I would like to wish everybody a happy Stinky Week. Ya it’s the end of the semester and because everybody is cramming and concentrating on their last bits of work; we all neglect our personal hygiene. I would be celebrating with you all, though I have to go to work today (gotta be clean). I would also like to say that I admire Pinkplaid’s comment she left. She had a challenge and fought back; she really hit hard, I would encourage every one to read it (on the interesting stuff 2 entry). She pointed out grammar issues, the problem is that it’s too easy; you can point out these things on everybody’s blog, hers included. Also she uses the term “Ignorant”, an adjective which means lacking knowledge. This is a good word though it does not match her argument well. I think foolish, idiotic or buffoonish would have worked better. Also using profanity is some times a bad move. The way our society works, when we use profanity, we give up the moral high ground. Yesterday I asked many class members in the library, if they felt my comments were idiotic (feelings aside), all had the opposite to say. Also Pinkster, when have you ever contributed anything to the class? You just hide behind your laptop in the back and act like you’re just too special to put your hand up. The reason the professor does not call on me, is because I admit that I am a chatter box and he wants to give every one a chance. I don’t think I bring people down; I just test them, unless of course if your weak enough to be brought down. Anyway, have a great summer Pinkster Hommie G-slice; we’re having too much fun.
Living On Love, I was glad to hear from you. You said that you were done blogging for a while. I am glad to see you back in the saddle. It’s just like what I said; getting in touch with that aggression, now you just need to sharpen it in to a precision tool. You ask if Lager Lout is my porn name, do you think I am a porn star. What? Also; “…make your right hand best friends with it.” Do you mean that I am a freaky porn star with multiple penises? I think I get the picture of what you mean, after writing a porn blog like the last; you really lose interest in porn. Also thanks for demonstrating my earlier point: it is cheap, easy and meaningless to go after some ones grammar mistakes. Also Dookie, be careful what you wish for.
Rewritten Winston Churchill quote; “Yes Madame, I might be ignorant. But I will be more learned when I graduation and you’ll still be angry.”
“Never argue with a man who buys his ink by the barrel” -Mark Twain
Photo: Fountain Pens (Left to Right) 1920 No: 52 Waterman; present day 149 Mont Blanc; late 1940’s 234 ¼ Mont Blanc; 1937 Parker Vacumatic Major; `1932 Parker Duofold Junior; late 1920’s Parker Duofold Senior.
O.k. now that we have the fan mail sorted out, let’s get on to some easy reading.
I feel a big part of expression is external technologies. Humans have been making text or pictures for thousands of years. The methods have changed quite a bit, from painting on walls to Computers. In many periods in history humans have developed paper and ink and writing tools and texts. Thousands of years ago in ancient Egypt and China, humans used ink and blushes and paper made of plant fiber. In Europe, paper was made of animal hide; tips of bird feathers were cut into a type of brush known as a quill. As the Europeans landed and colonized the Continental United States, they brought there writing techniques with. In the United States Quills were used till the late 18th century. A new pen was invented in the late 18th century, which had a tip similar to a quill. It was basically a solid stick of wood with an early metal simulation of a quill tip mounted on the end; it was referred to as a dip pen. This new type of pen was an improvement, though was not perfect. The metal used was stiff and scratchy, also had to be coated with oil because it corroded easily (real messy). You also had to carry a little bottle of ink with you to constantly dip the pen in (also real messy). Through out the 19th century, there were little changes to the early pen here and there. In 1884 was the big change.
One thing is, that when writing instruments become more user friendly the more people become literate, when more people become literate, the big diversity of idea’s and speech we have. I would like to thank my fountain pens for getting me through High School and University. Also for helping me get my articles on the editor’s desk on time.
In 1884 in New York City, a new pen was patented; the ‘fountain pen.’ An insurance broker named Lewis E. Waterman invented an instrument to help him do his job better. He lost a big contract because his early pen made a big blotch on an important contract. He scrambled to get another pen then lost the contract. He invented a pen that had a pop on cap and a hollow body, all made of black hard rubber. The nib (pen tip) was made out of gold with an iridium tip. The combination of these metals gave the nib ideal spring and smoothness, and was also non-corrosive. Lewis took these existing ideas and combined them with a capillary valve system between the reservoir and the nib. For the first time there was a reliable writing instrument that you could carry in your pocket and just un-cap and write with anywhere. This is still the basic design incorporated in fountain pens today.
During the 20th century the art of fountain pen manufacturing was taken up by many different companies around the world with many different design changes. The next major change was made in 1910. Walter A. Shaffer designed a self filling mechanism and started the Shaffer pen company still based out of Fort Madison Iowa. The pen had a lever built into the side, that when pulled would push up against a crushing bar that would be against an inside rubber sack or bladder. When the lever is then realest, the rubber sack returns to its original shape and sucks ink into the sack. This design became the norm for fountain pens. This was a change from the old eyedropper system. Many companies like Waterman and Mablie Todd adapted the new innovation with a leaver. Parker were the rebels, they used a pushbutton system though with a self filling rubber sack. The Parker pen company was the second fountain pen company. It was started in the 1890’s by school teacher George S. Parker of Janesville Wisconsin. The first Parkers were similar to Waterman’s except Parkers capillary values were curved in an L shape; they were nick named Lucky Curves.
During the 1930’s and 1940’s was when Parker would make their biggest innovations. In 1930’s, during the post Duofold era came the Parker Vacumatic. It was the first Parker Pen to have the arrow clip, which is still the company’s trade mark to this day. The Vacumatic had a unique system of shrinking the rubber sack down and putting a snorkel in the body, to create a deeper reservoir. This pen would evolve in to the Parker 51. The Parker 51 was designed by to son of George Parker; it was not accepted very much at first. It had a hooded nib that only the very tip was not covered with plastic; which gave the pen an easier grip. It also had a round streamline shape with a snap-cap rather then a threaded cap. The 51 design is still copied by many pen companies to this day.
In the mid 1920’s the Mont Blanc pen company in Germany came up with a system that does away with the rubber sack all together. Mont Blanc developed a system that was similar to a medical syringe. The pen would have a hollow glass or plastic lined inner body with a cork or plunger attached to a mechanical threaded rod that makes the cork move up and down like a piston when you turn the back part of the pen. This new German filling system was adapted by the Pelican Company as well as a few other German pen companies. Mont Blanc was not sold in America until after WWII; they did not really become popular in America until the late 1960’s. Mont Blanc became a yuppie statues symbol, they became the perfect thing to match your custom Italian leather shoes and new BMW or Mercedes car and gold Rolex watch.
Fountain pens started becoming less and lass after WWII. In the mid 1940’s the Biros brothers perfected the ball point pen. The first company to successfully sell ball point pens was the Reynolds pen company of Chicago. In the 1950’s a French man named Marcel Bich invented and sold a ball point that was cheap, rudimentary reliable made of crystal clear plastic called the ball point Bic. By the 1970’s fountain pens were virtually extinct. In the last 20 years there has been a fountain pen renaissance. In Europe and in Japan and China there is still a strong market for fountain pens. Many companies are resurrecting old fountain pen models and designs and going after the yuppie market that Mont Blanc has prospered in.
Photo was taken by the blogger and is of his personal pen collection
