Indian Fountain Pen Combo / Part II

I first acquired an Indian brand fountain pen / pencil back in March of this year, and wrote briefly about the restoration of one on March 10, 2011.

Indian Fountain Pen

Well, a few months later, I ran across another and was able to swing a trade to acquire it. These never seem to be in pristine condition, but this one seemed to be in fair condition. Below, is a photo of the pen, after taking it apart.  You can see that the green pattern is in very good shape.  The first thing that jumps out is the dirty nib.

After cleaning the nib, it is apparent that it is beyond salvage, and needs to be replaced. Here is where a spare nib drawer comes in handy. Nibs can be purchase on their own, or harvested off of “lost cause” pens. I have a future article in draft on some pens that I purchased for next to nothing due to their horrible condition, but the nib is in great shape and ready for transplant into another needy pen.

This Indian an example of a pen (and pencil combo in this case) in need of a transplant.  The gold plated nib in the top photo is the original nib to this open and it a pitted and damaged Iridium Gold Plate No. 4.    I had a “Very Smooth Made in USA”  medium nib which is identical in size and fit perfectly in the section.  It is in the second photo below.

After polishing the exterior of the pen and pencil barrels, including the clip, lever, and pencil casing, I inserted the new nib and feed into the section.  As you can see, the fit was perfect.  I then inserted a new size 16 sac into the barrel, still using the old jbar, which was in great shape.

The final result is below.

The Combo measures 5 1/2 inches closed, and 5 7/8 inches posted

In the two photos below, taken with the yellow Indian from the March 10, 2011 post, you can see the different clips on each pen.  The yellow pen retains its original “Iridium No. 4″  nib.

As I mentioned in the first Indian Pen article, speculation is that these were a brand produced by the Arnold Pen Company, possibly in the 1930s.  I have no direct evidence of this, but have read the educated guesses. If anyone has direct evidence, please pass it along.

I have also seen a red and blue patterned Indian Pens. Be on the look out for them. They are a nice colorful addition to any collection.

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