All Pens and Ephemera

Here's a real sleeper of a great writer. Our Guider Marala fountain pen looks like a great vintage classic in orange hard rubber with mottled black accents. Nevertheless, it is a preowned modern pen. You will write a very smooth medium line with its golden-alloy nib. The pen is a real tanker, too, as it has a huge barrel that simply fills with an eyedropper. Light to minimal wear. No cracks or significant wear. 14.5cm capped.

We have featured many Esterbrook SJ fountain pens over the years, but this is our first with an Osmiroid nib. Osmiroid made a threaded nib assembly the same size as Esterbrook's. Osmiroid typically made nibs for calligraphers. As such, this nib is an extra-fine italic. You will write a surprisingly smooth extra-fine line with subtle line variation. We restored the vintage pen with a new ink sac. No cracks or deep scars on the pen. Justexpected wear from use. 12cm capped.

Ranga hard rubber pens have taken the collecting community by storm. We love this blue Ranga 4CS fountain pen's look. In like-new condition, it has minimal wear. We fitted it out with a converter. It comes with a box that shows more wear than the pen. You will write a fairly smooth fine line with its steel Bock nib. 14.9cm capped.

We don't think a pen has come from an ink manufacturer like this since Carter's Inx in the 1920s. Nevertheless, Noodler's Ink has made this handsome ripple design in burgundy hard rubber. There does not appear to be much--if any--wear on the cap and barrel. Unscrew the barrel to find a piston filling system. You will write a nice semi-flex line with its steel music nib. It goes from around fine to 1.5mm. There is a little feedback but not terrible. A large pen it has nice girth for those who find their hand cramps up too much when writing with skinnier pens. 15.5cm capped.

Adopt some the 1950s style with this Esterbrook CH "Purse Pen." Not quite turquoise, we love this vibrant pastel blue that is very cool, Daddy-O. Unlike so many of these pastel-line pens, there are no cracks! Our pen looks really sharp at writing distance, but a close inspection shows a lot of light surface wear from...likely being carried around in a purse. We installed a new ink sac. You will write a fairly smooth extra-fine line with its steel 1551 nib. There is a touch of feed back, but not bad for an Esterbrook 1000-series steel nib. 11.2cm capped.

We are a sucker for Levenger True Writer fountain pens in the Kyoto design. It takes the classic black-and-pearl look and adds a blue-green flare. Subtle and beautful. Our pre-owned pen appears to be in near-mint condition with minimal wear. It fills with standard international cartridges and like Levenger converters. (We don't have one that fits at the moment.) Included are original Levenger boxes. However, we aren't sure if these were the original boxes to this pen. We put them together after finding them in a much larger jumbled up collection. You will write more of a fine line than the medium marked on the steel nib. 13.7cm capped.

This German-made luxury pen bares a striking resemblance to another--more famous--German-made luxury pen, but make no mistake, this is the Senator President. While it has an likeness similar to the Montblanc 149 in size, shape and general design, it is very much its own pen. Its two-tone 18k gold nib writes a very smooth, juicy medium line. You fill this pen by removing the blind cap to twist a piston-filler knob. Our pen looks close to new with only minimal wear from use. Plus, it comes with a very spiffy black-lacquered box with a working key lock. The box shows more wear than the pen. There is a crack in the lacquer on the lid. Some of the interior appointments are decaying a bit. Pen measures 14.7cm capped.

We don't think we can call this a pure-bred Parker Challenger. It seems to us that some long-ago repair person fitted it with a new cap band and section. We don't think that Parker Challengers ever came with an ink-view window. And although this section fits well in the barrel, the grip seems a size to small for the barrel. Regardless, we restored it with a new ink sac. ANNNND, it is a great writing pen with a delightfully smooth medium-point 14k gold nib! Our vintage pen shows the wear of past hard work, but there are no cracks. Ready for more hard work, this pen can make for a great daily driver. 13cm capped.