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Vacumatic question


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#1 Norm

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Posted 07 August 2014 - 04:36 PM

There is an assertion on another site that one can tell the model by counting the number of feathers on the nib and that a Maxima, both regular and slender,  have 9 feathers.  All other models have 7 feathers.  Also if there is a major with 9 feathers, it must be a Slender Maxima with the wrong cap.  I have doubts about this because I have Majors with both 9 with 8 feathers and I doubt either cap was ever replaced. This makes me wonder about the accuracy of the initial assertion. An Oversize that I have has 10 feathers.

 

So is it true that the number of feathers on a Vacumatic nib determines the model? 



#2 John Danza

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Posted 07 August 2014 - 06:34 PM

Hi Norm,

 

David can definitely get deep into this, but I believe that each model did have a nib size that ended up having a specific number of feathers. Your mention of the Oversize with 10 feathers makes me wonder a bit, as I thought the 10 feather nibs were used with the Duofolds only as replacement nibs. I guess they would be right for the Oversize however.



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#3 Norm

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Posted 07 August 2014 - 07:25 PM

That's why I posted here. If there is anywhere on the internet where one can expect to find the best advice on pens, it is here.

 

If it helps the discussion, here is the oversize with ten feathers and below is the pen with nine feathers and has a regular sized cap band.  I'd like to know if they are correct for the pens or not.  ps the "Major" has stripes on the cap and blind cap and it is a speedline filler with a black section.

 

DSCN1616_zps3ac73b6f.jpg

 

DSCN1620_zpsa28f7b66.jpg


Edited by Norm, 07 August 2014 - 07:29 PM.


#4 Norm

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Posted 07 August 2014 - 07:53 PM

I could not get a decent picture of this one. The nib is .36. and the pen is 37., is the same size as the Major above and it has 8 feathers.

DSCN1640_zpsfdd6fffc.jpg



#5 david i

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Posted 08 August 2014 - 12:12 AM

That's why I posted here. If there is anywhere on the internet where one can expect to find the best advice on pens, it is here.

 

If it helps the discussion, here is the oversize with ten feathers and below is the pen with nine feathers and has a regular sized cap band.  I'd like to know if they are correct for the pens or not.  ps the "Major" has stripes on the cap and blind cap and it is a speedline filler with a black section.

 

 

DSCN1620_zpsa28f7b66.jpg

Hi,

Sorry, but I'm bit swamped at pen show this weekend. Nib shown just above, two tone, looks very much like a Slender Maxima nib.

 

regarsd

 

d


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#6 Norm

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Posted 08 August 2014 - 03:15 PM

OK.  Thanks.



#7 Norm

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Posted 09 August 2014 - 04:19 PM

Here is a picture of the whole pen with the Major cap. It has stripes on the jewel so it seems to be the same age as the rest of the pen.  Did they ever put Maxima nibs on Major pens?

 

DSCN1609_zps70f9326a.jpg



#8 Norm

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Posted 18 August 2014 - 12:10 PM

So can anyone offer an opinion if this is a Slender Maxima with the wrong cap or a Major with the wrong nib.  What about Vacumatic nibs with ten and eight feathers?  Are they standard in some circumstances or are they substitutes?


Edited by Norm, 18 August 2014 - 12:11 PM.


#9 BrianMcQueen

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Posted 21 August 2014 - 05:22 PM

I can offer the same opinion I offered on FPN, but I'd like to hear David Isaacson's take on this one.



#10 david i

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Posted 21 August 2014 - 06:11 PM

I can offer the same opinion I offered on FPN, but I'd like to hear David Isaacson's take on this one.

 

Rough week. I'm already getting chewed out here as someone who doesn't like people who don't live in gated communities (???) because I've been bit swamped this week/month/season and am slow to answer emails ;)

 

I'll play with this more in detail I hope next week, but  briefly, 10-feather nibs are found, always (so far) monotone. They fit Maximas (and perhaps could be further arched along long axist to fit Sl Max. Collector Convention holds that these were late Parker replacement nibs for Duofold Senior.  We don't object though (save for the minor value issue finding monotone nib in those pens we'd expect to have two tone) to finding them in Vacs. 

 

As to mixes...

 

Slender Max after late 1939 has same contour as Major. Diff being cap-band, Section inner-diameter (to hold feed), bigger feed and nib. Often opposite mix is found, a Slender Maxima cap-barrel with Major nib.  Finding the reverse (potential reverse, keeping open mind) of a Major cap-barrel (barrel proper of course the same after late 1938), with Sl-Max nib is no value loss indeed a value gain, even *if* nib/feed/section is bit of swamp, as Slender max front ends are not easy to find

 

regards

 

d


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#11 BrianMcQueen

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Posted 21 August 2014 - 06:23 PM

David, would you say that the pen in question is more likely a nib/feed/section swap or a cap swap?  In either case, could it be wholly original?



#12 John Danza

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Posted 21 August 2014 - 06:52 PM

Collector Convention holds that these were late Parker replacement nibs for Duofold Senior. 

 

All the examples I've seen of Flattop Senior Duofolds with feather nibs have all had 10 feathers. These examples have been seen with both spear feeds and comb feeds. YMMV, but the feather nibs came along long after the flattops were long gone from the product line, so the only options would be replacement or new pens manufactured in the 1930s from left-over parts.



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#13 Norm

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Posted 22 August 2014 - 02:22 PM

Jon, just to be clear in my mind, are you saying that the ten feather nibs are always replacement nibs or that the ten feather nibs on OS Vacs were also used as replacement nibs on old Duofolds?

 

As to the Vac in question, I would be inclined to speculate that the pen was sold new as a Major with the Max nib configuration (special order?) rather than being a later replacement.


Edited by Norm, 22 August 2014 - 02:25 PM.


#14 John Danza

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Posted 23 August 2014 - 04:25 AM

Jon, just to be clear in my mind, are you saying that the ten feather nibs are always replacement nibs or that the ten feather nibs on OS Vacs were also used as replacement nibs on old Duofolds?

 

My post didn't say either. You may want to re-read it. I was responding to David's comment about "Collector convention", and I was trying to illustrate why it might be more than that.

 

As I noted, all Flattop Duofolds I have seen with feather nibs have had 10-feather nibs. The feather nib came along long after the Flattop Duofold was out of the product line. So for Flattop Duofolds to have feather nibs, they would either have to be replacements or have been used for late-1930s construction of Flattop Duofolds from parts that already existed from the late 1920s.

 

I don't know enough about Vacs to know what the proper feather configuration was on each model.



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#15 david i

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Posted 23 August 2014 - 04:45 AM

 

Jon, just to be clear in my mind, are you saying that the ten feather nibs are always replacement nibs or that the ten feather nibs on OS Vacs were also used as replacement nibs on old Duofolds?

 

My post didn't say either. You may want to re-read it. I was responding to David's comment about "Collector convention", and I was trying to illustrate why it might be more than that.

 

As I noted, all Flattop Duofolds I have seen with feather nibs have had 10-feather nibs. The feather nib came along long after the Flattop Duofold was out of the product line. So for Flattop Duofolds to have feather nibs, they would either have to be replacements or have been used for late-1930s construction of Flattop Duofolds from parts that already existed from the late 1920s.

 

I don't know enough about Vacs to know what the proper feather configuration was on each model.

 

 

Hi,

 

Just to play out the logic/syntax, "collector convention" represents a dominant hobby view. That something is collector convention does not mean there is not appropriate basis for the belief. CC need not be assumption. I think I've seen some Parker literature citing replacement feather nibs for Duofolds, and exploring some  nibs with Ron Zorn, iirc some have bumps in the nib base to provide better grip when used in Duofolds whose original "Duofold" nibs might have been a bit thicker at the base.

 

regards

 

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#16 Norm

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Posted 24 August 2014 - 03:33 PM

I was talking to Sherrell Tyree yesterday and she said it was not unusual for pen parts, especially caps,  to be mixed at point of sale by the person in a jewelry store or a drug store if the buyer wished to have a pen with or without certain features.  She said that is an explanation for the pens we come across that aren't in catalogs but are still correct for the age of the pen.



#17 Baz666

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Posted 25 August 2014 - 07:00 PM

 

Snip...

 

I'll play with this more in detail I hope next week, but  briefly, 10-feather nibs are found, always (so far) monotone. They fit Maximas (and perhaps could be further arched along long axist to fit Sl Max. Collector Convention holds that these were late Parker replacement nibs for Duofold Senior.  We don't object though (save for the minor value issue finding monotone nib in those pens we'd expect to have two tone) to finding them in Vacs. 

 

Snip...

 

regards

 

d

 

 

 

Hi,

What gives?

I have just checked my senior Maximas and 3 of them have 10-feather 2 tone nibs (U.S.A. production) two are 1940, one is 1942.

 

Also this senior Maxima looks to have a 10-feather 2 tone nib (no affiliation).

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291157696858

 

 

10feather.JPG

 

Regards

Paul.






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