I won a little antique Eagle coin filler on eBay cheap ($9 shipped), most likely made between 1910 and 1924, and it arrived today. Sadly, I don't forsee it being a regular user. First, it has a trident feed, which IIRC were designed to get around someone else's patent, and are known for having irregular flow. More significantly, the top of the cap is just tabs of folded-over metal from the cylinder, and there's no inner cap. You can see straight through it. That'll make the nib dry out quickly. Worse, combined with the huge air holes of a trident feed, it may make the reservoir dry out quickly. And on top of all that, one of the nib's tines is bent, AND it's untipped. So, it's basically a demo model. BUT, since I mainly wanted a coin filler for the novelty of having one, and the price was definitely right, I'm happy anyway. :)
I'm becoming less and less pleased with my Binder order. The nib I sent back arrived today, but hasn't been looked at yet. :P But, on top of that, remember how I had problems with the Taccia I ordered at the same time? It would stop writing during pauses, sometimes even just the pause between words, so I had cleaned it out and put it away until I was less frustrated. Well, today I started thinking about filling it up and trying it again, and it suddenly hit me what must have been wrong with it. I came home, looked at the nib under a loupe, and I was right: it's baby bottomed. This is when the inner edges of a nib tip around the slot are curved so much that capillary action holds ink within the curve instead of delivering it to the paper. Once you get it going, it'll keep feeding ink, until something stops the flow -- like a pause in writing or even lifting from the page to start a new word. Sound familiar? I now really am beginning to doubt whether my order was given the advertised inspection and adjustment. This is an obvious problem. It never should have made it into my hands.
I have requested a refund for it, although it's not in compliance with his usual return policy. That stated policy on his webpage doesn't give me a good feeling, but I'll just have to see what happens.
Now, back to happy stuff. (See how I've got a bullshit sandwich here? ^_~) My happy spiffy good Snorkel arrived today. I think it might be Peacock Blue (a rare color, worth around $150 when restored), but I'm not entirely sure as I've never seen Peacock Blue or a normal aqua in person. Even if it is the normal color, though, I made sure to bid low enough that I could refurbish and resell it without taking a loss, and that's if I sell it. It's a nice pen in its own right, so I very well may keep and use it either way. Eventually a normal aqua pen will end up in this house, and I can compare. I really like the engraving on it: "Best Wishes". :) I've got another snorkel coming that I want to practice on first, though, as I've never repaired a snorkel before. It's just a normal Burgandy, so I can practice with impunity. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment