Wearever flattop – 1930s

The pen featured in my last post, but cleaned up and with new sac and J-bar installed.

I couldn’t find a replacement nib so I left the original in.
It’s a very wet writer. I did bend the nib down closer to the feed, and reset nib and feed with hot water but the base [...]

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How Not to Send a Pen

Normally I’d be pleased to receive a pen I’d won on eBay, but when I drew this wrinkled envelope – resembling a small lumpy pillow – out of the mailbox and saw the postage label I became annoyed. The seller had charged USD15 for shipping and only sent the pen First Class International from the [...]

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Want vintage letterheads?

A sampler pack of vintage letterhead repros is up for grabs in this contest by “Everyday Correspondence” — a blog that extols the epistolary arts and paraphernalia.

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Another look at the pen junk box

The most recent Singapore fountain pen meetup on 4 July has given me new impetus to work on a few clunkers in my pen junk box. Often these were ill-considered, impulse buys.
I was a little disturbed to see that a Waterman Crusader had begun to develop fungus around the nib. But unsurprising considering how long [...]

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Sheaffer Craftsman Touchdown, black

This pen was the one featured in my earlier post.
My first Touchdown restoration. Was lucky that there were no major problems with the pen. All I had to do was replace the sac and the O-ring and reassemble. It fills and writes just fine, with a sweet medium #33 nib.

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Pen disassembled

The next one I’m trying to repair / restore:

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Esterbrook SM (“Deluxe”), black

I bought this one intending to resac it, and finally got to do so. My second repair job
Upon writing I discovered it’s a little thinner, a little shorter than I would like. I like the pen design though. Although released in the 1949 it seems to me to have a certain Art [...]

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1st FP repair: Esterbrook J, Blue

The first pen I’ve repaired — just an ordinary blue Esterbrook J.
It was working fine when I bought it at the NY pen show this year, but while filling it I heard a loud snap from within the barrel. The section came off easily, and I found that the J-bar had snapped. So much [...]

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Sheaffer Craftsman lever-filler: 1947-1949

#33 nib, “350″ under the imprint: yep, it’s a Sheaffer Craftsman. Lever-filler so made sometime between 1947-1949.
Barrel and cap and scratched and nicked, but someone polished them and the damage doesn’t look that bad. Legible imprint. Clear visulated section. The plated furniture gleams against the deep Persian blue. Still looks good!
The #33 nib’s a Medium, [...]

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Fountain Pens in S’pore FAQ

Have been thinking about compiling all the scattered bits of info about fountain pens in Singapore, and finally set up a page on WordPress. You can also see it as a tab on top of this page. Feel free to take a look, comment and so on
It’s still very much a work-in-progress. Will [...]

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