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 […]