Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 568

Wishing everyone a safe & relaxing Victoria Day long weekend! Here's another vintage fountain pen review from Christopher (thank you, Christopher!) for you...

(all text below by Christopher)

"With all my years as an avid vintage pen collector, I still find, at times, certain lines of the vintage pens rather confusing. Case in point, the 1940s Parker reissued Duofolds and, in particular, the top of that line Senior. When the Parker company first released the 1940 Duofould Senior, it was with a triple banding. This banding had a wide center band surrounded by two thin bands top and bottom. But within a number of years, and before the 1940 Duofold line was subsequently discontinued, the Senior triple banding was replaced with a band that mirrored the Parker 51 Major. But to make things even more confusing, the 1940s Parker Duofold line already had a Major model that sported exactly the same cap banding. So, in my books an easy mistake to think and label a 1940s Duofold Senior sporting this Duofold Major banding a Major. So, it wasn't until I acquired an early 1940s Duofold Senior, and had it to compare with what I thought was a 1940s Duofold Major, that I could stand corrected in actually having both - an early and a later 1940s Duofold Senior. I also made the mistake of labeling each 1940s Duofold I had in my collection either a Duovac or Vacufold, two terms applied by modern vintage pen collectors but never used in the Parker Company's literature. This line of Parker pens was referred to by the company in their 1940s catalogues, as either "Sacless Duofolds" for the Speedline or plastic button fillers or "Sack Duofolds" for the metal button fillers."

(photo courtesy of Christopher ~ please click on image to enlarge)

"So, to properly describe this pen I am featuring, it is a Parker Sackless Duofold from the later production in the mid 1940s, with the Major cap banding. It also differs from the Duofold Major model re: the overall size, being a bigger pen. Otherwise, its Parker laidtone muti colour finish on the cap and barrel includes the clear or pearl vertical strips, which like the Parker Vacumatric, allows the user to check the amount of ink in the pen at any given time. The cap also sports a tapered ring clip, that features the blue diamond Parker lifetime warranty, available on all Parker pens during that period priced over $8.75 and held firmly in place by a black threaded cap jewel. The grip section although not oversized, is both jet black and responsibly adequate. And in turn it supports a good sized 14K Gold Duofold, special factory replacement Parker arrow nib. The long matching blind cap, screwed into the other end of the pen off the barrel, covers a clear transparent amber plastic button, which in turn is the activator for the filling mechanism. To sum up, this lovely writing instrument is in just fabulous condition and as a goodly writer, posting at all of 6 inches but capping back to a more than pocketable 5 ¼ inches. Not a hard pen to fall head over heels with and, subsequently, will become part of the Parker division of my vintage pen collection."

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 567

Another great vintage Parker find by Christopher! (thanks, Christopher :)

He writes:
"During the early 1940s, if you were in the market for a very good fountain pen, the Parker Duofold, which had been duly brought back, could well have had your name on it. In a lot of ways, it ran neck and neck with Parker's Vacumatic, but seemed to have a lot more available options in its general make up. But let me get right down to outlining the pen in question..."

(photo courtesy of Christopher ~ please click on image to enlarge)"This is a Canadian Junior Duofold with a green, gold and pearl finish with 14K gold filled fittings. The pearl, being the clear transparent plastic, allowed the user to check out exactly how much available ink there was in the pen at any given time. The actual finish of this pen was referred to by the manufacturer as Laidtone and, unlike the Vacumatic with its horizontal stripes, its stripes were vertical. If you take a careful look at the finish on this pen, it looks like a mix of the colours mentioned with black vertical lines running on the surface. Very effective and certainly very attractive. This pen supports the Parker 'Speedline' filler under a long matching blind cap. It is a double black jeweled pen and at the end of the blind cap is a tassy held in place with one of the black jewels. 

Moving north to the business end of the pen, the cap sports both a split banding and quite an attractive tapered ring clip. Running vertically on the surface of this clip is the company branding. If the cap is removed and set aside, there is a short but workable black section that, in turn, sports a small but definitely commendable 14K Gold Parker marked nib. As for writing, I would have to classify this point as a general writing medium flex nib. Still, it tends to lay down the ink consistently and is a very smooth writer. As for dimensions, it posts well at a full 6 inches, but with the cap screwed back on, it measures 5 ¼ inches accordingly. I am extremely happy with this pen. Happy enough to add it to my vintage pen collection."

April meeting photos

Happy May Day! 😄
Apologies for the slight delay in posting these photos from our April meeting, which was held at the Kitsilano branch of the Vancouver Public Library on Saturday April 18th. It was a well-attended casual gathering (ie. a non-themed meeting with no "show & tell") with 31 members in attendance, including newcomers Hyein, Kathleen, Mein, Richard and Ruslan. Many thanks to all who attended!

I was busy welcoming new members during the meeting, so I only had time to snap a few pen photos; I hope to take some "people photos" at our next meeting, which will be held on Thursday May 21 at the VPL's Renfrew branch (and which *will* have a meeting theme and "show & tell" - full details here). Without further ado, here are the photos I took at our April meeting...

(all photos by Maja ~ please click on images to enlarge)

Our fellow pen club member Anson of Springfield Pens brought a plethora of his handmade kitless fountain pens to the meeting, including two brand-new fountain pens --one with a matte finish and one shiny example (which was purchased by Phil)-- made of cocobolo wood (near the bottom of the photo above). Fantastic work, Anson!

David C brought some lovely second-hand fountain pens to sell, and this one was purchased by his friend Sean. It's a handsome vintage Parker '51' fountain pen -- a true classic!

Stuart's recent acquisitions ---a Hongdian M2 fountain pen, a passport-sized Traveler's Notebook in blue leather, and some gifts from fellow VPCer Asifa from her recent trip!

The pocket-sized aluminum Hongdian M2 fits perfectly in the leather TN loop after Stuart stretched it out a bit...

It was nice to see Matthew at a non-pen-store meeting (lol--just kidding, Matthew!); he brought his Sailor 'Pro Color' demonstrator fountain pen, seen in the photo above resting on my Natami pen pouch. The Natami case opens and closes like an eyeglasses case and was very reasonably priced (around $19 CAD)...

That's my new Visconti 'Mythos' fountain pen (the "Aphrodite" model) atop a wonderful fabric pen case made by our fellow pen club member Amy H. Amy has a new Etsy store (link) where you, too, can buy/custom order one for yourself :)

Last, but not least, a classy Montblanc ballpoint I purchased from David C. at the March meeting. When you hold it up to a bright light, you can see Montblanc's precious resin's dark red tint...

We will be having another Saturday afternoon meeting sometime this Fall (date & time: TBA later). Hope to see you at one of our meetings! If you have any questions about joining our pen club, please drop us a line at vancouverpenclub@gmail.com 

(~ blog post by Maja ~)

May meeting info (and yes, there will be a meeting *topic* !)

Location: The Branch Meeting Room of the Vancouver Public Library's RENFREW branch at 2969 East 22nd Avenue, in Vancouver, BC. The library is located on East 22nd Avenue, between Renfrew and Nootka. Link to branch's web page: https://www.vpl.ca/location/renfrew-branch

Date: THURSDAY MAY 21, 2026

Time: 5:00pm to 7:30pm   

Topic/Theme: FOUNTAIN-PEN-FRIENDLY PAPER !! 

What we mean by this is the type of paper that works well with fountain pens. Tell us what works for you, and if you want to pass around a sheet of it for other members to try out, that'd be great (but isn't required).

(secondary topic: newest pen-related acquisitions)

⚠️IMPORTANT INFO RE: "SHOW & TELL":
Since it worked so well at our January meeting, we're going to have a time limit for this month's "show & tell" (re: the meeting topics) of two minutes per person ⏱️

As we did last time, we'll pass a 2-minute sand timer 😄 around the tables so everyone knows how much time they have left. Oh and please hold off asking questions about the stuff being shown until the show & tell is over, so we don't run out of time.

Hope you can make it to the meeting! 😊
No need to RSVP, but if you have any questions, please email us at: vancouverpenclub@gmail.com  

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 566

Hot on the heels of yesterday's blog post, here's another vintage Wahl-Eversharp review by Christopher!

He writes:

"It was with a great creative foot forward that the Eversharp design department came up with the idea of developing a pen and mechanical pencil line that was so different. It is my educated guess that they were getting part of this idea from Parker and their 51 because the Eversharp 5th Avenue does capture at least some of the elements that made the Parker 51 so successful. Then again, truth be told, the Eversharp 5th Avenue does a very good job of being different in its overall makeup than any other pen of its time. But sadly, there was a very unsettling shortcoming regarding the early introduction of this pen; not that it was the fashion of the Eversharp company to cut a corner, but in using their existing Skyline model's nib, feed and breather tube in the newly designed 5th Avenue's now-hooded section, the fit was so tight and the breather tube so lengthy, that the pen, in essence, was challenged to write or. for that matter. perform properly. This newly designed hooded section was unique. It was designed with long flat areas along the upper sides for finger purchase. But the hood more or less covered the nib, leaving just the very tip exposed. The new Eversharp 5th Avenue saw the light of day during the latter part of 1943. But, in 1945, the company solved this performance problem by redesigning a smaller, better fitting feed and shortening the breather tube a tad. In turn, they cut a small open channel on the bottom of the hooded section, which further offset the problem.

Like the Parker 51, the 5th Avenue came with both an inner cap clutch and, between the barrel and the section, a clutch ring. This allowed the cap to be removed and/or mounted without having to unscrew it or screw it back onto the barrel. Like the Skyline before it, the 5th Avenue is a responsibly well working lever filler, but let us take a look at the Eversharp 5th Avenue I am featuring in this article." 

(photo courtesy of Christopher ~ please click on image to enlarge)

"Right off the bat, one can tell by the overall length, that this was a pen intended for a man. It posts quite well at a full 6 inches but, in turn, caps back to a comfortable 5 ¼ inches. The barrel and section have a shiny black finish, but all of the fittings are solid 14K Gold. That includes the cap, which is marked as such, the smartly designed clip, lever for the filler, the clutch ring and the blind end cap. The clip, in turn, carries the double tick Eversharp marking which signified a lifetime warranty of Eversharp's better writing instruments. The nib, which I had a good look at when I disassembled the pen, is a fine, high quality one indeed and 14K Gold in its makeup. As for performance, this pen is an excellent writer, laying down ink in a even, smooth and controlled fashion. Subsequently, it is a joy to write with and will in turn become a well-earned part of my vintage pen collection."

Christopher--thank you for the review! For more information on the Eversharp '5th Avenue', check out Richard Binder's excellent profile of it here.

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 565

Thank you to everyone who attended our April meeting on Saturday; I'll post some photos from it in the next few days. In the meantime, enjoy this review of another lovely vintage fountain pen recently acquired by Christopher!

Christopher writes: 

"I believe if there is one Wahl Eversharp pen which seems to be often overlooked for the likes of the Doric, it has to be the Equipoise. This was, in reality, one of the transitional pen and pencil lines that bridged the gap forward from the tubular Wahi Eversharp flat top to the streamlined Doric. As the story goes, in 1929 Eversharp saw that a lot of the pen and mechanical pencil manufactures were streamlining their products. So, not to be left out, the Wahl Eversharp company took their existing flattop and, in a lot of ways, copied the design of Sheaffer Balance. But moving into the following year, they streamlined this new line even more, moving away from the cigar shope that the Sheaffer Balance seemed to have in its makeup. They also made both ends --at the top of the cap and the bottom of the barrel-- conical shaped.

The 1930 Wahl Eversharp Equipoise is, to my mind, as close as you could get to the Doric without being a Doric. Often mistaken for a Doric, it lacks the faceted barrel and cap, as well as the Doric's Art Deco cap banding. Although the Equipoise came with a finely ground high quality Gold nib, it did not have the adjustable nib features or the ink shut off valve, which often came with the Doric. But the Equipoise did inherit the Gold Seal cap that first was used on Wahl Eversharp's better pens and mechanical pencils with the flat-top line. And better yet, the Equipoise also brought forth the Wahl Eversharp 'Personal Point' which allowed for interchangeable nib/feed units to be installed in a very receptive grip section. And I dare say, the Personal Point range of nibs was impressive."

 (photo courtesy of Christopher ~ please click on image to enlarge)

"But let us take a look at this Wahl Eversharp Equipoise jet black beauty, that I am featuring in this article. Right off the bat, it has a lot of the features I have just mentioned. As one can see, there is a Gold Seal high on the cap and, well below but still on this streamlined covering, a smart double banding. This is a lever filler and at the same time, a short Ribbon ring top which is well in keeping with the personalization on the barrel. In fact, this particular writing instrument first belonged to a Berniere Petronis, a staff typist at the Morningside University and seen in the old photograph I am featuring with this text, seated at the table with other staff members in front of her typewriter.

The 14K Gold nib in this pen, set into an adequate black section, is truly a fine and well-marked one. It carries the identification 'Eversharp Gold Seal, Made in the US, Flexible' and it definitely is just that. I would have to say that the flexible reference pertains to about a medium flex with very good control for writing. The finish overall is a smart jet black, and the fittings are all 14K Gold filled. The condition for a 96-year-old pen is magnificent and it both draws a good bit of ink when filling and, in turn, lays it down on paper in a smooth and consistent fashion. As for size, this pen posts well at 6 ¼ inches, which includes the chatelaine cap ring, but caps back to a responsible 5 ½ inches accordingly. All in all, a super lady's pen but, at the same time, a perfect candidate for my vintage pen collection."

Our thanks to Christopher for the review! 🙂

April meeting this *SATURDAY* afternoon!

➤ All details at this link: https://www.vancouverpenclub.com/2026/03/april-meeting-new-time-old-location.html

Any questions? Please email us at: vancouverpenclub@gmail.com
Hope you can make it! 😁

Nikaido's 5-day sale! (April 15-19)

Nikaido is having a 5-day sale ... and it starts tomorrow !! 😄

Nikaido 5-day Sale

We hope you can join us for a 25% off (almost everything) S T O R E W I D E S A L E April 15-19 11.00am - 6.00pm Cannot attend the sale in-person? You can still participate in the sale by emailing us  at nikaidotea@hotmail.com with a list of items you  would like to order. We will then send an invoice,  which is payable via e-transfer. Orders can be picked up at a later date. *Nikaido Tea & Uji Matcha are excluded from sale Twsbi pens are 15% off Sale applies to in-stock items only. Thanks so much for your continued support, and hope to see you there! the team at Nikaido

Nikaido (https://nikaidotea.com/) is located at 3580 Moncton Street in historic Steveston village (Richmond, BC) and their lovely store is open Monday - Sunday from 11:00am-6:00pm. Telephone: 604.275.0262

Happy 69th Anniversary, Buchan's Kerrisdale Stationery!

Yes, our good friends at Buchan's Kerrisdale Stationery are celebrating the store's 69th anniversary this month! 🎉🎈🍾😄

For information on their Anniversary Sale 🏷️(many items at 25% off ~ sale ends April 14th), events, workshops, store history & more, check out this blog post on their website! (for the *most* up-to-date info, follow their official Instagram account)

 Buchan's 69th Anniversary Event Schedule:

• Ink Swatching: April 8th (Time: 6:30PM-7:30PM) Sign up now! - Limited slots available (link to sign up)
• Wax Sealing: Saturday, April 11th (Starting times: 1PM & 4PM)
• Live Embossing: To be announced

Buchan's is located at 2141 West 41st Avenue (at West Boulevard) in Vancouver, BC and the store is open 7 days a week for your shopping convenience!👏 Store hours are: Monday-Saturday : 10AM - 6:30PM, Sunday: 11AM - 5PM

Congratulations to Buchan’s owner Inna on the store's 69th anniversary, and our thanks to her for being such a great host for our pen club meetings! 😊
Wishing Inna & her wonderful staff all the best in the years to come 💛

April meeting (NEW TIME, old location!) information

April 2026 meeting details:

When: ⚠️ SATURDAY April 18, 2026

Where: Branch Meeting Room (in the basement) of the Vancouver Public Library's KITSILANO branch at 2425 Macdonald Street (between Broadway and West 8th) in Vancouver, BC.

Time: 1:00pm - 3:30pm ⚠️

This is one of our popular twice-yearly (Spring & Fall) "Social Saturday" meetings that we started having in 2024 to allow folks to attend a meeting if they couldn't make it to our Thursday night ones. There won't be any "show & tell" at our April meeting, but there will be a themed meeting (with "show & tell") in May!

Hope you can make it to our April meeting! No need to RSVP, but if you have any questions about it (or questions about our pen club), please feel free to email us at vancouverpenclub@gmail.com  😄