Graphite Fine Art
The Parker Vacumatic is one of the most distinctive and sought after vintage pens. It was produced between … and …. and stands out because of its translucent stripes. These look like a New York skyline at night and, as well as being pretty, give Vacumatics a romantic and nostalgic aura. I picked mine up…
In 1919 a gentleman called Hermann Böhler left Kaweco to form a company named Osmia. Faber-Castell began to acquire Osmia in 1935, finally buying the company outright in 1951. During this time, and into the early 60s, Faber-Castell continued to use the Osmia name and logo. The 663, however, was produced in the 60s using…
In an article asking why vintage pens aren’t more popular, Jonathon Deans suggested the Parker 45 might be a good starter pen. I agree: they’re good value and easily found on eBay, they’re simply made and therefore reliable, and they use Parker’s cartridges and converters, still available to buy new. I have three and wrote…
The Pilot Elite is a vintage fountain pen that can be easily found online. It was first produced in the 70s and was available in a posh gold-nib metal-barrel version and in a non-posh steel-nib plastic-barrel version. This is a review of the non-posh version. Pilot have also released a new version that can be…
I’ve avoided reviewing vintage fountain pens up to now because it’s hard to guarantee consistency. Even new pens can vary a little, depending on the effectiveness of a company’s quality control. So many variables can affect the quality of an old pen that it’s impossible to say if a particular model is going to be…