Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 251

Back to vintage we go with a lovely recent acquisition belonging to Christopher:

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

Christopher writes: "I often comment to other pen collectors as to how reasonably I find the prices of the vintage pens I acquire. And just to add a bit of credibility to my claims, here is a very good example, laid over the sales bill just for good measure. 

The pen in question is a first generation Waterman Skywriter made in Canada for the Aikin Lambert company. It was the last line of pens to have the association with Aikin Lambert before Waterman took over the company. It is interesting to note at the time this pen was made that Waterman had made Aikin Lambert a division of Waterman, which is imprinted on the barrel of this pen. There were other Waterman Skywriter models into the early 1950s, but personally I think this Emerald Pearl finish beauty is the best. It definitely has an Art Deco signature in its overall design, especially in regards to the 14K Gold filled ball-ended clip. The grip section is black and sports a flexy 14K gold nib. This is a lever filler and just a superb writer. To sum up, with a bit of turning over stones, it just goes to show that you don’t have to drain your pocket book to end up with a really brilliant vintage fountain pen."

What a great find for a great price! Many thanks to Christopher for sharing it with us :) 

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 250

"Back to School" Pens ~ Part 4 

In our final "back to school pens" blog post, we're featuring a very inexpensive disposable Chinese-made Japanese fountain pen model being sold as the Zebra fountain pen or the Zebra 'Zensations' (and prior to that, the Zebra 'Fuente' fountain pen; "Fuente", incidentally, translates to "source" or "spring" or "fountain"-- very apropos). This pen is not to be confused with the refillable Zebra 'V-301' fountain pen, which no longer appears on Zebra's official website (Side note: the original V-301 was a horrible open-nibbed fountain pen. It was later re-designed to be a hooded-nibbed pen, but I don't know if they improved the flow or not).

A quick word about recycling writing instruments in Canada:
On their website, Staples writes: "Staples Canada is partnered with TerraCycle to offer free recycling for used writing instruments at over 300 locations across Canada — any brand of pens and pen caps, mechanical pencils, markers and marker caps, highlighters and highlighter caps, permanent markers and permanent marker caps are included!" 

I'm trying to be more environmentally-conscious these days, so I balked at buying another disposable fountain pen (despite knowing I could bring it to Staples for recycling); I got a couple of disposable Pilot Varsity fountain pens a few years ago, but I didn't want to buy yet another throw-away pen. The Zebra fountain pens, however, were in a large, eye-catching in-store display at my local Staples, and they came in a multitude of colours, so I finally caved in and bought one of each colour (I know, I know...) for $3.29 CAD each:

(please click on photos to enlarge)

Pink, red, green, teal, blue, purple/violet and black---(nearly) a full rainbow of colours to choose from! The cap colours and colour splashes on the barrel indicate the colour of the fountain pen ink inside the pen. Although it's not a bright colour, I'd love for Zebra to add a rich brown ink to the lineup...and perhaps a nice dark orange, too....

Staples also sells a two-pack of the black fountain pens and Amazon.ca sells packs with 4 pens (black, blue, pink and purple) and packs with 7 pens (one of each of the seven available colours). Buying the pens in multi-packs not only saves you a bit of money, but you also have the reassurance that your pens were not tested by someone else; the Zebra pens I bought at Staples were sold "loose" (ie. with no packaging) and were part of a display with writing paper for customers to use (which means there's a very good chance some folks tried my pens before I bought them).

(my Zebra fountain pens with a Hilroy "Heritage Notebook" I found at my local Walmart).

The pens are entirely made of light plastic (aside from their nibs, of course) which makes them comfortable to use for long writing sessions in the classroom (or office).

The pen measures approximately 14.8 cm in length when posted, and about 13.7 cm capped. Uncapped (from nib tip to barrel end), mine is around 12.3 cm long. At 13 grams (when empty), it's the same weight as a Platinum 'Preppy' fountain. For comparison: a Kaweco 'Sport' fountain pen is 10 grams in weight and a Pelikan M205 fountain pen comes in at 14 grams.

Some users have found workarounds to the pens' non-refillable design and managed to refill them with the ink(s) of their choice. These workarounds include: (a) nib & feed removal--they're friction-fit--- followed by refilling the barrel directly with bottled fountain pen ink or (b) the vacuum-filling method shown in this blogger's post for refilling a Pilot Varsity disposable fountain pen. I haven't tried either method yet because there is a fair amount of ink left in my Zebra pens, but I plan to try the vacuum method as there's little to no chance of damaging the nib or feed using it vs. using method (a). 

The pen has a handy ink level indicator on the barrel, which you can't see in the photo above (sorry!), but if you remove the cap, the ink window is just above the words "INK LEVEL" (see photo above - click image for enlarged view). This little window is very handy if you want to check how much ink is left in a "loose" (unpackaged) pen before you buy it; the last thing you want to do is buy a disposable fountain pen that has nearly no ink left in it because it's been "test-driven" a lot in the store :/

I'm glad that the cap's inner liner isn't opaque as it would ruin the beautiful clarity of the plastic used to make the pen. The plastic is highly polished and has a very smooth surface that's really nice to the touch. The cap snaps on securely and does a good job of preventing the nib from drying out; my particular pens will write after several days of (capped) non-use. The clip (like the rest of the pen's body) is made of plastic, but it clips securely to paper and shirt pockets.

(You can see just how intricate the feed system is, in the above photo)

The pens only come with a Fine stainless steel nib (0.6mm, according to Zebra's website) that has virtually no flex. The nibs on my pens wrote smoothly and I didn't have any start-up issues with them; your experience, however, may vary. 

Of the seven ink colours, the purple/violet, blue and teal were my favourites. I found the red rather anemic, and the black uninteresting. The green was a cheery light green colour, but I'd have preferred a darker shade. Pink isn't an ink colour I really use, but if I used the pens to draw with (like this artist), it would be a nice option to have. The great thing about having so many ink choices for this fountain pen model is that there's sure to be a colour to suit almost anyone :)

Thanks for reading this super-long review. Best of luck to all students, educators and their support staff this academic year!

~Photos & review by Maja ~

P.S. For an excellent review of this Zebra disposable fountain pen, check out this YouTube video by VPC's own Nathan/"Doodlebud" - "Great Design Low Cost Pen" . The video came out a couple of weeks after this blog post and it does a great job of explaining some clever design aspects of the pen (including why the cap does such a great job of preventing the pen from drying out). Well done, Nathan!

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 249

"Back to School" Pens ~ Part 3

Back to our "school pens" sub-theme now....and today we're featuring (courtesy of VPCer Trevor) a writing instrument brand very familiar to many students, both past and present!

(All text + last three photos courtesy of Trevor; the other photos are from Amazon/Google/eBay ~ please click on images to enlarge)

"Cheap Chic - A retrospective of sorts:

Have you ever thought little of something? Like REALLY little? So little, in fact that it is barely a blip on your radar, only to have it suddenly consume your very existence?

Let's take a trip, shall we?

Back in the 1980s I was an elementary school student. I remember distinctly a day in grade 4. Not the particular day, but the events of it. We, the students, were told to put down our pencils and the teacher passed out pens to each of us. A Pen! So exciting! I’d used pens on occasion at home, but the rule for school was pencil. But now, all that was changing. The pen handed out to each of us was the ubiquitous BiC Cristal. It had that familiar hexagonal clear plastic body, blue cap and blue plug in the end. The writing tip, that classic gold plastic surround with the chrome writing surface containing the tiny metal ball. The ink level clearly visible through the clear body. The size of the pen was similar to that of the Berol pencils I seemed to end up with, so it was immediately comfortable. I distinctly remember the teacher telling us that we would have to learn control as a ballpoint pen will feel slipperier on the paper than a pencil does. I don’t recall if I ever noticed that in reality. I’ve always found ballpoint pens to offer a lot of friction.

Over the years many of those BiC Cristal pens have passed through my hands. Most of them getting chewed on, caps lost, broken in half… I’m not even ashamed to say I tried running the odd one through a pencil sharpener. Ah the destructive mind of a child… As school progressed, I of course would ask for more elaborate pens. The BiC 4 colour ones were a favourite amongst my classmates, so of course I needed one too."

 

"Being the “Follow the beat of my own off-time drummer”, I of course had to trade the blue body of my 4-colour pen for the orange one another student had."

 

 "I also would beg for the Paper Mate EraserMate2 ballpoints..."

 "...and my personal favourite, the Venus brand ones that looked like the BiC Cristal, but the ink always seemed a bit smooshier. I always felt like they wrote a bit darker and the colour was more saturated. I’ve always preferred soft lead pencils for the same reason. During this time period I also had my first foray into fountain pens, but that’s a story for another time.

When I got to high school, my grade 8 English teacher had an affinity for the BiC Cristal, or BiC Pen as he called it. He was a prolific storyteller in class, and one of his most famous around the school was the "BiC Pen Story” in which he was forced to hitch hike thanks to a water pump failure, and he was prepared to use a one such pen as a weapon in the event that the kind folks who picked him up and gave him ride were to turn violent.

After that, in my mind they were just cheap pens and I had moved on to things digital, and when I needed something to use when I became an industrial parts sales guy in the early part of this century, I found the Uni-ball Signo and used them for many years, finding them comfortable and consistent. "

 

 

"Let’s jump back to present day. I am running full bore into the “Nice, but affordable” part of pens and their use. My love of the Parker Jotter ballpoint style and Sheaffer NoNonsense fountain pens is well known in the Vancouver Pen Club, Lady Luck has smiled on me a couple of times to find some more expensive pens at great prices, like my Parker 75, found at Value Village for $10 and a $35 Sheaffer Intensity Ferrari that is normally over $100. But then…"

"On one of my daily Amazon window shopping excursions, I spotted a pack of BiC Cristal pens with Bold tips… in a bunch of bright colours! My eyes almost fell out of my head! It was an 8 pack for $16ish dollars. That seemed rather unreasonable, and I didn’t buy them. In my head, these were still supposed to be super cheap pens. Well… let me tell you about all the hours I spent thinking about those colours… There were lots of them. Hours that is. Then one day, I’m in line for the postal outlet at my local pharmacy, and the line happens to run down their little but well stocked stationery aisle. I’d found the rare refills for my Paper Mate Profile here once, so I’m always on the lookout for interesting things here. And what do I spot? The same pack of 8 Bold Cristals. 1.6mm tips, 8 colours… It was difficult to contain my excitement. $4! SOLD! I grabbed one from the peg and once finished with my post office business, I proudly took those pens to the check out. When I got them home I tore into their plastic prison and gave each one a try. Thick lines, saturated colours, smooth feel against the paper. I was shocked. I was impressed.

So, my old memory and brain kicked in. Am I remembering wrong? Are these “cheap” pens maybe better than I remember? Have they improved? Was I just a picky kid? Have I entered a dream world? Is this a dream within a dream?

At Staples a few weeks later I find a pack of Cristal Fashion pens.  4 colours, 14 pens, $3. 1.2mm instead of the 1.6mm of the other ones. Does size matter? Is that the key?"

 
"Get them home and they are pretty nice too. Hmm. Now I’m getting dangerously close to diving in headfirst. Later, on another trip, I resist the temptation to buy a 97-cent pack of a dozen standard blue ones. The pack with blue, black, and red is a harder one to resist. I buy pencil crayons instead. Phew… dodged a bullet there.

A few days later I’m on Amazon again and likely because I’ve been looking at all these Cristals for the last few days/weeks, I’m presented with a recommendation: a BiC Cristal in matte silver metal."

"WHAT? What is this madness? Delving into it, it’s a 2020 release, not touted as limited or anything, but metal body. The epitome of disposable pens, but refillable. The mind boggles. Amazon want $20, Staples shows at $6. I rush out immediately and buy one. I have to, right? That’s where I am in this rabbit hole now. The size is the same as the plastic ones, the shape too. But the weight is the key. 14g compared to the 6g of the plastic ones, and perfectly balanced in my hand. I use it so much the silver paint has been scratching off the cap. I ordered a second one to keep nice along with a pack of Cristal UP pens."

 "White bodies and colour striped caps denoting the colour ink. I’m weak and couldn’t say no, but I’m enjoying every line, scribble and letter made with them. Kudos to BiC for staying true to the form and making this iconic line of pens."

Many thanks to Trevor for this great trip down Memory Lane! 😊 We've got one more installment of our "Back to School" Pens feature, and we'll post it here on Saturday!

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 248

As promised, here's the other new Delta fountain pen recently acquired by Jerred!

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

Jerred: "This lovely pen is a Delta 'Smorfia'. This particular model was called the 'Lucky' in North American markets, but that's not a perfect translation of the original Italian name. 'Smorfia' is a system of dream interpretation, where numbers are assigned to elements or parts of a dream to generate 'lucky numbers' that could be used in the lottery or for other purposes. An interesting idea to base a pen around to be sure, and perfectly in line with what I would expect from a company like Delta. 

 The pen here is in black, though it also came in red and Delta's terracotta orange acrylic, called the 'Dolcevita Lucky'. There was a second, slightly downmarket version of this pen that came in other finishes, but they are difficult to find information on."

 

"One of the more interesting design features is the clip. Contained in the clip is a small, screw-out chili pepper charm that's meant to protect the owner from the 'evil eye' which is a curse cast by an evil or scornful glaze. Again, fits pretty well with the overall theme."

 

"This pen also has a carved, sterling silver cap ring that was a common feature on Delta's mid-to-high range pens:"

"This pen comes with a 14k gold, #5.5 nib. As was often the case with Delta pens, it's a lovely writer:"

Back in May, we shone a spotlight on another Delta fountain pen with a quirky design (a sort of cousin to the Delta 'Smorfia") - Jerred's lovely Delta 'WE Aromatherapy' pen; that blog post can be found here. Our thanks to Jerred for sharing his photos and research on these interesting pens with all of us!

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 247

It was a pleasure to hear that Jerred had recently added to his wonderful collection of Delta pens. One of his newest additions is this beautiful sterling silver Delta fountain pen below:

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

Jerred: "This is an interesting fountain pen from Delta, an un-released prototype of the 'Profili'. The Profili is an 8 sided, faceted, medium sized pen with a screw cap that came in both resin and solid sterling silver models. There were a couple of different variations of this pen, one of which I've shown before.

This particular pen, however, is different. As mentioned, this is an unreleased prototype of the original Profili design. The seller from whom I bought the pen stated that it was likely not released in this design due to its similarity to another Italian made pen, the Montegrappa 'Symphony'. This prototype does share a number of design similarities with the retailed pen, including an 8 sided, faceted design, resin finial, grip, cap band and end cap, guilloche etching on alternating facets, a #5.5 sized nib, and a slightly hour-glass shaped grip. The big difference between the two models is the cap; While the cap of the retail pen has an extended and conical finial as well as a standard ball clip, this prototype has a flat finial and a clip with a rolling wheel instead." (*see image below*)

"I'll be honest and say I actually like the looks of the prototype better, as I think the flatter finial makes the pen look a bit more balanced on the whole. Both are lovely pens, though, and I'm glad I have both."

"The nib is Delta's standard #5.5 nib in stainless steel, and it's a lovely writer."

(Side note: We posted Jerred's full review of that Delta 'Profili' model with the red cap finial here back in November 2020).

We'll be featuring Jerred's other new Delta fountain pen on Tuesday, so keep your eyes peeled! Many thanks to Jerred for sharing these beautiful fountain pens with us :)

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 246

Today we're featuring a vintage Sheaffer desk set Stuart acquired a few weeks ago--a handsome brown and butterscotch-coloured desk base with a matching brown desk pen:

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

Stuart: "The desk-set looks rather nice on the top of my old desk, doesn’t it? :)"

Stuart initially thought the desk base was made of Bakelite (apparently, there are a variety of ways to identify it), but after finding an old Sheaffer catalog with his desk set in it, he sent an update, saying: "I don’t think it is Bakelite after all - that 1941 Sheaffer catalog distinguishes between plastic and Bakelite in the descriptions, and that one’s given as plastic. Anyway it’s a cool set!"

Here's the catalog information Stuart found:

Stuart's desk set in the 1941 Sheaffer catalog:
(scan courtesy of the Pen Collectors of America - link to catalog )

The desk set is on page 17 of that catalog and its description is: "G355 ABJOM, Brown and Cream Plastic. 3½ x 5 inches. Gold trim. With No. 5 Brown Pen. $7.50".

Love that butterscotch & brown colour combo--it reminds me of a Reese's' Peanut Butter Cup :) Our thanks, as always, to Stuart for sharing his latest vintage "goodies" with us! 

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 245

A few days ago, VPC member Christopher sent me a photo and a great write-up for our pen club's blog about a new acquisition (in his words: "...an addition which I am quite pleased with and using this week in my pen round up" ) -- his vintage Parker '21 Deluxe' fountain pen:

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

Christopher writes:

"As much as I have been drawn to the Parker 51 over the years, I do remember fellow students at my prep school using the Parker 21, a pen that seemed to appear in the classroom after Christmas or birthdays. I also remember the 21 being sold at the Woodward pen counter, and even in the early 1950s and through to the mid 1960s at Birks. But I think in more current times it is a pen which has been somewhat discounted and a bit ignored by collectors in favor of the Parker 51. Still, I truly believe that the Parker 21 is worth looking at and, as a fine quality pen, considered. Plus and regarding the 21, the different models seem almost limitless. It is with that attitude that I very quickly moved this Parker 21 Deluxe into my vintage pen collection and, may I add, without hesitation. 

First off, there is the lovely almost forest green barrel colour and the fact that, in following the 51, this pen has the Parker dependable and easy-to-use Aerometric filler... a pen filler that Kenneth Parker, son of George Parker the company’s founder, had a hand in developing. The Parker Aerometric filler was designed to offset the pen leaking when airborne. And better still, on each and every Parker Aerometric steel filler sleeve are the filling instructions, plain and simple. Then, moving on up the pen to its business end, there is a metal clutch to hold the cap on the barrel without threads and, above that, the famous Parker hooded section. Underneath this hooded grip is a collector, which was designed to keep the feed and nib always ready with enough ink to write immediately on use. The feed is tiny, but sure does the job and, better still, a very special Parker designed 8 alloy Parker nib that was years in the making. The capability of this nib to applying ink to paper is equally impressive. 

But I have saved the best for last, because the Parker 21 Deluxe cap is, in its own right, both beautiful and unique. The main part of this cap is steel but equipped with fine raised vertical lines making the finish almost look brushed. Imprinted at the bottom over these raised lines is the company branding along with the country of origin and, below that, a plain steel banding. Moving on up to the top of the cap, there is another thinner steel band, separating the main body of the cap from the domed 14K gold filled clip screw. The clip in this case also reflects the 21 Mark II model and is referred to as the Parker 21 ‘Ridged’ clip, finished in 14K gold filled to match the cap screw. When you put all this great stuff together you have the Parker 21 Deluxe Mark II in all its glory."

Many thanks to Christopher for sharing his new find with us, and shining a spotlight on an underrated vintage Parker fountain pen model!

Happy 35th anniversary, Charals!

(photo courtesy of Charals' official Instagram)

This month, Charals is celebrating their 35th anniversary and to mark the occasion, they're having an anniversary sale!

The store carries a wide variety of writing instruments, inks, stationery and gift items, and selected items are on sale for the entire month of August, both in-store and at their online store (Charals.com). They offer free shipping within Canada on online orders over $99 CAD pre-tax (*free shipping not available in territories*) so if you can't visit the store in person, you can always shop from the comfort of your home.

Their beautiful store is located at 171 Robson Street in downtown Vancouver, and is open six days a week for your shopping convenience. Store hours are: Mon-Fri: 10am – 5:30 pm; Saturday 10am – 5pm; Closed on Sundays & all public holidays.

Congratulations to Charals' owners Al and Shelina on reaching this milestone, and best wishes for many more successful years!

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 244

"Back to School" Pens ~ Part 2

Today's featured school pens are a couple of very inexpensive fountain pens I recently acquired--the Jinhao '993' model, commonly referred to as the Jinhao 'Shark"...

(please click on images to enlarge) 

I first saw one of these pens back in September 2017, when VPCer Mindy brought hers to our pen club meeting, The second time was at our April 2019 meeting when Candice and Dana both brought in their Jinhao 'Shark' pens for our topic "Fountain Pens with Animal Themes". I love sharks but I thought the cap design was a bit goofy, so it kind of put me off buying one for myself...

Fast-forward to July 2021, when I got an email from Goulet Pens advertising the pens during "Shark Week" (nice tie-in!) and finally decided to buy one. I didn't have anything else to buy from the Goulets at the time (and I didn't want to spend a lot of money on shipping), so I bought my "Shark" pens from Chinese seller 'jewelrymathematics' on eBay. I actually ordered two---the light blue one shown above, and its jet black counterpart in the photos below. Total cost including shipping for the two pens was just $7.90 USD. The pens arrived safe and sound, carefully packed but without a Jinhao box (not surprising, given their low cost!).

(If you've ever seen a Pilot 'Penmanship' or Pilot 'Plumix' fountain pen, you'll be instantly reminded of those two models when you see the Jinhao '993' :)

Like the Pilot pens, the Jinhaos are entirely made of resin--except for their nibs, of course--so they're very light (weight of each Jinhao = 11 grams). The capped length of the Jinhaos is 15.4 cm/6.1 inches. The posted length of the turquoise one is actually the same as its capped length, but the black pen is slightly longer when posted because its nib is a tiny bit longer (it has an open nib vs. the turquoise's hooded nib). At ~4.9 inches uncapped, however, both fountain pens can be used comfortably without their caps on...unless you prefer a longer pen, of course. 

The pens post very securely, and their caps (being made of a light plastic) don't add much weight to the barrel ends. The end result is two light, well-balanced writing instruments that can be used posted or unposted.

I switched the sections on the pens (photo directly above) just to see how they'd look. Turns out I prefer the sections to match the pen bodies ... which shouldn't have been a shock as I've always liked pens with matching sections! The two sections are perfectly interchangeable with each other, though, so if you want to swap them around, it's easy to do. The fountain pens come in a wide variety of colours (currently twelve colours, I believe), with clear sections that match the colour of the cap and barrel.

Unlike the sandpaper-y texture of a real shark's skin, the Jinhao "Shark" fountain pen is very smooth and feels nice to the touch. The sections are triangular and really comfortable to hold, and paired with the pens' light weight, make them ideal for long writing sessions.

When I looked on eBay, I noticed that the pen was available with two different types of stainless steel nibs---a hooded nib and an open nib---so I chose one of each. Both the hooded nib and the Jinhao-branded open nib (marked F) wrote well. The F (Fine) open nib did write more like a Western XF (Extra Fine), though, but I expected that. The open nib can be pulled out easily from the section (it's friction-fitted) and replaced with another nib of the same size, if you so choose (the same nib can be found on the Jinhao '992'). I haven't tried to remove the hooded nib on my turquoise pen because I don't want to damage the pen, and I really like the way it writes (it's /very/ smooth).

The pens take short international cartridges or standard converters (both of mine came with Jinhao converters), but can also be converted to eyedropper fillers. A word of warning regarding using them as eyedropper-fillers : Take care when unscrewing the cap that you don't accidentally unscrew the barrel. It's a very easy (and very messy) mistake to make!

My new Jinhao with my new Laurige zippered pen pouch in black leather that I bought from Amazon.ca's Warehouse recently for $10.76 CAD (more than 50% off because it was listed as "Used - Very Good" condtion). The pouch measures 6.75 x 1.5 x 1.375 inches, and can hold the two Jinhaos and a Lamy Safari fountain pen comfortably inside when zippered. I couldn't find any damage to the leather pouch at all, so I think I got a great deal :)

"He ain't heavy, he's my brother (or a distant marine cousin)???"

The only indication that this pen was made by Jinhao is the Jinhao name and chariot logo tastefully embossed on the underside of the cap (not shown in photo above). The cap has a simple rendering of a shark's head (complete with gills) and its streamlined shape nicely complements the sleekness of the barrel. The dorsal fin on the cap also doubles as a roll stop to prevent the pen from rolling off a desk. Although I was put off by it years ago, I now think the cap is a fun, playful design (the cap design actually looks a bit more subtle in real life than it does in my photos).

All in all, I think the Jinhao '993' "Shark" fountain pen would make a nice, inexpensive gift for a young shark fan (or his/her adult counterpart)... or a younger student looking for a cheap fountain pen. It's light, easy to carry, reliable...and it's definitely a conversation starter!

Interested in learning a bit more about these graceful endangered species? Here are 7 fascinating facts about sharks - link to World Wildlife Fund page

~ Review & photos by Maja ~

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 243

From one nice vintage Sheaffer desk set of Stuart's to another...

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

Stuart: "Here's some pics of my new baby! It’s from Madison Fine Pens, and this time they packed it properly so it arrived safe and sound, unlike the one I got from them last year that had its holder broken in transit. This one is green onyx mounted on a brass base, 5 inches long by 3 1/2 wide, and surprisingly heavy for the size." 

"The glue holding the narrower, front piece of onyx has worn out and the stone is loose, but as long as the base is just sitting on my desk it’s fine. I don’t think Madison caused this - I assume the glue was pretty well gone when they packed the set, and jostling in transit loosened it altogether. It’s not broken, just loose."

"Otherwise the stone is in great shape, no chipped corners or anything. Going by the design of the holder, and the colour of the pen, I’d guess it’s 1934-35 or thereabouts."

"It’s hard to be certain, as the pen has ambered quite a bit, but I think it’s the Marine Green marbled celluloid, used from 1930 to 1935. It might be the cream and black version, but I think it’s green, just darkened a lot over time. The sac is good, whether original or a replacement, and the nib is lovely, either a generous Fine or possibly Medium-Fine. Smooth and a joy to write with!"

A day or two after he sent in the photos and write-up above, Stuart sent me this:

He writes: "A quick shot of the new desk-pen catching the light coming in through the window blinds!  I believe more than ever that it’s the Marine Green.  A beautiful effect."

It is a beautiful effect! Many thanks to Stuart for sharing this lovely desk set with us :)