Andy’s Pens shop opens in Tonbridge

It is heart warming to see a new fountain pen shop open, especially one that will be stocking vintage pens. I’m looking forward to be able to visit.

Andy's Pens - 8, Tollgate Buildings Hadlow Road Tonbridge Kent TN9 1NX

Andy tells the story here on his website. It looks like a great product line up, and a promising experience to buy there. Somebody who is interested in the pens, not just the sale. I have a few fountain pens that have been restored by Andy. They’ve been fantastic. Great condition, good craftsmanship from Andy and very enjoyable – no disappointments.

As I said I’m really looking forward to visit and I’ll make sure I have some money in my pocket to support them (well, that can be my excuse to support my addition).

I wish them lots of success.

The Parker Archives

Tony Fischier was very priviliged recently to be invited to visit the Parker Archives in Newhaven. If you are not familiar with the Archives, they contain the history of the Parker Pen Company and it's products. An astounding collection, that has been completed by the hard work of a few dedicated Parker employees, particularly Dave Ruderman, the caretaker of the archives, and others

Tony has published a fantastic account of his experience, available here on his website. Well worth a read.

Eleven years to like a fountain pen

Does a nib need breaking in? Well, its not something I've really considered in the past. I think pens can get smoother as you write, though some are beautiful straight out of the box. They gradually wear to your own particular way of holding it and the tip can be polished through lots of use. But its takes some time. Certainly, I don't think you should ever be worried about someone using your pen, though many people appear to do so. "Oh, its a fountain pen, I can't use that, it's tuned to how you write and I wouldn't want to alter it". Anyway, today one of my colleages made me smile. She turned round and said I've noticed I have the same pen as you (a Lamy Safari), and "Do you know its taken me eleven years to like this pen, its only now that its smooth". Now that's dedication to using a pen.

Getting things done

I’ve been in work for about twenty years now – marketing to be precise. Office bound, lots of meetings with clients and suppliers, multiple projects on the go along with lots of planning and endless lists of things to do. Everything has deadlines looming. Yet, I still seem to lack commitment to a time and task management system. This is a great cause of consternation. Particularly, as my wife points out, I don’t seem to have the best of memories. Though, it does seem capable of remembering lots of obscure facts about fountain pens. I’ve been through lots of phases; I’ve used nothing, day books, Time System™, PCs, a Palm VI, an iPaq, a Blackberry (currently mandated by the company I work for), Black and Red. I’ve read '7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen Covey and lately I’ve even read ‘Getting Things Done' by David Allen to see what all the fuss is about. It has helped, but I’m still not there. For most of the last ten years I have used a black, rubber Filofax type thing (supported by the various gadgets). But the way I use it does change too. Sometimes it contains a written to-do list, sometimes the to-do list is on a ‘device’ and sometimes, like now, that to-do list is printed out and in my organiser. I use it with Filofax pads, and the paper seems very fountain pen friendly. The thing is, I want to write. I want to use my fountain pens and a great note pad. I want to look back and see what I’ve been doing. It works for my personal life, so why not at work. Maybe as David Allen says it comes down to confidence (a huge abbreviation on my part of David’s writings). Confidence in the system you use. Its pay-day today so maybe I am going to take a trip and by myself a Rhodia pad. What a great excuse. Now where was that book on Procrastination I said I would read.

Vintage Parker 45 DeLuxe fountain pen review

This is the fountain pen that started it all for me, as I outlined in one of my first blog posts. It’s a vintage Parker 45 DeLuxe (or sometimes known as the GT). The Parker 45 was introduced in 1960, and this model with the plastic cap was introduced in 1964. The Parker 45 has been hugely successful and is still manufactured today (I believe), a product lifespan of almost 50 years. It was Parker’s first cartridge filler and is a robust workhorse for everyday use. But I must also add, do not confuse this vintage model with those made this century though. For me, there is a world of difference.

Parker 45 – New at the top, vintage at the bottom

Design The Parker 45 has a classic, no-nonsense look; a streamlined shape, which tapers at the barrel and cap. Though simple, it is quite an elegant design in a functional sort of way. It has a nice look when the cap is posted, the long taper pointing towards the semi-hooded nib. Design 7/10 Feel This is a very light pen. It is not made from the most expensive of plastics, but there is a certain quality to the way it has been made. The push-fit cap fits snugly and lightly clicks into place, it posts well, the threads in the barrel just seem right and don’t come loose – its as though all the components have just the right level of tolerances in manufacturing. It has a good balance and is good to write with though nothing spectacular. Personally I do find the section a little slim for my fingers, meaning I hold it much higher up the barrel than I would another pen. I also find I adopt quite a light grip and use light pressure when writing. Dimensions: 136mm (5 3/8”) capped, 143mm (5 5/8”) posted Feel 7/10 Nib 14k gold. Stiff, fine (though not that fine), pretty smooth and workmanlike. It works well for those with a light touch. The great thing about the Parker 45 nibs however is the ease of interchangeability. They simply unscrew out and screw in. There is quite a wide variety of different nib grades available. Fine and medium are fairly common, but others can be harder to find. Particularly if you’d like to try an italic. Nib 7/10 Filling It’s a Parker, so naturally is uses Parker’s propriety cartridges and convertors. Though the convertors don’t hold that much ink. Sadly, this one came without a converter so I had to put in a modern one rather than the original metal cage version. Filling 7/10 Cost There is a collector base for these pens, but the long production run and popularity of this pen means there are lots about. Mint condition, boxed examples are readily available at quite reasonable prices. I got this one off ebay a few years back for about £8 if I remember correctly. And apart from the lack of convertor and a somewhat scratchy nib it is in mint condition. Clean and glossy. A great price, but you must remember this is a budget pen. Cost 8/10 Overall A good everyday user at a good price, and a good one to collect if you like them – lots of different variants and affordable. Overall 36/50

Forgotten Waterman pens

I’ve recently discovered a category of pens which I’ve found a delight to use, and beautiful to look at. But, I see very few mentions of them in the pen collecting community. This may just be my perception though, and I’ll probably find quite a number of ardent Waterman specialists who will tell me otherwise!

The pen community talks about the Parker 51, Vacumatics and Duofolds, a whole range of Sheaffers, the Wahl Eversharp Skyline, Ringtops, The Waterman 52, Red Ripples, Patrician and 100 Year pen, Conway Stewart Dinkies and 58s to name but a few of the stars, but seldom talk about the Watermans of the 1940s. A time which was tough for Waterman.

What’s more interesting is you see plenty of them about on Ebay and pen selling sites. The pens I’m talking about are the English W2, W3, W5 and a few other similar pens from the same era made in the States and Canada. The pictures here show a good ol' US of A version.

I’ve now got a number of these, and I love them. I wonder if they get overlooked because they are quite functional – or they appear so in the photography of sites selling them. But in the flesh, the plastics used are wonderful. Reflective, deep, changing colour when viewed in different light. The nibs on each one of mine are a delight to use too, fine with varying degrees of flexibility and fun.

Best of all, they’re not particularly expensive. You should try one. Hmmm. Maybe this is another secret I should have kept to myself?

Stuart R Stevenson now stocks Lamy

Lamy A103 three pen case

The range of fountain pens and paraphernalia at London art and crafts shop Stuart R Stevenson is increasing. In fact, they now have quite an impressive display of brands available. I’ve noticed over the last week that they have now become a Lamy stockist too. I bought myself a Lamy A103 pen case from there just yesterday for £12 to replace the one I lost. It’s nice to be able to give my business to local, enthusiastic independent shops.

South West Pen Show – Sunday 22 February 2009

It’s the South West Pen Show in Bristol this weekend. Full details can be found on the UK Pen Shows website. Sadly I won't be able to make it, but thanks to Jeremy Collinridge and Ian Williamson for organising it.

Covent Garden market

During my lunch hour I wandered over to the Jubilee Market at Covent Garden. I used to go there quite often in my lunch hour, but as I’ve changed jobs I’m no longer within short walking distance. So my trips there only average about once every six months. On a Monday they have an antiques market. More of a house clearance / flea market actually. There are no specialist pen sellers. There used to be one about five years back, but not any more. The collection she had were not the best quality anyway, and quite expensive. Still it did give you the opportunity to browse some fountain pens in the flesh, a rare joy in the days of the internet. There are however a few pens to be found on the general stalls. Don’t expect to find anything fantastic, I’m sure the specialists get a look at anything before it ends up here. But there are one or two more modern and slightly battered pens to pique your interest. I have bought a few pens from here, and passed on a couple that in hindsight I should have had. Ones that have made it home with me were an Eversharp demi-Skyline set in green moiré. Nice looking and boxed, but the nib was XXF and pretty scratchy. I also got a couple of Parker 51 Vacumactics, £15 for the pair. The body was blown on one, from a poorly replaced diaphragm I guess, but it did have a great gold-filled blue diamond cap which was well worth the £7.50. Today I found a teal Parker 51 special with a good broad nib and a great condition transitional Esterbrook in green for £5, my first Estie. The amusing chat with the stallholder was worth the trip alone.

There'll be tears...

This snow has made me change my going to work gear. I've put on my walking boots, Goretex jacket and, of course, some thermal underwear. I've also swapped my briefcase for a rucksack, easier to put on my back and keep my balance on the ice. I put my Lamy pen case in the front pocket which has a vertical zip down the side of the rucksack. This morning on my way into work, I realised the pen case wasn't there. A frantic rummage revealed no joy. Got into work, emptied everything out. Still no pens. Where could it be? I finished my book last night on the train home, so in the evening I had put it on the bookcase and put a fresh one in my bag. Maybe the pen case had fallen out and was on the floor? Sent my wife a text asking her to check , text back "sorry not here". So I've come to the conclusion that it must have fallen out my bag when I got off the train and put my book back in the bag. I'm sure I remember seeing it then, and I'm sure I was careful, but ... And, what pens were in there you may ask. Sadly two of my favourites. Not the usual Safari's or Lamy Studio that are my most usual companions to the office and could have been replaced easily, but a 1940's Parker Duofold AF with a beautiful cursive italic nib and a Parker 51 with the smoothest nib and most perfect ink flow I own (owned?) - all the better that I bought it for just £20 five years ago. Gutted. Oh, and my other thought as I travelled to work - I'm going to have to use a ballpoint today.

Got an idea

Want some small notebooks? Then have a look at these "idea pads".

Just 20 unlined pages and a simple card, woodprint cover. Saddle stitched (staped) and measuring just 120mm x 80mm, they're very cute and made of a nice bonded, fountain pen friendly paper. I got them from Magma books (£4 for thr set of 4) in Clerkenwell, but they're also available online from http://www.sortdesign.com/

Sort Design is the Society of Revisionist Typograhers. Typography being a subject close to my heart, and they specialise in Letterpress printing of stationery if you need to send out some wedding invitations!

Hmmm. I seem to be doing more paper collecting than pens at the moment.

Field Notes to go

After writing about them a little while back, I’ve finally managed to lay my hands on some Field Notes notebooks. I found them at a little store near to where I work in Clerkenwell.
View Larger Map The shop is called Magma, a design bookstore that also caters for the funky objects that funky graphic designers’ desire. They stock a small but random range of obscure and stylish notebooks: notebooks for the left-handed, lined at an angle; some covered in old wall paper; do it yourself versions; pre-doodled; 50s and Japanese styled exercise books; and so on. The Field Notes were £8.95 for three. I also picked up some ‘Idea pads’, but more on them later. The Field Notes themselves looked smaller at first than I imagined. But checking them against my pocket Moleskine, they are in fact the same height and width. It must be the lack of thickness and a soft cover that make them seem so. First impressions? A little less impressive than in real life than the images I have seen online, but still neat. Paper thinner than I thought too, in fact, I do wonder if it will hold fountain pen ink without bleeding through. I will have to test them later with a variety of inks and pens. Otherwise I might just have to treat myself to a new pencil to go with them :-) Review to follow…

Vintage Conway Stewart 58 fountain pen review

One of the pens that has been on my wish list for a couple of years at least is an early-1950s Conway Stewart 58 with Duro nib. Well, I was lucky enough to be blessed with one just before Christmas as a present from my wife (thank you!). A very pretty lined grey and black.

Design As I opened it, my wife said “I question your normal choices, but actually I really like this one!” She has a good eye for design, and I think her comment is a high accolade for the 58. The material is pearlescent and catches the light wonderfully. Conway Stewart can be a little light on the gold-plating and this one shows typical wear on the clip. The delicate lever filler has a dainty Conway Stewart logo. But most of all, I think it has a nice balanced look to it, whether capped or posted. Design 8/10

Feel The weight of this pen is just perfect for me. It’s a plastic-based pen, but not too light. (I really must get some digital scales to tell you the exact weight of these things). What is most noticeable though, is its solid feel. The balance is good when writing, and it is comfortable to hold. It is a reasonably fat pen. The cap is screw-fit, though unfortunately on this one, the threads have worn somewhat meaning they don’t engage and hold the cap in place that well. It will have to have the inner cap shortened at some point to make it more useable. Or have the threads rebuilt. Dimensions: 129mm (5 1/16”) capped, 153mm (6”) posted Feel 8/10 Nib 14ct Gold Duro fine nib. These have a fantastic reputation, there’s therefore little I can add really. It is on the hard side of springy and a good workman. Really smooth, but gives feedback – lovely. I’d like to try a flexible one. Nib 9/10

Filling Lever filler, with a very pretty lever as mentioned already. Filling 7/10 Cost I know my wife paid £70 for this pen. Reasonable, though I would have been happier if the cap threads weren’t an issue. Conway Stewarts are highly collectable and pretty solid, and I think the price reflects this. In comparison to other pens, I think this is pretty reasonable. As a point of interest Lambrou notes the original price of a 58 in the early 1950s to be 30 shillings. The price range from Conway Stewart at the time was 12 shillings to 35 shillings. Cost 8/10

Overall These are great pens, very presentable and good solid writers. Overall 40/50