Yard’o’lead? I have my father’s one, solid silver, hallmarked 1953The original Tactical Pen(cil)?
Not titanium but solid silver and now 50 years old!
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EDC Pens?
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Yard’o’lead? I have my father’s one, solid silver, hallmarked 1953
Yep, they have a lovely feel to them don't they? Mine's a bit younger, 1972
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some serious money there lads
New, yes, but you can pick a tidy one up for less than £50 second hand.
Yep, they have a lovely feel to them don't they? Mine's a bi
It’ll never realise it. Not for sale!some serious money there ladsNever will be, been in the family for 71 years.
Yard-o-Led is a brand that I yearned after for years, but the price put me off. I wanted the Grand Viceroy Barley fountain pen, but £800 at the time seemed high. The plastic pens (precious resin) of Mont Blanc were not much less so when a YoL came up at a very good discount I snapped it up. I see that they are now £1,250 which is eye-watering, but are available for less. Shop around is my advice.
I went on to buy the YoL Pocket Barley fountain pen, which it looks like is now discontinued. Later still I picked up a YoL plain pencil on eBay. It wasn't particularly cheap and when it arrived the mechaism was sub-optimal. I emailed YoL and explained the situation asking if they could restore it to a working standard. They asked me to send it to them. Within a couple of weeks the pen arrived back in the post lightly polished and working brilliantly, and the cost? Zero. Now that is what you call service.
For those who are interested where the name Yard-o-Led came from, it is due to the pencil being able to accommodate 12x3 inch leads in its barrel.
I went on to buy the YoL Pocket Barley fountain pen, which it looks like is now discontinued. Later still I picked up a YoL plain pencil on eBay. It wasn't particularly cheap and when it arrived the mechaism was sub-optimal. I emailed YoL and explained the situation asking if they could restore it to a working standard. They asked me to send it to them. Within a couple of weeks the pen arrived back in the post lightly polished and working brilliantly, and the cost? Zero. Now that is what you call service.
For those who are interested where the name Yard-o-Led came from, it is due to the pencil being able to accommodate 12x3 inch leads in its barrel.
I’ve also got a beautiful Waterman Patrician from the 1930s that was my grandfather’s. It’s very art nouveau ish, sadly, it’s nib is broken, there was a bloke at an antiques market in London who would have restored it with a new nib for £200 which would have made it worth £800 or more, but I was a bit skint and let it slide, now he’s retired and I can’t find anyone else. Ink pens seem to be a thing of the past- a very sad state of affairs. We weren’t allowed to use ball pens at school, my writing is terrible with one, it just slide across the paper, unlike a pen that has some friction.
Don’t suppose anyone on here has any ideas or contacts?
Don’t suppose anyone on here has any ideas or contacts?
There's many pen restorers and nib fetters around. Find a very good pen shop and ask about nib replacements. It may be a very simple replacement with a serviceable nib. Might not be as fancy as the original, no doubt gold and decorated, but it'll make the pen useable.
If not there will be a market for it and you will get something for it. Vintage pens sell. Modern ones are very costly to get as good as some of these old pens.
If not there will be a market for it and you will get something for it. Vintage pens sell. Modern ones are very costly to get as good as some of these old pens.
There used to be a pen repair shop in Kendal. Not that far from you.
They offered to repair my Mont Blanc. (He also offered to remove the black coating on the barrel so it looked like the much more valuable transparent version!)
They offered to repair my Mont Blanc. (He also offered to remove the black coating on the barrel so it looked like the much more valuable transparent version!)
What does one of those Yard’O’Lead Sterling Silver pencils run these days? American prices are literally hundreds of dollars. I get silver is expensive these days but, these pencils don't weigh enough for that to be a big factor do they?
A new one is £350 - £450 but you can get one second hand from £50 in serviceable condition. Mine was new (and engraved with my name) when given to me but, I'm afraid, it shows battle scars now 
Iridium I believe, down one of the allies. Nice guy, I miss that shop. Got presents for myself and others from there over the few years it was open. It was kind of a meeting place. I've been in there many a time when he's made a drink for a visitor. I never knew what happened. I went there to buy someone a present but found it had closed. I reckon he was a stationery fan who tried to make a lifestyle business out of it.
A lot longer ago there used to be a pen shop in Preston opposite the then newly built shopping centre next to the station. It had a fancy entrance leading to the front door iirc with curved glass windows leading from the flat front windows to the door. Full of expensive pens and other things. I never got to go in as I was just a kid and my parents weren't interested and tbh I hadn't quite got into proper stationery then.
A lot of these old shops have died out. Now you get kind of trendy stationery shops like the one behind the museum in lancaster. They sell notebooks, pens, pencils and other related stuff. All very fancy, fashionable, or not really that practical. I really don't think it appropriate to use a notebook with many different breasts on the cover at work or anywhere but they had a stack of them and promoted them on the Instagram site.
I think there's a good old stationery shop in Harrogate, called Jespers I think. There's a few trendy places in Manchester too.
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@matarius777 Be a bit of a 'mare to get a replacement Patrician nib; all parts for them are £££. Depends how "broken" the existing nib is; if it's just bent or lost tipping it might be rescuable. Used to be a chap in Spain who did amazing repairs for seriously messed up nibs, but he got swamped by dealers in the US and last I heard gave it up. Which serves me right for hesitating in sending a Waterman taper cap to him for attention. Most, if not all of the folks capable of rebuilding a nib are in the States. However, my info is a few years out of date now. Suggest asking on the Fountain Pen Network for suggestions, as members there will be up to date with who is doing what.
But to the subject. Too many pens and pencils round these parts by far, but none are EDCed. Modern life doesn't accommodate fountain pens terribly well, sadly. The pen in the Victorinox Manager would probably be the qualifier for EDC.
But to the subject. Too many pens and pencils round these parts by far, but none are EDCed. Modern life doesn't accommodate fountain pens terribly well, sadly. The pen in the Victorinox Manager would probably be the qualifier for EDC.
Marks from good service to me show it has been loved! Hopefully, those battle scars aren't too bad and bring good memories of fun times with it!A new one is £350 - £450 but you can get one second hand from £50 in serviceable condition. Mine was new (and engraved with my name) when given to me but, I'm afraid, it shows battle scars now
I so wish I’d taken the chance when I had it, it would have been original, apart from the nib, the pen is great cosmetically, evidently the bodies tend to fade due to the material used, he had the same version selling for £800 but his was unevenly faded, that was also probably 12 years or more ago. It’s not the value though, I’d never sell it, my grandad was a bit of a character, he died when I was about 7. I still have bits and bats of his things, I sold some and regretted it, like a little tool set in a tube made by Hardy Bros, the fishing equipment company. Most of it dates to the 1920s/ 30s.
I’ve found American repairers, I would be a bit wary of sending it though in case it got lost, I do think it might be repairable though. I need to get on the case and not dither like I have.
Thanks for all your help, I’m always amazed at how helpful and knowledgable this forum is! I was going to post some pictures of the Yard-o-led and Waterman, plus a Tiffany’s silver biro, as they’re my “EDC’s”, but for some reason, my browser is stopping any formatting, emoji’s or images for some strange reason.
Thanks, I used to go to Harrogate as a child, a beautiful town. I always remember, was it Happy Valley park, by the Spa house?
Anyway, I’ve now got some ideas to follow up on!
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My EDC Pen
Bastion Bolt Action Stainless Steel.
Refill swapped out for a fisher space-pen in black. Fine-nib.
They do a Ti version but i have large hands and much prefer a heavier pen.
The bolt action is a proper good fidget.
Smooths out after a few weeks of regular use.
The machining is so good its pretty much impossible to see the join in the barrel.
Its pretty much bomb proof and will likely outlive me.
I used to love my County Comm Stainless Embassy pen but the screw-off lid was fiddly and not condusuve to a quick jot.
These are like an embassy pen 2.0 in some ways.
I also just bought one for each of my two best mates 50th’ses.
Bastion Bolt Action Stainless Steel.
Refill swapped out for a fisher space-pen in black. Fine-nib.
They do a Ti version but i have large hands and much prefer a heavier pen.
The bolt action is a proper good fidget.
Smooths out after a few weeks of regular use.
The machining is so good its pretty much impossible to see the join in the barrel.
Its pretty much bomb proof and will likely outlive me.
I used to love my County Comm Stainless Embassy pen but the screw-off lid was fiddly and not condusuve to a quick jot.
These are like an embassy pen 2.0 in some ways.
I also just bought one for each of my two best mates 50th’ses.
