[David Wimmer]

Hello all, do any of you know if there is an ink flow control device fitted to spiral glass nibbed fountain pens? It would seem that a glass nibbed pen could very easily have excessive or non-existant flow if the nib to section tollerances were off by even a slight margin. Since the section is seized in my Spors crescent filler I have no reference to examine for this information...

Thanks,

David

[rhr]

David,

As far as I know, there is no other ink-flow-control device fitted to glass-nibbed fountain pens other than the spiral grooves or crevices in the nibs. And you're right, the ink flow is highly dependent upon the tolerances between the nib and the section.

I don't think your Spors crescent filler has a seized section, though. Their usual method was to permanently glue the section into the barrel. If this is what you meant by "seized", then it's seized, alright.

If you're interested in other glass-nibbed fountain pens, here are some more. A while ago Nathan Tardif posted a message on another pen board that Chicago Conklin, Hartline, Kerr, Spors, and various Japanese manufacturers used glass nibs in their fountain pens.

Tomorrow I'll post an illustration of a glass-nibbed pen reduced to its parts.

George Kovalenko.

[rhr]

David,

Here's the promised illustration of the glass-nibbed fountain pen reduced to its parts. Notice the part about the glued-in
section, and the hyperventilated self-justification for it. ;~)

George Kovalenko.

[hjorten]

Hi David,

In Europe the most common glass nib pen comes from the German company HARO, which stands for HAns ROggenback. Here you can see a small article about this pen: Haro, the pen with a glass nib (I'm sorry that I haven't made the English version yet)

Link to the english version of the article: Haro, the pen with a glass nib Thank you Sal! (Added Nov. 7, 2006)

I can't see any possibility to adjust the ink flow but I think the blue ball has something to do with it. Haro mention it as a sign of their quality and it aassure a evenly and regurarly ink flow.

/Olle

[tondelayo]

Hi David,

In Europe the most common glass nib pen comes from the German company HARO, which stands for HAns ROggenback. Here you can see a small article about this pen: Haro, the pen with a glass nib (I'm sorry that I haven't made the English version yet)

I can't see any possibility to adjust the ink flow but I think the blue ball has something to do with it. Haro mention it as a sign of their quality and it aassure a evenly and regurarly ink flow.

/Olle

I asked a friend to translate from Swedish to English and here's what she came up with for your site, above:

"If you come across a pen with a glass tip, there’s a high probability that
'HARO' appears on it. HARO stands for HAns ROggenbuck who started
producing pens in Germany in 1926. Those were relatively cheap pens and
almost all that were produced had glass tips. The fountain pens had
different filling systems. There were safety fillers, lever fillers like
the pen from the 1920s in the picture above, and in the ad from 1944 a
vacuum filler is mentioned. Glass tips have certain advantages that are
listed in the ad to the side; there is a “mute” tip that makes it possible
to write through several sheets of paper with carbon between. Everyone who
writes with an ink pen holds it a little differently, so a tip wears
according to the one who is using the pen. Glass tips on the other hand
can be held however you like and the wear is a little more even. The final
forming of the tips is such that one can draw a straight line with a ruler;
they are also cheap and easily changed."

Regards,
Sal

[hjorten]

I asked a friend to translate from Swedish to English and here's what she came up with for your site, above:

Hi Sal,
and Thank You for the excellent help with the translation, I publish it as soon as possible.

/Olle

[Dennis A. Spors]

The Haro pen was also connected to Spors Company. Hans Roggenbuck was a cousin of Frank Spors. Frank's (Franz) wife was Antonie v. Roggenbuck. Both families were from the same district in Pomerania, Prussia. The von der Spors's and V. Roggenbuck's were all i officers in the army until the abducation of the Kaiser in 1918.

Hans often visited Spors Co. in the 30's until the US declared war on Germany. By then the supply of Japanese pens had been cut off.

In the 1920's Franz Spors started selling fountain pens to drug stores. When he ran out Franz went back to the distributor who could not resupply him. Franz contacted the manufacturers in Japan and became his own wholesaler. With his brothers he founded Spors Company in LeCentre, Minnesota.

The pens were part of a program to create and provide traveling salesmen who went to independent stationers and drug stores across the midwest, providing a variety of items. The glass tip fountain pens were good sellers for many years. Mail order was a big part of the business and Spors Company owned the US Post Office in LeCenter. This thriving business involved many farmers wives who worked part tIme assemblying an packaging, through the Greta Depression.

Dennis A. Spors
Spors Co. , Inc.

Hi David,

In Europe the most common glass nib pen comes from the German company HARO, which stands for HAns ROggenback. Here you can see a small article about this pen: Haro, the pen with a glass nib (I'm sorry that I haven't made the English version yet)

I can't see any possibility to adjust the ink flow but I think the blue ball has something to do with it. Haro mention it as a sign of their quality and it aassure a evenly and regurarly ink flow.

/Olle

[Claes]

Hej Olle & all!

"I can't see any possibility to adjust the ink flow but I think the blue ball has something to do with it."

If my memory serves me right, that blue dot is just sort of a trade mark,
you know: "beware of reproductions!". The back of the nib was just dipped in blue paint.

I also have a faint memory that Haro nibs could be had in different grades (= widths):
extra-fine, fine, medium and stubby and that the width was indicated by colour somewhere...
If not the back end, it can have been different colours of the glass itself. A pity that I just
have black & white sales brochures from the 1930s...

[a little later:] I found one! [attachmentid=332]
Looks like the colour of the glass indicates width.

Have fun!
Claes in Lund, Sweden
http://www.algonet.se/~claesg

Attached File(s)

•  haro1.jpg (123.09K)
  Number of downloads: 63

[Rob Astyk]

Hi, Dennis, Claes, Olle, et al.,

Welcome, Dennis!

I have had some conversation with Dennis in connection with his registration here. Dennis is Frank Spors' grandson and can, I think, provide a wealth of information concerning his grandfather's company. It's a privilege and an honor to have Dennis as one of our members.

And, Claes, thank you for that image. I wonder now if there was some cross-fertilization between Haro and the Waterman color nib system? I don't know, but it would have been interesting if one got the idea from the other.

Take care,

Rob Astyk

[tryphon]

David,

As far as I know, there is no other ink-flow-control device fitted to glass-nibbed fountain pens other than the spiral grooves or crevices in the nibs. And you're right, the ink flow is highly dependent upon the tolerances between the nib and the section.

I don't think your Spors crescent filler has a seized section, though. Their usual method was to permanently glue the section into the barrel. If this is what you meant by "seized", then it's seized, alright.

If you're interested in other glass-nibbed fountain pens, here are some more. A while ago Nathan Tardif posted a message on another pen board that Chicago Conklin, Hartline, Kerr, Spors, and various Japanese manufacturers used glass nibs in their fountain pens.

Tomorrow I'll post an illustration of a glass-nibbed pen reduced to its parts.

George Kovalenko.

There is no ink control device other than the size of the grooves on the glass nib.
Most such pens need to be "primed" in order to start writing.
In addition to the Japanese made Spors pens, many European manufacturers made pens with glass nibs: these were sold for using on carbons and also, during the time when metals were in short supply because of the war effort, they were widely used by Italian pen makers. The best glass nibs were imported from Czechoslovakia. The latest glass nib pen to be manufactured in Italy was made in 1990 by Visconti. It was a classic flat top, made in gorgeous celluloid and used glass nibs found by Visconti in the warehouse of a defunct italian pen company. Fitting the glass nib to the section was always a problem: in the old days many nibs were cemented to the section. In their 1990 pen, Visconti used a heat shrink material to fit the nib to the section: it worked quite well!

[einv]

giovanni, my brother bought me a wonderful italian glass dip pen from the leaning tower shopping area. it is lovely. i was never able to get the spohr pen to write consistently, however the dip pen does much better, and due to its size, it writes many words per dip.

[Tinker]

How Ironic - I just picked up a Spors at the Seattle Pen Club. So far I have found it a great writer, but it does need to be primed each time you write with it.

John

[philm]

Speaking of Spors, I came across two Spors pens with compasses on the cap top. Bought them on a whim for the uniqueness. Here is one.



and a close up of the compass



When I unscrewed the compass to clean, here is what I found:



The second pen had one black die in it. Interesting ......

[Rob Astyk]

Hi, Phil,

How very cool! Thank you so much for posting those images. You make me wish that I'd picked up more Spors pens when they were under $1 each.

Take care,

Rob Astyk

[philm]

Follow up to the strange pen with the die (up two post) and compass distributed by SPORS. I purchased a 1933 Spors Catalog this week and there was an advertisement for this very pen. Photos of the pages follow.







Interesting inexpensive pens.

Phil