Capless of old - CL-300

My history with Pilot Capless pens has been a very difficult love story.
I've had a Pilot Decimo for almost three years now, at first I didn't care for the M nib that came with the pen but I swapped it for an F with a fellow FPNer, by then though I was more interested  in vintage pens so I use it a lot less than I'd like.

Last week I was strolling a local flea-market, almost ready to go back home as it was cold and rainy and here it was, like waiting for me, a vintage Pilot Capless, wishes I didn't know I had went answered: Vintage and Capless!

Look at this baby! It's in a great shape besides a few light scratches that I'd expect on a nearly fifty year old pen.

It's a Pilot CL-300, which apparently was released in the early 60's and the colour scheme reflects those years (Aurora 88 anyone?).

Compared to a Decimo it's much, much lighter, the clip positioning isn't as awkward and very comfortable to write with.

Even if the Decimo is the smaller of the current line of Capless pens (or Vanishing Point in the US) it's clear to see the difference in size compared to the smaller older CL-300. 

The CL-300 came with an assembly that at a very quick glance looks similar to an ink converter, instead it's a cover that fits two small cartridges, called "double spare", that Pilot has stopped making years ago.

In more recent years Pilot has also made a converter that fits old pens like the CL-300, it's named Con-W, but it's not easily available anyway.

I could have refilled the old cartridges that came with the pen but I preferred to save them and give a try with a Sailor ink converter that I had lying around instead (learned from here).
The Sailor converter fits the size of the cartridge opening but it's too long for the pen, so I cut and filed down the turning knob so it could fit inside the cartridge sleeve, the inner piston rod though cannot be extended all the way because it would be again too long, it loses a little of ink capacity but much better than the original tiny cartridges!

pens with names

I like pens with inscriptions.
Many people don't like inscriptions but that's even better for me as I can get them cheaper!
My favourite is the Parker Vacumatic with dedication, I get a warm fuzzy feeling every time I use it and read the names and date.
I don't care much for initials though, real names are better, dedications are the best :)

(the white paint is just a coloured pencil, easily removable and acid free)

24 february 2011

A few pens I've restored lately and brought at work to play...

pen guts

I received a Waterman 52 today.

So far I've managed to open it without much drama and I'm carefully removing the remains of the perished bladder, I'm feeling a little like an archaeologist checking the innards of a mummy.

I can't decide if I like more the thrill of restoring a pen to former glory or the excitement of the first time the inked nib touches the paper, with many of my pens one feeling is often followed by the other, so I'm up for an emotional roller-coaster with this pen.

In Italian the word "pen" (penna) is grammatically feminine so I often use endearments for vintage pens, like old ladies, because they might be old but they deserve some respect for being still around after so many years!

The one that got away

As usual today I visited the local flea-market looking for (pen) treasures.
I found a new, and I mean totally mint with box and tag, Pelikan M150, for 15€ (roughly 20$), and I couldn't leave it there could I?

I also found a Parker 51 but I barely looked at it for my dislike of such hooded nib. I'm not a fan of hooded nibs though I own an Aurora 88 and a Pelikan P1. While many might have jumped at the chance to get such a famous pen in their collection it didn't really appeal to me... until I got back home! I'm not saying that I finally saw the light and changed my opinion on the Parker 51, I still think it looks awkard and stumpy but I started wondering why such pen was so famous and well-liked.

So I braved the cold and went back to the market a few hours later only to find the vendor had already packed for the day and vanished.
In some ways I'm relieved I wasn't faced with the choice of getting such pen, but I'm also disappointed with myself for changing my mind and too late.

a matter of cleaning

In my opinion you shouldn't mail pens filled with ink, but last week I received in the mail a pen still filled with Waterman Blue-Black, it wasn't a big deal so I cleaned the leaks and started writing with it straight away.

Yesterday I finally ran out of ink so I started my cleaning routine (which basically means flushing for with lukewarm water until the water comes out clean) and I was surprised to see some dried ink particles coming out. As I kept cleaning the pen I saw more and bigger flakes of ink and it was pretty disgusting.
Maybe I'm a neat freak but I was highly disappointed, I've never seen that much dirt in a pen, not even in pens found at flea markets. It's just a matter of common sense, a clean pen works better than one filled with muck, there is no point at flossing nibs or lamenting poor flow when bits of ink clog everything.

my old ladies

I took this photo for a fellow pen-addict in a rush and only later I noticed I made a few mistakes. Actually the correct age order is 1, 3, 2, 5, 4, 6, 7 .

quaderno

Page from my first grade notebook, 1984, sample of the cursive I was taught at school.

On the right self-portrait with grandma :)

broken snorkel

How bad is this? Very very bad!
My poor Sheaffer Statesman suffered an untimely death last night.

It was handled by my darling but totally unsafe father, unscrewing the barrel he must have twisted something off and he also lost the inner spring. It lasted for more than 50 years but not 5 minutes in my father's hands, never leave a pen in a mechanic's hands without supervision!
The metal sac protector broke exactly near the ring, it's not supposed to open there and show the sac :(