1920s Gold Medal Oversized Flat Top Fountain Pen - WET NOODLE

Vintage: 1920s

Make: Gold Medal (National Pen Products)

Model: Oversized flat top

Color: Red and black

Materials: Mottled hard rubber, gold-plated trim

Filling System: Lever filler (resacced and working).

Length: This oversized model has a thick girth and measures 5 1/4” capped.

Nib: This pen features a dip pen nib retrofit: a custom installation of a 14k iridium-tipped dip pen nib that’s adjusted and tuned to ensure factory performance. It’s essentially a way to have the best of both worlds in a single pen: the wild flexibility of the 19th-century and the convenience and reliability of the 20th. The properly oversized 14k ES Johnson nib in this pen is a Wet Noodle with paintbrush-like flow and softness. It lays down a smooth and consistent XF line that widens to a 4B+ (approx 2.3mm) under minimal pressure. As often happens with such soft nibs, I had to switch to a wetter ink to optimize flow under full flex. But once I did, it performed flawlessly. Thin hairlines, effortless variation, superb snap-back, and reliable flow under its full range of flex make it an ideal choice for calligraphic writing styles such as Copperplate and Spencerian. 

Condition: Hard rubber retains its factory color with no discernible fading. Gold-plated trim is clean aside from some minor, pin-sized spots of wear on right edge of the clip at the top and bottom, along the right edge of the lever, and the typical sliver of brassing on the clip ball. HR surface is smooth and lustrous with no deep scratches or other noteworthy blemishes. Manufacturer imprint on barrel is too weak to read aside from “National Pen Products Co. . . . ILL.” 

Details: Gold Medal was a flagship house brand of the National Pen Products Company based in Chicago, IL. National was a massive conglomerate known also for Diamond Medal, Gold Bond, and Lincoln pens together with its collaborations with Parker, Wahl-Eversharp, and Waterman in producing re-branded Vacumatics, Dorics, No. 7s, etc. for Montgomery Ward and Sears, Roebuck & Co., beginning in the mid to late 1920s. This was an early model made of mottled red and black hard rubber complemented by gold-plated trim. The patterning is especially striking on this one, having a diagonal orientation.