It was favored by a lot of art students back then. I used it for several years trying the different points... but I was never crazy about it, though I liked the barrel and the fountain pen aspects. Then... I found the pen supreme! The pen I had been searching for. The pen of pens! It was the PERFECT pen for my drawing style!
So, for several years...all was well. Then, in the late 70's, the pen was discontinued by the manufacturer!!! I managed to stockpile several extra pens and points partly thanks to an art
store Rowland Art Studio, in Concord, NH, whose owner saved them for me! (Can't remember his name he sold and moved in the early 80's, but thank you if you are out there somewhere!). I called Koh-i-noor and was told they didn't have ANY parts or pens anymore. Was there no hope? I babied the pens over the years...but things happen. Points get split. Ink doesn't flow right.
even after Friend of Friends Steve bought me a couple for my birthday (!) on ebay! I have written about my search for other equally good pens but none lived up to the flexible lines I needed.
Last year John and I went to the Ohio State Cartooning Conference and we were on the shuttle when I saw that Bill Griffith, creator of Zippy, was sitting across from me. He had beautiful pen lines. I asked him what he used.
 |
| (Bill Griffith does not really look like his creation...in case you were wondering) He said he had had a special pen made for him by a man named Richard Binder who lived in, of all places, New Hampshire! He also repaired pens. He was called the Pen Doctor. So, I immediately contacted him to see about having a pen made. He replied right away and asked to see my drawings. I e-mailed some samples. Once he analyzed them he let me know he could make a pen for me but it might be too expensive (because of the Flexible nib I needed) and to see if I could find an old pen that worked or could be repaired. A friend who is an auctioneer gave me a beautiful pen not long afterwards.  |
It was time to act. I contacted Richard Binder and told him I was sending him all my pens and points for his expert diagnosis and hopefully repair. He was most gracious and said it would take about 16 weeks (!) to fix them all, if he could, and that he would let me know the cost before he did anything. It sounded good to me... so I labeled all the pens:
And packed them up:
I haven't had any pens repaired by Richard, but I have a tuned custom italic nib for my Pelikan M600 that he made, and it's beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your testimonial, Eric. Sounds like a
ReplyDeleteperfect pen.
Wow! What a cliffhanger!!! Good luck, Steph!!!
ReplyDeleteStephanie, I knew when I saw your blog title on the Daily Cartoonist, you'd be talking about this pen.
ReplyDeleteI could write a book on my devotion to and similar saga with the Kohinoor Artpen. I too fell in love when I found it. We were a match made in Heaven. It woke up my lines like nothing else. But Limbo and Hell would come soon enough.
I too heartbrokenly stocked up when it was discontinued, and for years I was the only one who knew where the old stock of Artpen points were stored when I shopped at Pearl – the employees didn't even know!
As they wore out, I contacted even the Kohinoor factory in Germany, only to learn they had destroyed the molds for the nibs (Aagh – Why!?). Later, I actually ended up working in art supplies, with luxury pens no less, and searched incessantly for a substitute. But to this day, I haven't found one.
I had a few Artpen tips left that I assumed were physically worn down. I sent one to nibs.com to see if it could be duplicated or repaired, and surprisingly learned it was just bent. I had it straightened for like 10x the original purchase price but it was worth it. Maybe the Pen Dragon can do the same for you.
I can handle the divergence of art and commerce, but when it takes away your best supplies… Ouch!
BTW, Hunt Globe Point dip nibs are close to Artpens, though not quite the same, of course.
ReplyDeleteHi Joe,
ReplyDeleteIt really sounds like we've been on the same pen journey. It was very interesting to hear you actually contacted Koh-i-noor in Germany.
I had a theory that they felt they made a pen that was too perfect. Like the "Man in the White Suit". A couple years later they introduced the Rotring Artpen with the pointy barrel and several different nibs, none of which were very flexible, You had to change nibs to accomplish what the original artpen could do, and these, not all thta great, anyway...so I saw it as a way they could make more money by making people have to buy extra nibs.
I am adverse to dip nibs at this point. I love fountain pens. At the library I use a schafefer calligraphy pen with a fine point. it's not bad.
I, too, am a cartoonist and I use the Koh-i-noor ArtPens. They are the best pens I have ever used. When they were discontinued, I drove all over LA buying whatever stock I could. I still have about a dozen nibs, and 5 barrels. The only pen I found close to the quality of the ArtPen is a $500 Pelikan.
ReplyDeleteThe problem I have now is ink. I used to use FW until they changed the formula. I called the company, and was told, "Don't spread it around, but Badger Black Opaque is the old FW formula." Unfortunately, Badger recently changed their formula, and I'm on the lookout for another brand of ink that is free-flowing and permanent.
This is a great thread. Thank you.
Stan Sakai
The problem I have now is ink. I used to use FW until they changed the formula. I called the company, and was told, "Don't spread it around, but Badger Black Opaque is the old FW formula." Unfortunately, Badger recently changed their formula, and I'm on the lookout for another brand of ink that is free-flowing and permanent.
DeleteThis is a great thread. Thank you.
Stan Sakai
They don't really make it easy for us, Stan, they don't. I think it's a shame when you find out too late about these things you should've gotten, of course I was just born when they were about ready to hang in the towel then.
Thanks for adding to the discussion, Chris! I was happy to see another Artpen fan posting.
DeleteAnd yet I only ever knew of this through Matt Groening's wishes for them on one of those Simpson DVD's! One thing I did save they no longer make is a set of Spectracolor pencils. I miss those. My brother bought the larger set available yet he won't give that to me. :-(
DeleteThanks, Stan! You were lucky to get that many points and barrels. I have some extra barrels and they are missing the ink receptacle. And the caps...though I think I found caps to fit. I know, gad! $500.00 for a Pelikan! And ink IS a real problem. I'm using Noodlers which flows well but some how makes my hands smudgy while drawing. I used Kohinoor tech ink for years but was always shaking the pens to get it to flow and it also clogged them up if you left the pen filled which I was always doing. I asked Richard about ink when I e-mailed him the first time and he recommended a japanese ink that is, sadly, hard to find over here and kind of expensive for smallish bottles. I think it was called Platinum. If you come up with an alternative please let me know.
ReplyDeleteAfter a while, I just gave in and started dipping the Artpen in India Ink, then cleaning it with a toothbrush. No, not my CURRENT toothbrush!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it works. I had seen a wise old inker dipping Shaeffer pens in ink at Archie Comics. It worked – and he NEVER cleaned his. So then, you can use any decent India Ink (I recently found Dr. Martin's Bombay to be great, btw).
The Kohinoor Artpen is fine with Rapidograph Universal Ink and I don't think they've screwed that one up like some ink makers did to their Indias. I recently regressed to loading one of my Artpens with it and it was fine.
Their other, newer, tech pen ink (Ultradraw) was lousy and cloggy from Day One. Don't know why they bothered. More black maybe?
BTW, since I sold luxury pens, I'll say that the Pelikans are not close enough, though they are great points on their own. But the Waterman LeMan Opera was pretty close. Unfortunately though, it was made of rhodium and gold, a very slippery combination on graphite and/or hard bristol.
On soft papers (my too-thin, but lovely Bienfang Graphics 360 pad comes to mind) it's not bad. On cheap bond, it's actually pretty good, if you want to use that. It needs to dig in.
Waterman also used similar points on others in the LeMan series too. Not cheap, but they were less than the Pelikan. Maybe on eBay or at a pen show you can do even better.
The barrels and caps of the Art Pen are the same as Rapidograph pens. You'll never run out, they'll just look funky. Buthey, we're cartoonists – we have a sense of humor anyway…
Hi Joe,
ReplyDeleteThanks for all your info. Sorry it took a while to respond. I haven't been able to reply to comments on my own blog! I am just not able to dip the pens with my work set-up. I draw on my lap. I've had awfully close spill situations. I really need a fountain pen.
You sold pens? I want to hear more about this.
I have a huge unopened bottle of that universal ink, but I've had it for 10 or more years. Do you think it's still usable? Also, this may sound like a dumb question...but do you store your pens with the points up or down? I've had people tell me both ways.
Thanks again for your interesting posts.
Hard to say if your old Uni ink will still be good, but just shake the hell out of it, let the bubbles settle and try it.
ReplyDeleteAs for storing pens, I respect what the clip does whether it's in your pocket or in a fancy pen case. Apparently that's the position the manufacturer prefers. But I also wouldn't leave a pen loaded forever. Any ink may surprise you if you wait long enough.
Still, even the worst clogs can be cleared with patience, maybe some Q-Tips (possible torn off a bit to fit inside things), an ultrasonic cleaner and the miracle drug for pens: Kohinoor Rapido-Eze. God bless that stuff. Oh, and a toothbrush, of course.
BTW, if you're talking about storing Rapidographs, they make a humidor for storing loaded reservoirs and points (pens without the barrels) to try and keep them moist and flowing. Those are stored point down in the unit. Can't say I've used it myself. I believe it will hold a barrel or two somewhere too, but separately.
Still, I'm not a pen freak and will bow to the suggestions of the Pen Doctor or another serious pen freak if they differ. I'm just a practical artist trying to maintain his line.
Hard to say if your old Uni ink will still be good, but just shake the hell out of it, let the bubbles settle and try it.
ReplyDeleteAs for storing pens, I respect what the clip does whether it's in your pocket or in a fancy pen case. Apparently that's the position the manufacturer prefers. But I also wouldn't leave a pen loaded forever. Any ink may surprise you if you wait long enough.
Still, even the worst clogs can be cleared with patience, maybe some Q-Tips (possible torn off a bit to fit inside things), an ultrasonic cleaner and the miracle drug for pens: Kohinoor Rapido-Eze. God bless that stuff. Oh, and a toothbrush, of course.
BTW, if you're talking about storing Rapidographs, they make a humidor for storing loaded reservoirs and points (pens without the barrels) to try and keep them moist and flowing. Those are stored point down in the unit. Can't say I've used it myself. I believe it will hold a barrel or two somewhere too, but separately.
Still, I'm not a pen freak and will bow to the suggestions of the Pen Doctor, if they differ. I'm just a practical artist trying to maintain his line.
Thanks for all your great info, Joe! I'm going to try the universal ink and see how it does.
ReplyDeleteHappy New year!
Stephanie, Stacy Curtis referred me to your blog because I too am an Artpen fan. I had one in the 80s and list the nib down the drain. Since then I've been on the prowl for the perfect fountain pen. I recently bought a couple of Artpens on eBay, but I fear using them, afraid I might break one. I look forward to your update about Mr Binder , as I may need his help soon myself!
ReplyDeleteHi John,
ReplyDeleteI saw your post on Stacy's page. I know the drill! I have tried every possible pen out there trying to replicate the late lamented Artpen. Maybe we can get Matt Groening to reproduce them? He had a call out trying to buy them all up... but now he's retired "Life in Hell" he has more time to start up a pen factory!
Indeed!! I'm sure in this day and age someone could take an Artpen, reverse engineer it and then manufacture a copy! Why not?
DeleteJohn,
ReplyDeleteI forgot to say I, too, lost a nib down the drain! I can still remember the horror! I was rinsing it under the tap and it slipped!
Oh that can be really annoying and painful to go through!
DeleteStill something I have nightmares about!
DeleteI get nightmares over every little thing in my life lately.
DeleteDamn, this is what I get for not checking eBay regularly, and this guy got it for a steal!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ebay.com/itm/KOH-I-NOOR-Artpen-3050-/291697216654
Gad! I hate to even look. That's even less then they cost originally!
ReplyDeleteI think it's the stuff we don't happen to see if we aren't on eBay all the time that gets sold behind our backs. I find that to be the case often when it comes to closed auctions whose entries are still archived through Google searches. I just noticed a lot of Artpen photos while image searching the thing and found that eBay listing. It's the sort of price that would make any of us made that we never even watched it when it was still available. Assuming if it still worked of course.
Delete