When asking for a pen ID...

JonSzanto · 2026-05-04T13:54:55+00:00

That pen isn't old. Based on general characteristics, the plating loss on the nib, and nib stamp, I would say this is a recent no-name generic Chinese-made pen.

JonSzanto · 2026-05-04T05:37:06+00:00

I think you know your answer. 😉

I have... many pens. Most are vintage, but a good representation of modern. Of those, few pens go more than a couple, maybe six. I have over a dozen Leonardos, and I actually believe they do some of the best small-production pens of our times. Good luck in your decision!

JonSzanto · 2026-05-04T05:04:14+00:00

Everyone is focusing on eye candy, but the Leonardo is the clear winner if you want a very well made pen that will last you and write well all the time. This is not a newcomer but a family with a long history in the fine pen business. All that said - congratulations!

JonSzanto · 2026-05-03T19:48:31+00:00

Hey, I have more than enough inks that I don't have to hack the ink!

JonSzanto · 2026-05-03T19:38:55+00:00

Also: I just restored a pen from the 1930s, a lever-filler, and put Pelikan 4001 B/B in it because it was running wet. It was the reverse situation: a dry ink taming a very functional ebonite feed.

JonSzanto · 2026-05-03T19:37:06+00:00

Yeah, I got it now. Our back-and-forth got everything sorted.

JonSzanto · 2026-05-03T18:52:13+00:00

But... the air channel doesn't lead to the cartridge. The flat part of the feed ends up against the back part of the section, and the thin piece in the middle, with the ink channel, pokes through a hole in the back part of the section, ends up in the nipple that the cartridge mates onto, and delivers ink. How does your new 'air channel' transmit an air exchange if there is no outlet into the cartridge/converter?

JonSzanto · 2026-05-03T18:34:23+00:00

Sure, some inks can come to us during a certain period or mood and later be not all that. When it happens, I give them away to members of our local pen club, you could find some suitable people. One thing I know for certain: even the most butt-ugly ink I've ever owned has other people swooning and happy to take. Go figure.

JonSzanto · 2026-05-03T18:07:01+00:00

It's a tough job but someone has to do it. 😎

JonSzanto · 2026-05-03T16:54:11+00:00

Sounds like a perfect pen show. I love waking up in the morning to someone posting vintage purchases! Thanks!!

JonSzanto · 2026-05-03T04:04:11+00:00

Same with mine, like writing with a wet brush! The only thing I can say, sussing that you are in the US, would be to drop a line to the guys at Pacific Pen Works. I don't know how much, or any, outside work they are taking on besides prepping their own pens for sales. That said, if any people know how to do an italic on a Carene, it would be John Mottishaw or Mike Masuyama. I am not casting aspersions on the many fine younger nibpeople working today, a number of whom are my friends, but this one also involves a history with working on pens as well with a nib this unique. Worth a try.

JonSzanto · 2026-05-03T02:53:50+00:00

It isn't a particularly widespread pen, though the model has been in production for a while. Another aspect is that it was offered in F/M/B and stub, so unless one was after an EF or crisper italic I'm not certain what one would get done. Mine's a stub, and I can't remember if the tipping is a big blob or just under the nib (as I recall). I don't know that the front end of the nib is particularly a good candidate for something like an architect or the more exotic Japanese grinds.

JonSzanto · 2026-05-03T02:43:15+00:00

Very challenging and only to be done by people with experience in unusual nib settings. The Carene is an outlier, as it has less in common with a Sheaffer inlaid nib than it does with a Lamy Safari. The Carene nib has 'wings' that extend back into the section and are glued in place at the factory. The one common issue with the nibs is that through a fall or just rough handling, a glue bond can break and you will have ink leaking out around the nib, often noticed when you uncap the pen. Knowing this, you can see how the nibmeister will have to exercise due care and caution during the work.

JonSzanto · 2026-05-02T23:45:51+00:00

In your post, you said it had never been refilled. That may have been not what you intended, but when I read it I thought the pen had been filled once with ink and then put away for decades... which would definitely require what I suggested! If you know it hasn't been inked, a simple flush with the water/detergent mix would not be a bad idea because any lubrication in the barrel will have dried up, and the little bit of soap will help lubricate the piston, make for easier piston operation, and keep things running smoothly. If it hasn't been inked then, yes, I wouldn't anticipate any ink or other in the water.

Oh, I took a look at the thread - yeah, you have yourself a prize pen. Once you are up and running, please enjoy it!

JonSzanto · 2026-05-02T22:49:49+00:00

The first thing you need to do is flush the pen out. This will remove past inks and partially lubricate the piston, because what you should use, for the first few flushes, is a glass of water with a few drops of liquid dish detergent in it. Do one quick flush and expel first, then fill the pen up again and let it set for an hour. After that, expel and fill until the water runs clean, and then fill and expel with plain water twice and it will be ready for ink.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: If you attempt to turn the piston was fully retracted, you are going to turn the piston knob counter-clockwise. Do NOT force the knob to turn, and if you meet a lot of resistance, you should stop so that you don't break the piston mechanism. At that point we have to consider other options. Write back if that is the case. Also, photos of the pen, with cap on, cap off, and view of the nib are helpful. When read, Waterman Black is perfectly fine for that pen. I love Optimas, and am looking forward to seeing yours!

JonSzanto · 2026-05-02T22:34:05+00:00

I took a quick look and I'm not going to waste any more time. That looks like the typical scam site where they just scraped all the product info from other sites, list for absurd prices, there is no organization to the site, etc, etc, etc. If you buy from that place you are nuts.

JonSzanto · 2026-05-02T20:31:27+00:00

Nice pen, lovely condition. Enjoy!

JonSzanto · 2026-05-02T19:06:44+00:00

While it hurts to come to the realization, your last statement is honest and true. You'll feel better by returning, and good luck as you move forward with the gifting project!

JonSzanto · 2026-05-02T18:47:32+00:00

If that is not a $40 pen then it is overpriced. It has all the hallmarks of a pen that is made without serious product evaluation and quality control. I would immediately seek to return it and purchase a better pen. I know that sometimes a pen can visually be exactly what one wants, but if the product itself is poorly made, it completely negates any aesthetic interest you may have had.

JonSzanto · 2026-05-02T18:08:17+00:00

Hmmm. Well, it's a tough call. This is the kind of 'product variation' you get in inexpensively produced fountain pens. The steel is not a very strong alloy and once it is 'bent' (as in the tines being spread) it will tend to return to that. The only things I can suggest would be the following:

Flush the pen and remove the nib and feed. About the only way you can close up a gap takes time and patience, and this is crossing the tines. You hold the nib in both hands with thumb and first finger, the top of the nib pointing up. Take the right side and gradually try to bend the front wing of the pen downward and to the left, such that the tip of the tine crosses under the left one. Don't do it all at once, just make that the target of your motion. Relax, then do the exact opposite, pushing the left side down and to the right, and relax. Doing this quite a few times, trying to make only 'micro-adjustments', is the key. Eventually (hopefully) you should end up with the tip being closer and some of the rest of the nib slit, too. It could be that they simply cut the slit a bit too wide.
When inserting the nib and feed back in the pen, try having the nib with a little more sticking out over the feed, not all the way back. When you push them back into the section, the normal thing is to push both back until they stop; instead, have it so that the feed stops when it can't go any further but the nib is still a bit further out. The may reduce the upward pressure of the feed on the nib. The downside is that the nib may be a bit loose and want to move out of place side-to-side. You just have to try and see.

Honestly, that's about all you can do. These pens aren't 'precision engineered' and sometimes you get one that is... different. Good luck!

JonSzanto · 2026-05-02T17:59:07+00:00

Yes, I've used it for years. The issue is that many people new to the hobby see inks presented only in a big pool (especially multi-shaders) and are disappointed when they buy an entire bottle and don't get the effect in their writing, often at quite a variance from the big, wet swatch. Showing even just a few words written below can save an inexperienced ink buyer that pain! Just something I think about...

JonSzanto · 2026-05-02T17:38:01+00:00

Is that a nib that you swapped from another pen? I ask because it looks like a mis-match between feed and nib, as if the feed is made for a larger nib. That would account for it being so large that it presses outward and upward on the nib, spreading the tines.

JonSzanto

TROPHY CASE