Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 16

Back to featuring fountain pens again now---three, in fact (plus a matching mechanical pencil). They're some of René's recent finds, so I'll let him tell the story....

"In early March, before the pandemic hit in earnest, we went to Victoria for a music festival. I took the opportunity to visit Mike Case (who lived very near where our hotel was!) to get a replacement for the Sheaffer 444 nib unit that I broke. We chatted, and I picked up a few pens and a mechanical pencil from him (why not?), all restored."

From top to bottom:

(~All photos by René ~ please click on images to enlarge)

"Esterbook Purse Pen, peacock blue (1960s). ($20!) This is from the second generation set, which do not have the pale, pastel colours of the first. The purse pens were smaller than the J pens, which they were related to, and made of flimsier plastics, so cracks aren't uncommon. This one has small cracks on the cap lip, but is in otherwise good shape. It also has matching pale blue jewels. The nib is a #9788, flexible medium (semi-flex, really), which I have never seen before."

"Below that is a Canadian Sheaffer Balance pen and pencil set (#300 is marked on the pencil, but not the pen - not sure what that means) in beautiful gold and black stripes, from the late 30s - early 40s. It is a non-white dot set. The Balance comes with a 5-30 ($5, guaranteed for 30 years) duo-tone gold nib in a firm fine, and a visulated section. I am having flow issues with the pen (the nib keeps drying out while writing for some reason), which I'm hoping to get looked into sometime."

"Finally, a Canadian Waterman 3 in lovely green pearl pattern with red spots (like my grey and red-spots Waterman 94, but green) from the 30s. It has a Canadian Waterman #3 flex nib. It has some hard-to-see but significant melt-marks on the barrel, the lever is stiff, and the clip isn't usable as a clip (it comes off if pulled too hard), but is a beautiful writer."

Congrats on these really nice vintage finds, René, and thanks for sending us your photos and descriptions of them!

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 15

Ok, it's not a fountain pen but (a) I'd had my eye on this ballpoint ever since I saw it at my local Staples over two years ago and (b) it's my birthday today (+ it was a gift from my Dad :)

Meet my newest acquisition--Maja's Cross 'Botanica' ballpoint in the "Daylily" pattern!

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

From Cross.com: "Inspired by the beautiful floral patterns used in henna designs, Botanica is sure to captivate. Eye-catching colors are used to artfully illustrate three lush floral designs on pearlescent ivory lacquer. Tendrils of deep-etched metallic highlights bring the layers together, creating an element of depth and dimension. Like nature itself, Botanica is at once elegant, whimsical and boldly original."

It truly *is* a beautiful writing instrument (my photos don't do it justice), with its dazzling floral design and 23k gold-plated trim and inlays. The 'Botanica' comes in two other designs---the "Purple Orchid" and "Red Hummingbird Vine", but those models have silver-y trim, not gold. It's also available in fountain pen form in what is essentially a very fancy Cross 'Century II' model. The 'Botanica' isn't an inexpensive ballpoint (Cross' MSRP is $151 CAD; Staples and others sell it for less), but I don't know...I just can't stop staring at it...

Measuring just under 5.5 inches in length and 1.01 ounces (28.6 grams) in heft, it's a nice size and weight. The center ring/cap band with the Cross logo (seen above) is made of textured metal and some users have reported that this has caused some discomfort while writing with the pen for long periods. I tend to hold my pens a bit higher up the barrel, though, so it didn't bother me, but it's something to take into account if you're thinking of getting one. At slightly more than 1 inch in diameter, it's a slimmer ballpoint---another thing to take into consideration. Like all Cross ballpoints, the 'Botanica' only takes Cross' proprietary refills (although those made by Franklin Covey will fit, too). Mine came with a Cross Medium black ink refill.

So, how does it write? Well, it's a ballpoint, so I didn't get any line variation (lol), but using this lovely, well-balanced writing instrument is a real joy.
Thanks for the great gift, Dad!
~Maja

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 14

From the unusual to the familiar... Meet Stuart's new Lamy 'Safari Candy' in "Mango" !

(all photos courtesy of Stuart ~ please click on images to enlarge)

From Lamy's official website: What brings as much joy as a bagful of colourful candies - and without the sugar hit? The new Special Edition LAMY safari candy. The fresh trio, composed of violet, aquamarine and mango, is reminiscent of pop art, fruit sorbet and sugar icing.

Wow. Does that sound yummy or what??

Stuart purchased this pen from the Vancouver Pen Shop (which has been open throughout this pandemic) a few weeks ago. He writes: "As you can see from the pics the colour rocks, and I found an ink to go with it very well!"

I asked Stuart about the finish and he wrote back: ""The finish is matte. It’s a great cheery colour. "

Aside from the nib and feed, the entire pen (down to the spacer ring) is the same colour; Lamy refers to this as a "tone-in-tone concept". A lot of thought went into the design of the Safari writing instruments, which have been in continuous production for 40 years. The Safari is well-made and reliable---a great pen to carry around (its ABS plastic material is very durable) and use in the classroom or office, so get yours today! Not a fountain pen fan? It's also available as a ballpoint or mechanical pencil :)

Stuart, thanks as always, for contributing to our pen club meetings' "show & tell", as well as this online version!

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 13

The next pen-related item in our virtual "show & tell" is a very unusual-looking fountain pen owned by Jerred---the Delta 'Fluida':

(all photos courtesy of Jerred ~ please click on images to enlarge)

In Jerred's words: "This particular oddball of a pen is called the Delta "Fluida". It dates from the early 2000s, and it shares design details from a few other pens that Delta sold at the time such as the Y2K and the Mini Trend. The heavily curved and flared barrel, however, is quite unique. Also, as far as I can tell it serves no practical purpose - even in the smallest hands, the curve does not sit in the webbing of your thumb. The pen is made of anodized aluminum, and my particular example is in light pink."

"The nib was a remarkably nice writer out of the box,. Uncommonly for Delta, the nib does not have a logo or pattern on it."

Many thanks to Jerred for sharing another interesting find with us!

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 12

From one Limited Edition to another! This fountain pen belongs to VPCer Armando, who wrote: "I'd like to share with the club my latest acquisition since our February meeting---
Parker Duofold Senior 125th Anniversary Limited Edition fountain pen":

(all photos courtesy of Armando ~ please click on images to enlarge)

"In its celebration of 125 years of unique craftsmanship and design innovation, Parker released in 2013 the Duofold Senior 125th Anniversary Limited Edition Fountain Pen, a sumptuous and bold pen available in only 1,125 pieces worldwide."

"I got number 0539. The nib is 18k gold, Fine. The trim metal is silver plated. The material is Precious Black Resin with Silver Plated Casing."

"I haven't inked it yet, and probably will not do it. I just dipped it in ink and signed my name to see how it writes. It writes nicely and smoothly. Will wait for a special document to be signed so I can use it again."

Congratulations on your stunning new fountain pen, Armando, and thanks for sharing your new acquisition with us!

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 11

VPC member René always has some interesting pen-related acquisitions to show at our pen club meetings. Since our last meeting in February, René (who came up with the idea for our virtual "show & tell") acquired a lot of new pens and sent me photos of them. I wasn't sure which photos of his to post first, but René made it very easy for me, later saying "No problem with the order of posting them, but maybe the 2K next, whenever that can be. I'm kinda proud of that one. :-)"

I, too, would be proud to own the "2k" he mentioned, so without further ado, here it is --- Rene's 2019 Lamy '2000' Bauhaus Limited Edition fountain pen:

(all photos courtesy of René ~ please click on images to enlarge)

In his words: "This is the 2019 Lamy 2000 Bauhaus Limited Edition to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Bauhaus art and design movement. Though the Lamy 2000 is technically a post-Bauhaus design (so I read), it is a descendant of the movement, and reflects the ideals of the design philosophy - the synthesis of elegant modern design and functionality. Unlike the regular Lamy 2000, it is deep blue, with the edition number on one side of the clip, opposite the Lamy name."

"It comes in a large, square box with a very thick journal and a booklet with the Bauhaus history in it, as well as the matching edition number near the back."

"The last picture is a colour comparison with the standard Lamy 2000. It is an edition of 1919 (the year of the birth of Bauhaus), and mine is #1449. (For those of you who are math nerds, 1449 = 3*3*7*23.)"

Lastly, René adds: "The Vancouver Pen Shop held the Bauhaus Lamy 2000 for me from last year and I decided to pick it up recently to help them out with my business and I want to encourage others to help them out as well if they can."

René - thank you for all your contributions to our pen club "show & tell", both online and in-person!

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 10

Several days ago, new VPC member Lina sent our club some photos of her new acquisitions and an email saying "I was craving some line variation in my pens so I purchased 2 new pens [one was the new Conklin fountain pen that was eventually featured here]... Another pen I also recently bought is this Sailor 'Fude De Mannen' ":

(all photos by Lina ~ click on images to enlarge)

Lina:"A very affordable and reliable pen that provides great line variation with its high angled “Wakatake” nib (nib angle 55°) for fine lettering."

"It takes a bit of practice to get used to varying the angle in which I write to get the line thickness right, but I quickly got used to the nib and it writes very smooth and very wet."

Many thanks to Lina for the photos and mini-review of this interesting new fountain pen!

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 9

....and now for something completely different---Stuart's new vintage Sheaffer desk set:

(all photos by Stuart ~ click on images to enlarge)

Stuart: "The set came from an eBay dealer in Columbus, Ohio. It’s a Sheaffer Touchdown pen, so end of the ’40’s-early ’50’s. The base is black glass with the gold-plated metal star motif in the centre. The pen’s restored and writes a Medium-Fine line, very smooth. I like it, it’s a simple and elegant set, and the star is something I hadn’t seen before."

"One detail I’ve noticed - the clutch ring on the pen has screw threads to secure the pen inside the socket, but the socket does not have threads. Whether this indicates the base is older than the pen or not, I don’t know. The pen’s a perfect fit for the socket in any case. "

Thanks for sharing this great find with us, Stuart! (to see more of Stuart's vintage Sheaffer desk sets, click here, here and here)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 8

Vancouver Pen Club newcomer Lina is looking forward to attending her first meeting, but in the meantime, she sent these photos of her lovely new Conklin 'Duraflex' Rose Gold Limited Edition fountain pen for our virtual "show & tell":

(all photos by Lina ~ click on images to enlarge)

Lina writes: "This rose gold is a Goulet Pens exclusive, and each pen is individually numbered out of 1898. 1898 is the year the company was created. It is manufactured in Asia, assembled and distributed from Canoga Park, California, and pays tribute to its roots with a “Toledo, Ohio” engraving on its nib."

"This is my first limited edition pen and I've been enjoying the nib quite a bit. It's not super smooth, but it has a nice flex and is very wet."

"It came with a free Monteverde ink and I chose the Supershow Teal":

A big "Welcome to our club!" and thanks to Lina for the photos and background info on this cool-looking Limited Edition!

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 7

Today's virtual "show & tell" is courtesy of Jerred, who recently acquired another Italian-made fountain pen, the Delta 'Activa':

(all photos by Jerred ~ click on images to enlarge)

In Jerred's words: "This pen is the Delta Activa, from Delta's 'Hitechdesign" line. I've not been able to find out if there are any other models in this line, but the I've been able to narrow down the date to the early-to-mid 1990s."

He continues: "This particular model is one of the top finishes for this model, with a sterling silver cap, sterling silver grip, green resin barrel and 18kt gold nib. The pen is well-balanced when unposted, and the nib is really nice."

Our thanks to Jerred for sharing another interesting find with us! I hadn't heard of this particular Delta model before, so I was intrigued when he emailed me about it. I've always found our pen club meetings to be very educational as well as fun, so I'm glad we have a chance to learn about some lesser-known fountain pens via this online show & tell :)