Belmont Pen and Pencil Combination

Another local antique store find ~ and a bit of a departure from straight fountain pens.  This is the first Fountain Pen / Pencil Combination that I have restored since I started writing these articles in November of 2007.  I have a few in my collection, but am not a big fan of them.

I went in to the antique store on the way to a bakery in small town Minnesota and asked if they had any old pens.  The owner pulled out this pen/pencil and a vintage Sheaffer Balance set.  Thinking I would be drawn to the Sheaffer he began to talk about it, but the barrel was cracked and when I saw “BelmonT” on the Combo, I jumped.  As you know by now, I am interested in Belmont Fountain Pens  of all sorts ~ particularly those produced by George Kraker for Rexall.  $5.00 later, I was on my way to the bakery with my find.  Here are a few previous posts that include Belmont pens.

Belmont/Rexall And Yankee Cousins May 22, 2008

Belmont Pens At The Rexall Store August 18, 2008

Did He Say Pencil? April 2, 2009

Here is the Combination Pen after I took it apart.  I did not take the pencil portion apart and tested it with 1.1mm lead and worked.  As you can see, the major problem was deterioration of the metal parts and a sac that had hardened and crumbled.

I cleaned all of the gold parts and they cleaned up without any loss of color, so I believe they are not gold plate.  I inserted a size 16 sac onto the section/feed/nib and inserted into the barrel.  The sac has to be trimmed a bit shorter than normal as the pencil “side” takes up a bit of the barrel.  The pencil takes size 1.1mm lead and as with most vintage pencils, the lead is inserted in through the tip ~ put the lead in the tip and reverse the tip until the lead engages into the pencil.

Here are the after photos.  As you can see, the instrument cleaned up well and I would best describe the color as rust.  The only flaw is the pencil tip, which was very tarnished when I found the pen and after cleaning, it is a bit washed out.

As mentioned, Belmont was a Rexall Store brand of Fountain Pen and Pencil.  The contract for making Belmont’s was held by George Kraker and also The Moore Pen Company of Boston.  I am not certain which produced this pen for Rexall, but I am leaning towards Kraker (in either Grand Haven, MI or Libertyville, IL).  I am open to correction on this and would welcome any additional information.  I have seen photos of Kraker combos before, though I do not own one.  Thus, he had access to the parts to make this pen.  The lever also resembles a Kraker locking clip and this is why I am leaning to his Company as the producer.

Here is a closeup of the imprint, with the familiar “Non-Breakable” and “Sold Only At The Rexall Store”.

This closeup gives a nice idea of the interesting barrel colors.

And finally, the nib ~ a Warranted No. 2.  It is a smooth medium and I have filled it with Waterman Havana Brown and am using it this week.

Keep scouring the antique malls….there are still pens to be found….