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Post Info TOPIC: Newest Fountain Pen Addict


Seasoned

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Posts: 137
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Newest Fountain Pen Addict
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Hi, up to 6 weeks ago I was relatively sane.



I am an American living in Germany.

About 15 years ago, my wifes Aunt died, and left a lot of fountain pens and mechanical pens from her dead husband, that Id never heard of.

My wife wanted to finally sell them in the flea market.

So, I was tasked with pricing, that morning.

That night at 02:00 I joined a pen forum, much wiser than in the morning. Meaning, I realized how ignorant I was. I spent the next 6 weeks concentrating on Esterbrook's and learning about nibs, not buying, just wishing.

One mystery fountain pen looks according one seller to be a Miller from 1935 (I now dont think so. He claimed a Double J from 1935.), but with a different replacement nib.

There was a small plain black Osmia; with a normal Osmia nib that needs smoothing. There is a grey-black mottled Osmia- Farber-Castell (Osmia Supra flexible nib) from 1948-1951. It is claimed that Osmias Farber-Castell was the best nib of that generation on a Farber-Castell.I like the flexabilty, and needs just a touch of smoothing...only a touch.

Then there was either a Parker-Osmia finished after Parker pulled out because it was not able to market its overly high priced, low filling ink capacity, compared to a twist plunger mechanism that was normal for the amount of ink in a German pen. Parker bought into Osmia in 1929, pulling out in late 1930s. Therefore, this mottled green with copper stripes could be from then, because it has a Parker Arrow with the fletch's smoothed off: or it could be a very good counterfeit. It has a Je-Wu gold plated nib, which I can find no info on. Things like wear happen to nibs over the decades.

If Id not started looking in the internet, I would have sold an Esterbrook 2968, along with everything else as $3 pens.

I started out by keeping the grey Esterbrook, but wanting a pearl red, and blue and a copper one too.I kept the rest too.

I also found two "Ballit" Artus fountain pens, which was the name of a Lamy pen before they changed their name. The world is full of things one does not know.

Many of the pens look to my uneducated eye, like Pelicans with out a Pelican nib or mark. Most of the pens are twist plunger fill, which Id noticed before, but paid no attention too, knowing only the lever and the cartridge.

All are solid pens.

The only experience Id had with fountain pens were the school lever pens of the late 1950s in grade school, and the then new cartridge fountain pens in 7-8th grade. After that, I took my hen scratch to ballpoint, and a fast print. (I wish I'd kept those pens, they have much more worth now than then.Where was Cassandra when I needed her?)

My Silver hatched Parker 75 was rescued after only thirty years in my wifes jewelry box. (I bought it, and the mechanical pencil, before it got a Fancy French name.) It is a smooth writer. The Esterbrook writes well, one of the Artus is a nice fine nib, and the Osmia-Farber-Castell, has either a flexible fine or a flexible medium nib. I dont know enough to tell the difference. I like writing with it.

I decided to learn how to write. I even had a book on it that never got thrown out in the 30 years it hid in a corner.

The internet is a wonderful place to find out lots of things that one had no interest in before, with a worldwide consultation, of folks that know, one cannot find ones elbow with both hands.

So I was drooling over some Blue, Red and or Copper Double Js when I was ambushed by a cigar box of half Esties( Two different shaded pearled Blues and a Copper) and parts and half of the "box" was WearEver and parts.

At the time, the only interest I had in the WearEvers was that the nibs fit Esties. Now I wish to get the two WearEver parts whole or swap them to deserving folks.

I was an EBay virgin,listening to the call of the Wild.

I bought the cigar box. As I wait for delivery, the more I looked at the WearEvers the better they looked.

I chased Dennis down from the other com to here, in that he is the worlds foremost expert on WearEvers. I wished to find out what I had in the cigar box. I copied everything he showed in 3rd Tier pens on them.

Thanks to Dennis posts, I know much more about what was shown in the picture on EBay.

It is after 12 here, so I think, my cigar box will be in tomorrow. Dam waiting for Christmas is a bitch. I had forgotten.

I know outside of a marbled red Eastie, I have all the pens I need. With this cigar box, more than I can ever use.

It is bad when one lies to one self. I cant wait for the next flea market to look for dirt-cheap American 2nd and 3rd tier American pens.

I am addicted, and not only didnt see this avalanche coming; I did not hear it either.

Does anyone have the hot line for Fountain Pen Anonymous?

Greetings,

Bo Bo





-- Edited by Bo Bo Olson on Thursday 7th of May 2009 05:35:04 AM

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The Ebay box that started it all


Seasoned

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Posts: 137
Date:
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esty_wearevers.jpg
My very first EBay buy!!!! And the reason I chased Dennis down. Thankfully, his WearEver posts were able to help me as much as possible before I get the pens in my hands.

-- Edited by Bo Bo Olson on Thursday 7th of May 2009 05:50:49 AM

-- Edited by Bo Bo Olson on Thursday 7th of May 2009 05:52:44 AM

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The Ebay box that started it all


Admin

Status: Offline
Posts: 1212
Date:
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Welcome to the community BO BO!

Cannot go wrong with Estie's!
Yes, I also have a Wearever "Renew Point" nib
that fits into my Estie's.

Look forward to hearing more!

Frank

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