Monday, February 18, 2019

Sheaffer's PFM (Pen For Men)

Stuart's vintage Sheaffer's 'PFM' (Pen For Men) fountain pen and original 'PFM' ad:
Stuart's particular Sheaffer's 'PFM' is the 'PFM V' model, which has a plastic barrel and gold-filled cap. The 'PFM' also came in models with stainless steel (brushed & polished) caps, 9K gold and 14K gold caps, as well as gold-filled and 9K gold barrels.

Regardless of the materials used, all PFMs used Sheaffer's "Snorkel" filling system and all featured the beautiful Sheaffer Inlaid Nib:
(~click on images to enlarge~)

From this excellent PenHero.com article:

By 1959, Sheaffer was leading the market in pen sales with its successful Snorkel pens. The 1950s saw Sheaffer and others move away from the larger and fatter pens of the decades before to long and slender pens, such as the TM or Thin Model pens. The PFM was a bold step in a new direction.

The PFM, Sheaffer's largest Snorkel model, was introduced at a price range of US $10 for the all plastic and stainless trimmed PFM I to US $25 for the gold filled cap and trim PFM V model. Matching pen and pencil sets were US $14.95 to US $35.00. Many collectors prize this pen and they command high prices, compared to other pens from this period. Like another now highly collectible pen, the Parker Duofold Mandarin, the PFM was not a great success, with the line being pared of models later in the production run. According to research done by Sam Marshall, the PFM full line ran until 1963, with only the PFM III and V listed later, and the line was finally discontinued by 1968.


Many thanks to Stuart for the photos of this handsome and highly-collectible vintage fountain pen!

Don't forget about our February meeting, which will be held on Thursday Feb. 21 at the Terry Salman branch of the Vancouver Public Library from 6:00pm-8:30pm.
All details here!

Monday, February 4, 2019

More pocket fountain pens

A few more shots of pocket fountain pens---these taken by Stuart and myself (Maja) after the January meeting (photos taken during the January meeting are in this previous blog post).

(~click on images to enlarge~)
Left to Right: Stuart's Kaweco 'AL Sport' fountain pens in Stonewashed Denim and Rose Gold, a Sheaffer 'Tuckaway' Sentinel Touchdown Filler fountain pen, and a vintage Waterman 'Taperite' Lady Garland:
So, just how short are those pocket pens??

Length-wise, the Kawecos are 10.7 cm long when capped (ie. with their caps on the nib end of the barrel), the Sheaffer is 11.8 cm, and the Waterman is 11.6 cm
My collection of Platinum Preppy fountain pens and two Kaweco 'Sport' fountain pens (a red/clear 'Sport Ice and a blue 'Sport Classic'):
The Kawecos don't come with clips...so do they really need clips??

Well, it's up to you, but you have some choices if you go the clip route; my red/clear Kaweco sports (ha!) the Kaweco straight chrome clip, whereas its blue counterpart has the Kaweco curved clip in gold finish (which looks like the clips found on some vintage Kawecos). If you are considering purchasing a clip for your 'Sport' fountain pen, make sure you get the right kind-there are similar-looking clips for the Kaweco 'AL Special' and Kaweco 'Liliput' models, but they will not fit the 'Sport' fountain pen line.

Sunday, February 3, 2019

Waterman 'Champion 501' advertisement

Waterman 'Champion 501' advertisement ca. May 1953
(image courtesy of Christopher R, taken from an old issue of Meccano Magazine")

The Waterman 'Champion 501' was an English-made fountain pen made after WWII. Though it was considered an economy model by some, it nonetheless sported a 14K gold Waterman nib.
This is the first ad I've ever seen for this particular Waterman model (I did a Google search and came up with nothing) so many thanks to Christopher for the advert!
(~ Click on image to enlarge ~)

Photos from our January 2019 meeting

Seventeen Vancouver Pen Club members came to our January meeting, held at the Kitsilano branch of the Vancouver Public Library on January 17th. A good time was had by all who attended, so without further ado, here are some photos taken at that meeting!
(all photos by Ricardo, except where noted ~ click on images to enlarge ~)
Our theme for this meeting was "Pocket Fountain Pens" (a topic suggested by Jerred) and we saw some very interesting examples, both modern and vintage, that night.

Peter (in the white shirt) brought a burgundy & black vintage Parker 'Duofold' vest pocket fountain pen (ca. early 1930s). These small pens were designed to be attached to a watch-chain (via the ringtop on top of the pen's cap) and kept in one of the two watch-pockets of a waistcoat (also known as a "vest").
This is Jenny's Pilot 'Elite' 95S (or E95S), a very cool modern pocket fountain pen with an elongated cap and shortened barrel that, when posted, becomes a full-sized pen:
The 'Elite' was inspired by Pilot's famous long-short pens from the 1960s and comes with Pilot's distinctive inlaid nib in 14K gold. Jenny also brought in her Kaweco 'Sport' fountain pens and a Franklin-Christoph 'P40' for our topic (pens not pictured).
Ray (on the far left of the photo above) brought in a couple of Montblanc pocket pens for our meeting's theme, one of which was this beautiful Montblanc Boheme fountain pen:
The Boheme model came in three sizes. Ray's particular Boheme is a cartridge-only pen and features a retractable-nib mechanism (you can see the nib retracted in the photo below):
Here's is Ray's other pocket fountain pen----his petite Montblanc '114' (aka Montblanc 'Mozart', created as an hommage to the composer), next to his Montblanc 149, the largest Montblanc fountain pen model :
Sabrina (center of photo, in light blue sweater) brought in three nice examples of pocket fountain pens---a Kaweco 'Sport' (a favourite pocket pen of many users!) in the wonderful "Lagoon Blue" colour, an aluminum Ohto 'Tasche' ("tasche" means "purse" or "bag" in German), which becomes a full-sized fountain pen when posted, and the Pilot 'Petit', a very affordable mini fountain pen.
"Newest Acquisitions" is always our secondary theme/topic. Here are Sabrina's - a green Sailor '1911' “Sea Glass” Special Edition/Limited Edition made for retailer Goldspot (limited to 100 pieces in the standard size and 100 in the larger) and the Sailor '1911' "Peacock" SE/LE made for Anderson Pens (limited to just 100 pieces worldwide):
Sabrina's newest ink - Markham, Ontario-based Ferris Wheel Press' "Bluegrass Velvet" ink (a recent Kickstarter campaign) which comes in a whimsical glass bottle that holds a generous 85mL of fountain pen ink:
(Below) Sabrina, René, Tony, Barry and Mark (photo courtesy of Christopher).
Tony brought in a Muji compact/pocket metal fountain pen (essentially a re-branded Ohto 'Tasche') for our topic and Barry brought his vintage Waterman 'Lady Patricia'.
(Below) One of René's newest acquisitions - a vintage Wahl-Eversharp 'Equi-Poised' fountain pen (excellent info on this harder-to-find pen in this post by Wahl-Eversharp expert Syd Saperstein). Not pictured are the pocket fountain pens René brought in for our topic--a TWSBI 'Mini', a Parker 'Jotter' fountain pen and a Kaweco 'Sport Luxe' (an upscale version of the ever-popular 'Sport').
Mark always manages to find some very interesting vintage fountain pens, and this glossy black Waterman '52' fountain pen is no exception. This "pre-clip" model is ca. 1910, which makes it a true antique!
Mark's gorgeous Parker 'Vacumatic Imperial' set (fountain pen and mechanical pencil) and lovely green Parker 'Vacumatic' Jr. fountain pen.
(Below) That's Tim, the founder of our pen club, on the far left (wearing orange).
Tim brought in two great examples of pocket fountain pens---his bright red Kaweco 'Sport' and a vintage Sheaffer 'Tuckaway' fountain pen. The 'Tuckaway' model was a unisex writing instrument line made from 1940-1950 and designed to be carried in a man’s jacket/pants pocket *or* a woman’s purse.
Longtime VPC member Stuart (in the red plain shirt) also brought in a Sheaffer 'Tuckaway' Sentinel Touchdown Filler, a vintage Waterman 'Taperite' Lady Garland, and two Kaweco 'AL Sport' (the aluminum version of the plastic 'Sport') fountain pens in Rose Gold & Stonewashed Denim (there's a photo of the latter pen here taken at our November meeting).
(Below) Jerred inspecting a fountain pen with nib "issues".
For our topic, Jerred brought in an Ohto 'Tasche' and a cool Delta "Monza Racetrack" fountain pen, new VPC member Karl (wearing a toque in the photo below) brought in his brass Kaweco 'Sport' fountain pen, and Christopher (seated between Jerred and Karl) brought in a vintage Eversharp 'Fifth Avenue' fountain pen in the "Stowaway" model. The "Stowaway" model was a short, clipless pen meant to compete with Sheaffer's 'Tuckaway'.
Jenny's lovely Pelikan M400 Tortoiseshell Brown (2016 Special Edition) fountain pen:
Another beautiful modern pen belonging to Jenny--her Sailor Pro Gear Usagiya Exclusive Mizuki Limited Edition, which was produced in 2016 and limited to 120 pieces:
One of Ricardo's Christmas gifts---a gorgeous Visconti 'Homo Sapiens' in the "Red Wine" colour:
Another new pen of Ricardo's - a Visconti 'Mirage' in "Coral" (I love that colour!). This model has a grooved body, giving the impression of a mirage:
I'm sorry we didn't have time to snap photos of everyone's pens (e.g. Melodie's new Opus 88 'Fantasia' fountain pen which is now on my Wish List :) and inks (e.g. Binal's Lamy "Vibrant Pink" shimmer ink) but we appreciate everyone who came to the meeting, whether you brought anything to show or not! Special thanks to Ricardo & Christopher for the photos, and to Jerred for the topic idea.
Details about our upcoming February meeting can be found here.

Saturday, February 2, 2019

February meeting details!

When: Thursday February 21, from 6:00pm to 8:30pm.
(Don't worry if you're late---we usually start at around 6:30 pm)

Where: the TERRY SALMAN branch of the Vancouver Public Library at 4575 Clancy Loranger Way, Vancouver (on the lower level of the Hillcrest Community Center) by Nat Bailey Stadium (near Queen Elizabeth Park). This was where our September meeting was held. The meeting will take place in their Community Room (meeting room)--same place as before.

No food allowed but covered drinks are ok. There's a little café inside the Community Center and vending machines, if you need to have a snack before the meeting.

Topic/Theme: "Tips on looking for and buying vintage pens on eBay" and will feature a short talk on the subject by VPCer René.

Please bring one or two fountain pens that you got on eBay at a bargain price and/or pens that you acquired via eBay but later regretted due to hidden flaws, inaccurate descriptions, etc.
If you don't have anything for the topic, don't worry---please come anyway and see what others have brought! Our secondary topic is always NEWEST ACQUISITIONS (pen-related)---eg. new pens/inks/paper/pen cases/other accessories/etc, so if you have any you wish to show, please bring them with you.

Hope you can make it to our next meeting! Thanks in advance to René :) No need to RSVP for this meeting or any other not held at a restaurant. Photos from our January meeting will be posted soon!