8 replies to this topic

[johnmc2]

i couldn't see any pictures of the torpedo shaped Croxley so I thought I would share this fine example which arrived on Wednesday. We are on holiday at the moment so I haven't had a chance to tidy it up, but it hardly seems to need touching, being in excellent clean condition with no signs of use.

http://fountainpenbo..._529_623356.jpg

http://fountainpenbo..._529_265701.jpg

[vintage penman]

Very reminiscent of pre war Sheaffer pens with that styling. Nice pens though, have had a few over the years 

[Cob]

Croxley pens - I have had a few - are excellent quality and easy to work on.  I think that generally they are rather under-valued. The nibs are always good, though flex fans may be disappointed.  Many though have a nice degree of flexibility and write very nicely.  The gold plate is not bad usually and in my view a Croxley is every bit as good as any Mentmore , De La Rue - or Conway Stewart  - better probably than the latter, since the ends of the levers do not break off!  Changing a filling lever though is a nightmare I found.

 

Croxley is best known for the conventional-looking pen with the arrow clip.  The torpedo ones are very attractive and many came in nice marbled material like the one shown which appears to be a very nice example indeed..

 

I have only one Croxley at present.  This one is a button filler with a two-tone nib.  It has a metal cap in strange material which Croxley called "Silvern" - that's what it says on the box!  The cap is a slip type with a sort of streamlined arrow clip, and is a little loose which is annoying.  Otherwise the pen is very good quality - except for the "Silvern" finish which looks a bit like aluminium.  Curiously the section, which is a screw fit, has a left-hand thread which I have always wondered about!

 

Cob

Edited by Cob, 11 July 2015 - 08:49 AM.

[Wardok]

Any chance of a picture of your pen Cob?

[Cob]

Any chance of a picture of your pen Cob?

Yes of course; I'll put it up later today.

 

Best wishes

 

Cob

Edited by Cob, 13 July 2015 - 11:54 AM.

[Cob]

Here are the snaps of the SIlvern Cap Croxley

 

 

Cob

Edited by Cob, 13 July 2015 - 03:29 PM.

[Cob]

Having got out the Croxley "Silvern" cap pen to photograph it I decided to try it and do a little maintenance. 

 

I suspect that the Silvern cap was a bit of an afterthought - perhaps the budget was dwindling?  The pen is beautifully made; no nasty push-in button like an early post-war Parker Duofold, oh no! A nice machined aluminium button running in an aluminium threaded bush; this provides that lovely "Swiss watch" feeling when filling.

 

Expensive to make I should say.

 

I'm still puzzled about that left-hand threaded section though!

 

Cob

[johnmc2]

Perhaps there were plans for a threaded-cap version in which case the LH thread on the section would mean it could not be accidentally unscrewed inside the cap like those brass-threaded Swans are prone to? 

 

I suppose button-fillers need threaded sections to prevent the pressure bar pushing them out.  

Edited by johnmc2, 14 July 2015 - 08:57 PM.

[Cob]

Perhaps there were plans for a threaded-cap version in which case the LH thread on the section would mean it could not be accidentally unscrewed inside the cap like those brass-threaded Swans are prone to? 

 

I suppose button-fillers need threaded sections to prevent the pressure bar pushing them out.  

Yes button fillers usually have thread sections for the reason you suggest; the exception is the Parker NS Duofold which has a push fit section - but it is a very precise fit.  There were other Parker button fillers that had push fit sections e.g. the Televisor; however these used a special cantilever pressure bar.

 

As for the cap thread question, one would hope that Croxley would not have made the fundamental error that Mabie Todd made with the brass threaded Swans and indeed the left-hand thread would solve that.

 

Cob

Edited by Cob, 15 July 2015 - 08:47 AM.