6 replies to this topic

[Richard]

I bought this pen from Frank Tedesco at the Atlanta show. When I picked it up, I thought it might be an early Eisenstadt because of the backward lever. But when I opened the lever, it was clear that this is something else entirely. Here are the pictures:




As you can see in the upper image, the lever is rather funky looking, with a slot in it. What you can't see is that opening the lever does not move the pressure bar more than enough to get past the spring tension that holds the lever closed. That slot is the giveaway: when you open the lever and then push it into the barrel, it acts like a matchstick. The pen is a matchstick filler that includes its own match, in a non-detachable form.

The question is, who made it. The imprint reads The REXALL Pen, but this isn't a Kraker. Could it be something that the Sterling Pen Company (aka the Davidson Rubber Company) made? Is there a patent on the lever design? (There's no patent number or date.)

Any and all help in IDing this pen will be greatly appreciated.

[david i]

Hi Richard,

I don't know. There were so many small makes. I know of (or believe I know of) Rexall store brands made by Kraker and by Moore. Indeed, I have a case full of Belmont (for Rexall) Combos lying about waiting to be shot.

The lever in your pen does not ring a bell. That it is narrow (side to side) but particularly deep for some reason makes me think of Holland, as in hatchet-fill (tweaked lever) but in this case without the hatchet head. This is a stretch. It has been quite a bit since I've last examined a Holland closely.

regards

David

[BrianMcQueen]

Richard, I couldn't tell you anything about who made the pen, but it is seriously cool.

[Richard]

The lever in your pen does not ring a bell. That it is narrow (side to side) but particularly deep for some reason makes me think of Holland, as in hatchet-fill (tweaked lever) but in this case without the hatchet head. This is a stretch. It has been quite a bit since I've last examined a Holland closely.

You're not reading my description. It's not actually a lever. It's a matchstick.

[david i]

The lever in your pen does not ring a bell. That it is narrow (side to side) but particularly deep for some reason makes me think of Holland, as in hatchet-fill (tweaked lever) but in this case without the hatchet head. This is a stretch. It has been quite a bit since I've last examined a Holland closely.

You're not reading my description. It's not actually a lever. It's a matchstick.

Fair enough. It looked like a lever. So, it's then an attached matchstick? Built in but does not use fulcrum, rather relying on direct pressure once in open position?

regards

david

[Richard]

Fair enough. It looked like a lever. So, it's then an attached matchstick? Built in but does not use fulcrum, rather relying on direct pressure once in open position?

Correct. And a kind soul has identified it as U.S. Patent Nº 1,205,847, issued in 1916 to the ingenious Claes Boman, who invented so many other clever things for the Eagle Pencil Company. I must admit to having had some suspicion of Eagle because of the Eagle nib in the pen, but since this pen wasn't found in the wild one can never be sure whether the nib in it is original to it.

We now have the name of another company that made pens for Rexall.

[BrianMcQueen]

Richard, I am glad someone pointed out the patent to you! I had done some searching, but could not find that one exactly. I did find a similar mechanism, 1433682, and several which were so wacky that I can't even imagine how they might work. It was fun trying to sleuth for yours.