ON058: Onoto The Pen, No. 5601-68.

Date: c1930s

Size: Capped - 5 7/16 inches; posted - 7 inches.

A very substantial and well-balanced Onoto piston filled pen.  This pen is in almost pristine condition.  The only thing I would point out on this pen is the very slight wave in the right hand tine of the nib which is invisible without using a good loupe and does not affect the writing performance of the pen in any way.  I can also see two small scratches on the section.  This pen has a glossy black chased celluloid barrel and cap with a hard rubber cap top button and filling knob.  The barleycorn chasing on the cap and barrel is excellent with no wear or fading apparent.  The colour of the hard rubber bits is impeccable, again with no fading.  The barrel imprint is also crisp and deep and shows no wear.  This is a "streamlined" design pen with a large tapering top button.  The pocket clip is gold filled and has the "TDLR" monogram within a star shaped cartouche at the shoulder and a ball at the bottom.  The nib is a lovely shiny Onoto No. 3/ST made from 14 carat gold and in a fine point.  This pen is a plunger filler.  You unscrew the blind cap at the end of the barrel and withdraw the plunger rod.  You fill the pen by immersing the nib fully in ink and pushing the blind cap home in one smooth motion.  The blind cap can then be screwed back into the barrel.  You should not operate the plunger while there is ink in the pen otherwise the ink will force its way past the plunger seals and the pen will then need re-sealing.

I have fully serviced this pen.  The filling mechanism works very well with its new washers and seals and fills the pen effortlessly.  The nib is very smooth and writes with a lovely wet and consistent fine width line.  The nib also has a little softness and even manages a little line width variation witn no more than normal writing pressure.  

I don't often get these Onoto piston fillers, and this is an excellent example.