Vintage Pens

Don't be so quick to blow past this rather average looking Parker 51 set. More than a double-jewel set from 1946, these writing instruments offer something extra special. A very close examination will reward you with hallmarks for solid 14k gold. The caps are gold-filled, but the pocket clips, tail-jewel tassie and pencil's nose cone are all solid 14k gold! This was a special upgrade feature that is rather uncommon in the wild these days. We are selling these pens for our friend and legendary pen repairman Stuart Hawkinson who replaced the diaphragm in the vintage pen. No engravings mar the caps. The pen cap is dent free. The pencil has a small impression on the back of the cap. Under close examination the pen shows a fair amount of wear from use but no cracks or ugly scars. You will write a nice extra-fine line with the 14k gold nib of the pen. The pencil uses 1.1mm leads. Click the headline for a close-up.

Now if you really like Parker pens, this early Parker 20 made between 1906 and 1910 out to be the pen for you. It is a mottled hard rubber design with super crisp imprints. You won't find many pens this nice from this long ago. It is an eyedropper pen with its original "Lucky Curve" inkfeed intact. Click the headline and you can see its cap imprint and nib. No cracks. Museum worthy. We haven't dipped the nib, as we don't know who would actually want to write with such a pristine early Parker. Using the thumb-nail test, the nib separates easily from the feed meaning it loses inkflow. The feed can be heated to get tighter against the nib, but, again, this is so old and nice, why risk doing damage? 13.6cm capped.

You don't find chasing this crispy on pens from the 1920s on a regular basis. However, our Conklin 40P crescent-filler looks almost like it rolled off the assembly line yesterday. The only problem with it is a dent in the gold-filled topper tassie. Originally intended to be worn on a necklace or watch fob this short vintage pen is a powerhouse. We restored it with a new ink sac. The crescent device has "Conklin" written on one side and "Crescent" written on the other side. It has a nice size 4 14k gold nib that writes a smooth extra-fine line. Happily enough, it has a little flex, too. Click the headline for close-ups. 11cm capped.

New Old Stock Sheaffer Snorkel fountain pens are a rare treat. This Sheaffer Admiral is actually our favorite kind of snorkel. We prefer the open 14k gold nibs as smoother, more responsive nibs than the firmer conical Triumph nibs. We replaced the pen's O-ring, but the point seal and sac performed as good as new with water. There might be a little shop wear on this pen, but there are no significant blemishes. Click the headline for close-ups. 14.2cm capped.

Our parade of Sheaffer Imperial II fountain pens continues with this vintage pen. Click the headline for close-ups. It is a nice grey model, but you can see a scar on its section. You'll also see the top of its nib tipping area is a bit chewed up. You will find the nib writes a smooth medium line at a low angle of attack. However, the more vertically you hold the pen, the finer and scratchier the nib gets. We restored the pen with a new ink sac and O-ring. 13.6cm capped.

Esterbrook Dollar Pens were a fixture of the 1940s. Very affordable and easily customized with screw-in nib assemblies. This is one of the company's harder-to-find specialty nibs: the 2314-B Relief nib. It is a left-foot oblique nib made of steel. We find it writes very smoothly with some nice--but not dramatic--line variation. Nevertheless, the smoothness makes it fun to write with all day. We restored this vintage pen with a new ink sac. No cracks or deep scratches mar this pen, but it does have a little wear from use. You will see this is one of the shorter versions of the Dollar Pen. Click the headline for close-ups. 11cm capped.

Its imprint is faded, but we think we spy a 1951 date code on this Parker 51 fountain pen. There's a burgundy barrel with a gold filled cap. The cap looks pretty darned good, but you can see some big scars on the pen's hood. Click the headline for close-ups. Happily enough, the aerometric filler is still working great with its original pli-glass sac. You will write a nice smooth medium line with its 14k gold nib. There's a pearl-grey "jewel" on top of the cap. 13.7cm capped.

Coming from across the puddle is this handsome red-marbled Conway Stewart No. 286 fountain pen. We aren't 100% certain when these were made, but we are guessing the 1950s. We restored it with a new ink sac. There are no cracks, but the pocket clip is completely "brassed" and the cap ring has some brassing issues, too. The barrel imprints are very faded but still legible with a little help from magnification. The 14k gold nib has an odd dent near its base by the section. You will write a dry fine line. 12.5cm capped.