20 replies to this topic

[david i]

Pete Sacopulos recently had a quite nice PENnant article on Chameleon, a fountain pen company whose product has quite low prevalence today. I wish he'd given me a yell before the article, as he knows I have one not in his image bank, but it wasn't meant to be this time. Chameleon pens are double nib pens, with nib unit each at end of the pen, though usually with just one clip. One of my grand lucky finds several years ago on ebay was a superb Chameleon, the only example of this brand I own (though I've photographed a few). This one also has excellent preservation of the Jade color, which- as many of you know- qualifies it for my Jade pen collection. And, before ya ask, rights of first and second refusal for this one have been claimed. Chameleon falls into the perhaps ill-defined category of High Quality, Small Make, Frankly Weird Pen. I suppose Pullman, Colorado and others are part of the cluster.

This is the only Jade Chameleon I've seen. Unlike most, it has clips at both ends. Later I will post more photos to flesh out the eye-candy profile. Let's start with a simple closed shot, next to a well known oversized pen, a 5.5" Waterman 56 in Cardinal Hard Rubber.

regards

David

[John Danza]

I really want one of these!

[david i]

Couple more of the images. More to follow.

regards

David

[Rick Krantz]

I really want one of these!

You can have david's... He's got pictures to remember it...lol...

Actually, what a WEIRD pen... I have never seen one before, but have seem the zerollos and Colorados.

Is that eyedropper fill?

[2manypenz]

Weird and lovely! What nibs do they possess?
Bring this to the Raleigh show, please!

Edited by 2manypenz, 29 May 2011 - 01:47 PM.

[Teej47]

Rick voiced my question. What's the filling system? Also, are both ends of the blue part threaded the same?

Tim

[Hirsch]

I've seen one, but it was a while ago. I think that there's a bulb in each of the segments, but I could be misremembering and it could be an ED. What's odd is the double cap. IIRC, you should be able to post a chameleon and write with either nib. To close the blue end, you simply screw it into the barrel with the nib pointed inward. Cap the red end, and the pen is completely closed. To write with the blue end, simply invert the segment. To write with the red end, uncap it and screw onto the blue end, which would have the nib inside the barrel. Either end can write with the pen posted.

I think that David's pen actually has an extra cap, but this wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong.

[David Nishimura]

Hirsch is surely correct on this.

Nice to have a spare cap for such an uncommon pen!

[david i]

I've seen one, but it was a while ago. I think that there's a bulb in each of the segments, but I could be misremembering and it could be an ED. What's odd is the double cap. IIRC, you should be able to post a chameleon and write with either nib. To close the blue end, you simply screw it into the barrel with the nib pointed inward. Cap the red end, and the pen is completely closed. To write with the blue end, simply invert the segment. To write with the red end, uncap it and screw onto the blue end, which would have the nib inside the barrel. Either end can write with the pen posted.

I think that David's pen actually has an extra cap, but this wouldn't be the first time I've been wrong.

I quite agree. Note my initial post cites "usually one clip" for Chameleon. This was as found. Special request by customer? Who knows. Certainly for a low prevalence pen like this one found relatively in the wild (ebay for next to nothing) the chance of gaining a spare cap from a collector parts pile years after initial store sale... is small.

regards

d

[John Danza]

They are in fact bulb fillers. I've handled one of these in the past, and it was seriously cool.

[John Jenkins]

They are indeed odd pens. My own is single clipped. The clip incidentally is imprinted Four - Way. It's only 5 5/8 inches, but feels bigger.

[Teej47]

That pen is four times as cool just because of the blue and red bands, Buzz! Neat pen.

Tim

[marcshiman]

Dragging up an old thread.

 

I just bought one off eBay (used this thread to see what it was I was bidding on). I saw one at the LA Show that I didn't want to buy, and sort of regretted it. 

 

From the auction pictures, there are no bands on the pens (although a red band is described). But it looks like its in reasonably good shape.

 

I'll post pics when I get it.

Edited by marcshiman, 11 September 2014 - 03:08 AM.

[John Danza]

Dragging up an old thread.

 

I just bought one off eBay (used this thread to see what it was I was bidding on). I saw one at the LA Show that I didn't want to buy, and sort of regretted it. 

 

From the auction pictures, there are no bands on the pens (although a red band is described). But it looks like its in reasonably good shape.

 

I'll post pics when I get it.

 

Great catch! I've been on the lookout for these for a few years now. Must have missed that one on eBay, as I didn't see the auction. Love to see the pics.

[marcshiman]

Here you go, John

 

 

 

There is a red disk at the end of the smaller barrel, as opposed to having the red and blue rings above the threads (like John's). Its an oddity, no technological marvel. Its a bit awkward as a pen too. The nibs in it are plated junk, and its a bulb filler of the most simplistic sort. 

 

But its kind of cool...

[John Danza]

 

There is a red disk at the end of the smaller barrel, as opposed to having the red and blue rings above the threads (like John's). Its an oddity, no technological marvel. Its a bit awkward as a pen too. The nibs in it are plated junk, and its a bulb filler of the most simplistic sort. 

 

But its kind of cool...

 

That's a great pen, and it's severely cool. I've got to have one of those. Even with the junky nibs, I would be using that one in the rotation. I know it doesn't hold much ink, but it's a neat design. Great catch.

[viejeaux]

Re: double-nibbed pens, in addition to the Chameleon, I am aware of the Zerollo efforts and of the Quadretti. Other than confusing the Quadretti as having been made by Omas, I have seen mention of another (?) Omas, something called the Itala Cromograph. Fact or fiction? Any other players in this very limited field?

 

Thanks!

 

Paul

[david i]

Re: double-nibbed pens, in addition to the Chameleon, I am aware of the Zerollo efforts and of the Quadretti. Other than confusing the Quadretti as having been made by Omas, I have seen mention of another (?) Omas, something called the Itala Cromograph. Fact or fiction? Any other players in this very limited field?

 

Thanks!

 

Paul

 

Colorado of course offered double-nib pens, but with a rather different arrangement.

 

regards

 

-d

[viejeaux]

David -

 

The Colorado was the Qaudretti model.

 

P

[John Danza]

Here you go, John

 

 

 

There is a red disk at the end of the smaller barrel, as opposed to having the red and blue rings above the threads (like John's). Its an oddity, no technological marvel. Its a bit awkward as a pen too. The nibs in it are plated junk, and its a bulb filler of the most simplistic sort. 

 

But its kind of cool...

 

This is interesting, because the pen I just bought has the same mismatched nibs. The only reason I don't think it's the same pen is because the marks on the bottom section are different than the ones I have. Odd that two almost identical pens would have the same nib replacements. Makes me wonder if this was a standard configuration.