Inks
Over the last decade or so, a number of largely start-up companies have produced vast ranges of coloured inks. All things being equal, inks are usually inks. This is not the case however, and the results are showing up more frequently in my workshop.
The majority of blocked pens arriving used to be those that had seen the use of "India" type inks which contain shellac. Today we are seeing more pens blocked with high sediment, often gummy inks, blocking feeds and collectors. They arrive with notes suggesting "pen doesn't flow" or "pen won't fill". The problems are more severe on pens with advanced collectors such as the Parker range 45, 51, 61, 65, 75.
My answer is to use inks from the traditional "PEN" manufacturers Parker (Quink not Penman), Sheaffer, Waterman, Mont Blanc and Pelikan. The alternative is regular cold water flushes, and hope that this will suffice.
Also, some of the "new" inks are known to permanently stain pens.
More
Quick Links...
|
| Dear xxxxx,
Another web site update has just been uploaded, and there are the usual additions in most categories of pens. Additionally, we have added a number of items in "Neat Stuff", "Other Writing Equipment", "Ink Wells", "Dip Pens" and "Watches". Our next update will be late December.
|
| Pen Shows |
|
The Melbourne Pen Show is the next on our calendar. A one day show, held on Sunday 18th October this year. Not a big show by any stretch of the imagination, but one eagerly attended by locals.
After attending shows in the US and UK, I initiated the first Melbourne Pen Show in 1999; so it's now in its eleventh year. The show is probably the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.
|
| Onoto Pen Repair |
|
Another book (36 pages) by Jim Marshall, this time in association with three others. The outcome is a definitive book on Onoto pen repairs.
The book covers all variations of Onoto filling systems, the tools and parts required, and includes much previously unpublished detail.
Availability is directly from Jim. Email ppgallery@aol.com
|
| Ebay |
|
We've just started another season of Ebay auctions. We're happy to accumulate and combine lots to reduce shipping costs.
|
| Made in Australia (or NOT) |
|
Well maybe, but it sometimes depends on your definition of "Made"!
Both Sheaffer and Parker have manufactured pens or parts of pens in Australia over the years, but many parts marked as "Made in Australia" certainly were not. Parker 75 Cisele pens were most certainly not made here, neither were Sheaffer PFM nib units. In the case of the PFM nib units, I met the lady who ground all of those dubiously marked units in Fort Madison, Iowa, where they were made!
My personal opinion is that there was a saving (in Duty) to be made by claiming local manufacture during a period where goods imported into Australia, from Non-British Commonwealth countries, would have been heavily penalised.
The "Made in Australia" inscription now adds to the rarity of these pens.
|
| Quotations |
|
A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.
Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
|
|
|
