All Pens and Ephemera

The legendary Sailor Zoom Nib is on this petite-sized Sailor 1911 fountain pen. It is a beautiful pre-owned pen with minimal wear. Also included is a Sailor box, but we don't know if it is the original box. These items were found separately. Made of 14k gold, the Zoom nib allows a writer to enjoy a broad, medium and fine line. We find that holding the pen at a 45-degree angle gets us a very smooth broad line. Hold it more perpendicular to the paper and it delivers a slightly rougher feeling medium. Turn it over to write with the "top" of the nib for an extra-fine to fine line that we feel is a little scratchy. Also included is a converter. 13.6cm capped.

Not every vintage pen is going to be the belle of the ball. Today's Parker Duofold from 1942 seems to have been somebody's loyal workhorse. A great deal of the cap band is heavily brassed. There's a hairline crack in the cap lip running up under the cap band. The pen shows overall wear, and the 14k gold nib looks a little wonky. Click the headline for close-ups. HOWEVER, we restored it with a new diaphragm, and it writes surprisingly well. You'll find it is a wet medium with a touch of feedback. It actually writes much better than it looks. Perfect for a daily driver that doesn't mind another ding or two. 13.2cm capped.

Play it safe and write out your New Year's resolutions in pencil to better go back and fix them as you go. We think the best way to do that is with the Montblanc Writers Series Jules Verne pencil. This stunning luxury pencil is only lightly used with just a shade of wear. It works great. Twist the tail cap to advance or retract the .7mm lead. It comes with an almost new eraser and spare leads. We love the way the guilloche waves ripple under the blue-enamel surface. Unfortunately, we no longer have the original boxes and papers. 14cm.

We don't often offer parts for sale, as we need them too badly, ourselves. However, this complete senior Sheaffer Lifetime flattop nib assembly was a consignment pen where the celluloid cap and barrel were far too badly krazed and brittle to carry on life. Therefore, this still functional set of a section, 14k gold nib and feed need a new home. The outside diameter of the nipple is about 8mm and the friction fit bit appears to be about a centimeter wide. We don't have a caliper to be certain. The Lifetime nib writes wet fine line that some people might call medium. It might be a shade scratchy but writing with only it and no barrel is tricky for accurate results.

The 2014 Montblanc Writers Series fountain pen was dedicated to Daniel Defoe. He is most famous for the classic "Robinson Crusoe." This preowned luxury pen comes with all of its complete papers and boxes. The pen looks perfect...except for the nib. The 18k gold nib is losing its ruthenium or platinum plating. Click the headline for a close-up. We filled the pen with water, and we aren't certain if it has ever been used. We dipped the nib and it writes a smooth medium line. 14.3cm capped.

Get in a festive mood with an emerald pearl Parker Vacumatic Maxima fountain pen. We restored this vintage pen with a new diaphragm. It is a beautiful writing instrument with no cracks or deep scratches. There are a few faded bite marks on the blind cap. The double-jeweled cap end are also emerald green stripes like the cap and barrel. No brassing on the gold filled trim. The two-toned 14k gold nib is excellent with most of its original platinum plating. You will write a smooth extra-fine to fine line. The celluloid's see-through barrel is ambered, but you can still see through it a little. 13.4cm capped.

Click the headlines for close-ups. You are going to want to see this one as closely as you can. A stunning emerald pearl celluloid still has decent clarity on this Parker Vacumatic. We believe it is called the Slender model, before they were named Debutantes. It has a crisp 1936 date code. Double jewels that are the same as the emerald pearl celluloid. We restored this vintage pen with a new diaphragm. It works well, but we had to shave a little off the aluminum lockdown filler to prevent it from getting stuck inside the pen. No cracks blemish this pen, but it does have a teeny little chip in the lip of the cap. Some signs of wear where the clip dug into the cap and light wear from use. It looks museum quality at a glance but a close inspection might keep it out of a museum. You will write a smooth extra-fine line with its still two-tone 14k gold nib. 12.1cm capped.

For those who hunt the elusive incised cap bands on Esterbrook Dollar pens, here's a great green slender model just for you. This is a sharp vintage pen, which we just restored with a new ink sac. There are no cracks, only a couple scuffs and light wear from use. The chrome cap and lever are in good condition--still shiny. Its nib is a steel 1551 nib that you will find writes a fine line with feedback. Pretty par for the course for steel nibs of the 1940s and '50s. Click the headline for close-ups. 12.1cm capped.