All Pens and Ephemera

Foggy grey streaks through a charcoal-grey barrel of this Levenger True Writer fountain pen. Click the headline for close-ups. The dark-grey steel nib might look a little off, but it writes a very smooth, wet and broad line. Our preowned pen is great shape with no cracks or deep scratches. It comes with a standard international converter. Mostly, we just love the way it writes. 13.7cm capped.

There is no getting around the fact that this is the best name for a fountain pen that we've ever encountered. Meet the Levenger Plumpster! No. We did not make up that name. It is an awesome pen, too. Perhaps borrowing a little from the Visconti Opera Cherry Blossom design, this pen has brown veins running through a mother-of-pearl-colored acrylic. Blue and purple shadows flare through it, as you turn it under the light. Click the headline for close-ups. You'll see a little wear from use but nothing egregiously awful. Write a smooth fine line with its steel nib that is marked medium. Fills with a standard international cartridge or included converter. Nice girth. Has a little weight. 14cm capped.

Whether you are filling in a museum worthy collection or stepping up your pencil game at the office, we think you will love this burgundy Parker "Vacumatic" pencil. It does not appear that Parker actually called the pencils Vacumatics, but they were designed to match the Vacumatic pens. We believe this near-mint condition pencil to be an oversized model from 1937. Aside from a little mark under the imprint, it looks close to perfect. Included is the original spare lead cartridge with a hardened eraser under the tail cap. In excellent working order with spare 1.1mm leads. Burgundy is among the rarest colors for this pencil, and Parker reported way fewer sales of these pencils compared to the pens. 12.7cm.

We love that moment when we pour cream into our coffee and watch it swirl about until it is fully integrated with the rich, dark nectar of the morning. This Levenger True Writer fountain pen seems to capture that split second in time. It also appears to be made from a slightly different material as most True Writer pens. The gunmetal trim looks nice, plus it comes with a box. If you love smooth-writing broad-point steel nibs, you are going to love our juicy friend on this preowned pen. Comes with a converter and uses standard international cartridges. Click the headline for close-ups. 13.8cm capped.

Surviving World War II in England was no easy task, but this Conway Stewart No. 286 seemed to manage. We restored it with a new ink sac and manage to blacken the black hard rubber cap topper and section a little. They still show a little chocolate hazing, but we knocked it down a little. The trim is mostly brassed, showing little of the gold plating, but let's see how much gold-plating you retain during the blitz. ;) Click the headline for close ups. Be careful with the tab at the end of the lever as you lift it. The lever is very snug in the slot. Slowly and gently lift it up. The tab bends too easily to last forever. The 14k gold nib is a little wavy but it writes well. It flexes from fine to about 1mm. The vintage pen is 12.6cm capped.

Karas Kustoms Vertex pens are a bold acrylic addition to the world of fountain pens. Black veins flow through red and orange flames in the cap and barrel. The snap cap is super strong. Only minimal wear will be found on the pen. You fill it with an included converter, but it also accepts standard international cartridges. Click the headline for close-ups. Its steel nib has a great design, and it writes a nice broad line with a little feedback. You'll see the nib is marked double broad, but we never got it quite that thick. nice wider grip and light weight. 13.2cm capped.

Every now and again we are faced with an inky mystery. Today that mystery is this De La Rue Everybody's Stylo 800/60. The imprint is shallow but clear enough to read. At first we thought it was a pencil, but its "lead" turned out to be an Ink-O-Graph-style tube without the pin in it to regulate ink flow. Even more confusing is that we don't see how it opens to refill it with ink. As such, the pen is unrestored. Nevertheless, the mottled orange hard rubber design is still stunning with no cracks and only light wear from history and past use. Perhaps this is a steal for someone who knows it better. 11.6cm capped.

First-year Sheaffer TouchDown pens are difficult to find, but first-year Sheaffer Autograph TouchDowns are really rare. Made in 1949, these first-year pens had a much wider body than the 1950s' "Thin Model" pens. What makes the Autograph pen especially unique is its solid 14k gold pocket clip and solid 14k gold wide cap band. Our cap band reads "EAD to HFS." At least we think the "F" is an "F." It is a unique cursive script that we haven't seen in decades. We restored this pen with a new ink sac and O-ring. The pen has a little rust stain under the clip and normal wear from use. You will write an extra-fine line with its two-tone 14k gold nib with a little feedback. Click the headline for close-ups. 13.5cm capped.