Modifying fountain pens - Penatia

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jtate

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Penatia fountain pens are made by Cross and they're on sale for $2.99 at Big Lots. The part with the nib screws into a ring that's just pressure fitted into the barrel. Seems like an opportunity for penturners!

I don't know what sized tub the ring would fit in but I figure you could remove the barrel, make a new one and put the ring in it, screw in the section with the nib and voila! A custom modified fountain pen! The caps are silver colored so they'll go with lots of materials.

It's cheaper than buying a kit!

Julia
 
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I checked my local Big Lots yesterday. No Penatia [:(]. I was looking forward to some experimenting. Guess I'll have to try something else!
 
I did a little research; apparently you can get these pens for under $10 (that's the market segment Cross is targeting with the Penatia line). I didn't realize there were fountain pens on the market in the $10 range!
 
If you want a fountain pen that writes reasonably well, I wouldn't recommend Cross. I bought a Cross FP about 15 years ago, used it little while and then put it away. After I made my first FP, I flushed it out and tried it. It doesn't write as well as the Jr. Gents FP that I made. The Cross nib feels scratchy. I think I paid about $75.00 for it.
 
I bought a fountain pen at Target for $7.00 to see if I could use one with my left hand. Don't remember the manufacturer but it has a nice looking chrome finish and wrote reasonably well (I'm definitely no expert on FPs). The biggest problem was that the snap cap insert broke and I could no longer put the cap on it. I'm going by Big Lots on the way home and see if they have the Penatia.

P.S. Target is still carrying the inexpensive FPs in three barrel colors the last time I was in there.
 
My biggest fountain pen customer writes with nothing else and had been buying the Target cheapies. No more! He's a convert. [:D] I just can't get him interested in anything beyond the snap caps, but he did order a Baron for his daughter for Christmas last year. [;)]
 
Gerry,
Sorry you had a bad experience with your Cross pen. Many Cross FPs are excellent and the Penatia is a pretty good pen. Again, you get what you pay for - if you're looking for super wonderful fountain pen - I'd go Conklin or Conway Stewart or even Pelikan.
You may have had a Cross that was, individually, a flawed pen. Every manufacturer has a few slip through...
Julia
 
Originally posted by JimGo
<br />Thanks for the heads-up Julia! Those are actually some attractive pens. Too bad the caps have Penatia on them!
Click to expand...

A little Acetone will take that right off.

I was in big lots and bought 4 of these a month or so ago and now they are all gone. I never thought of taking them apart. I also wanted to really try one out as a leftie and the pen writes pretty well.
 
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