#wearever

They were based in North Bergen, New Jersey, and they catered to the budget crowd. This De Luxe is from the top of their range: attractive plastic, gold-plated trim, and a 14k gold nib - technically.

In order to use the least amount of gold possible, they made a paper-thin gold nib supported by a steel frame. Gives it a real distinct look.

They only did this for a couple years. I can't imagine they were easy to assemble! So now (of course) these nibs are valuable and collectible. This one is a soft and wet broad. It feels really nice.

And the pen itself is just pretty!

For a budget brand Wearever put a lot of effort into their pens. The nibs were usually crap, but the bodies were nice. They imitated current trends very well, and had some great original designs. These days they're easy to get for cheap. Some collectors like to upgrade them with better nibs.

Wearever aluminum pitcher.

Some extra details of my contest entry into the Fluevog Creative Design Brief this month! Less than 5 days remain to get your votes in, so please do me a solid and head to this link and do that thing! You can vote daily!

The nib is gold-plated steel, and much of the gold is gone. But with a little tuning it's a pleasant writer with good flow.

The pen is quite small; I like posting it. The marbled red and green celluloid has a bit of glitter. It polished up nicely.

Here we have a Wearever Pacemaker. One reason I bought this guy is that it's a knockoff of the Parker Striped Duofold.

Most Pacemakers are closer to the Duofold's deeper colors, but I couldn't resist that delightful salmon pink. First time I've seen a celluloid pen in that shade!

The 14k nib took some smoothing. It writes like butter now. And look at that clear feed! I doubt any modern maker would try a clear feed in case it gets stained.

So that's a better look at the Wearever's reinforced nib. Looks like the ink is crudding up around the nib, as it sometimes does.

The butt end of that woodgrain Wahl-Eversharp ringtop. Look at the little swirls!

Chips of abalone embedded in celluloid, from my Sheaffer Balance in "ebonized pearl". I must've forgotten to polish that one...

The lever engraving on my Waterman 52½V. A lot of plating has come off.

The two-tone Triumph nib on my Sheaffer Statesman.

Machine chasing on a gold overlay pen of unknown make.

Hand engraving on the cutwork overlay of my Reliable ringtop.