All Pens and Ephemera

All mysteries are revealed with a good demonstrator pen. This Sailor 1911 leaves little to the imagination. It is really fun to write with and fill. The fact that it has an M-S ("music") nib made of 14k gold could make this your very favorite preowned pen. In truth, we find this nib to be buttery smooth, but it writes more like a double broad. Its thick tipping does not give it a ton of line variation. Our luxury pen has minimal wear and there are only a couple traces of blue ink trapped in the inner cap. 13.5cm capped.

The Sheaffer Snorkel enthusiast in us wants to call this a Sheaffer Valiant, but sometimes the earlier Sheaffer TouchDown pens are different from the later snorks. We restored this elegant vintage pen with a new ink sac and O-ring. No cracks mar its surfaces, but there are a couple little nicks that the gleaming black helps hide. You will write a very nice fine line with its firm "Triumph" nib made of two-tone 14k gold. Class up your daily work routine with this classic pen.

Sheaffer Cadet? Sheaffer Admiral? We never fully grasped the naming conventions for the Sheaffer TouchDown pens before they switched to Snorkels. Yet, a rose by any other name...we can still restore. We replaced the ink sac and O-ring in this vintage pen, and now it works great. You will write a dry extra-fine line with its two-tone, 14k gold Feather Touch nib. The pen looks great on a passing glance. Yet a close inspection will show it has many scratches and a little discoloration. No cracks. No brassing. Click the headline for close-ups. 12.9cm capped.

Easily mistaken for a Parker Challenger Deluxe, this appears to be a large Parker Thrift Time pen...or possibly another Depression era vintage pen from Parker. We restored it with a new ink ink sac. We find it to be a really handsome pen with some wear from use back in the day. No cracks but heavy brassing on the pocket clip. You will write a nice, wet medium line with some feedback using its 14k gold nib. These pens helped sustain Parker during the Great Depression when most people couldn't afford their premium Vacumatics. Click the headline for close-ups. 12.9cm capped.

If you like a preowned luxury pen with nice girth and a smooth 1mm stub nib, you are going to love this Aurora Talentum fountain pen. Golden trim and a brick-red cap and barrel make a handsome combination. Only light wear can be seen on the pen. It is way more fun to focus on its dynamic 14k gold nib. Included with the pen is its Aurora converter. We believe these also take Parker converters and cartridges, in case you can't fine Aurora ones. 13.6cm capped.

Swiss pen maker Caran D'Ache makes luxury pens with such precision, it is remarkable. Our Caran D'Ache Laque Noir is New Old Stock and still in its original box. Never used, this pen comes with golden trim and a beautiful Chinese lacquer finish. "M" on the 18k gold nib indicates it is a medium point. However, to preserve its NOS integrity, we have not dipped it to see how it writes. A clean converter is in the pen. We love the sword clip, which is always a nice touch. Click the headline for close-ups. 13.5cm capped.

The color match of this married Esterbrook J-model fountain pen looks better in the photo than in real life. The cap is a much deeper red than the barrel. The cap also looks pretty jankety. Nevertheless, there are no cracks and the cap is on tightly. We restored this vintage pen with a new ink sac. We also gave it a new 1461 nib straight out of the box. You will write a firm, extra-fine line with a little feedback. Definitely not a museum piece, but a nice enough daily driver. 12.6cm capped.

Few bridges in Europe are as famous as Florence, Italy's, Ponte Vecchio. It has spanned the Arno River since Medieval times and is famous today for its incredible shops. Early Visconti decided to pay homage to it with this Visconti Ponte Vecchio fountain pen. We love the way the oranges and blues pop in the light. Our preowned luxury pen comes from Visconti's rise to fame. It comes with its worn leather box and papers. Gently used, it still looks like new. You will love the way its smooth 18k gold nib lays down a medium line. Click the headline for close-ups. 13.2cm capped.