Vintage Pens

For as handsome as this moss green-grey vintage pen is, it features some of the weaknesses of 1940s Waterman manufacturing. Our Waterman 2 has a crack in the top of the cap and in the lip of the cap. Its pocket clip spins freely. We restored this pen with a new ink sac. You'll find nice Canadian Waterman imprints. Click the headline for a close-up of the 14k gold nib. When you find the sweet spot on the nib, you will write a smooth broad line. It gets a little scratchy when you lose the sweet spot. Oh, and its inkfeed is a modern replacement feed. 12.8cm capped.

On the surface, there might not be a lot to get you too excited about this Parker Vacumatic. And then you write with it. Wow! With a light touch it is a nice medium nib that leans toward fine, but with a little gentle pressure you can get about 1mm line variation! Not a common trait in a Vac from 1942. We restored this vintage pen with a new diaphragm. Its grey pearl design is nice with nickel trim. Dark ambering still permits a little light to see through the empty barrel. It has some wear from use, but there are no cracks or deep scratches. The blind cap-barrel alignment is just a little off. 13cm capped.

Far from being the rarest of Eversharp Skylines, this bandless cap version is definintely uncommon. Happily enough, the cap on this vintage pen is crack free, but it does look as if it had a brush with a lit cigarette on the back of the cap. Unfortunately there's a 2"-crack leading out of the point of the tail of the green barrel. We restored the pen with a new ink sac. The tail crack seems very stable. You will write a smooth medium to medium-broad line with its 14k gold nib. Click the headline for close-ups. 13.3cm capped.

Behold the mighty Sleeve-Filler! Honestly, some days we still have to pinch ourselves to make sure the dream we are living is really not just a dream. This Waterman 12SF in its original box creates a pinch-ourselves moment. Gary Lehrer's Waterman book says these were made between 1910 and 1915. The old hard rubber is fragile. As such, we did not force the section to open to restore this pen. This pen is in far too good a condition to accidentally destroy. It remains without a working ink sac. The sleeve on the barrel has a crisp imprint and can be gently coaxed and wiggled to reveal the squeeze bar filler. It is a little stiff in moving so don't force anything. No cracks! 14k gold nib is a stiff semi-flex. Original box a little faded and ink stained but still nice to have. Additional photos available upon request.

Simultaneously luxurious while also designed for intense daily use. The Sheaffer PFM-IV was the last great pen released while the Sheaffer family still owned the company. Ironically, it wasn't the hit then that it is today. Nevertheless, this vintage pen remains a masterpiece in form and function. Our pen has been fully restored and is ready for more action. Yes, it shows a little light wear and light scratching, but there are no dents or cracks. It is a pretty handsome pen, if we do say so ourselves. You might really love its 14k gold inlaid nib that writes a smooth fine line. 13.6cm capped.

Here's one from the waaaay-back machine: a Parker 25 1/2! This is an oversized eyedropper from some time after the turn of the 20th century! Best of all, it is free of cracks. Sure. It has scratches, wear, faded imprints and some chocolate hazing but who doesn't after 110 years or more? You can see the original Lucky Curve imprint, though it is shallow/faded. The 25 1/2 tail imprint required magnification for us to read it. Click the headline for a close-up of the very early 14k gold Parker #5 nib! It is a great semi-flex that goes from fine to 2mm wide. We soaked out a lot of old ink, but it seems the old ink has sealed the eyedropper shut for now. We didn't want to force it and ruin such an amazing piece of history. 14.1cm capped.

Cartridge fillers are not a new phenomena in fountain pens. The first ones date back to around the turn of the 20th century. However, those early ones were not entirely practical and prone to their glass and clay cartridges breaking. On the American market, Waterman C/F pens introduced what we have come to know as the first cartridge pens with disposable plastic cartridges. These pens were Waterman's last hit in the 1950s and until the company was revitalized in the 1980s. This rare New Old Stock set is unused and pristine. From the "Fine Flex" chalk mark on the barrel of the pen to 4 unopened, still waxed shut original cartridges, this vintage pen belongs in a museum. Click the headline for close-ups. The steel nib doesn't feel flexi to us, but that is how it was advertised.

Can you spot what makes this Esterbrook Dollar Pen so special? Need to click the headline for a close-up? Need a clue? Look more closely at the bottom of the cap. 3 incised cap bands! This is one of the rarer features to be found on an Esterbrook Dollar Pen. We restored this vintage pen with a new ink sac, and it is in great working order. The cap is crack-free with minimal wear. Unfortunately, there's a scar the wraps a quarter of the way around the barrel between the threads and lever. You can see it in the photo. Unlike most 1551 nibs, we find this one to be an insanely smooth, wet medium writer. The pen itself is the long-skinny version of the pen. Were it the J-series, it would be an LJ, but we aren't sure of the Dollar Pen designation. 12.1cm capped.