I’m currently reading “Imprint and Trace: Handwriting in the Age of Technology” by Sonja Neef, and I can recommend it highly. It’s not an easy read – but it’s wonderfully written, with not only plays on words, but on portions READ MORE
Year: 2018
Parker 75 – Insignia Cicelé Set

The Parker 75 was designed by Kenneth Parker (son of George Parker), and better known as “KP” to his colleagues. It was designed to be a higher-end pen in the Parker portfolio and was intended to be released for the READ MORE
Penol Ambassador Senior

This is a green striped Ambassador Senior made by the Christian Olsen factory. The imprint includes the number “845”, which indicates that the pen was made in August of 1945. In addition to the Penol logo, the nib has the READ MORE
Matador Express 814

Siebert & Löwen was founded in 1895 by Adolf Siebert and Ewald Löwen in Wuppertal-Elberfeld (near Düsseldorf). The company originally made office supplies, but had started making fountain pens by 1911, when they were granted this patent in France. One of READ MORE
Parker 180 Imperial

The Parker 180 was released to the market in 1977, but the company had already trademarked the name back in 1974. The original advertisements from the 70’s stated “One nib. One point. Two ways to write.” This is because the READ MORE
Wahl Pen No. 4

The Wahl Pen dates to the 1920’s – before the “Eversharp” addition was made to the brand name. This example is one of the shorter all-metal pens made by the company at that time. As you can see in the READ MORE
Sheaffer Triumph Lifetime No. 1000

This Sheaffer Triumph 1000 with a Lifetime nib was made around 1948. It is a vacuum filler, a system often seen in older Sheaffer’s and Onoto’s. The Lifetime nib has two distinctive features. The first is the conical shape, wrapping READ MORE
Wahl Eversharp Equipoised

Wahl Eversharp came out with the Equipoised (or “Equi-poised”) line as a medium-priced pen in 1930, one year before the Doric line was introduced. There is some slight brassing on lever and banding, and some minor scuff marks in the READ MORE
Parker 65 mk 3

The Parker 65 model was introduced in 1967. The design was based on the 61 (the two models even shared some components) but offered an open nib for those who did not like the hooded nibs of the 51 and READ MORE
The Petley

This is a prototype I did on the weekend to find out:– whether I was able to turn a pen from solid brass, – whether it would be too heavy to use, and – how durable the finish would be READ MORE