The other day I spotted a small lot in ebay that looked like it was worth a bid. There were two Swans, a boxed Parker 45 and this… thing.
The lot arrived this morning. I’m very pleased with the other pens and the thing has its curiosity value. It’s an iridium-point Chinese pen. I’ve seen them online before – once seen never forgotten! What seeing it online doesn’t tell you is that this thing is solid lacquered brass, which means it’s monstrously heavy. I defy anyone to tell me they could write two pages of A4 with this “pen”(I use the term advisedly) without requiring protracted physiotherapy thereafter.
That’s not to say it isn’t useful. It would make a passable doorstop. Or I could keep it by the bed in case of home invasion. Oh, and there’s one other thing about it – it’s the ugliest pen I have ever seen. It’s so ugly that you could use it to discipline naughty children.
“You children stop that or I’ll SHOW YOU THE PEN!”
“No, Mummy, please don’t! We’ll be very, very good!”
Deb – I HAVE GOT ONE! Not only that I have a matching Ballpoint in a set my son gave me many, many years ago. Bless him. I filled it, used it a bit, went for physio from time to time, then put it safely away in my ‘must keep it because it was a gift’ drawer.
When I had a look at it again quite recently, one of the nib tines had just dropped off! No evidence of warranted/plated/tipped or anything else of use there then. As you say an alternative use, perhaps ballast for a fork lift truck?
Or even for weighting a trawl net…
My one doesn’t actually write. There’s something funny going on with the nib and feed and the nib can’t be firmly fixed in place. That’s OK. I wasn’t going to make it my main user anyway.
I’ve got one but without a cartridge. Any idea what type it uses?
I don’t remember. I haven’t had the pen for some time. Have you tried a short international cartridge?