parker 51 stirling silver clip

parker 51 stirling silver clip from 1944:

the diaphragm has been replace so the pen writes quite nicely but the inner cap needs to be replaced

the dade code is 4 with one dot to the right

Parker Vacumatic Senior Maxima

Parker Vacumatic Senior Maxima:
The date code is worn off but based on the styling i believe it is from 1938

here are photos of the nib damage, there is no bending up or down of the tines, it is bent strait to the left at the end.

there is also a personalization on the side

ever-rite

this micropen is a weird little one.  i think it is silver plated iron.  there is nothing to indicate what the metal used is except that i have found a bit of rust inside.  the rust is stable now and i have resacked the pen but out of fear i will mess up the pen i dont really use it.   the most unusual thing about the pen is that except for the feed and the section this pen is entirely metal.  the other unusual thing for a metal pen is that nothing screws together.  the cap is a slip fit cap and the section slip fits into the metal body.  i think its unusual to see slip fit caps on a lever filler as well.

  as far as i can tell ever rite made the smallest lever fillers out there.  mine is 2 3/4" long capped but i have heard of another one that was 2 1/2" long

here is the ever rite side by side with the diamond point.  the nibs are about the same size and style on both pens but the diamond point is 3/8ths of an inch shorter when capped

cutey

this black hard rubber pen is called cutey and its made buy the iridium point pen co n.y.
this is the small pen that originally got me into small pens and remains one of my most functional micro pens.  it has a rolled gold floral band with a little plating loss.  the lever and nib are new replacements i put in and not original to the pen.  it measures 3 1/2" long when capped.  the warranted nib makes a nice broad wet line and the pen writes very well for a hard rubber pen.

sanford's penit inks

Sanford's Penit fountain pen inks.  the peacock blue looks like a diluted phthalo blue and the ink is high enough that it could be unopened.  i think it was likely used for one or two refills.  the washable royal blue is more of an ultramarine blue and looks to be about 2/3rds full.  both can be yours for $10 plus shipping.

Diamond Point gold filled micro pen

I picked up this little treasure the other day.  its in about as good condition as you could hope for. the only thing i could hope for that this pen does not have is some paperwork in the hidden compartment in the case.

  the pen and pencil are unmarked but the original box is marked diamond point so its safe to assume that they are the maker.

 the other thing thats weird about this pen and pencil set is that the lead in the pencil is a rectangle like a carpenters pencil.

 when using these small eyedroppers i always drop a drop of ink onto the nib to help get the pen started.   diamond point pens of this era have a bad reputation but this pen is a wonderfully smooth writer with a flexible nib.  the line variation is ok but its springiness and the snap back is why i like it.  

i think the best flex pens work effortlessly.  some flex pens you really have to focus on when you are using them and put a lot of thought and intent into what you are doing.  this pen is just nice and smooth and effortless.  if it was not for its small size this would be a very comfortable pen to use.

the most surprising thing about this pen however is how efficiently it uses the ink.  i have larger eyedroppers that can write two words before they dry up.  this one can easily write a paragraph on two drops of ink.

capped the pen is 2 3/8" long

french waterman 45 safety

the french loved watermans hard rubber pens, they made a ton of nock offs.  i believe hard rubber pens were popular there into the 30's.  they seemed to have especially loved safety pens.  this safety pen is an especially nice one.  like all my good pens it has some condition issues but it also has a lot of cool bits of history.

the color is not perfect but its pretty good.  i think the cap may have come from another watermans safety as the color on the cap is a little darker and it fits a little oddly.  

the good news is that the clip is definitely a gold watermans clip.  the double eagles which are the french halmark for 18k gold are present on the other side and the pen weighs a ton.  the weight of the clip throws off the balance of the pen.  

 the box is a french watermans box from the right time period and its in great condition.  the seal is from the shop it originally came from, i have not looked into it any further than that.

i have some concerns that the box may have originally been for a lever filling waterman because it has the p.s.f. on the side indicating pump self filler.  

the feed is one of the patented spoon feeds.  from what i understand its less common to find the feeds with patent dates.  again there are condition issues here, the inscription is heavily worn.

the nib is a watermans new york number 5.  the tipping is in great shape but the inscription is significantly worn.  before this i have not seen a nib that was worn down this much.  all i can think is that the owner routinely polished the nib during use.