Tag: Refurbish

Posted in Pens, Restoration

Really, The Dog Ate My Pen

Posted on by Danny Watts

(Originally posted on 6 April 2021.)

In the spirit of TBT and the ghosts of Christmas past, I thought I’d reblog this post with updates. I’m sure everyone was good last year and Santa brought you lots of nice things. Did you put those nice things away? Are they out of reach of the dog? Yes, there is a lesson or two to be learned.

The Backstory

The Esterbrook Purse or Pastel pen was produced with women in mind, they were smaller, dainty, and designed to fit in a purse. The initial pens were made between 1954 and 1957. These Pastel pens were constructed using a much softer plastic, today they are usually found with cracks in the cap, and their color is faded. The pen in this tale was “cherry” when I got it, so I gave it to my wife as a Christmas present along with a sweet bullet journal (160gsm paper) so she could use a fountain pen, markers, etc without the bleed-through associated with the cheap stuff we call paper. This is where the trouble begins, the pen was stored in a cute little bag that somehow ended up on the floor (I blame the cats) and our dog thought she would try it out as a new chew toy. Fortunately, she wasn’t impressed.

CYA announcement

Do not do as I do, but if you choose to ignore my warning please don’t do it with a pen of value.

She managed to miss the nib, the cap clip, the cap ring, and both jewels. And, she didn’t put any holes completely through the plastic. I’ve read in numerous blogs, where people have used hairdryers to loosen the nib section from the barrel, knowing this plastic is a lot softer and more pliable maybe it could be leveraged to soften the plastic and remove the teeth marks.

Restoration

Beginning with the damage to the barrel at the lever, this type of pen uses a snap ring system to hold the fill lever mechanism in place. When the lever is engaged it will actuate a J-bar which compresses the ink sac thus when released ink is drawn into the sac.

Let’s start by removing and inspecting the nib section, confirming there is no damage to the section, nib, or ink sac. Using forceps I easily removed the J-bar, and now it is time to focus on the lever. Remember, there is a bite mark that appears to have grazed the mechanism and partially displace the snap ring. Normally, a lever is removed by raising it 45-degree then pushing forward, but in this case, that wasn’t possible. I managed to manipulate the lever until it and the snap ring came out, everything looks good.

Using the crafting hairdryer, I started intermittently applying medium heat to the barrel. After a couple minutes the plastic felt hot, so I inserted a dental instrument into the barrel. At the damaged area, I began rotating the tool so that the curved side of the instrument would press against the indentation. This I did until I succeeded in pushing out the tooth-mark. Next, I sanded the barrel removing the residual mark. The process is progressive, starting with 1000 grit paper, which will remove significant damage then progressing to 2000, 3000, 5000, and finally, 7000 grit paper leaving a perfectly smooth surface. The process removed all evidence of bite marks and scratches. Looking good!

Now feeling empowered and overly confident, I moved on to the pen cap. The cap has a hard plastic insert that seals the cap to the section preventing ink leakage. One of the bites made a dent protruding through the insert. This will require more heat, more effort, and more attention. Using the same basic principle I began applying high heat to the pen cap. Using a wax carving tool to apply pressure to the damaged area of the hard plastic insert while simultaneously applying pressure to the outside – it’s working!

This is when my overconfidence got the better of me, I applied too much heat plus I took my eye off the cap for just a split second. The tapered end of the pen cap opened up like a budding flower allowing the jewel and clip to fall out. Oh shit! Shit, shit, shit, shit! Now, what am I going to do? I was already patting myself on the back for a job well done.

Wait I have an idea! (Oh no, not again)

To Be Continued…

Posted in Restoration, Stories

“All have their Worth and each contributes to the Worth of the others.” J.R.R Tolkien, The Silmarillion

Posted on by Danny Watts

I came across a pen, a cheap gold-plated metal one with the name “Worth” etched on the clip. The nib needed lots of attention but the barrel and cap are in reasonably good shape – plus the price was right – ok it could have been a couple dollars cheaper.

Back story

I set about researching the “Worth” name on the pen. Pens typically bear the names of the manufacturer such as Parker, Sheaffer & Esterbrook, while some also included names of large retail chains (“big box” stores). House-brand pens as they are known, are not favored by collectors but they are often attractive and on occasion of high quality. Could this be a department store pen, maybe Woolworth’s or possibly the French fashion shop House of Worth? I doubt it, so what’s next?

Are you familiar with Eclipse Pens? I’m not but wouldn’t you know it, they offer a metallic pen with a very similar design of gold-plating. Eclipse was a Canadian Pen manufacturer known for their celluloid and BHR pens. I assume that they contracted with a third party for the metalwork and the service provider probably had a catalog of designs to pick from. Finding two pens with the same design by different manufacturers is not a surprise.

Eclipse fountain pens were originally manufactured in the United States from about 1903 until the early 1930’s, manufacturing moved to Canada from 1925 to 1960 when the company shuttered. Maybe, maybe not, next!

Then I stumbled upon a dip pen manufacturer in NY marketing “Worth College Pen” nibs. These nibs are readily available on eBay and Pinterest. I tried researching the nib manufacturer but to no avail. I also posed questions to the Fountain Pen Network and Fountain Pen Geeks, and no one is familiar with “Worth” pens.

The Restoration

Ok let’s be honest, the nib is gross. There is ink gunking up the feed. The section is easily removed from the barrel. I put it in a cup of water for 24 hrs. Oddly enough the water did not change color based on the dried ink. I guess the gunk isn’t ink or it is not a water based ink (more likely the case). Anyway, the nib and feed easily separated from the section with a gentle pull and I set about working on the tarnished nib with a Sunshine cloth.

When the old dried up ink sac was removed, it was grey primarily, making me think it dated back to the 1960s. The section was showing signs of abuse, sandpaper removed the marks and some accumulated yuck.

As you can see the barrel and cap are in good shape with the exception of the chip missing from the lever – oh well. A Sunshine cloth removed the accumulated dirt and grime, restoring a very nice luster to the pen.

I installed a new ink sac, a #18 fit very nicely without being cramped inside the barrel.

All cleaned up, nib shows no sign of damage, we’ll see if it needs any smoothing but it has what appears to be hard water stains. The stains could be caused by overzealous cleaning with alcohol or an acetone, or fountain pen unfriendly inks.

There does not appear to be any corrosive damage to the nib. I found several options to address the stains, including micro mesh, silver polish, car polish, tooth paste, an emery cloth, so I opted for 7,000 grit paper. If anyone has other suggestions on how to remove the stains don’t be shy.

How does it write? Well, it is scratchy, can’t say I am a fan. If the angle is too steep the nib digs into the paper causing holes. Also, it needs to have the nib and feed heat set (my fingers are blue now). Considering what it looked like when I got it, I guess it writes well.

Vital Statistics

  • Capped length 127mm,
  • Uncapped length 119mm,
  • Barrel diameter is 10mm,
  • The cap diameter is 11mm,
  • The Pen weighs in at 14g.

——————————- Reference Material ————————-

Posted in Restoration

Esterbrook Green Pastel

Posted on by Danny Watts

Company Back Story

In 1858, entrepreneur Richard Esterbrook established the “Esterbrook Pen Company” in Camden, NJ, which would become one of the biggest and most beloved pen makers in the world. The company started out producing dip pens before concentrating on fountain pens in 1932. At its height, Esterbrook was the largest pen manufacturer in the United States, employing 600 workers, producing 216,000,000 pens a year.

Esterbrook’s most popular and best-selling pens were the J series. Of which, the double jeweled models came out around 1948, expanding in the 1950s with the Pastels. First-generation pastels have double black jewels while subsequent models came with matching colored jewels. The Pastels are very “of that era” 1950s. They are shorter than the Esterbrook J, and came in solid pastel colors. The pens were marketed primarily to women as purse pens.

My Pen

I bought this pen in part as an impulse buy because the dog had just eaten my first Pastel. Though I acted on impulse, I did exercise good judgment focusing on the quality of the pen. That being said, this pen is in exceptional condition, yes I’d go so far as call it cherry much like the one the dog ate. The pen has no tooth marks, or scratches nor is the barrel discolored by sunlight.

To my surprise, while cleaning the nib and preparing to remove the section I learned that the last ink used in the pen was green, image that. Another interesting surprise came about when I was removing the old ink sac. A large portion with “Esterbroo”k printed on the side came out. I guess this is the original sac.

Since the pen was in great shape, remember no tooth marks or major scratches, a light cleaning was all that was needed. I installed a new #16 ink sac and we are back in business. Looking good don’t you think?

And YES, I am keeping it away from the dog.

Vital statistics

  • Capped 108mm in length
  • Barrel diameter 8mm
  • Uncapped 100mm in length
  • Weighs in at 11g capped
Sorry my hand writing is so horrible.
Posted in Pens, Restoration, Stories

The Lady Sheaffer “writes like a dream…refills like her lipstick”

Posted on by Danny Watts

The Back Story

“Extensive research” was conducted by Sheaffer to determine if there was a market for a pen designed exclusively for women.

Results show that women generally considered pens made for them to be nothing more than scaled down reproductions of men’s writing instruments while their fashion interests were centered in fabrics, costume jewelry and accessories. The results was a new line of cartridge pens named ‘The Lady Sheaffer’ developed to include all these features. The Lady Sheaffer Skripsert fountain pen debuts in April 1958, offering 19 models with patterns inspired by fine fabrics, like tweed, corduroy, paisley and tulle.

The Lady Sheaffer Skripsert VI is a periwinkle colored enamel over metal, with a gold basketweave that gives the pen a textured finish. The pattern was officially called “Paisley,” and fitted with a stainless steel Triumph wrap around nib. Unfortunately, the periwinkle enamel was prone to flaking off.

My Pen

Lady Sheaffer Skripsert VI

When I got my pen it was dirty and there was a big “stain” on the cap. I planned on cleaning it up but it got lost in the shuffle and my enthusiasm for it faded. After evaluating the direction my pen collection was headed I decide to sell off some pens and this one wasn’t making the grade, but it needed to be cleaned. I set about cleaning it and what a difference that made. The color became so vivid, I had a change of heart.

With the change of heart came a renewed interest in removing the “stain” on the pen cap. Assuming it was oil based, I washed the cap with Dawn dish soap which made the cap really shine but did not remove the stain. Next, I used the nylon circular brushes and the dental picks. This made some progress. Then I got the bright idea to let the cap soak over night in water. That morning I went over the stain again with the brush and removed the periwinkle enamel. F@&# me.

It gets better, I’m not done. Since the Dawn soap did such a great job on the cap I used it on the barrel. A metal object covered in soap can be slippery when wet. It didn’t drop far but it landed nib first. F@&#, F@&#, F@&#. The damage isn’t too bad, but the nib is a Triumph circular nib and well ya need a special tool to remove it. OMG I was ready to scream. Doing the best I could with a 1.3 mm dapping punch tool, I managed to remove the majority of the damage.

As this is a cartridge only pen, I dipped the nib in some ink and gave it a go. Damn it looks good and I am impressed with how well it writes. Definitely keeping this pen. The question is can I save it from myself?

COPYRIGHT © 2021-2023 DANNY WATTS and CHRONICLES OF A FOUTAIN PEN.
Posted in Pens, Stories

Parting is such sweet sorrow

Posted on by Danny Watts

I have a problem, I’ve spent too much money on the chase and the delusion that I needed ever “flavor” of pen – ya know, so the collection is complete. After researching the impact our personalities have on our collections, it occurred to me I was going about this all wrong, spending too much money on the idea of completeness or inclusion instead of substance – mind over matter, or is it matter over mind.

After I wrote the blog Our Personalities, They Determine Our Collection’s it occurred to me I have a problem. What does my collection say about me? It lacks direction, I’m not feeling “it.” After a “Come to Jesus” discussion with myself, I’ve decided to “thin the heard,” to cull the collection, to single out those pens that don’t really “get the job done” for me. In short, time to have a sell off. This way I can focus on stuff I really, really like opposed to focusing on the completeness of the collection. Besides isn’t the collection saying something about me? Of the five personal traits I’m thinking “conscientiousness” is probably the most accurate but I’m not feeling this anymore,

So, how do I decide what stays and what goes, what has meaning and what was an impulse, and most importantly, what is going to be the guiding force and direction behind my collection going forward? Should I focus on pens to restore and sell? Or nicely restored pens? Or commit to a particular manufacture or material? Welcome to my nightmare..

Time to make the selection! I took all my pens and spread them across the floor, by manufacture of course. Those that were of a lessor quality were an easy choice, others were duplicates or nearly so (had to acquire minor variations) and finally pens I acquired which needed to be restored but I lost interest and didn’t bother.

Finally tally for now, 1 Schaefer, 5 Esterbrook, 2 Parker’s. Not all of them need restoration before their sale so they will go first. Now it’s time to focus on the direction of my pen collection so I am going to focus on the following for now; black pens, European pens (currently I have a thing for English and French pens), and mottled hard rubber.

After I wrote this (over a month ago) an issue surfaced, I started the process of prepping the pens for sale and wouldn’t you know it, one cleaned up so well I was amazed and it got to stay. Which one, well that’s for me to know and for a future blog to tell.

Posted in Restoration, Stories

Restoration Tools of the Trade

Posted on by Danny Watts

For the most part, tools needed for vintage pen restoration are found in your home already or at the local Walmart or Dollar Store. There are specialized tools, and many pens require them but I try to avoid those pens. I have a couple specialized tools/supplies which I will mention later.

Organization, I got a couple pencil storage boxes from Jerry’s Artarama, one drawer is dedicated to restoration tools and supplies. I removed the existing tray dividers and arranged them to suit my needs. The trays came with foam backing.

I bought a set of 3 dental picks from American Science & Surplus. They are very handy for scraping sacs out of barrels, cleaning grime out of etched cap bands, opening air holes in the cap, etc. I already had a modeling tool, it reminds me of a wax carving tool, which does a great job getting the really stubborn ink sacs out of barrels.

I also bought a 6 pack of nylon bristle circular brushes also from American Science & Surplus. They come in handy cleaning out barrels, feeds, ink filler levers, cap barrel threads. The forceps I acquired 40 years ago when I built plastic model ships. This is super handy for removing/installing J-bars as is a flashlight. Needle nose pliers are too fat. You know how the dentist offers gifts after a cleaning – yup a free soft bristle toothbrush. Does a great job getting grime around the cap band, cap threads.

When it is time to disassembling the pen I put all the parts into a clear plastic box that latches (got it at Michael’s for 99 cents). Parts get lost easily and accidents happen (remember the flat tire scene from A Christmas Story?). All the parts, including the cap and barrel go into this box for safe keeping.

Not in the drawer is an “xacto” knife, but really any sharp pocket knife will do and an infant aspiration. These I use when the section has been separated from the barrel. I use a hair drier to apply gentle heat which softens the shellac and expands the barrel, some people also use section pullers (spark plug boot pullers). I do not! I’ve seen sections that are scratched and damaged by this tool. The knife has one job, scraping the remains of old ink sacs off the sac peg on the section. This can be complicated when the bits of old sac retain some elasticity and stretch rather than come off. Afterwards, I typically use sand paper to smooth the sac peg and remove any residual debris and correct for any damage done by the knife.

The aspirator is used when the nib and feed are refusing to pull out of the section. I don’t force it, simply use gentle heat and a kitchen bottle opening “gripper” to pull the nib and feed out of the section. Others may use a knock-out block to force the nib and feed. If I can’t remove them by hand then they stay. The aspirator forces water through the feed, removing dried ink and any minute sac pieces.

I use the Sunshine cloth to remove dried ink, grime and stains from the nibs, barrel and cap. The toothbrush and dental picks are great for the stubborn, hard to reach grime. Others make use of an Ultrasonic cleaner to remove the grime. I don’t have one. The Sunshine cloth is also used to remove grime and tarnish from the cap band and fill lever. I will use sandpaper – working from a medium grade (1,000 grit) through ever finer grades (to 7,000 grit) – to remove teeth marks and some scratches. When completed, the entire process “polishes” the pen.

Lastly, it is time to install the new ink sac. My ink sac applicator is the pair of tweezers, with rounded tips. Installation is simple enough, the tweezers are inserted into the new sac and spread so the sac stretches. The sac peg on the section is inserting between the arms of the tweezers and pushed forward, the sac slips over the peg and we are done.

I gave up on a ruler and found a manual Vernier Caliper (batteries not needed) so I could get decent measurements, especially if I needed the inside diameter of barrels. And last but not least, well I use it the least, is the nib block. Also used with this is a set of dapping punch tools.

Parker Specific items

Items of interest I did not mention include a small vise, for those moments when you need to get a grip (no it is not Parker specific). And a specialized vise for removing filling units from Parker Vacumatics. Then of course there is the Parker Repair Manual from “back in the day.”

The repair manual provides useful info and info that should never be followed. For instance using an alcohol lamp to apply heat to a stubborn section.

Posted in Restoration, Stories

Basic Restoration Workflow

Posted on by Danny Watts

My restoration process is essentially the same for every pen; access the pen, disassemble, clean, install a new ink sac and reassemble, yet no two pens are the same.

Gotta begin by examining the pen, determine what it is made of, look for damage, tooth marks, and other potential problems!

As the pen is being disassembled I put all the parts into a clear plastic box that latches, accidents happen and losing parts is avoidable. Plus the box is only 99 cents at Michael’s.

The process starts with the nib and feed. I learned the hard way, that water is bad when the pen is made of hard rubber (ebonite) and you have to be super careful when using heat on resin. Remove the nib and feed, then use a Sunshine cloth to restore an amazing luster.

On to the section, use a dental pick and xacto knife to remove the remains of the old sac. Review the overall condition of the section, if it scratched, dull, discolored? Normally I lightly go over the section with sandpaper. Starting with the 1,000 grit and working to the 7,000 grit at which time the section should be scratch free and shining like new.

Grab the flashlight and shine it down the inside of the barrel – scary isn’t it? The dried up sac may have attached itself to the barrel and the pressure bar, and will need to be scraped out. Dependent on the filler system and mechanism, I often remove the filler lever and the pressure bar. With all the parts out of the barrel it is much easier to scrape any remaining ink sac off the barrel wall. The Sunshine cloth on used on the lever, snap clip and J-bar to remove tarnish, rust, stains and ink.

Unless the barrel is chased, remove scratches and tooth marks with sandpaper. Otherwise a good going over with the Sunshine cloth will remove grime and restore the shine to the barrel. The lever and J-bar get reinstalled at this point.

The pen cap receives the same treatment as the barrel and the Sunshine cloth is used to restore the clip and cap band.

Time to fit a new sac. How do you know which sac to use? The websites below provide a variety of sacs and charts to determine the appropriate sac for your pen. The length of the sac is based on the inside length of the barrel less the portion of the section securing the barrel. Apply shellac to secure the sac to the section, after a day, coat the sac with talc and reassemble the pen.

I do not apply wax to the pens, I apply a light coat of mineral oil to BHR. I probably should add wax to the BHR pens as a protectant whereas celluloid needs to breath and should never be waxed.

Posted in Pens, Restoration, Stories

Arnold: the Original Disposable Fountain Pen

Posted on by Danny Watts

Company Backstory

Remmie Arnold started his company in 1935, operating out of Petersburg, Virginia after his tenure with the Edison Pen Company. Arnold became one of the largest producers of fountain pens in the world, concentrating on very inexpensive pens sold primarily in low end stores.

Good can be cheap, but Cheap is never good.

How cheap were Arnold pens you may ask? Retailers could buy a gross for $22.50 or 15 cents per pen, reselling them at a 40% profit. Wow, I paid $4 for a pen that originally sold for 21 cents, hmmm…. been had again. Obviously, with such a low price point, these pens were not built to last. The Arnold Pen Company survived through 2005 having switched from fountain pen production to become a ballpoint pen manufacturer.

My Pens

I bought 3 Arnold pens to experiment with, 2 came from a seller in Richmond. Both of those were supposed to be NOS, right out of the box. Yup the pens were never used, which doesn’t mean they aged well – actually they are both butt ugly.

Even ugly pens need love – right, so I set about pulling the green pen apart. The section pulled free of the barrel and lookie there, the original ink sac is still intact and pliable. That is cool, I need to ink it up and see how well it writes. Well maybe later.

Looking at the feed, it has 2 ink channels or fissures as Waterman liked to call them. It is super cheap, the manufacturing process used a 2 sided mold to create the feed. The sides didn’t fit well and the residue plastic was not trimmed off.

Good stuff cheap

I decided to ink up the pen, it took ink without any problems. The lever is super small so it is difficult to maneuver. I have to admit for a 21 cent pen it writes really well and I’m impressed the ink sac holds ink. The sac is probably upwards of 60 years old.

I got out my old Sunshine cloth and went to work on the cap band and clip. I failed to make any progress, so I switched to a new Sunshine cloth and that made a difference on the cap band, the clip improved but not by much. The filling lever is beyond hope. The nickel finish is gone and there are signs on the barrel of discoloration by the threads. The pen has clearly been exposed to the sun in the hot, humid Virginia summers. I am toying with the option of using my DIY nickel electroplating process to restore the missing nickel plating. But that folks is the topic of a future blog post.

Posted in Restoration

My Gold Starry #256 – Are you kidding me?

Posted on by Danny Watts

The Pen

I have been Jonesing for a pen like this – mottled hard rubber, eyedropper filler and retractable. Bonus time, the pen is vintage French and the seller is in NOVA (Northern VA). The offer clearly stated the pen is missing it’s cap, figured I could live with that and hope I may stumble upon a vintage cap. The barrel has an 11mm diameter and measures 103mm in length without a cap and the nib is retracted.

The pen arrived, and I am super excited. The nib extends and retracts, the barrel colors are BEAutiful so I went about examining the nib. I pull out the nib, and immediately notice the feed and nib are held together by some crappy homemade “section.” Hmmmm!

Look at this crap, now I am super annoyed! Breathe, take a deep breath…

Once my blood pressure came down I decided to take the feed and nib out of the faux section. After more grumbling I set about smoothing the section and making it look good. As I have no idea if it will even prevent ink leakage, I thought it might as well look good. Yes I realize the availability of Gold Starry 1920-something pen parts is well non-existent but really this is horrible.

Now that I talked myself off the ledge, again, I went about taking the pen apart – I really wanted to see the inner workings. I began by separating the backend of the pen from the barrel, it unscrews. With a slight pull, out came the retracting mechanism.

The nib is retracted or extended depending on which direction the end-cap is turned. The shaft holding the section has pins which bisect the corkscrew in the channels and extend into groves cut into the inside of the barrel. The turning motion will cause the corkscrew fixture to spin thus the channels will run the pins down the length of the mechanism or return them to the beginning this extracting or retracting the nib.

At this point, I realized that the end-cap which is turned to extend or retract the nib is broken. I was able to pull the entire mechanism out of the pen. The end was clearly broken off. A quick review of the end-cap and one can see the shaft bisecting the end-cap. Thus when the nib is extended, the end-cap is twisted tightly to ensure a snug fit – we don’t want ink leaking out.

I consulted with some Fountain Pen Geeks and they recommend leaving it as is or see if the shaft is long enough to go through the cap again. All agree that glueing the shaft to the cap is a very bad idea.

How is it filled with ink? Well, the nib is retracted into the barrel, then ink is squirted in over the nib filling the barrel. Once the barrel is full the nib is extended. The section “receiver” forms an ink-tight fit around the tapered end of the barrel from when extended. Ink flows into the “receiver” through 2 holes then to the feed and the nib.

The nib is by Georg Peter Rupp, a nib manufacturer from 1920’s to 1970 in Heidelberg, Germany. It is safe to assume this nib is not the original. Can’t guess if it is pre or post war. But the gold color is odd, the nib material should be silver and if you look closely between the “P” and “O” it looks like silver or is that a reflection?

Well look at that, a nice pretty stainless steel nib, not the fake gold platted nib. Funny what a rub down with a Sunshine Cloth will show you.

I was annoyed earlier, now I am mad.

Posted in Pens, Restoration, Stories

Gold Starry pens “le stylo qui marche”

Posted on by Danny Watts

Company Backstory

Gold Starry can trace its origins back to 1909 with the marketing of Conway Stewart fountain pens in France, under the Gold Star brand name. This resulted in a trademark violation, thus in 1912 the name was changed to Gold Starry, staying true to the English origin of the pen. The first pens sold by Gold Starry were black hard rubber or mottled safeties. These pens were eyedropper filler safety fountain pens, identified by two digits (models 36 & 39), indicating the price in francs.

At the beginning of the 1920s, fountain pen production began in a pavilion on the outskirts of Paris. Gold Starry became a wholly-owned French pen manufacturer, thus ending the import of English pens. The company adopted the slogan “le stylo qui marche” (the pen that works).

During the war, the company suffered through the occupation, having an English brand name only made matters worse. After the war, quality issues plagued production and market share fell with the introduction of the ballpoint pens. Gold Starry responded by introducing cartridge fountain pens and participating in 1959 consortium for the production of the “Visor Pen.”

Gold Starry managed to survive these crisis periods by supplementing their production lines, entering the world of luxury office accessories (with calendars, rulers, letter openers) and a successful line of luxury ballpoint pens, all produced using gold-plated metal. World events intervened yet again, this time the company felt the effects of rising gold prices, thus their products being prohibitively expensive. This crisis proved too much and Gold Starry was shuttered in 1980.

Model 256, retractable eyedropper

In 1925, Gold Starry introduced the 256 and the 257 Loaded safety models. On the barrel of each is engraved their trademark star, dotted rings on the clipless cap and barrel. This pen and the 257 model are unique in that on the barrel is imprinted “Manufacture Francaise,” while later models spelling is “Fabrication Francaise”

The Eyedropper Filler System

Has been around since the earliest years of fountain pens, and is pretty simple. There are 2 methods used to fill an eyedropper pen: the section is removed from the barrel and an eyedropper is used to squirt ink into the barrel, afterward the section is reinserted in the barrel. It is very important that the section is securely inserted in the barrel.

To fill a retractable safety pen, the nib is retracted, again ink is squirted into the barrel using an eyedropper. In both cases, the barrel must always be in the upright position, otherwise the ink will pour out the open barrel – duh.