All Pens and Ephemera

Who says pens need to be serious all the time. Some can be serious fun! Take our Hechter Travel Pen for example. It is like writing with an entire safari in Africa. As far as quality goes, it is just a basic fountain pen with a steel nib. It comes with a converter, too. The clip seems to have heavy brassing, and the pen has some wear. There is a little crack in the lip of the cap. Do NOT post the cap on the tail. You will write a fine line with a little feedback. 14cm capped.

Italian pen manufacturer Visconti began making tributes to the great painters of Europe. This is a Visconti Rembrandt in an ivory color. One of the neat innovations with this pen is a magnetic cap closure. Fill it with the included Schmidt standard international converter. You also can use like cartridges. Barely used, this pen only has light wear. Click the headline for close-ups. You'll write a wet medium line with its steel nib. There's a bit of feedback but nothing too bad. 14cm capped.

We love finding Parker Vacumatics that are still in close-to-new condition. This vintage pen still has a light-yellow barrel clarity! It is no longer that green-yellow from right off the line, but it is still pretty good. No cracks, minimal--if any--brassing. We restored this pen with a new diaphragm. The biggest "flaw" is that its pocket clip spins, even though it is securely on the pen. The blue diamond was Parker's indicator that this pen was guaranteed for the life of its first owner. You will write an extra-fine line with its 14k gold nib. There is a little feedback, but this is a pretty good XF writer. Click the headline for close-ups. 12.8cm capped.

Let's face it, sometimes we just buy the pen for the nib. Our Parker Sonnet is a hearty and loyal daily writer, but it has a ton of deep scratches and is even missing some of its finish on the tail of the pen. Click the headline for close-ups. Its brass-barrel construction makes it far more durable than other preowned luxury pens. The real treasure of this pen is its bouncy, fine-point 18k gold nib. It doesn't qualify as a true semi-flex nib, but it does have some nice bounce to it. Also included is a Parker converter. This pen also takes Parker cartridges. 13.3cm capped.

We think that this is the short-lived Imperial fountain pen made in Nassau, NY. The cap band is imprinted with the Imperial name, much like the very rare Parker Vacumatic pens with a "Vacumatic" engraved in the cap band. We think the trim might be plated-silver that is brassing. A good ink sac has been installed. We love the blue-and-grey design. It comes with an "Imperial" imprinted 14k gold nib. Click the headline for close-ups. You will see the bottom side of the nib is cracked in the photo. You will write a semi-flex line that grows from extra-fine to about 1mm wide. It is a big scratchy. 13.3cm capped.

How is it Italian craftsmen and women seem to come up with some of the most beautiful pen designs in modern pens? We love the stunning amber celluloid that seems to an ancient essence found in artifacts from Rome and around the Mediterranean. On really close examination you will find little bits of wear and damage, but it is impossible to see at a passing glance. You fill the pen with a piston activated by the little silver disc on the tail. It writes a very smooth medium line for a steel nib. It also includes its box and papers. Click the headline for close-ups. 13.5cm capped.

Harkening back to 1920s black hard rubber with "chasing" designs, this Waterman LeMan Opera fountain pen is a stunningly handsome modern luxury pen. The cap and barrel are in nearly perfect condition. The gold-plated trim has just a little schmutz and wear on the tail end. Click the headline for close-ups. Its two-tone 18k gold nib writes a nice fine-medium line. It is a soft nib that responds to light pressure, but this is not a conventional semi-flex nib. The thin 18k gold is easily sprung. The pen includes a box and papers. 14.4cm capped.

Parker Royal Challengers are handsome vintage pens that offered a slightly less expensive option for pen users who couldn't afford the flagship Vacumatics. This pen is nearly perfect, except for its nickel-plated trim, which is heavily worn. We restored this pen with a new ink sac. It is a button-filler like the older Parker Duofolds. Its ink viewing window is ambered. You will write a nice fine line with its 14k gold nib. Click the headline for close-ups. It has a clean imprint that states it is from the first quarter of 1940. 12.2cm capped.