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3.3M Euro in inventory with 1.2M Euro in revenue? That's insane. Three years to turn over inventory is basically unheard of. I would love to see a full breakdown of Visconti and Delta as well.
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Apr 19, 2016 17:49
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severina posted:Classic Fountain Pens invoice today: "You need to be aware that we do not stock these pens, and since they are custom made you will be waiting 3-5 months or more until we receive it for tuning." Congratulations on your Nakaya. Tell me how it goes in a few months 
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Apr 19, 2016 23:53
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Vintage pen restoration question. My love of fountain pens has attracted the attention of my father, who after seeing my collection continue to grow remembered that he had an old fountain pen that belonged to his grandfather that I might be interested in. I dug the box he kept it stored in out of his safe this morning, and after a bit of research I believe I've managed to identify it, though I can post pictures as soon as I figure out how to do so. From what I can tell, it's a Parker 42 1/2 dip pen with a Lucky Curve gold nib. The barrel is black and feels extremely light, and has clearly shown some wear, but if my research is accurate this pen could be in the neighborhood of 100 years old. The tines of the nib are torqued horribly, and there's no way on earth it could possibly write. Without pictures, is there any worth in attempting to get this pen back into writing shape? Does anyone in the thread know of any vintage pen restorers for a dip pen that they'd recommend? It's not a particularly practical piece for me to have restored, but I think it'd be pretty awesome to have a piece of family history on my writing desk at home that I could use for thank you notes or other shorter correspondence. I appreciate any advice.
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Apr 20, 2016 19:44
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The Wolfen posted:Vintage pen restoration question. Binder is out of the pen business, but he recommends these guys. Greg Minuskin is a fuckin' dickhead, but he does work that's on the good side of average on vintage stuff. Can you post pics? There's a few of us with some amount of experience with the nuts and bolts and bits and bobs that might be able to offer some more insight.
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Apr 20, 2016 23:46
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If the tines of the nib are twisted, he absolutely needs to seek a professional. For that specific work, any nibmeister (as opposed to a pen repairman) can do get it good as new.
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Apr 21, 2016 00:36
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The Wolfen posted:Vintage pen restoration question. I recommend Ron Zorn for restorations but he has a longgg waiting list except for FP shows. http://www.mainstreetpens.com/
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Apr 21, 2016 01:41
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Thanks for the info thus far. I've managed to take a couple of pictures to see if that helps determine for sure what I have and whether that would influence who I should talk to in order to see about having it restored. I also found a few other bits on the pen to potentially help identify it better. the base of the barrel has "CEO S. PARKER FOUNTAIN PEN PAT. JUNE 30.91. JAN. 9.94" The bottom of the barrel also has the number 42 stamped with a circle around it, which is how I figured it to be a Parker 42 in the first place. Anyway, pics...    
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Apr 21, 2016 16:25
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Yeah, that's definitely something you'll want to send to a nibmeister. It's also technically and eyedropper and not a dip pen - you can unscrew the barrel and fill it with ink using an eyedropper or pipette instead of just dipping the pen in an inkwell. Lovely pen, though, and something definitely worth fixing up.
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Apr 21, 2016 19:33
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grack posted:Yeah, that's definitely something you'll want to send to a nibmeister. It's also technically and eyedropper and not a dip pen - you can unscrew the barrel and fill it with ink using an eyedropper or pipette instead of just dipping the pen in an inkwell. Lovely pen, though, and something definitely worth fixing up. Holy crap! You're right. I was so afraid I'd break something that I didn't really attempt to unscrew anything. Any recommendations for nibmeisters who could get it fixed up for me? Sounds like it'll be much easier to get this up and running than I might have thought!
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Apr 21, 2016 20:02
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As grack said, only a nibmeister (and frankly, only a good one) can fix that kind of damage. I usually recommend Mottishaw at nibs.com but you should be aware that the six-months-or-more turnaround time listed on his website is not a fabrication.
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Apr 21, 2016 20:24
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grack posted:3.3M Euro in inventory with 1.2M Euro in revenue? That's insane. Three years to turn over inventory is basically unheard of. Maybe they produced a buttload pens like it was 2008-2010 in anticipation of economic recovery and growth and stuff, and then ended up sitting on a pile of pens when the market got worse instead. Clearly, Omas should have relocated to Glorious Germany, where the state subsidises you to have your employees work half time instead of firing them/closing the factory during the recession 
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Apr 21, 2016 21:19
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I CANNOT EJACULATE WITHOUT SEEING NATIVE AMERICANS BRUTALISED!
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I'd love to see a breakdown of that inventory. How much of it is actually pens and how much if it is raw materials? If there is a goodly amount of raw materials like Omas' in house made celluloids that would be worth good money to other companies or custom makers as well as consumers.
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Apr 21, 2016 21:27
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NeurosisHead posted:Binder is out of the pen business, but he recommends these guys. Greg Minuskin is a fuckin' dickhead, but he does work that's on the good side of average on vintage stuff. Can you post pics? There's a few of us with some amount of experience with the nuts and bolts and bits and bobs that might be able to offer some more insight. I recommend the Indy-Pen-Dance people. I sent my Lamy 2000 to them. They did good work and communicated well.
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Apr 22, 2016 01:48
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New ink day today! 
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Apr 22, 2016 06:18
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Thank you all for pointing me to those youtube videos about pen care. It turns out I had 90% of it right but the 10% I was missing was vital. Basically, I need to clean my pens and stop mixing inks in old used up cartridges. Anytime I had an empty cartridge I would just take a syringe and fill that sucker up with whatever. Might be contributing to clogging. This is a bit of a brag post but I saw you all talking about planners. I have my grandmother's planner from when she was literally one of the premier English antique dealers in America. Forsyth's Antiques was a high end English only antique shop and she did all her buying herself. She spent five months minimum out of the year in England. I loved my grandmother dearly as she was like a second mother. This Smythson of Bond Street planner was what she carried when she was sourcing antiques. I always keep it with me. I loving love it. I went to Smythson on Bond Streets website to look for a replacement pad of paper and...Jesus it's pricey. How can I tell if my planner is A4 or A5 sized? I'll eventually need replacement paper and I don't think I'm going to buy the Smythson stuff unless I win the lottery.   
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Apr 22, 2016 06:40
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A4 is bigger than letter sized. Also it was Omas night at the pen club meeting tonight. Hoo boy lots of pretty stuff on display. One guy walked in with like 25 pens.
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Apr 22, 2016 06:57
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RCQQkQXQDBNiD6iFjnsM ClrfWxILQDjVLDFfdyLb 1jRaqd9PgCQIJJ87aK3a L0xMGHQfBRVdBrPHxNA8 sbvkNHhc5NhUco9astMD Hd7sB8d1sAmXbTMbscjV ccoArTfNcRQRXlTavf3d 5xwC3tvE7TiEW5aZZYRE gLY80iaNpD9oDETXIzOv AmpwsWq3j0z5nrbyfPtL Plasmafountain fucked around with this message at 21:27 on Feb 28, 2023 |
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Apr 22, 2016 08:53
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Captain Log posted:I went to Smythson on Bond Streets website to look for a replacement pad of paper and...Jesus it's pricey. How can I tell if my planner is A4 or A5 sized? I'll eventually need replacement paper and I don't think I'm going to buy the Smythson stuff unless I win the lottery. That's a nice planner. Here's the standard A-size paper measurements: code:
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Apr 22, 2016 15:41
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Magnus Praeda posted:That's a nice planner. Here's the standard A-size paper measurements: Nailed it! A5 it is! I just measured it. That paper looks very nice and is about a tenth the cost of the Smythson stuff. (And it's probably better. Be quiet or the British will hear)
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Apr 22, 2016 19:00
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Smythson paper is famously thin, yet still resistant to bleed-through. The only other paper like it that I can think of is Tomoe River, which can also be found in A5 pads but won't be particularly cheap.
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Apr 22, 2016 19:19
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The Wolfen posted:Vintage pen restoration question. I'm going to buck the trend here and say that nib doesn't look bad to me. As it is a gold nib it will be more pliable and with care you should be able to bend the tines back into shape with your fingers. Since it's an eyedropper model, it'll be even easier to restore and use, as it will not require re-saccing. It depends on how much you want to use it as a pen, and whether you are prepared to spend a lot of money for an expert to realign the nib. Since it looks like that model might be anywhere from 300-1000 dollars as a collectible, you may want to save it for an expert to repair. That in turn opens a whole other can of worms about the risks of shipping and of trusting a stranger to work on an heirloom. If you have a pen show near you you may want to bring it along and talk to a respected pen restorer face to face. If it's just nib work, they could probably fix it right there.
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Apr 25, 2016 19:44
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khamul posted:I'm going to buck the trend here and say that nib doesn't look bad to me. As it is a gold nib it will be more pliable and with care you should be able to bend the tines back into shape with your fingers. Since it's an eyedropper model, it'll be even easier to restore and use, as it will not require re-saccing. It depends on how much you want to use it as a pen, and whether you are prepared to spend a lot of money for an expert to realign the nib. Since it looks like that model might be anywhere from 300-1000 dollars as a collectible, you may want to save it for an expert to repair. That in turn opens a whole other can of worms about the risks of shipping and of trusting a stranger to work on an heirloom. If you have a pen show near you you may want to bring it along and talk to a respected pen restorer face to face. If it's just nib work, they could probably fix it right there. You can see how the left tine is bent up and back and folded over the right tine. You could bend it close to in shape by hand, but you wouldn't be able to get it there. There will be small kink in the gold where the fold is, radiating out from the breather hole; you'd want to hammer that out with a nylon headed hammer on a soft wood block to realign the tines rather than bending it. You could cold forge that without any problems because there's so little metal to work with, but you really would be best served with percussive force on a slightly elastic surface to fix the metal.
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Apr 25, 2016 21:19
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When you see a nib like that in an ebonite pen it's almost always because the ebonite has warped around the feed collar. Ebonite is nothing more than hardened rubber and can warp due to temperature changes. The warping compresses the nib and causes the tines to bend over each other to accommodate the stress introduced. Ebonite is also fragile and can shatter if mishandled (this is the reason ebonite was discontinued in favour of celluloids). Unless you're comfortable working with ebonite pens and feeds a nibmeister is a better choice.
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Apr 25, 2016 21:19
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NeurosisHead posted:You can see how the left tine is bent up and back and folded over the right tine. You could bend it close to in shape by hand, but you wouldn't be able to get it there. There will be small kink in the gold where the fold is, radiating out from the breather hole; you'd want to hammer that out with a nylon headed hammer on a soft wood block to realign the tines rather than bending it. You could cold forge that without any problems because there's so little metal to work with, but you really would be best served with percussive force on a slightly elastic surface to fix the metal. e: and by you I mean whoever fixes it because I wouldn't without some experience with amateur metalworking for jewelry at least. quote isn't edit but yeah that too
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Apr 25, 2016 21:20
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I've been grading with Yama Budo, and you guys are not kidding about that ink, wow.Noctis Horrendae posted:What are you fellas' thoughts on the Waterman Hémispherè? It was my first >$20 purchase, and I really like the way it feels posted, but overall I'm less than 100% on it.
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Apr 25, 2016 22:45
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Ughhh it doesn't make sense at all to order from Goulet to Canada with the dollar like it is right now, especially not with Wonder Pens if I want to do the support-the-little-guy deal but Goulet just put out an email talking about their new Tomoe River dot grid notebooks...
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Apr 28, 2016 18:23
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I got myself a sample of Iroshizuku Kon-peki and it is pretty much my ideal blue.
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May 1, 2016 01:46
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Hopefully the Noodler's Ahab I got is something I can handle fixing up for my mom for Mother's Day. It sounds like the big thing is just to clean it.
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May 1, 2016 03:13
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Rocko Bonaparte posted:Hopefully the Noodler's Ahab I got is something I can handle fixing up for my mom for Mother's Day. It sounds like the big thing is just to clean it. Pretty much yes, also air it out if it's a gift.
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May 1, 2016 03:17
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Rocko Bonaparte posted:Hopefully the Noodler's Ahab I got is something I can handle fixing up for my mom for Mother's Day. It sounds like the big thing is just to clean it. Clean it, air it, test it out to make sure it writes properly. I got a Kaweco Sport recently as a gift and I'm loving it, it's the perfect size to carry in my pocket.
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May 1, 2016 03:45
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neongrey posted:Ughhh it doesn't make sense at all to order from Goulet to Canada with the dollar like it is right now, especially not with Wonder Pens if I want to do the support-the-little-guy deal but Goulet just put out an email talking about their new Tomoe River dot grid notebooks... Oh man, I could shove those in the Traveller's Notebook I never ever use for anything
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May 1, 2016 04:42
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Rocko Bonaparte posted:Hopefully the Noodler's Ahab I got is something I can handle fixing up for my mom for Mother's Day. It sounds like the big thing is just to clean it. Barring any manufacturing flaws, Ahabs are pretty easy to get working. If you're giving it to someone who isn't expecting the smell then let it air for a few days, definitely 
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May 1, 2016 13:35
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Wish those assholes at TWSBI would get off their asses and start making pens. Most of their stuff is sold out nearly everywhere.
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May 1, 2016 21:20
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Speaking of: Isellpens is currently selling Diamond 580 replacement nibs for $10 and Mini ones for $12.50. Most sizes are available as I type this.
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May 1, 2016 21:45
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My Man Shran posted:Speaking of: Isellpens is currently selling Diamond 580 replacement nibs for $10 and Mini ones for $12.50. Most sizes are available as I type this. Just the nib, or the entire section assembly? e: just checked, it's the entire section/nib unit. That's a steal.
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May 1, 2016 21:47
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NeurosisHead posted:Just the nib, or the entire section assembly? I didn't know they came without the feed/section. Learn something new every day. Edit: Todd is going out of business, it seems (according to the written reply on my last receipt from him). So I would expect little firesales like this over the next few months. He seems to be trying to gracefully bring things to a close instead of offering a 50% discount on everything and burning his relationships with the suppliers.
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May 1, 2016 21:55
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The Noodler's Ahab showed up I was going to gift to my mom. Wow, it is quite stinky! I managed to completely disassemble it, clean it, and reassemble it. I kept the little feed tube out since some people considered it worked better without, but I still have it just in case. It's writing fine. You really do have to put some weight on it to get it to flex. It's probably fine enough. My thought was my mom would appreciate the flex for crossing off stuff on lists, and it does that well enough. I'll air it out and it'll be ready for Mother's Day.My Man Shran posted:Edit: Todd is going out of business, it seems (according to the written reply on my last receipt from him). So I would expect little firesales like this over the next few months. He seems to be trying to gracefully bring things to a close instead of offering a 50% discount on everything and burning his relationships with the suppliers. Are there any flexible nib stuff worth tracking? It's about the only thing I'd consider splurging for. My birthday is coming up, you see . . .
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May 4, 2016 04:49
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You can try leaving the parts of the Ahab in dry baking soda overnight, that may help with the smell.
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May 4, 2016 05:08
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The plastic smell is the stench of the fake money myth perpetrated by the global banking cabal on the american people  It's actually just residual schmutz from the plastic molding process they use or whatever
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May 4, 2016 13:39
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It's actually outgassing from the plant cellulose resin used. The smell fades over time. I have two Ahabs I bought in 2012 and I have to practically shove them in my nose to get a faint smell of it. As a bonus, it's biodegradable, so if you just throw it the gently caress out it'll be gone in a few decades.
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May 4, 2016 14:00
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