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Montblanc KO-W8 AL – Mohammad Ali 1942 Special Edition, £3,430
This was marked as “Kinshasa, Zaire 1974 – Quezon – 1975”, limited edition fountain pen. Montblanc pays a limited-edition tribute to Muhammad Ali, the three-time world heavyweight boxing champion. The pen is also inspired by the coat he wore prior to the legendary ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ fight in Kinshasa, Zaire, against the then reigning heavyweight champion, George Foreman in 1974. George was a two-time world heavyweight champion and an Olympic gold medalist. A nice touch is the solid gold 18 K (Au750) gold bi-colour nib, which is engraved with his boxing glove. Filling system: Piston.

Inspired by and published for the 480th Anniversary of Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) the most important thesis De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres)

August Eberstein / Kaspar von Faber (1730-1784) / Joseph Bramah (1748-1814), read more...

Mentmore Auto-Flow Marble 14 K (Au585) Gold Nib

Mabie Todd & Co Ltd Black Bird 14 K (Au585) Gold Nib

Visconti Hom Sapiens Lava Bronze Age Maxi 18 K (Au750) Gold Nib
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If the Pelikan 100 fountain pen could talk….the military history of WWII since the 1st September 1939-5th May 1945 including: The Africa Star, The Italy Star, The 1939-1945 Star, The George VI War Medals 1939-1945: The War Medal and The Defence Medal, The Polish “Karpacka Brigade”.

Part One

The purists in our line of interest will perhaps be aghast at some of the following, what works for me may not work for everyone, but a good few years of experience, have led to this article, which does have an element of the Penn and Tellers, (US magicians who reveal trade magicians’ secrets).

Part Two

Many of the solvents /adhesives will seem to and do have similar properties, the reason being that vintage pen materials vary wildly in quality and how they react. This is evident in particularly, Black Hard Rubber from different manufacturers in vintage and modern supply, also, the variance in Cellulose Nitrate from the 1930’s and 40’s. Lucite introduced to pens in the early 1940’s, proved to be a more stable material, requiring Methyl Ethyl Ketone rather than Acetone as a solvent for repairs.

Step by step detail on the method I use for the repair of these, which requires quite delicate lathe work

Probably one of the most frequent faults particularly with hard rubber pen caps, of the early part of last century are cracked and chipped cap lips. Early ONOTO pens caps from early the last century are particularly susceptible to this defect. With these it’s not too much of a problem, as generally the caps are smooth, so manufacture of a new cap itself, does not prove too many problems.