19 replies to this topic

[vintage penman]

Over the years I have handled many Wearevers, usually with the same disdain / dismissal that most of us in this hobby tend to show them. However, I recently rediscovered two Wearevers during a clearout - a Deluxe 100 and a Pacemaker. This time they went under the microscope. The gold (brass ?) trim is pretty well unmarked with no discernible wear. The plastics are free from dings, gouges, scratching, engravings or somewhat surprisingly undue wear. They both have nice colouration, the Deluxe 100 inspired by the geometric Duofold, the Pacemaker's pattern clearly derives from the later Vacufold. They are not fantastically well made, but they are acceptably well constructed and obviously durable to survive thus far. The Deluxe has the ubiquitous "Special Alloy" nib, a semi flex fine that writes far better than expected. The Pacemaker comes with a one piece USA14K fine nib (not the two piece gold nib usually seen) and this also writes well. In fact, this pair seem almost as decent as many far more esteemed pens and would make perfectly reasonable everyday workhorses for quite some time.

I'm surprised that these are such good pens, although the Paul Wirt site suggests that they are unfairly neglected by and large. Yes, I do know that many Wearevers were utter dross, but many major makers also turned out some turkeys. Can we not give credit where it's due and recognise these unfairly maligned models for what they are - decent, reliable everyday pens worthy of preservation today. After all, they are as much a part of history as their more valuable competitors !



Edited for typos...

Edited by vintage penman, 31 December 2011 - 07:23 PM.

[david i]

Hi VP,

Wearever made so very many pens and so overwhelmingly is the best known of what for the moment I'll describe as the third tier pen manufacturers, that it is a bit surprising that no one has- TBOMK- given us signficant writings on that brand. The pens often are very pretty. They are not often well made. But, they served a key niche, and there is room to collect them. They can be found affordably. They can be found for nearly nothing in so-so to poor shape. They can give real challenge to find clean, though that is a bit of a backhanded view of "charm of collecting"

Esterbrook made it from being the pen tossed out the window on the drive home from the flea market after collectors bought their sacks full of pens, to being a widely collected pen given academic treatment despite being cheap pens, because (amongst other things) they really have held up well. Not so much for Wearever.

The late Frank Dubiel was a very serious Weareverer (sic?). We chatted about the make over pen show lunch on several occasions. I bought a few trays of his key stock from the sale of his pen estate at a Boston show.

So, to follow your thread, I'll offer a shot of a Wearever Pacemeker. It is in... pretty good shape. I admit it does not strike me as late product, having a late 1930's-early 1940's look to me.

regards

David

[Greg Minuskin]

David,

Question on the Wearever pens; I have never seen the pencil, or a set for that matter, so my broader question is: "From a purely demographic point of view, where to you think these pens were retailed?" Would these pens appeal at the time to the mid-west, southern states?

Greg Minuskin
www.gregminuskin.com

[Hugh]

Hi Greg,
In terms of volume Wearever was the largest US manufacturer..maybe even on a global scale..( okay, it's a personal feeling without the real facts to back this rather grand statement..!! ) not only under it's own name but also a "custom" maker who would stick any name you wanted on a pen as long as you purchased in bulk. The philosophy was simple, make it cheap as possible, sell it as cheap as you could profitably, ensure it worked well and would remain working for a fair period of time and looked good when purchased. Injection molding was pioneered in the US be Wearever...not for quality reasons...you could simply make more pens at less cost!! The blind cap on some button fillers are rumoured to be valve caps of tyres...cheaper than making them yourself , the innovative "14 ct gold nib" which was a small bit of gold surrounded by steel...but you could claim a 14 ct nib!! . No decent gold plating..just a light dusting that wore off quickly. What Wearever did do well was their plastics and celluloids etc.( some of which are very attractive) , while the pens where finished cheaply the real core parts where solid, the nibs wrote well and from a user angle they wrote better than most would have thought. A very overlooked maker in the "big picture"...not that I'm about to become a mad keen Wearever collector though... They would have been easy to find in one form or another through out the US. A strategy we see from a number of Chinese manufacturers of "whatever" you want !!

Regards
Hugh

Here's a topic David started a while back, interesting stuff!!

Edited by Hugh, 01 January 2012 - 10:09 AM.

[david i]

David,

Question on the Wearever pens; I have never seen the pencil, or a set for that matter, so my broader question is: "From a purely demographic point of view, where to you think these pens were retailed?" Would these pens appeal at the time to the mid-west, southern states?

Greg Minuskin
www.gregminuskin.com

Hi Greg,

There are Wearever pencils to match pens, although I don't know if that was the case for all models/series.

I don't know the history of Wearever in detail. The hearsay is that the low priced pens were quite widely distributed and that the were not a store brand for any specific chain (though I don't exclude that they rebadged some pens). I cannot say if they focused on any region of the country.

Regards

David

[david i]

Hi Greg,
In terms of volume Wearever was the largest US manufacturer..maybe even on a global scale..( okay, it's a personal feeling without the real facts to back this rather grand statement..!! ) not only under it's own name but also a "custom" maker who would stick any name you wanted on a pen as long as you purchased in bulk. The philosophy was simple, make it cheap as possible, sell it as cheap as you could profitably, ensure it worked well and would remain working for a fair period of time and looked good when purchased. Injection molding was pioneered in the US be Wearever...not for quality reasons...you could simply make more pens at less cost!! The blind cap on some button fillers are rumoured to be valve caps of tyres...cheaper than making them yourself , the innovative "14 ct gold nib" which was a small bit of gold surrounded by steel...but you could claim a 14 ct nib!! . No decent gold plating..just a light dusting that wore off quickly. What Wearever did do well was their plastics and celluloids etc.( some of which are very attractive) , while the pens where finished cheaply the real core parts where solid, the nibs wrote well and from a user angle they wrote better than most would have thought. A very overlooked maker in the "big picture"...not that I'm about to become a mad keen Wearever collector though... They would have been easy to find in one form or another through out the US. A strategy we see from a number of Chinese manufacturers of "whatever" you want !!

Regards
Hugh

Here's a topic David started a while back, interesting stuff!!

Hi Hugh,

I lack hard info about Wearever's business model and such, but I hearsay is consistent with some of your notions. The cop-out 14k nib I've seen.

But, do you have any evidence Wearever rebadged pens for sale by specific stores/chains? I've never seen that discussed before.

Regards

David

[Hugh]

Hi Greg,
In terms of volume Wearever was the largest US manufacturer..maybe even on a global scale..( okay, it's a personal feeling without the real facts to back this rather grand statement..!! ) not only under it's own name but also a "custom" maker who would stick any name you wanted on a pen as long as you purchased in bulk. The philosophy was simple, make it cheap as possible, sell it as cheap as you could profitably, ensure it worked well and would remain working for a fair period of time and looked good when purchased. Injection molding was pioneered in the US be Wearever...not for quality reasons...you could simply make more pens at less cost!! The blind cap on some button fillers are rumoured to be valve caps of tyres...cheaper than making them yourself , the innovative "14 ct gold nib" which was a small bit of gold surrounded by steel...but you could claim a 14 ct nib!! . No decent gold plating..just a light dusting that wore off quickly. What Wearever did do well was their plastics and celluloids etc.( some of which are very attractive) , while the pens where finished cheaply the real core parts where solid, the nibs wrote well and from a user angle they wrote better than most would have thought. A very overlooked maker in the "big picture"...not that I'm about to become a mad keen Wearever collector though... They would have been easy to find in one form or another through out the US. A strategy we see from a number of Chinese manufacturers of "whatever" you want !!

Regards
Hugh

Here's a topic David started a while back, interesting stuff!!

Hi Hugh,

I lack hard info about Wearever's business model and such, but I hearsay is consistent with some of your notions. The cop-out 14k nib I've seen.

But, do you have any evidence Wearever rebadged pens for sale by specific stores/chains? I've never seen that discussed before.

Regards

David

Hi David,

I quick google to attempt to back up claims based on...well...yielded weareverpens.com which looks suspiciously like where I must have originally read the info. !! It sounds like it anyway, how accurate that is unknown to me.

Regards
Hugh

[david i]

Here is a very clean Wearever, probably mid 1930's, done in Waterman's Mahogany celluloid. Have the pencil somewhere or other


Recall, we'd discussed in another thread some low-name and no-name pens done in Chilton's Carnelian celluloid.

Was rooting around the pen room and found some Wearever's I'd purchased a few years back in Boston.

This one is clean, and it is in Waterman's Mahogany.

In a weird irony, Waterman's Mahogany seems to look more like the stone Carnelian than does Chilton's Carnelian, but there ya go. This one gains cachet for the presence of a color not widely used but known for use by a major pen maker.

regards

David

[david i]

And here is a clean-for-what-it-is Wearever in quite pretty cellulloid (and with very fragile trim), with Wearever's approach to a 14k nib.

regards

David

[david i]

An entire tray (probably mint, i have not checked) of injection-plastic lever-fillers featuring a vaguely Parker look

regards

David

[Jon Veley]

There are Wearever pencils to match pens, although I don't know if that was the case for all models/series.

See pages 166 to 168 of The Catalogue of American Mechanical Pencils.

[david i]

There are Wearever pencils to match pens, although I don't know if that was the case for all models/series.

See pages 166 to 168 of The Catalogue of American Mechanical Pencils.

Oh gosh. Long before that we probably should identify what pens exist to which pencils can be matched.

-d

[Greg Minuskin]

Hi Greg,
In terms of volume Wearever was the largest US manufacturer..maybe even on a global scale..( okay, it's a personal feeling without the real facts to back this rather grand statement..!! ) not only under it's own name but also a "custom" maker who would stick any name you wanted on a pen as long as you purchased in bulk. The philosophy was simple, make it cheap as possible, sell it as cheap as you could profitably, ensure it worked well and would remain working for a fair period of time and looked good when purchased. Injection molding was pioneered in the US be Wearever...not for quality reasons...you could simply make more pens at less cost!! The blind cap on some button fillers are rumoured to be valve caps of tyres...cheaper than making them yourself , the innovative "14 ct gold nib" which was a small bit of gold surrounded by steel...but you could claim a 14 ct nib!! . No decent gold plating..just a light dusting that wore off quickly. What Wearever did do well was their plastics and celluloids etc.( some of which are very attractive) , while the pens where finished cheaply the real core parts where solid, the nibs wrote well and from a user angle they wrote better than most would have thought. A very overlooked maker in the "big picture"...not that I'm about to become a mad keen Wearever collector though... They would have been easy to find in one form or another through out the US. A strategy we see from a number of Chinese manufacturers of "whatever" you want !!

Regards
Hugh

Here's a topic David started a while back, interesting stuff!!

Dear Hugh,

I find this very useful information for many reasons, and want to thank you, and others, who have broadened the scope of the question as well. While quite aware of the "dusting" of gold on the clips and trim for sure, heck, just looking at them they seem to peel off, he he, I can't help thinking that some sort of chain store, Sears, or Rexall Drugs of the time would come up with their own pen and put Wearever to the task, just with their name on it.

Being in the watch business, this happens these days with Bucherer and then Tiffany; it is Tiffany & Co. who were the beginners of marketing their name using jobbers and other supplier's for their inventory.

Anyhow, I too have found the Wearever pens, when I get them, to be excellent value for modification to a fancy tip either as a flex or stub/italic, and most folks who buy from me find that as a user, with worn off trim, works for them from a price point.

Thanks!

Greg Minuskin
www.gregminuskin.com

[david i]

Being in the watch business, this happens these days with Bucherer and then Tiffany; it is Tiffany & Co. who were the beginners of marketing their name using jobbers and other supplier's for their inventory.



Greg Minuskin
www.gregminuskin.com

Hi Greg,

It's worth noting that the Tiffany-by-Jobbers thing does apply to pendom as well. Some really nice Tiffany solid gold (albeit thin solid gold) pens were manufactured by Hicks, a small make but one appreciated in pendom by those who know. I'd guess they date to late 1920's. I'm overdue to show some Hicks-for-Tiffany eye candy.

regards

david

[Greg Minuskin]

Being in the watch business, this happens these days with Bucherer and then Tiffany; it is Tiffany & Co. who were the beginners of marketing their name using jobbers and other supplier's for their inventory.



Greg Minuskin
www.gregminuskin.com

Hi Greg,

It's worth noting that the Tiffany-by-Jobbers thing does apply to pendom as well. Some really nice Tiffany solid gold (albeit thin solid gold) pens were manufactured by Hicks, a small make but one appreciated in pendom by those who know. I'd guess they date to late 1920's. I'm overdue to show some Hicks-for-Tiffany eye candy.

regards

david

Dear David,

Agreed on that point; Tiffany by its very name equals quality and prestige back then, and many companies were contracted to produce the goods that Tiffany desired.

Greg Minuskin

[pickles]

I have a Wearever Deluxe 100 in green and black, it's one of my prettier pens. I don't particularly care for the way it writes, but it's nice to look at.

Actually, here's a question: what are the differences between the Pacemaker and Deluxe 100? They look very similar at first glance.

[Blotto]

This showed up in a lot of five pens that included an Eclipse/Jackwin that I was chasing (and those are hard to find).
Was prepared to ignore it. But after a little clean-up, well, that's a pretty pen. Hard to tell from the photo, but it's faceted (eleven sides), with the usual gold wash, Durapoint nib.

To my eye. it looks late 20's ish. Can someone confirm/correct that dating; provide a model designation?

Edited by Blotto, 06 January 2012 - 01:17 AM.

[vintage penman]

I have a Wearever Deluxe 100 in green and black, it's one of my prettier pens. I don't particularly care for the way it writes, but it's nice to look at.

Actually, here's a question: what are the differences between the Pacemaker and Deluxe 100? They look very similar at first glance.

The Deluxe 100 is a lever filler whereas the Pacemaker is generally found as a button filler. (that is not to say there aren't any lever filled examples knowing the diversity of Wearever products)

[pickles]

The Deluxe 100 is a lever filler whereas the Pacemaker is generally found as a button filler. (that is not to say there aren't any lever filled examples knowing the diversity of Wearever products)

That's certainly an easy enough distinguisher. Thanks!

[BrianMcQueen]

Here's my Deluxe for consideration.