Your vintage fountain pen videos are always lots of fun, and it's always exciting to find and watch a new one. Please do keep making them, even if there are important addenda that I think should be included - I'll always add my two cents in the comments! But seriously, I really do appreciate your vintage fountain pen videos very much - they really are lots of fun, and a real bright spot on TH-cam. Thank you for making them.
I just got a barn-find vintage lever filler for my birthday. These are great reference videos for the future to look up for those that come after and need to restore some history.
Love the restoration videos! Makes me smile whenever I see you’ve posted a new one. I’ve been wanting to add a red Duofold to the collection for a while. A Howard looks like it would be a good substitute!
Very nice job of restoration of both pens. Probably third tier line of pens. Might be interested in acquiring one. Thanks for a great video, as always.
This was fabulous. I really enjoyed this video. And it reminded me that I’ve got some lever filler pens that I need to repair. I am also a fan of the big red from Parker. Sunday I’ll find one that I can actually afford.
That was fun, thanks! That great writer finally got a chance to show its stuff, wow! As you point out with your typical, understated, good humor, the resemblance to Duofold is the least interesting thing about that pen. It stands on its own, admirably. Kudos!
The $10 price tag was for "an outfit", a set, which was a pen and mechanical pencil. Ten dollars was typical for a top tier pen and pencil set during the 1920s, like a Duette set from Parker or a Giftie set from Sheaffer, but would definitely be a very high price for a third tier pen such as the Howard or the Astor, although it is possible that the pen and pencil were from the thirties, as you said, but when the styling of those pens was current, as late as the early 1930s, $10 would still have been a very high price for a third tier pen set, certainly with the trim levels of the two pens in the case. There is a very good chance that the paperwork included in that box has nothing to do with either or both of those pens at all.
Thanks for another great vintage pen video! Take this as another vote for more vintage pen videos. Yours are the best! My preferences are almost entirely vintage; there is a dearth of good TH-cam videos/channels with this focus.
Thank you for the restoration of the Howard pen. It is the first time I have seen you do one. It is such a find. I do have a question. You mentioned that you used a carnauba was to polish the body. I have a Sailor King of Pen with an ebonite body that has faded after years of use. What brand did you use? I would love to see more of these restorations. Thank you again, Chris.
@@chrisrap52 I looked into Howard pens. Nothing. Someone on the Fountain Pen Network was looking for information about the company. Had the same pen as you. The posting was done on 2011. Now replies from anyone. It is a mystery.
These pens aren't quite a century old, so it's impossible for them to have been unused for a century, especially if they show signs of use, which they do, but your point that it could be decades since they last saw use is well taken.
@@chrisrap52 the earliest they're from is about 1926, and they had clearly been used enough to have looked used, which would have been for at least a few years, and more likely several because people used these things, and cheap, disposable pens didn't appear until the 1960s. It is quite unlikely that these pens hadn't been used since before they were even made.
There used to be so many fun old vintage pen makers in the US. The knock-out block is a piece of equipment I need to consider! Right now I'm looking at repair on a vintage Duofold nib and trying to decide how brave I feel...
I have and use a near identical black-topped orange Duofold mimic vintage pen. The lever is marked “GEM,” the clip is stamped “GRIP-CLIP” and the nib is stamped “GEM” “14K” and “6”. The details of the pen body proportions look very close to or identical to one of yours, the one with the shorter section and shorter clip. It has lost its narrow cap band if it ever had one; the area where it would be is smooth, perhaps just slightly concave. (Maybe the restorer polished out a more visible scar.) On mine, the lever and the clip have lost some of their gold plating but they still work fine. I bought my faux Duofold at a Boston pen show a long time ago and it cost very little. (Lots of old pens in New England - I picked some up at yard sales years ago.) The ink sac had been replaced and the pen writes well. Like yours, its nib is a semi flex/soft wet writer. I use it often and have loaded it with Diamine Terra Cotta ink. I really enjoyed this video and learned a lot. I wish I knew how to repair old pens as you do. Lovely hobby, bringing these wonderful old pens back to life and passing them on to new owners who will enjoy them and care for them. Can you recommend people who will replace ink sacs and otherwise restore vintage pens? The person who used to do mine retired during the long time I was away from my fountain pen hobby.
Please do continue to make videos about vintage fountain pens. Vintage fountain pens are fascinating. I don't care about modern fountain pens at all. I've tried. The whole point of fountain pens to me is that they are old and have tremendous history and stories behind them, and that they were generally made so well that they actually make one realize that once upon a time things were actually made well, especially in the United States, where things are now made so cheaply and badly that it destroys one's faith completely in the quality of anything made today, and they're also a reminder that capitalism did work for a very short time in the United States. You could actually believe in a product. You can't anymore.
@@chrisrap52 Capitalism is profoundly flawed and favors those who have the most money - it works well briefly until it doesn't anymore. This has been shown in countless examples. What saves it is regulation. I've seen the Karas Customs pens - they're like a piece of copper pipe with a nib shoved in it - tough, but utterly lacking in refinement, development and sophistication. They're a tool, not an instrument. They're like a wrench, not a harpsichord.
@@chrisrap52 maybe the Vertex is a good pen. I haven't seen it yet, but every single modern fountain pen that I've ever seen and used always has a whiff of something cheap about it, and always leaves the impression that the person selling it is getting more than the person buying it. That has been my experience over the years.
It took me probably a solid two minutes to figure out what the 15.5 and 13.3 measurements underneath the photo of the capped pen on top correspond to, and in what units they are supposed to be. You forgot to add that they are in millimeters, and that they are for the diameters, not lengths, of the cap and barrel, respectively. Because they are underneath the pen with arrows pointing up to the cap and barrel of the pen, it looks like these measurements correspond to their lengths. Frustrating.
All measurements, unless noted are in mm. I show length of barrel in middle photo. For me the arrow means diameter. Sorry for your confusion, now you know.
@@chrisrap52no, you indicated millimeters, inches, and grams everywhere else in the graphic, but not for your diameter measurements. That was inconsistent and so unclear that it took literally minutes to figure out what you were referring to. Also, there is no way that an arrow pointing up to something indicates diameter. If a diameter measurement is intended, there should be brackets indicating the diameter dimensions that point to the measurements, or at least the word diameter should be used after the measurement values. If you don't do this and there is no visual indication showing what the values correspond to it is unclear what dimensions the values correspond to. The other values were clearly marked. These diameter values were not, and it was very frustrating to have to figure it out. This is NOT a shortcoming on my part but on yours. What you may have intended and how your graphic is perceived are two very different things.
@@chrisrap52 and above all, having to deal with trying to figure out what your measurement values correspond to just interferes with the enjoyment of the video. I was enjoying it and then became irritated because I had to spend literally minutes trying to figure out what you were talking about. I would imagine that you would prefer not irritating your viewers.
@@chrisrap52 the diameter measurement labeling was nonexistent, and the way that they were displayed and not labeled was inconsistent with the way that the other measurements were labeled and displayed. As for "knowing now" I figured it out before I even mentioned the problem to you. I mentioned this to you because it got in the way of enjoying the video. Doesn't it just make more sense to display these measurements clearly in the future rather than trying to defend your oversight? Good grief.
I hope to see you at the Philly pen show!
I am not planning to attend, have family commits. Enjoy 2024 & the show
@@chrisrap52 too bad we won't see you at the show. Enjoy your time with your family, and here's wishing you and yours a very happy new year.
Thanks Chris, great restoration vid! Taking it from a "barn find" to finished product with character is entertaining and informative!
Cool, thanks!
Love the vintage restoration videos! Thanks.
Glad you like them! Thanks for watching.
Loved the video, Chris! It's always fun to see these old pens come back to life.
Great pen great video. Thank you. Looks like someone in the past may have slammed the barrel finial in a junk drawer.
Probably sat in a drawer for decades. I was happy how it restored.
Interesting, It's always good to learn. Thank you so much.
My pleasure!
Your vintage fountain pen videos are always lots of fun, and it's always exciting to find and watch a new one. Please do keep making them, even if there are important addenda that I think should be included - I'll always add my two cents in the comments! But seriously, I really do appreciate your vintage fountain pen videos very much - they really are lots of fun, and a real bright spot on TH-cam. Thank you for making them.
Thanks, I appreciate the support & kind words. I enjoy making them.
I just got a barn-find vintage lever filler for my birthday. These are great reference videos for the future to look up for those that come after and need to restore some history.
A fascinating show and a fascinating pair of oldies. Many thanks, and cheers from Oz,
Enjoy your upcoming summer. Thanks for your support.
Super video, Chris. The information you provide, is very welcome to a new comer, to restoring vintage pens. Thanks. KB
Happy to help!
A+
😍👍
It’s cleaned up well & made a nice looking pen.
Love the restoration videos! Makes me smile whenever I see you’ve posted a new one. I’ve been wanting to add a red Duofold to the collection for a while. A Howard looks like it would be a good substitute!
Very interesting pen and really interesting to watch you restore it. Looks like a great pen to write with. Love that soft nib! Loved the video!
Very nice job of restoration of both pens. Probably third tier line of pens. Might be interested in acquiring one. Thanks for a great video, as always.
The earliest Duofolds didn't have a cap band at all.
This was fabulous. I really enjoyed this video. And it reminded me that I’ve got some lever filler pens that I need to repair. I am also a fan of the big red from Parker. Sunday I’ll find one that I can actually afford.
That was fun, thanks! That great writer finally got a chance to show its stuff, wow! As you point out with your typical, understated,
good humor, the resemblance to Duofold is the least interesting thing about that pen. It stands on its own, admirably. Kudos!
The $10 price tag was for "an outfit", a set, which was a pen and mechanical pencil. Ten dollars was typical for a top tier pen and pencil set during the 1920s, like a Duette set from Parker or a Giftie set from Sheaffer, but would definitely be a very high price for a third tier pen such as the Howard or the Astor, although it is possible that the pen and pencil were from the thirties, as you said, but when the styling of those pens was current, as late as the early 1930s, $10 would still have been a very high price for a third tier pen set, certainly with the trim levels of the two pens in the case. There is a very good chance that the paperwork included in that box has nothing to do with either or both of those pens at all.
Could be for a set. Maybe the price was a suggested retail price & pen were sold at a lower price.
Thanks for another great vintage pen video! Take this as another vote for more vintage pen videos. Yours are the best! My preferences are almost entirely vintage; there is a dearth of good TH-cam videos/channels with this focus.
Will do!
Thank you for the restoration of the Howard pen. It is the first time I have seen you do one. It is such a find.
I do have a question. You mentioned that you used a carnauba was to polish the body. I have a Sailor King of Pen with an ebonite body that has faded after years of use. What brand did you use?
I would love to see more of these restorations.
Thank you again, Chris.
Meguiar's Gold Class Carnauba Plus Paste Wax. I have many pens to restore. These videos take a few days to make. I have to enjoy making them.
@@chrisrap52 I looked into Howard pens. Nothing. Someone on the Fountain Pen Network was looking for information about the company. Had the same pen as you. The posting was done on 2011. Now replies from anyone. It is a mystery.
These pens aren't quite a century old, so it's impossible for them to have been unused for a century, especially if they show signs of use, which they do, but your point that it could be decades since they last saw use is well taken.
Pens could be from early 1920s, a century ago. For me saying century is closer than saying decades.
@@chrisrap52 the earliest they're from is about 1926, and they had clearly been used enough to have looked used, which would have been for at least a few years, and more likely several because people used these things, and cheap, disposable pens didn't appear until the 1960s. It is quite unlikely that these pens hadn't been used since before they were even made.
There used to be so many fun old vintage pen makers in the US. The knock-out block is a piece of equipment I need to consider!
Right now I'm looking at repair on a vintage Duofold nib and trying to decide how brave I feel...
Go for it. Only way to learn.
I have and use a near identical black-topped orange Duofold mimic vintage pen. The lever is marked “GEM,” the clip is stamped “GRIP-CLIP” and the nib is stamped “GEM” “14K” and “6”. The details of the pen body proportions look very close to or identical to one of yours, the one with the shorter section and shorter clip. It has lost its narrow cap band if it ever had one; the area where it would be is smooth, perhaps just slightly concave. (Maybe the restorer polished out a more visible scar.) On mine, the lever and the clip have lost some of their gold plating but they still work fine.
I bought my faux Duofold at a Boston pen show a long time ago and it cost very little. (Lots of old pens in New England - I picked some up at yard sales years ago.) The ink sac had been replaced and the pen writes well. Like yours, its nib is a semi flex/soft wet writer. I use it often and have loaded it with Diamine Terra Cotta ink.
I really enjoyed this video and learned a lot. I wish I knew how to repair old pens as you do. Lovely hobby, bringing these wonderful old pens back to life and passing them on to new owners who will enjoy them and care for them.
Can you recommend people who will replace ink sacs and otherwise restore vintage pens? The person who used to do mine retired during the long time I was away from my fountain pen hobby.
Let's talk, send me an email.
I have one similar that's marked Cadillac
Many vintage pen makers made pens for many brands. How's the nib in yours?
A little messed up looking. Hasn't had any restoration. Royal 14k Gold Plated on the nib.@@chrisrap52
Please do continue to make videos about vintage fountain pens. Vintage fountain pens are fascinating. I don't care about modern fountain pens at all. I've tried. The whole point of fountain pens to me is that they are old and have tremendous history and stories behind them, and that they were generally made so well that they actually make one realize that once upon a time things were actually made well, especially in the United States, where things are now made so cheaply and badly that it destroys one's faith completely in the quality of anything made today, and they're also a reminder that capitalism did work for a very short time in the United States. You could actually believe in a product. You can't anymore.
Capitalism gives the public what they want. There are some well-made American products & pens. Have you seen Karas pens?
@@chrisrap52 Capitalism is profoundly flawed and favors those who have the most money - it works well briefly until it doesn't anymore. This has been shown in countless examples. What saves it is regulation. I've seen the Karas Customs pens - they're like a piece of copper pipe with a nib shoved in it - tough, but utterly lacking in refinement, development and sophistication. They're a tool, not an instrument. They're like a wrench, not a harpsichord.
At least we can disagree. As I have many Karas pens, the Vertex is not metal & a great design.
@@chrisrap52 maybe the Vertex is a good pen. I haven't seen it yet, but every single modern fountain pen that I've ever seen and used always has a whiff of something cheap about it, and always leaves the impression that the person selling it is getting more than the person buying it. That has been my experience over the years.
It took me probably a solid two minutes to figure out what the 15.5 and 13.3 measurements underneath the photo of the capped pen on top correspond to, and in what units they are supposed to be. You forgot to add that they are in millimeters, and that they are for the diameters, not lengths, of the cap and barrel, respectively. Because they are underneath the pen with arrows pointing up to the cap and barrel of the pen, it looks like these measurements correspond to their lengths. Frustrating.
All measurements, unless noted are in mm. I show length of barrel in middle photo. For me the arrow means diameter. Sorry for your confusion, now you know.
@@chrisrap52no, you indicated millimeters, inches, and grams everywhere else in the graphic, but not for your diameter measurements. That was inconsistent and so unclear that it took literally minutes to figure out what you were referring to. Also, there is no way that an arrow pointing up to something indicates diameter. If a diameter measurement is intended, there should be brackets indicating the diameter dimensions that point to the measurements, or at least the word diameter should be used after the measurement values. If you don't do this and there is no visual indication showing what the values correspond to it is unclear what dimensions the values correspond to. The other values were clearly marked. These diameter values were not, and it was very frustrating to have to figure it out. This is NOT a shortcoming on my part but on yours. What you may have intended and how your graphic is perceived are two very different things.
@@chrisrap52 and above all, having to deal with trying to figure out what your measurement values correspond to just interferes with the enjoyment of the video. I was enjoying it and then became irritated because I had to spend literally minutes trying to figure out what you were talking about. I would imagine that you would prefer not irritating your viewers.
Again, now you know.
@@chrisrap52 the diameter measurement labeling was nonexistent, and the way that they were displayed and not labeled was inconsistent with the way that the other measurements were labeled and displayed. As for "knowing now" I figured it out before I even mentioned the problem to you. I mentioned this to you because it got in the way of enjoying the video. Doesn't it just make more sense to display these measurements clearly in the future rather than trying to defend your oversight? Good grief.