Kato Seisakusho (Model 2000)

As you all know, I have special penchant for the works of Mr Kiyoshi Kato (may he rest in peace). I have posted one of his labour of love before (Model 580F), and some I have not. But now it’s time for the largest one I have: Model 2000.

And the nib with a bit of bokeh (Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f1.8 wide open)

… And without …

If you are interested in getting to know more about these, please refer to the Crónicas Estilográficas blog, which I can’t recommend highly enough for Japanese pens: Model 2000.

You really should watch how the master work. By the way, the old YouTube link there is broken. Here is the re-uploaded clip for your convenience:

If you had a closer look, you’d notice that the marble celluloid of the pens being made was the same as my pen, but in different model. Those pens were smaller and have an ink window, and might be piston fillers. I need to find one of those.

—TR

Wahl-Eversharp Doric

Pen: Doric “Junior” full size ca. 1930s
Material: Pyralin Plastic (Celluloid)
Colour: Jet black
Length capped: 5 1/4″
Nib: #3 adjustable flex nib
Similar to the third pen from the left on this 1932 catalogue:

This pen sat untouched for a long time. To be perfectly honest, I had been reluctant to touch this one. Dorics are among the most sought after pens, especially when it has an adjustable nib, and I just felt that my skills were unworthy of the pen. One way or another, the pen needed restoration; and it was about to be sent off to a pro, before the section gave way to a gentle heat, so I thought, I might as well finish the job.

The old sac was a pain in the behind to remove completely. I scraped and scraped but crap kept coming out from the barrel. The lever retainer at the end of the barrel (unique to channeled type pressure bars) made the job more difficult, but eventually I got them all out.

Now the body and cap have been gently repolished, nib and feed realigned, the nipple cleaned, it’s ready for a #17 sac. The consensus seems to be that the darker colours are less prone to crazing. However, if you look closer there are signs that the cap on this Jet black model has crazed a bit. That doesn’t bother me much, I think of it as grandpa’s grey hairs. But to prevent more damage, I will only put the sac when I’m gonna ink the old fella.

The writing sample was only dipped, so it doesn’t represent the nib 100% for lack of flow. Nevertheless, I set it at both flexiest and stiffest setting. The nib is an EF at the stiffest setting, and on the other end it turns into a flex monster from EF to BB at the slightest pressure.

I’m particularly happy with this restoration because it didn’t cost me a professional restoration fee (plus postage both ways), on the other hand, I’ve learned a lot. What a great addition to my collection. —TR

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More to come, full restorations of:
– 2x 400NN
– 2x Showa PILOT
– 2x Newhaven Duofold
– 1x Vacumatic
– Another DIY pen tray & pen toolbox rearrangement

New or restored pens I haven’t had time to look at: 2x PILOT Namiki, 1x oversize Kato Seisakusho, 2x Kakunos (for the daughters), Sailor STORiA ink, PILOT Music nibs, etc.

Pelikan 300 (1953-1957)

Photography is back on full swing. I’ve rekindled my old love of taking pictures; mainly out of the necessity of taking photos of the ones I love, namely, my little family and my fountain pens.

I had this lighting setup in mind for quite a while, which I knew there would still be plenty of room for improvement—so I did it anyway—because I reckon this was worth doing badly. I think it came out alright, not because of my mediocre skills nor my little inclination, but largely because of the pretty model!

Pelikan 120 Merz & Krell Black

—TR

Pelikan 400NN Merz & Krell Black

This is the first instalment of a pictorial featuring the Merz & Krell produced Pelikans (1973-78) from my collection. The complete M&K set consists of five different colours and sizes:

• 400NN Black
• 400NN Green
• 400NN Brown Tortoiseshell
• 120 Black
• 120 Green

I will post each pen, then compare them against their Gunther Wagner fifties/sixties counterparts in each post. I really don’t have much to say about them, and to be honest, I don’t really care about their history, because I simply collect and use them. However, I will mention the physical differences below.

The black beautee.

I think the nib was a Fine. Perhaps, I gotta check again.

Now this is interesting. Here it is compared to (according to some) a very rare version of the normal black 400NN, which I happen to own 😁

And to recap, these are the differences of the M&K version to the earlier Gunther Wagner 400NN:
1. Different style of nib, feed, clip, and metal crown ring vs plastic.
2. There is no step between the piston grip and the barrel.
3. The barrel is shorter by a few millimetres.
4. The piston housing is threaded with righthanded threading.
5. They have a different metal cap sleeve style
6. They have a modern style piston stroke which is shorter

Most notable improvement from the old version are the additional slits on the metal cap insert. Those would help prevent hairline cracks caused by any celluloid shrinkage—which happens a lot on the normal version. Here they are:

The M&K clips also have a slightly different shape, a thicker loop, and were inscribed with “R9 400 NN” on the inside. The nibs are typical of the era in terms of springiness. Despite sharing the same name, nothing is interchangeable between the M&K and GW 400NNs.

Stay tuned. —TR

Picture Request: Pre-war/Wartime Pelikans

This blog update was supposed to be a Parker or a PILOT vintage one, but an old acquaintance wanted to see some of my old birds. Please pardon the Pelikan monotony lately. The regular programming will resume shortly after this.

Here we go again..

The first one is a green wartime 100N (With the original CN nib «upgraded» to a flexy 14K) and a bottle of the highly sought after Montblanc Racing Green. The ink is so rare nowadays, a full bottle approaches the price of the vintage Pelikan! Definitely one of my best pen and ink combos so far.

A grey 1940s EF nib. Possibly a wartime/late forties Milanese production. A real grey like this (as opposed to a discoloured green monkey business) could cost some silly money. Especially in mint condition, hag retail is fair.

A pre-war black D.R.P (Deutsches Reich Patent) with a solid acrylic binde. Back then acrylic resin was new plastic technology beside the regular hard rubber and celluloid on everything else; like the 1930s German schoolpen (Pelikan copy) next to it. Sweet nibs too. Note the line variation.

Omne trium perfectum. As they say, all good things come in threes. Enjoy mate.

—TR

BFTP: Pelikan M430 (GALERIA-Kaufhof) 2006

Today’s blast from the past is from 2006. The M430s were only produced for a short six months by Pelikan for GALERIA Kaufhof shopping chain, which made them one of the hardest to find vermeil capped birds. Notably for the gold and rhodium trims over solid sterling are similar to those of the M7000 majesty in a much smaller and lighter package. As much as I like mine, I have to say that these are slightly top heavy when posted, so for me vermeil capped pens are more like executive signature pens than long writers. Back in the day, Pelikan provided an M450 for signing the guestbook on factory tours.

—TR

US and Australian Sheaffer’s Snorkels Comparo

Sheaffer’s had a plant here in Australia. The factory was located in a Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg during the fifties and perhaps up to the early seventies. That was all I knew about the pen when I acquired a specimen produced by the late Aussie operation, and restored the pen back to its original working condition.

I was about to wrap it for Christmas present to my brother, before the US counterpart (fully restored, same colour and model) came up on the market at an attractive price point. Bang! I quickly snagged it. The second pen’s condition was much better, but between the two I had decided to keep the Australian pen simply because I went bugger all restoring it. So soon enough, the latter was cleaned, tested, and then gift wrapped. But before being mailed, I took pictures of the “Two Towers” for your perusals:

Note the different cap imprints: Sheaffer Aust. Pty Ltd vs Sheaffer’s Made in USA

Again, different nib imprints: 14K Australia vs Made in USA and US Pat. No. etc.

Snorkel tubes extended.

Enjoy.

Conklin “Symetrik” Endura Repair

Part 1. The Broken Lever Saga

There were bits missing at the end of the filler lever. It was broken when I bought it, among other things cosmetic; but that’s the only thing vital for its function. I like the simplicity of the design despite of the Achilles heel, which I think still quite acceptable considering its 85 years of service.

As always with vintage pens, replacement parts ain’t easy to find, and to make matters worse, the only place that I could find selling these online has ran out of stock. I had the option, but I’d rather not cannibalise other pens for parts, which I think is wasteful and more often costly.

Bah! With a slim chance of finding parts; I’ve got nothing to lose anyway, so I’ve decided to do something about it:

A shaped safety pin was the best one among other wires to simulate the broken bits.

The tools.

Right before being soldered together.

Voilà. Ready for resac and assembly.

Part 2. Resaccing Drama

Unlike the normal “one size below, two just to be sure” rule with j-bars or button pressure bars, a Conklin pressure bar depends on the sac to press it against the barrel so that it won’t rattle. The recommended size is #22, but I couldn’t fit one in, and I barely could fit in the #20. No worries.

I pushed the sac in with a blunt tool to get max depth, then marked the pre-cut mark measured against the section nipple depth.

As usual, I made sure that the end gap is there, in order to avoid the pen burping caused by the sac expansion from body heat. Final cut marked.

Shellacked in place. Almost done.

Done.

TR

Pelikan 120 Restoration

Firstly, I’d like to clarify that the 120/140 models are not among my usual targets. However, I bought stuff from time to time just to restore over the weekend. At the time, I was looking for a M&K 120 to complete the series, but stumbled upon this unloved and unwanted bird. And soon enough, I won the auction on an incredibly low bid, probably because the seller had been decent enough to describe the pen as what it was: broken. And true to his word, I found that:

• The piston mechanism didn’t work. There were hairline cracks on the housing. And for some reason, the piston removal was ultra difficult.
• There was a small hairline on the cap, that is typical of the old style caps
• It has a super scratchy Medium nib. The tipping was ground into a foot, and as a result it was totally unusable. No ink flow on the upstroke. Side strokes dug into paper.

Basically, it was a pretty typical eBay stab in the dark. But after about an hour of figuring out on how to punch out the piston without destroying the barrel, nor damaging the cracked piston housing further, I immediately got cracking:

The plan of attack.

Clean up and soak, off they go into the bath.

The piston grip, the barrel, the finial and the cap re-polished. The furniture were gently wiped with a silver cloth.

The cracks on the housing are welded, the spindle and piston had been lubed with pure silicone grease before reassembled. The seal was still good as new. Great.

Surprisingly short piston stroke.

Cap hairline crack being “stabilised”, then repolished.

Typical cap hairline found on most vintage 120/140/400/derivatives Pelikan, caused by the shrunken celluloid over the cap metal sleeve during the last sixty years. After being “stabilised” it’s barely visible now.

Plus two hours of nib grinding. Alrighty, *drum rolls* please…

Tadaaa! I hope you enjoy this post as much as I did the job. Thank you for visiting my blog.