March meeting pics!

We had a good turnout for our March meeting (held on the 19th at the Kitsilano branch of the Vancouver Public Library) with thirty members in attendance, including six (!) newcomers - Chris, David M, Geoff, Kyle, Lemo and Mariana. There was no topic/theme for this month's meeting, but it was a good opportunity to chat about pens/inks/stationery in a casual setting with tables and chairs (thank you, VPL!). Quite a few members did bring some new acquisitions to show each other....

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

...starting with Stuart, who recently acquired this vintage Parker 'Jotter' first-year (1954) stainless steel "Flighter" ballpoint (the dating is based on its "trough clip", which was replaced by Parker's famous Arrow clip in later years). The ballpoint sports an advertisement for a corticosteroid cream/ointment called Aristocort^®. What a cool find!

Another nice vintage find of Stuart's -- a "Forest Green" Parker '51' Demi fountain pen (which is resting on a Moleskine planner I got from Paul at the meeting--thank you, Paul!) ... 

A couple of new acquisitions of my own---a maroon Sailor 1911 Profit Standard 21 (which came with a 21k gold nib) fountain pen, and a cute Esterbrook 'Peanuts' pouch (with Charlie Brown's sister Sally on it) that I got from Amy H (thank you so much, Amy! :)

Though he's a massive fan of vintage fountain pens, Grant told me he's enjoying using this modern Esterbrook 'Camden Composition' fountain pen in “Back to School Black”. Grant won the pen in the door prize draws held during at our February meeting at the Vancouver Pen Shop (prizes generously donated by our awesome Pen Shop hosts :)

The speckled pattern on the 'Camden Composition" pens (which also came in the “Spring Break Fluorescent Green" colour) was inspired by the famous Composition notebooks. These durable cloth-bound notebooks (which lie flat -- a nice feature) have been used for over a century by students and artists, and are still going strong!

A vintage Sheaffer double-desk set recently purchased by Paul. It has a handsome clock in the base and two different writing instruments--a Sheaffer Touchdown-filler fountain pen (with a so-called "dolphin nib"), and a ballpoint.

And here are two modern pens Paul purchased--Waterman 'Allure' fountain pens in "Pastel Yellow" & "Pastel Pink". Paul said he got them from a local London Drugs store for under $40 CAD each (looks like they're currently at $29.99 + tax).

Back to vintage -- a handsome black German-made 'Mercedes' fountain pen owned by Dominique. I love the fine chased design on the cap and barrel :)

Lyndon's Pilot Custom 912 FA nib fountain pen (on the left) and Allan's new Junlai '930' fountain pen...

The nibs are both interesting, but for different reasons--the Pilot has a 14K gold nib with side cuts to increase its flexiness. while the Junlai came with a huge #9 size steel nib!

One last photo from the meeting---a closeup of the nib on Sheila's Pelikan '481' fountain pen, a model which was the predecessor of the famous Pelikan 'M200' model. The '481' was only made from 1983-1985 and lacks the Pelikan logo on the cap top -- early 481s had the logo underneath the blind cap, while later ones didn't have any logo on the body. Excellent information on this Pelikan model (and many more models) at https://www.pelikan-collectibles.com/en/Pelikan/index.html

Many thanks to all who came to our March meeting! Information about our April meeting will be posted on our website before the end of this month :)

(~blog post by Maja~)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 564

Happy Spring! 🐣 🌷 Many thanks to everyone who came to our March meeting last night at the Kitsilano VPL branch; I'll post some photos from it early next week. In the meantime, here's a new review from Christopher for you to enjoy! :)

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

Christopher writes:

The beginning of the 1940s saw another generation of Vacumatics being introduced by the Parker company. This time, their Lock Down filler that had seen them through on this fine line of pens since 1932 had been modified and simplified to be a better and easier to use option. The 'Speedline' as Parker had branded it, remained fully extended out of the back of the barrel when not in use. It also could be applied with just one hand. Still, two requirements were prime in support of this new filler, and one was quite elementary and that was a longer blind cap. But at the same time, to keep the length of the pen just right, a slight shortening of the barrel was called for. There was also some redesigning of the Parker arrow clip in that the feathers were split, and the Parker name was, in turn, run vertically up the center. The effect was noteworthy and well received by customers, but otherwise the Vacumatic remained more or less the same.

This particular pen came to me in parts to be reassembled accordingly. But the end result was a very attractive vintage Parker pen. The model is a second-generation silver pearl Vacumatic Junior identified by its double cap banding. The fixtures are silver and this is a double jewel model, the jewels being black. The section is also black and firmly holds a superb 14K Gold Parker arrow nib. Both the nib and the barrel have US markings and on the barrel, these marking are followed by the Parker date coding of .1., or the second quarter of 1941. All of these markings are clear and sharp where applied. As for the barrel transparency, other than red amber, I would have to say it is about a C8. The length of this pen posted is all of 6 inches, but it does cap back to full pocketable inch to five responsibly.  Overall, this pen is in just remarkable condition with a real brilliance and luster to the exterior finish. It is also a very good writer laying down the ink in a consistent and even fashion. So, I guess the question remains, will I keep this superb example and do Parker proud? Well, I would be hard pressed to say anything but yes.

 Our thanks to Christopher for the review! Have a nice weekend, everyone!

March meeting info (back to Kitsilano!)

MARCH 2026 MEETING INFORMATION:

When: Thursday March 19, 2026

Where: The 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: 5:00pm - 7:30pm

This month's meeting is just a casual get-together (ie. no "show & tell") where you can chat, buy/sell/trade pens/inks and generally have a good time talking with other pen lovers (while sitting around tables! 😀). Hope you can make it! (and no need to RSVP)

Some photos from our February meeting at the Vancouver Pen Shop

 I was unable to attend the event due to a nasty virus, but by all accounts, our February meeting held at the Vancouver Pen Shop last Saturday (February 21st) was a huge success! 😁 I heard there was lots of food, goody bags and door prizes! Our thanks to Margo, Shannon and all the staff at the store for their hospitality (and generosity)!👏

Luckily, one of our members remembered to snap a few photos during the event, so here they are...

(~ click on images to enlarge~ )

Just found a photo from that evening posted by the store on their Instagram! It's here: https://www.instagram.com/vancouverpenshop/p/DVMckHykhWv/

Thanks again to the Vancouver Pen Shop for being such great hosts! 🙌 😊

Reminder -- meet-up on SATURDAY @ the Van Pen Shop!

(📢 Full details in this post!)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 563

Today's pen review is courtesy of Christopher, whose write ups about his latest finds have been a staple of these type of blog posts (which we started doing at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic) here on our pen club's website. If you are a member of our pen club, please feel free to submit your own pen-related reviews for posting here :) Now, without further ado, here is Christopher's latest vintage treasure...

He writes:  

"The Parker 'Striped' Duofold has always been a favourite in its Vacumatic form. It was my dear old mother's pen of choice and one that I kept ship shape for her for a good many years. Unlike the regular Parker Vacumatic line with the horizontal striped finish, what the Parker company called 'Laidtone' had the stripes running vertically. Couple this with vibrant exterior colours and pearl and, my goodness, you have a spectacular finish. The striped Duofold did come with a button filler, but with the Vacumatic filler it gave the user the option (as with the regular Vacumatic) of viewing just how much ink was in the barrel at any given time. Strangely enough, the blind cap cover was the same long length for both the button and Vacumatic fillers on the striped Duofold. Plus, the striped Duofold came with more or less the same-sized range of models as the regular Parker Vacumatic. There was even the option of a double jewel with some of the sizes at one point in time.

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

But let us take a look at a striped Duofold which most recently came my way. The finish on my newly acquired pen is an exquisite 'Dusty Red' and Pearl. This is smartly offset with 14K Gold filled fittings. Being a Junior model, the cap is appointed with an attractive double thin banding, while the conically shaped jet-black clip screw-in jewel secures a Parker split feather arrow clip. This is a Canadian pen well marked with Parker date coding on both the 14K Gold nib and barrel. The former is held in place by a short but adequate grip section, while the jet-black feed is marked 'W' for a wide ink channel, which allows a goodly measure of ink to get to the paper. The matching blind cap at the end of the barrel is both lengthy and conical ended, much like the cap jewel. This blind cap covers a Vacumatic plastic amber button filler with a black button end. The pen itself is in remarkable condition, with a crystal-clear barrel transparency. It, in turn, posts at just under 6 full inches, but caps back to a pocketable 5 inches to stow. I simply love this pen and it will not only be in my suitcase for our annual holiday in Hawaii, but end up in my vintage pen collection as a proud trooper."

Our thanks to Christopher for another nice write up! (and bon voyage, too! 🌞🌴)

Don't forget: our next pen club meeting will be held at the Vancouver Pen Shop on Saturday February 21 at 6:30pm; full meeting information is in the previous blog post!

February 2026 meeting (meet-up) at the Vancouver Pen Shop!

When: Saturday February 21, 2026 from 6:30pm to ??
Where: The Vancouver Pen Shop, 555 Howe Street, Vancouver, BC.
Theme: "Your Worst Fountain Pen Purchase"

Please note: this is just a social event (*not* a regular meeting) hosted by the Vancouver Pen Shop. If you have any regrettable fountain pen purchases that fit the theme and wish to show them to your fellow attendees and/or the store staff (they love seeing the pens we bring in!), please bring them with you. Thanks to Van Pen Shop staffer Dom for the theme idea!

As with previous VPC get-togethers held at the store, attendees can buy stuff from the Pen Shop during the event. Many thanks to the Vancouver Pen Shop for inviting us back so soon! 😁  

➡️Any questions? Please email us at vancouverpenclub@gmail.com 

Photos from our January 2026 meeting

Our first pen club meeting of 2026 was held on Thursday January 15th at the Renfrew branch of the Vancouver Public Library with 40 members in attendance, including six newcomers (Cindy, Elle, Enkay, James Y, Joe, and Samuel)!

The format of this month's meeting was a casual "show & tell", and the topic was "Newest Pen-Related Acquisitions". I think the two-minutes-per-person show & tell time limit moved things along nicely and gave us extra time to chat amongst ourselves after show & tell was over. Many thanks to Amy, Mark, Paul and Sheila for the door prizes they generously donated (3D-printed ink vial holder, wooden pen display case, Crocodile fountain pen set, hardbound books, Platinum Carbon Black ink), which were won by James Y, Shona, Mindy, Kerwin, and Samuel respectively! 👏

It was a busy meeting, however, I did remember to take some photos for our blog, so here they are...

(all photos by Maja ~ please click on images to enlarge) The meeting was very well-attended (more people arrived after this photo was taken!) and we saw a multitude of new acquisitions brought in by our members, such as ...

(Above, left to right) Liz R's TWSBI Eco 'Cosmos' fountain pen, Vladan's two Stabilo 'Grow' fountain pens (Beech (Blueberry Blue) and Oak (Moss Green)), Liz's TWSBI '580 ALR' Caribbean w/ Onyx (a special edition which came out in November 2024), Stuart's new-style MUJI aluminum fountain pen, two vintage Waterman C/F fountain pens,  his Sheaffer Imperial Triumph, and Jinhao X450 in matte black. 

Some cool facts about the Stabilo 'Grow' model (taken from its Amazon listing): 
The Stabilo 'Grow' is a climate neutral product (saving approximately 70 percent CO2 emissions in raw material compared to a filler made of conventional plastic; the remaining CO2 emissions are compensated by a certified climate project) with a shaft (barrel) made from 100% FSC-certified wood from Germany, an ergonomic grip made from almost 100% renewable raw materials, and a cap made of conventional plastic partially replaced with natural fibres (sunflower seed shells). The renewable raw materials used are waste products from the food and paper industry and therefore ethically harmless. 

(Above, top to bottom) Fred's black Pilot 'Custom 74' fountain pen (with a BB nib Architect grind done by CY of Tokyo Station Pens), Asifa's new red Jinhao '20' fountain pen and Jerred's light green Online 'Icone' model resting on Aumbrine's ink swatches (and lovely calligraphy) ...

A close-up of the Online 'Icone' fountain pen (which includes a stylus tip).... 

(Above, left to right) Stuart's Otto Hutt 02 sterling silver fountain pen, Vladan's Stabilo 'Grow' Plum Red (Cherry) fountain pen, an elegant vintage Lady Sheaffer "White Tulle" set belonging to Jerred, Yang's dazzling Benu 'Euphoria' "Vibrant Summer" fountain pen (a Cult Pens exclusive), and a beautiful Montegrappa rollerball owned by Aumbrine. Kai's new Akkerman "Zuiderpark Blauw-Groen" (Blue-Green) ink is in the upper left corner of the photo. 

(Above, top to bottom) Aumbrine's maroon Sailor fountain pen, and then a mystery pen I'm trying to identify (lol), Aumbrine's Visconti 'Rembrandt' "Khaki Green Ops" fountain pen, and Asifa's Jinhao '20' glittery clear demonstrator with rose gold trim (a limited edition). Several of our members (Asifa, Amy, Allan, Mindy, and myself) brought their new Jinhao 20s for the topic; due to its low price, it's quickly become a very popular fountain pen (and it's available in a large variety of colours!).

(Above) James D's handsome Springfield Pens fountain pen (with a modified Architect nib done by fellow VPCer Jerred) resting on Liz R's colourful ink swatches...

(Above, top to bottom) A wonderful four-pen cloth case handmade for me by fellow VPC member Amy (thank you again, Amy! 😊 ), my new Asvine C80 in "Galaxy" (which comes with a #8 size steel nib), a Springfield Pens fountain pen (in an unnamed poly-resin material) that I recently acquired from its pen maker (Anson), my Champagne Pink Pilot 'Decimo' and my new limited edition "Ice Blue" Jinhao 20 with rose gold trim (the Pilot Decimo isn't new, but I brought it in to show its similarity to its clone, the Jinhao 20 :)

(Above) Sheila's brand-new (she did a quick unboxing during her "show & tell"😂 ) Pelikan 'M300' fountain pen in Pelikan's classic striped green. The M300 is the smallest model in the Pelikan Souverän lineup, but it's as beautiful as its larger counterparts...

(Above) Last but not least, that's Phil's brand-new Springfield Pens fountain pen in Inlace Acrylester material. The pen is a 'Robin' model that was handmade by Anson and finished the day of our meeting!

Thank you to everyone who came to our January meeting, whether you brought anything to show or not; you brought yourselves -- that's the main thing! 😀 I had fun at the meeting, and I hope you did, too. Information about our February meeting will be posted very soon!

(~ blog post by Maja ~)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 562

Many thanks to all who attended our meeting on Thursday at the VPL's Renfrew branch!!Next week, I'll post some photos from the meeting, as well as information about our February meet up. In the meantime, here's another review by Christopher, who sent me this write up about a vintage fountain pen with a very interesting filling mechanism - a pen made for a large U.S. department store chain...

Christopher writes:
"I remember back in the mid 1950s, when I was living in New Jersey, going in on the train with my grandfather to New York and having the city vista take my breath away. And at Christmas, when we went shopping, just being so impressed with the Sears Roebuck department store. They literally had everything... but let's wind the hands of the clock back to the mid 1930s and visit the Sears pen counter. At this grand station of the store, one could buy any number of different fountain pens, including the store's house brand, 'Good Service'. If you were lucky enough to acquire one of these definitely fine pens, you would immediately be impressed with its writing ability, not to mention its good looks, but what I am going to illustrate in this article is a Good Service pen that to my mind is outstanding."

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

He continues:
"Let us start with the finish. The cap, barrel and long blind cap are presented in the most stunning striated Emerald, jet and pearl with black vertical lines breaking up these colours. The barrel has transparency and, although red ambered, I would have to give it a C8 in clarity. Protruding out of the back end of the barrel, is a well-made polished aluminum threaded collar, which marries with the long blind cap when the pen is not being inked. From this collar, an equally long plunger syringe aluminum tube also sticks out, and from its end is a spring loaded (also aluminum) metal button. To fill the pen, one simply pushes this plunger and button unit into the barrel. Then the spring-loaded button action, pops the button out and by grabbing hold of this button, the syringe filler can be pulled smoothly back out of the barrel to draw ink into the pen by capillary action. It is, to my mind, a sheer genius mechanism. 

Moving to the business end of the pen, the barrel sports a most adequate jet-black section that, in turn, secures a most impressive 14K Gold flexible nib that, in turn, writes both consistently and smoothly. The cap is well-designed and mirrors the blind cap in its shape and design. It also has a very attractive triple banding near the open end. Held securely on this cap, is a 14K Gold filled art Deco design clip. This clip has a crest at its peak, running down with chased vertical lines to a ball end. I should mention that to finish this overall make up, both the cap and blind cap have black conical end disks. The one thing that really rings true about this pen is its super quality and precision crafting. It is my understanding that it was, in fact, made by the National Pen Company of Chicago. Needless to say, it has stolen my heart and, in doing so, will be a wonderful addition to my pen collection."

Our thanks to Christopher for sending in this pen review for our club's blog!

January 2026 meeting information!

Where: 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 JANUARY 15, 2026

Time: 5:15pm to 7:30pm (please note slightly later start time) We will be starting the "show & tell" at about 5:30pm.
  

Topic: NEWEST PEN-RELATED ACQUISITIONS!

⚠️IMPORTANT INFO RE: SHOW & TELL⚠️
We haven't done a  "show & tell" meeting since June of last year, and I know y'all probably have some new stuff you want to share with everyone :) Our club, however, has grown considerably in the last 2-3 years so we're going to have a time limit for this month's "show & tell" of two minutes per person ⏱️.

To help keep track of time, we'll pass a 2-minute sand timer (lol) around the tables so everyone knows how much time they have. One more thing - please hold off asking questions about the stuff being shown until the show & tell is over so we don't run out of time.

I don't know if we'll stick to the time limit for future show & tells, but it's one solution I've been pondering for quite a while now and thought the New Year would be a good time to try it out. Thanks in advance for your cooperation! 

Hope you can make it to the meeting! 😊
Any questions? Please email us at: vancouverpenclub@gmail.com