Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas from Fountain Pen Restoration! This is our 7th Christmas post. In the past, I have shared Christmas themed pens and advertisements. This year I will share another Christmas Advertisement – this one from Eversharp in 1948 and a recent addition to my collection. As my posts this year reflect, I became interested in Kimberly ballpoints, both pre and after Eversharp. So, in searching for advertising material, this came my way. Interestingly, it also promotes the Symphony, Envoy, and Reporter Fountain Pens – some of the last lines that they would produce in fountain pens.

So, in 1948, you could spend anywhere from $1.00 (Wahl Ball Pen or Pencil) to $75.00 (an all gold Kimberly Pockette – has any one ever seen on of these? -not the gold filled) for an Eversharp writing instrument.

For additional Holiday reading on Kimberly Ballpoints, feel free to read some of these old posts~

Kimberly Ballpoints – dated March 4, 2013

Humphrey Bogart Ballpoints – dated April 2, 2013

Kimberly Ballpoints 3 – dated April 18, 2013

Happy Reading and look for more restoration in 2014!

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Wahl Oxford Update

OK, I know what you are probably thinking….not another Wahl Oxford post…..and you are probably right in thinking this.  But, I could not resist sharing this new variation (to me) with you.  In my last Oxford post, dated November 19, 2008, I discussed the restoration of a red marble Wahl Oxford (link below).

Wahl Oxford Fountain Pen

I didn’t think I would stumble upon another pattern so quickly, but I did.

I did not save the before photo on my camera, but here are two photos of the finished product.  I needed to put a new large j-bar and size 18 sac in the barrel.  Aside from vigorous polishing, there were no more repairs done.

The pen measures 5 1/4 inches capped and 6 1/2 inches posted.  All barrel markings are consistent with other Oxfords of this style.

There is one major difference in this pen, compared to the other three Oxfords that I own.   The nib, pictured here, is a Wahl Oxford Number 2.  The others that I have all have Warranted 14K Number 3 nibs.  There is no major difference in size or performance, though this writes with a broader line.

As with the others, the clip and lever are a gold plate and when I got the pen, they had lost more than half of their gold color.  So, I polished these parts to a silver finish to give them a uniform color.  The two cap bands did not polish out and I wonder why the difference in finish?

Here is an updated photo of the four Wahl Oxfords.  As I have written before, these were produced by Wahl in the 1930s, and were a “budget” line under the popular Dorics of the same time period.

Can there be more?  Let me know if you have this model in more than these four colors.  I would love to see photos.

Wahl Oxford Fountain Pen

This week brought a dark red (burgundy?) marbled Wahl Oxford pen to be restored.  It is a lever filler, though the Oxford brand was also made in a twist filler.

The barrel was quite scratched from years of use and the sac was shot, though it did come out in one hard piece.  It is always nice when this happens, as it prevents the need for extensive scraping.

I cleaned the pen thoroughly, including light buffing to remove some of the scratches.  After completely removing remnants of the old sac from the section, cleaning the nib and feed, I attached a new size 16 sac to the section.  I was able to use the old j-bar in the barrel, and after fitting the section/feed/nib back into the barrel, a water test was successful and the pen filling system works like new.

I then polished the outside of the barrel.  The clip, which reads “Wahl Oxford”, has a light gold wash on it. so I was very careful to gently clean this so as to preserve any remaining gold to match the lever and nib.

This pen comes with a Warranted Number 3 14K nib, as do all of the Wahl Oxford Lever fillers I have worked on.

The pen measures 5 1/4 inches capped and 6 1/2 inches posted.

I have know of no way to pinpoint the date of manufacture, but Wahl Oxfords were produced by Wahl Eversharp in Chicago around time period of 1931-1940.

They were a lower price point pen produced by Eversharp to provide a cheaper alternative to the higher priced Doric line of the same period.  Wahl Dorics are a very desirable collectible today and highly sought after in good conditions.  The Oxford provides a more affordable entry into Wahl Eversharp pens of the period, as it did in the 1930s.

I have highlighted the imprint with white crayon.

MADE IN USA

BY THE MAKERS OF

EVERSHARP

I currently own two other Wahl Oxfords:  a brown marble, and green marble.  Here are all three, with an original box.

Henry Dreyfuss and the 20th Century Limited

I love trains, especially old ones and there is a nice tie-in to fountain pens. Henry Dreyfuss, a noted industrial designer of the 20th century, actually assisted in the design of the Wahl / Eversharp Skyline. The Skyline was produced by Wahl in Chicago, IL. during the period 1941-1948. In 1945, it was the best selling pen in the US. Mr. Dreyfuss designed the 20th Century Ltd (shown below) in the late 1930s, prior to the 1940 design of the Skyline. More information can be found on him by clicking on his name above.

New York Central – 20th Century Limited

Now, let’s take a look at his pen design. I have posted a picture of the clip and bonnet of the pen next to the front of the train and you can see the similarity. Below is a picture of three burgundy Skylines that I have restored over the last couple of years. They are lever fillers and very easy to restore, except for two things. The barrels tend to be quite brittle and are notorious for cracking if care is not taken when separating the section from the barrel. Gentle heat is recommended and I use my heat gun carefully. Also, the later Skylines had breather tubes which can be tricky to restore as they also tend to be brittle and care needs to be taken here as well.

Eversharp Skylines were produced in numerous colors, designs and caps over the 7 years of their production. Three sizes were available: Executive, Standard, and Demi. Most of these pens found today are of the standard size. The Eversharp nibs I have found in these pens have been in quite good condition, and some can be found with a bit of flexibility.