10 replies to this topic

[Ray-Vigo]

I recently got a 1930s Conklin Symetrik in silver/greenish stripe color. The section appears to be that from a 1940s era Glider. Did the Symetrik ever come with a Glider-type view section? Or were they all hard rubber?

The work I'm looking at with this pen implies some kind of older repair, perhaps done with a later Glider section to stand in for the original. Did these ever actually come with a Glider section?

[Hugh]

HI Ray,
Some of the lower models from the end of the Toledo era carried ink view sections iirc, I seem to remember buying one some time ago but returned it as it was not as advertised. I haven't seen a Toledo Symetrik ,Endura or Endura Symetrik with an ink view that I can remember. What does the barrel imprint say? If it's a Chicago model it may well be correct. A photo would be helpful.

Regards
Hugh

[Ray-Vigo]

It's a Toledo mark on the pen, with the rocker clip and short crescent print lever. I haven't got any pictures of this pen yet.   However it is the same as the center Symetrik in this nice picture from PenHero. I have a feeling I need to get a section for it. I have yet to see a Toledo Symetrik with the viewer section like the Glider.

http://www.penhero.c...klinNozac06.jpg

Edited by Ray-Vigo, 06 December 2011 - 04:36 AM.

[Hugh]

It's a Toledo mark on the pen, with the rocker clip and short crescent print lever. I haven't got any pictures of this pen yet. However it is the same as the center Symetrik in this nice picture from PenHero. I have a feeling I need to get a section for it. I have yet to see a Toledo Symetrik with the viewer section like the Glider.

http://www.penhero.c...klinNozac06.jpg

Does it actually say "Symetrik" on the imprint? The "Symetrik" line was a second line as opposed to the "Endura Symetrik" and those market "Endura" (which appear identical except for imprint), while a similiar size it didn't carry the plastic crescent in the cap and had a smaller nib.



Regards
Hugh

[Ray-Vigo]

Interesting stuff there-- my mark says "Trade Conklin Mark" Toledo, OHIO USA. It is the same silver/greenish stripe as the one in the Pen Hero picture. I figured it was a Symetrik based on the picture and on what little literature I've seen calling this sort of pen a "Symetrik". It does not have the Endura mark, and it does not say "Symetrik" in the imprint. It's almost as slender as a Glider, though perhaps slightly wider. The nib is a round hole with a Crescent smile underneath "Conklin Toledo 14KT USA". The cap band is a single wide one and not a double. Is there another name for this I had not thought of?

Edited by Ray-Vigo, 06 December 2011 - 01:41 PM.

[Hugh]

Well it's not a Symetrik, Symetrik like (or style) is probably more appropriate and I've also seen them referred to as simply Toledo streamlines. One thing Conklin did do was stamp the name on their high line pens.Your pen is a lower line model probably from near the end of the Toledo era, good well made pen with the only real weakness being a tendency for the lever to crack out around the pivot ( not much plastic there) so just bear in mind when filling. Back to your original question, I have seen an ink view on this style before( the one I had was a plain black one iirc) , the nib is consistent with both this and the Glider, so that only leaves the feed to help and if it is the typical Conklin style with the "cut out" shape then it's probably a genuine section. Conklin made a number of these in different styles and fillers ( and probably in different widths as well ??) and Bill Ackers page here shows a number of them. Hope this is of some help to you Ray.

Regards
Hugh

[Ray-Vigo]

Great information there Hugh-- the feed is a "cut away" type with a couple small slits on each side. The nib and feed do fit properly into the section. I wonder if the celluloid in the section shrank somewhat then, as it was a touch loose in the barrel. I guess this is not a true "Symetrik" but another pen that sort of looks like one. I did notice how thin the plastic around the lever was, though there are no cracks with this one. Perhaps this is a pen from the end of the Toledo era that incorporated a section that later came back with the Gliders after all. The nib is shaped and handles a lot like the Glider nibs I've used in the past, though it has a slightly different imprint.

Thanks much for this information, it set me right about this pen. I assumed based on the shape it was some sort of Symetrik, but it does turn out to be a different pen. It almost seems as if it's a transitional mixture of things with plastic, furniture and feed similar to earlier Toledo pens, but nib and section more similar to a Glider. I will try to get some pictures up to show it. It's an attractive pen.

Edited by Ray-Vigo, 07 December 2011 - 04:27 AM.

[Ray-Vigo]

Here's a couple quick shots:

Edited by Ray-Vigo, 08 December 2011 - 03:31 AM.

[Hugh]

That looks okay to me Ray, I'm leaning to original section on this one.

Regards
Hugh

[Rick Krantz]

While it might not be considered "correct" for what you would normally see, keep in mind that a lot of pens might very well have been assembled later as old inventory was found, when Conklin got bought by the Chicago syndicate, and the old repair sounds quite feasible. In the end, I think it adds a little mystery to the pen, and I don't feel that the section makes the pen incorrect. Because we try to determine what is and is not correct, in a loosely based control system when these were made, with rules we try to apply that simply did not fit the manufacturing model of the 1930's. It's a nice example of that particular color and pattern. Fwiw, the section appears to at least be styled similar to like pens.

[Ray-Vigo]

Thanks for the input on this one. The section is certainly a Conklin section of some sort, and you may be right that it was a mixture of parts from factory stock. I think a somewhat later repair is certainly possible as well, but who knows. The nib and feed do look to be original and do fit the section. The inside showed a totally petrified sac that appeared to be original, so whatever repair/swap/combination was done, regardless of the source, it was done quite some time ago.

I'm not entirely sure what ink the previous owner was using, as it appears to have actually etched the gold nib in a couple of places, and completely killed the trim plating where it got on there. 14k is pretty robust stuff too. The plastic color is nice still though, as you mention. It certainly is a step up from the Gliders I have had, though the nib displays the same virtues as the "Cushon" nibs.