I am proud to introduce a limited edition fountain pen designed on the basis of the experience I have gained over 15 years in the repair of vintage pens.  I have incorporated in the design what I consider to be the best features of the vintage pens that have crossed my repair bench.

The filling system and the writing performance benefit from modern high quality manufacturing techniques. The pen is styled in the spirit of the Ford Standard using the nib and feed of modern pens (Parker Centennial for the Dunnfordpark and Waterman 100 for the Dunnfordwater) and  it uses a variant of the Dunn filling system, so hence the choice of name.

The benefits of the design include:-

a. Large ink capacity (more than three times that of a typical cartridge-converter) and easy monitoring of ink level.

b. Use of high quality modern nibs and feeds.

c. Double insulated barrel to minimise the effects of temperature variations.

     d. Ink chamber sealed when the cap is in place and the thread is tightened.  The pen can therefore be          carried on an aircraft without fear of leaks.

    e. Absence of threads from the gripping area.

f. Complete filling of the ink chamber in only five cycles.

g. Easy servicing - threaded components and single O-ring seal.

h. Cap lip detachable and made in Acetal (an uncrackable nylon type material).

These pens are hand made by me except for the clip, nib and feed.  The carcases are in a range of different acrylic designs and colours; they all carry the Pen Practice logo, their name and the serial number.  There is an option of a solid English walnut hand carved box (optional extra at £25 - see picture), 8-page instruction manual unique to the pen purchased and guarantee on any parts that prove defective.  The pen size is gauged against a standard Parker 51 seen above.

Notes:

1. The Dunn pen of 1920 introduced one of the most significant of all pen filling systems because it was the first commercially successful pen that used a breather tube to enable filling of the entire ink chamber (transparent in some models).  The Dunn is a diaphragm filler, preceding by many years the more famous Vacumatic.  It is based on rigid telescoping tubes rather than the more familiar flexible rubber tube.  The seal between the tubes was mounted in the barrel end and was made of cork.  This seal proved less than totally reliable and was the component that prevented greater success for the Dunn pen.  Modern elastomeric O-rings are reliable, maintenance free and are more conveniently mounted on the moving plunger tube.

2. The Ford patents of the early 1930’s proposed a syringe type filler with a rather complicated piston seal bypass valve and a long breather tube that enabled complete filling.  The piston rod entered through a seal mounted in the end of the ink chamber.  Ford introduced the idea of a doubly insulated ink chamber whilst retaining enormous visible ink capacity.  Like the Dunn, Ford pens suffered from poor quality seals.

3. The Parker and Waterman nib/feed combinations are among the best available today.

4. Pens that have inspired and aided the new design:-

Dunn - filling system (modified).

Ford - styling, double insulation, ink cut-off valve, visible ink chamber.

Parker Centennial - nib, feed and detachable cap lip.

Parker Vacumatic - lockdown filler

Sheaffer Snorkel and PFM – O ring seal and spring.

Swan Visofil V/VT – clip mounting with hidden clip washer.  The new design uses a filling system very similar to the Visofil V.

Waterman Patrician – pierced cap band and black cap lip.

 The full set of pens.  The colours are reasonably accurate.  They are now all sold.  

All Dunnfordwater pens now sold