harked back to the Sheaffer Legacy, a pen that I admired but never owned.

Sheaffer Icon, Lustrous Chrome edition.

Here in Uxbridge, I spotted the same model Icon in the shop window, displayed next to a matching rollerball. The fountain pen was reduced from £85.00 to £63.75. I went inside to have a closer look.

The sales assistant, a helpful lady named Vaishali, came back outside with me so that I could point out the pen in the window. Ah, the joys of buying from a bricks and mortar shop, which I have missed lately!

The steel nib is tiny, firm, smooth and a joy to use.

I had a close look at the nib, using the magnifying app on my phone. The pen felt very comfortable to hold with a generous wide girth and no step or cap threads. The nib certainly looked unusual and small in relation to the large pen but appeared to be perfectly aligned over the tiny feed. The tines and tipping and the tine gap all looked spot on. Without needing to try it, I decided that I would take it. Vaishali went to get the box, which she found with impressive speed, unlike my recollections of Paperchase or Rymans where this often means a long wait!

Unusual semi-hooded nib.

The pen came with a converter fitted but the gift box also contained two Sheaffer cartridges, one black and one blue. On a nearby public bench I inserted the black cartridge. I had a Stalogy A5 notebook with me and eagerly put pen to paper. Within a few seconds, ink reached the nib. The nib was very smooth. Ink flow was just right. However the Sheaffer black ink was feathering and bleeding through, even in my Stalogy notebook which normally resists this.

A push-in converter included.

Later at home, I ditched the black cartridge, flushed the pen and filled it instead with Diamine’s Gibson Guitar Series Pelham Blue. This was much better: no feathering or bleeding on Stalogy. Indeed the pen felt so enjoyable that I wrote for five pages. I revisited reviews of the pen on The Pen Addict and SBREBrown.

Unboxing. Two cartridges and a converter included.

Size and Weight.

Length capped134mm
Length uncapped125mm
Length posted145mm
Weight capped / or posted44g
Weight uncapped29g
Weight of cap alone15g
I only found the M later when I got the pen home.

Likes and Dislikes.

Likes:

  • Unusual, sporty design with elements from the Legacy and the Taranis;
  • Striking, bold grip section and semi-hooded, tiny nib – which is exquisite;
  • Comfortable grip, generous girth, no step, no cap threads;
  • Tough, metal barrel and cap; Nib would be protected if the pen were dropped or stepped on;
  • Long enough to use unposted and with a decent heft, without being too heavy;
  • Small nib, (marked as “M”), beautifully set up and which writes a smooth, medium/fine line; A Fine nib is also available;
  • No branding on the outside, except the Sheaffer white dot and, if you look very closely, the name Sheaffer on the far end of the pocket clip;
  • On close examination under a loupe, I found that the red stripe in the cap band and the red portion of the grip section, are glittery!
  • Converter included;
  • Inside, there is a long metal collar to support the cartridge or converter; (this was lacking in my old Sheaffer Connaisseur, where a cartridge could wobble about);
  • Metal threads on the outside of the cartridge collar, meeting plastic threads inside the barrel;
  • Two cartridges included (although the black ink may bleed through)
  • Lifetime mechanical warranty;
  • Comes from Sheaffer, a brand for which I have a long-standing affection (albeit now part of A.T.Cross Company);
  • Nicely presented in a lidded cardboard gift box, with padded pen bed, a clear plastic protector cover, and a compartment beneath for cartridges or converter and the care and guarantee booklet.
  • Is photogenic!
Doesn’t this look a bit like a racing car or an aircraft?

Dislikes:

  • Polished chrome looks great but is a bit slippery when you uncap the pen;
  • The cap posts deeply but not securely (at least, mine didn’t) – although Stephen Brown did not have this problem;
  • Cap is quite stiff to pull off;
  • The metal collar which supports the cartridge or converter, is so long that it leaves little of the converter’s ink reservoir on view;
  • Another reviewer commented that the rim of the cap is sharp, although this did not trouble me;
  • Black ink cartridge included is so wet that it feathers and bleeds badly.

Conclusion.

Overall, I am delighted with the pen, glad that I bought it and happy that it was on special offer. The nib is tiny but a joy to write with. Although the design might not appeal at first sight, I have quickly come to appreciate it.

Travelling with ink: Audley, near Stoke-on-Trent.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 7 Comments

We recently enjoyed a relaxing long weekend break, on a farm. Our accommodation was annexed to the impressive Georgian farmhouse, facing a delightful courtyard. This is a working dairy farm, with 240 acres of land and 400 cows.

Our cottage was annexed to this farmhouse.

During July, I had an outbreak of Parker Pen Purchasing on eBay. The first of these was a Parker 17, in black with a medium nib, which I wrote about earlier. This was followed by a Parker 51 also black, but with an oblique nib which I was very keen to buy. Next, there were two more Parker 17 fountain pens, each for sale by auction. There were no competing bids and I got both 17’s at their opening prices of £16.99 each, plus p&p.

The final purchase was rather more dramatic. I had seen a Parker 17, burgundy red fountain pen, with the open, “beak” nib, made only from 1962 to 1964 and harder to come by. I read that these command a higher price than the later, hooded nib models but had heard good reports of the nibs.

The auction was still several days away. For most of this time, mine was the highest bid but I made a maximum bid, of £59.90. In the tense final few seconds, I watched my screen helplessly as a flurry of increased bids were placed. I was successful! Afterwards, I found that another bidder had offered £58.00 with just four seconds remaining: eBay then bid one pound higher for me automatically, so it was a close shave.

Three more Parker 17 fountain pens. I am hooked on these.

These last three Parker 17s arrived just as we were setting off for our break, so I was able to bring them with me to clean and try out, with a bottle of Parker Quink Royal Blue.

Pen Time on the farm.

It was wonderful to get away and have a change of scene. We were in a rural area with views of fields and trees. Our comfortable cottage had vintage furniture, a large kitchen with an electric AGA and a lounge/dining room which included a grand piano, which I enjoyed playing.

Having a full sized, concert grand was a bonus!

There was time to inspect my three new Parker 17’s. The blue one was a basic, standard model with a medium nib and wrote very nicely, with a pleasing bit of feedback. The green one was the Parker 17 Super Duofold, which featured a wider gold coloured cap-band and a ring on the end of the barrel. However this one had a few issues. The cap-band appeared to have been glued but with glue residue around the edge, on the cap. Also the cap was unusually tight. The grip section was misshapen, as if it had been forced into a cap that was too small. The pen filled normally and the nib was glassy smooth and felt like a broad.

The four colour options of the Parker 17.
The nibs turned out to be Fine, Medium and Broad.

However, the pen would write only for a paragraph or so before drying up and suffering “ink starvation.” A check inside showed that the ink had not got stuck at the back of the sac and so it was not obvious why ink flow had stopped. I suspect that it may be an issue with the air replacement to the sac, rather like trying to pour from a carton of milk with only one opening.

Talking of milk, we were invited to watch the cows being milked in the afternoon. This was a highly informative and memorable experience. The owner had farmed here for 53 years, taking over from his father who came in 1930. These days, the milking process is highly computerised with the milk piped to a large holding tank. The milkman comes to collect, every day including Christmas Day. The milk from this farm, goes to make cheese. Whilst being milked, the cows eat from a hopper of grain, which is automatically piped into the milking sheds from a big silo outside. Each cow is identified on the computer system, which monitors how much milk they yield and how much grain to give them. We were shown the harvester, which cuts grass for silage, the cows’ winter feed. It was quite an education for us city dwellers.

The view from our bedroom window.

We explored the nearby city of Stoke-on-Trent. We browsed the shops and bought some clothes and shoes and enjoyed a meal. There was little in the way of fountain pen action, aside from a WHSmiths with Lamy and Parker pens for the “back to school” season. Looking at these, I felt that my vintage Parker 17s with their 14k gold nibs were a better buy.

Returning home, I found that my Quink bottle had leaked. It was only around the cap and had not done any harm except that I got it all over my fingers. Fortunately it was Washable blue, but I might not chose Quink bottles for travel next time.

The Parker 17 with beak nib (1962-1964 only).

21 plus 5 Pen Questions.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 11 Comments

I have enjoyed reading people’s replies to these questions, posed by the Well
Appointed Desk with the supplementary five questions added by The Gentleman
Stationer. Answering these is rather like being interviewed by an imaginary
friend, on one’s chosen subject. So, here goes with my answers. I have used the
English spelling of “favourite.” Also, these replies are correct at
the time of going to press, but should be taken with a pinch of salt as I
reserve the right to change my opinions on a daily basis.

1: What is the pen they’ll have to pry out of your cold dead hands?

In the sense of what pen I would not part with, I suppose
for sentimental reasons it would be one of my Sheaffer No Nonsense pens, that I
used through college over 40 years ago. Either that or my blue Waterman Expert
which I used for many years in my first job after qualifying as a solicitor.

2: What’s your guilty pleasure pen?

My Montblanc Meisterstuck 145 Classique, with platinum plated trim. This is
because it remains the most expensive pen that I have ever bought and was an
impulse buy whilst drifting around our local shopping centre.

3: What’s the pen you wish existed?

A Lamy Safari without the facets.

4: What pen would you give to a new enthusiast?

Perhaps a Cross Bailey Light.  I would include a cartridge converter to enjoy the vast
choice of bottled inks and because Cross proprietary cartridges are expensive.

5: What pen do you want to get along with but it just never clicked?

The Pilot Capless, or Vanishing Point. Obviously, there is a joke coming
here as the pen did click, but I could not use it in overwriter style because
the pocket clip was exactly where I wanted to place my thumb. Eventually, being
unable to remove the clip in the proper manner, I resorted to bending it and
breaking it off. This then left a sharp edge. I tried to round this off
smoothly with a file, but scratched off the matt black finish on the pen. I
then bought a Dremel, with the idea of grinding the sharp edges or even
grinding off the remaining piece of the clip – but have not dared take the
Dremel out of the box yet.

6: What pen do you only keep only because its pretty?

This is a difficult one. I think I will instead say what is my prettiest
pen, which is the Pineider Avatar in Lipstick Red, which wowed everybody at our
pen club. Apart from the glossy red body, the shiny plated section and the
large sweeping curves of the nib are very photogenic.

7: What pen (or stationery product) did you buy because everyone
else did?

This was not a bad thing. The most recent example would be the Jinhao X159, with its number 8 nib. These are great value and I went on to buy four of them in different colours.

8: What pen (or stationery product) is over your head or just
baffles you?

Fortunately, expensive pens such as the Visconti Medici or London Fog etc
and various special editions do not appeal to me. I can enjoy a blissful guilt-
free writing experience for far less outlay.

9: What pen (or stationery product) surprised you?

Again, to give a recent example, the Otto Hutt design 06 surprised me, first
because I did not expect it to be comfortable to hold with its shiny plated
section (platinum plating) and the step down from barrel to section, and
secondly because I was blown away by how softly and smoothly it wrote when I
dip-tested it in the shop. I thought that it must be a gold nib but it is not.
Other nice surprises with this pen are the short cap threads (only half a turn)
and the serial number on the finial.

10: What pen doesn’t really work for you but you keep it because
it’s a collectible?

A Sailor, numbered limited edition with a Zoom nib. I bought it at a local
auction and enjoyed cleaning it up and trying out the nib but never put it into
regular use.

11: What is your favourite sparkly pen (or ink)?

I do not own any sparkly pens or inks. If I were to buy a sparkly pen, my
first choice would be a Benu Euphoria having tried one at a pen club meet just
yesterday.

12: Which nib do you love – but hate the pen?

I would not say “hate”, as I have bought many of them, but I am
not a fan of the faceted sections of the Lamy Safari and Al-Star although the
steel nibs are very functional and occasionally delightful.

13: What pen (or stationery product) gives you the willies?

I have avoided the Visconti Home Sapiens bronze age, volcanic lava pen.
Although this sounds a great concept, I do not like the idea of the material
being porous and absorbing perspiration or of being easily stained. The only pen that I have really hated, was a cheap Maped, bought in a department store in China. I hated it because the cap was so tight to pull off that I strained my thumb which tooks weeks to recover.

14: What’s your favourite pen for long form writing?

Currently, the Esterbrook Estie, Nouveau Bleu, with gold trim and a broad
nib and Waterman Serenity Blue ink. The pen is a good size for me and very
comfortable.

15: What pen (or stationery product) do you love in theory but not
in practice?

I like the idea of a leather notebook cover, such as the Midori Traveler’s
Notebook. I tried one from another brand but it immediately became obvious that
the pockets for credit cards etc caused lumps and bumps which you
could feel when writing in a notebook. Also the pen loop got in the way whilst
writing. Instead I now use a very simple stiff leather cover with no
pockets or pen loop. Although a bit narrower than A5 size, I use it to protect
an A5 notebook when in my bag. I put the notebook in, spine outwards, and close
the cover with the elastic loop.

16: What pen (or stationery product) would you never let someone
else use?

I don’t mind letting other fountain pen users try my pens. There is a risk with
others, that they may try to pull off a cap which is a screw on, or that they
may drop the pen or spring the nib.  

17: What pen (or stationery product) would you never use for
yourself?

I avoid glitter inks as I have no use for them and would fear clogging of
the pen’s nib and feed. Also, I have not been tempted to try Noodler’s Bay
State Blue due to its notorious staining.

18: What pen (or stationery product) could you NOT bring yourself to
buy?

I have mostly avoided buying any pens that cost more than £400.00. The exception was the Montblanc Classique mentioned earlier although with a 10% discount it was only just over that figure.

19: What’s your favourite vintage pen?

A few years ago, I would have answered my Pelikan 400 tortoise as it was the only vintage pen that I owned. Since then I have been given some lovely 1960’s Montblancs. In particular I love the Montblanc 34, a piston filler with a gold oblique nib, a blue ink
window and a screw cap. Also, in recent months I have become a big fan of the
Parker 17 range (and bought three more on ebay this last weekend). I also
bought a vintage Parker 51 recently because it had an oblique nib and this is arguably
one of the best fountain pens of all time.

20: What is your favourite EDC/pocket pen?

My favourite pocket pen is the Kaweco Sport. I have several but like the burgundy with gold trim version best.

21: What’s the pen (or stationery product) that got away?

That is an easy one. I recently passed up an opportunity to buy a new Montblanc 149 which was reduced for clearance to £235, but needed some work to repair a sprung nib. The full story was recounted in my previous post.

(1): Why do pens and stationery continue to play such an important role
in your life, especially in an age when everything is supposed to be going
paperless and digital?

I find great enjoyment in writing with a fountain pen. First, writing is a good way to organise and record your thoughts,to journal and to write letters. You could say that any writing tool would meet this requirement but a fountain pen just feels nicer, forcing you to slow down and the line looks nicer on the page. Secondly, there is the exquisite and
unique pleasure of the feel of a fountain pen nib on paper and of seeing fresh
ink on the page. Writing more slowly is a key factor in improving the neatness
and legibility of handwriting. Practising one’s penmanship, trying different combinations of pens, inks and papers is a continuing source of relaxation and entertainment for me.    

(2): What do you view as the key benefit of writing by hand?

I have touched on this in the previous answer. I suppose the “key” benefit is that it is uniquely personal.

(3): What is your favourite thing about the pen/stationery hobby?

There are so many: trying out different pens, inks and paper or notebooks;
collecting pens; tinkering with pens; writing and receiving letters; keeping a
diary; pride of ownership; friendships made both online and in real life. But
if I had to name just one thing, it comes down to the joy of writing with a
fountain pen, which any enthusiast will know.

(4): What is your least favourite thing about the pen/stationery
hobby?

For me, it is the addictive natureof Instagram and the “screen time” spent, although I have learned a great deal about the hobby from the internet, from blogs, from watching YouTube videos, such as Stephen Brown and his helpful “disassembly line” posts, and from looking at the web sites of pen dealers such as Cult Pens, Write Here, The Writing Desk,
Iguanasell and of course Amazon and ebay .

(5): If you could choose one combination of stationery items to use
for the rest of your life, exclusively, what would those be and why?

There have been so many. It would need to be a simple and reliable pen, one that is comfortable, that I would not get bored of. Most recently I struck the stationery jackpot by finding a near perfect combination of Parker 17 (black with gold trim, cap posted, medium 14k gold nib), Parker Quink blue black ink and a simple £4.00 notebook from Flying Tiger. However, there is some bias here as this was one of my most recent pen
purchases.

Taking a step back, I might pick the Cross Bailey Light. I have almost all the colours but like the royal blue one best. I would use Waterman Serenity Blue. The pen has a firm nib. The snap cap is quick and easy. It writes smoothly and with good flow. I can write without
thinking about the pen. As for paper, I would be happy with the Flying Tiger
notebook mentioned above as the paper texture was wonderful, but on buying two
more of them recently I found that the paper had changed and was no longer
fountain pen friendly. The ink spread slightly and bled through.  My most frequently bought notebooks are the A5 hardback journals from Leuchturm although I need the dotted or plain paper as the ruled lines are too narrow for my liking. The A5 size is ideal for me, not too large to carry. Hard covers protect the paper and are useful if you are writing on your lap in a comfy chair, without a table.

That was a longer answer than I intended. Thanks for reading!

Update 1 August 2023: Apologies to anyone who received the earlier version of this post. I had trouble with the formatting and the questions were not shown as new paragraphs. This appeared only after publishing the post and I did not have time to improve it until several hours later, when I removed the old post and published this one.

Secondly, here are some links to a few other sets of replies in case you missed them:

  1. #21PenQuestions (via The Well-Appointed Desk)
  2. #21PenQuestions – Laura’s Answers (via the Well-Appointed Desk)
  3. #21PenQuestions – Jesi’s Answers (via the Well-Appointed Desk)
  4. #21 Pen Questions from The Gentleman Stationer (via The Gentleman Stationer)
  5. #5 More Pen Questions: What I really wanted to answer (Via The Gentleman Stationer)
  6. 21 + 5 Pen Questions (via Weirdoforest Pens)
  7. 21+5 Questions Answered to Celebrate 8 Years of Writing at Large (via Writing at Large)
  8. 21 Pen Questions (via Rachel’s Reflections)

On how I did not buy a Montblanc Meisterstuck 149.

~ rupertarzeian ~ 17 Comments

Although I have bought my fair share of costly fountain pens over the years, I still feel that one of my attributes, or my “super-power” amongst the fountain pen community, is the ability to enjoy some inexpensive pens, just as much as expensive ones. This is a benefit for which I am most grateful.

In theory, this should enable me to save a lot of money. In practice however, I am still tempted when I come across a more “luxury” pen, especially if it is on a special offer.

Recently, I found myself thinking that I was as happy as can be using the vintage Parker 17, with Parker Quink blue black ink picked up on ebay for a modest £12.00 plus post and packing, with a notebook costing £4.00 from Flying Tiger. So, I should have the courage of my convictions, stand by my principles and act on them. Yet, within the last week or so I have been tempted three times: first by a Parker Sonnet Cisele, (reduced for Clearance in the John Lewis sale, from £366.00 to £183.00), then by a Cross Townsend Medalist, (with 23k gold-plated nib) reduced from £175.00 to £87.50 in Daniels of Windsor and then finally, by a Montblanc 149, black with gold trim, reduced from £795.00 down to (wait for it…) £235.00.

Montblanc 149, back row, second on the left.

Having withstood the test of the Parker and the Cross, the Montblanc offer pushed me to my limits. I was very surprised to see in Fenwicks, Brent Cross, a glass display counter of Montblanc pens and a few of their leather goods in a glass display cabinet marked “CLEARANCE.” This was extraordinary and I had never seen them discounted before.

A 149 for £235!

I summoned a sales assistant to unlock the cabinet for me. I first wished to check that it was a fountain pen and not a rollerball. The good news was that it was the fountain pen; the bad news was that the nib had been sprung and this was the reason for such a large discount. I recalled having seen the pen and posting a picture of it on Instagram, back in November 2021.

My photo from November 2021.

I do not have a Montblanc 149. I have often admired them in Selfridges and elsewhere but had never been tempted to pay full price for one. I had to make a decision. The pen would not write in this condition and would need some nib work. I wondered whether this might be a simple fix, just turning the nib over and flexing it downwards against my thumb-nail, just bouncing it back down very gently until the tines came together and then getting the tipping aligned. Gold is soft and can be bent quite easily but there is a risk of ruining it. Montblanc offer a nib exchange within 6 weeks of purchase but the nib must be in mint condition. Most likely, I would need to get a nibmeister to work on it, possibly at a pen show or else send it away. I wondered how long this would take and what it would cost. However, the discounted price allowed an ample margin to cover nib work, or even replacement and still be well under list price (which has now risen to around £855 I believe).

I did not buy the pen immediately but decided to think it over. I did some research online into Montblanc nib servicing or replacement. I also looked at various Montblanc nib-removal wrenches on ebay.

That evening, I posted a photo of the pen clearance display on Instagram. Three of my friends helpfully chimed in with encouraging comments. Jon wrote “I am sure that it could be fixed at a forthcoming pen show….”. Anthony wrote “That is an irresistible bargain!” and Allie added “You could have it repaired. I am not helping am I?” (laughing face emoji).

I gave myself a night to sleep on it. Do I like a challenge? Does it excite me or do I shrink from it? There is potential for satisfaction and a sense of achievement. But why take the risk? Does the potential benefit outweigh the risk? And how badly do I really want a 149 anyway? I have some Jinhao X159 fountain pens of similar dimensions and the wide girth is not my ideal choice. On the other hand, the pen needed rescuing. If I did not buy it, who would? Do it for the pen, and support the economy and a bricks and mortar shop! Be brave and do something wonderful! All of these thoughts and more were swirling around my head.

Come the following morning, I was leaning towards liberating the pen, and decided at least to go and have another look at it – assuming it was still there. I did not rush to get there at opening time, but gave it an hour and half or so, figuring that if someone else had bought it, the decision would have been made for me.

Back in Fenwicks, the pen was still there in the locked display counter. However, a gentleman was also eying the pen and the other Montblancs, for which the prices were not visible. I knew from my previous visit that these were the Montblanc “Around the World in Eighty Days” edition fountain pens, in 146 (Le Grand) and 145 (Classique) sizes and both were reduced to about half list price and was able to tell him this before the assistant came to open the cabinet for us.

It transpired that this gentleman, who I now know to be Edmond, had seen my post and driven over to look at the pen (if I had not already bought it) and that he was also interested in a cute Montblanc Baby rollerball, which he had also spotted in the photograph.

We both examined the 149 at length and he thought it worth a punt. He proposed to buy it, if I did not do so, but felt that I should have first choice in the matter, it having been my spot. It fell to me to make my mind up. It was undoubtedly a very tempting offer. However, I eventually concluded that I could happily go either way on it and, feeling magnanimous and a gentleman, I announced that I would like him to have it, whereupon he shook my hand and declared that he would buy me a coffee and a pastry.

It was his intention to buy the 149, plus the Le Grand and the Baby rollerball and asked whether a further 10% discount might be available if he bought all three. We were told that this would be up to the manager, who was in a a meeting but would be back in 15 minutes or so. Meanwhile, the assistant put the pens aside for him and we went for our coffee upstairs in Cafe Nero. We had a most enjoyable natter, finding that we had many other interests in common including photography, cameras and watches, as well as fountain pens.

Returning to the pen counter, the manager was now back. No, he was not willing to give any further discount which was a little disappointing. Nevertheless, Edmond went ahead with his purchase of the three Montblancs anyway. I congratulated him and wished him enjoyment with his new acquisitions and we parted on excellent terms.

Later, having time to reflect, I was happy with my decision and also that the 149 had gone to suitable owner who would ensure that the nib received the care and attention that it needed. I meanwhile continue to enjoy my budget priced Parker 17 and a warm and fuzzy feeling of goodwill.