You may remember that I adore stub nib pens. They just add something special to my writing that I can't get from other nibs no matter how hard I try. So imagine my joy when, among the Christmas Penstravaganza of 2021, I found the Osmiroid Lettering Pen Set - with six stub nibs!
The Osmiroid 75 inside the box isn't the most stunningly beautiful or amazingly designed pen on the planet, but it is elegant in its simplicity. It was, originally, mostly used in schools, so the simple design was perfect for its environment. I quite like it!
I couldn't use the pen at all when I first tried to ink it, as it had a lot of old dried up ink inside the ink chamber. As a result, I could not turn the knob at the top of the pen to move the plunger inside.
A bit of a pickle, that.
I decided to start on the easier job, cleaning the six nibs.
It was quite difficult cleaning the nibs because I couldn't flush them out without the pen, but after about half an hour they were clean. Repeated application of water finally did it!
The nibs are as follows: Italic Fine (I'm using this one to write this article), Italic Medium, Italic Bold, B2, B3, B4, B presumably standing for broad or bold?
I now had six perfectly shiny nibs, and no further excuse to not repair the pen. Nothing was actually broken but it was essentially superglued by ink. Using a rubber glove, I managed to wrench the very smooth and ungrippable knob enough to open a very slim gap beneath it. I dripped silicone grease into the gap, and waited.
Though the grease had made the knob even more ungrippable, I managed to wrestle it a little further anticlockwise. I could now move it just enough to push a very small amount of water through the ink chamber and flush out some of the ancient gunk inside. Then I oiled the pen again.. Then I oiled the pen again.
I repeated the oil, clean, oil, clean process for a very long time. I'm not sure how long it took. The whole mechanism was so stiff and so hard to grip, that my index finger and thumb were swollen and sore afterwards.
Even though I suffered, I finally managed to get the perverse writing instrument to cooperate. I got the whole mechanism working freely and most of the old ink was removed. It would have been much easier if I could have have disassembled the pen, but research didn't reveal any way of doing this. Seeing as disassembly appeared to be impossible without breaking the pen, I chose the difficult route.
I'm happy that I put the effort in, because it is a brilliant pen. The nibs are very easy to screw in, and filling is easy too. Ink capacity is good, and all the nibs feel lovely too write with, producing clean and beautiful lines.
I like having so many nibs to choose from, and they go from a good fine italic up to a very broad nib that produces giant letters. I really need to work on my calligraphy. These nibs are just perfect for fancy lettering!
I think that the nibs are gold plated. I couldn't find much info online, but all the listings for these nibs say 'gold plated' and mine haven't tarnished, so I'll assume that they are indeed gold plated.
The pen is comfortable to hold, very lightweight and well-balanced so there is no hand fatigue. The cap posts securely and doesn't throw off the balance either. It's the perfect size and weight for my hand, which makes it a joy to use. In fact, I've just fallen in love with it more and more while writing this article. It might not look like anything special, but it really is!
I now find myself wishing that there were more modern pens like this for an affordable price, with such good interchangeable nibs. Sadly, Berol bought Osmiroid in 1989 which was part of a bigger company (Sanford UK), which in turn was bought by Rubbermaid. Osmiroid is no more...
But while they lasted, they produced wonderful pens, and I am grateful that you can still find them second-hand online.
If you ever see these at a flea market (where Mardi found mine), or online at a good price, snap it up as soon as possible. You won't regret it!