#fountain pens, inks and paper

The very nice Ty.Phoo Tea pen.

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Written on aKVarel bloK watercolour paper. 300 g. Of course Terric should read Terrific. But hey! I was overwhelmed.

Having written this Ty-Phoo Tea pen blog below a fair while ago, around two and a half years ago, I had forgotten it was put from ‘Published’ mode and back into ‘Draft’ status. So I thought it would be nice to air it again. Just an appreciation of a one hundred plus a few years vintage pen. I have been using many of my vintage pens, including the Ty-Phoo, over the last few days. Keeping them alive has been a far and few between activity this last year. Very remiss. So it was nice to get back to focus on the pens and the realisation of the calmness they bring. I have now whittled them down to a couple of dozen. And that number is my intentional contained focus for use in 2026. No more purchases unless a real ‘doody’ presents itself.

A few recent photographs of the wintery calm ambience in the land of Summers-ville. 2025 was anything but calm. So a period of calm is now a welcome gift.

A little log fire and the intentions of a rewatch of old festive movies over the next few days.
The dining table revisit for comfort writing. The journals are ready and waiting to be invaded with various plans and ideas. Also, reflections and affirmation content. The Den (study) is now music orientated. All guitars and recording equipment.
Keeping the fountain pens alive. Just let them present their name and nib material. Easy starts, hard starts and non-starts from each pen presenting itself has been interesting. Ink flows eventually though.
The whittled down choices.

Back to the Ty-Phoo Tea pen blog.

For a 100 year old pen it has spirit. Not a blog really. Just appreciation for a pen that can keep producing when you pick it up. With an old nib from the 1920’s you tend to tread softly. But on pushing the pressure to create flex, you realise it can be used in a whole different manner. Will make a fine title writer for themed journals.

The Ty.Phoo Tea pen. Warranted 14 carat gold nib. Who made these pens is not shown. But the ink filler lever is the same design as my Blackbird Mable Todd of similar age.

Please tap on the photographs below to enlarge.
The Ty-Phoo Tea pen.
The lovely Blackbird Mabie Todd.
The Onoto. The De La Rue 14 carat gold nib.

19 thoughts on “The very nice Ty.Phoo Tea pen.”

    1. Thank you for the reply. I had a 1960s Fender Jazz bass guitar and Fender Telecaster when I was in bands. Gone now and much missed really. Now? I still have my Italian Eko dreadnought acoustic from the 1960s and a recently bought Guild cherry acoustic dreadnought made in 1979 too. As you say vintage has an amazing sound. The Guild is especially precious. Still writing songs on both. Good to hear you are a musician, as well as a photographer, too. After my own heart. All the best.

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      2. Good to hear you are getting an acoustic. Just pick them up and play. No amps to set up. Vintage guitars really do rock re: the sound they produce. Your camera collection sounds impressive. I just used the basic Pentax LX and rarely the Pentax 645. Need to get earnest again with the LX. Use it more. I wonder if you follow this WordPress blog site. He has some great photographs re: vintage cameras and film use.

        https://stevenlawrencepictures.com/

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    1. Be good to see your future posts re: your uncle’s skills. The writing here did only take minutes to produce. Like yourself, I tend to write in a flamboyant nature. Elegance? I believe we are our own worst critics re: writing skills. Maybe born from early beginnings and watching ourselves evolve as time goes by. I suppose that means we have changed styles to seek self improvement throughout life. Calligraphy of a free flow form and expression fascinates more than the copying specific style kind. Let your own style take you to a unique place. All the best and thank you for the reply. Oh! Your last song upload link was great. I have been busy gardening recently so am not as able to keep up with catching and responding to all my fave bloggers. 😊

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      1. Ah, thank you so much about the song! I totally get not catching every favorite bloggers’ post. Bueller said it best, about “life comes at us fast” or some such thing. Ironically or synchronistically, I was just writing about a seed and it’s early beginning and the unfolding evolution/growth! Love it. Uncanny. Much gratitude!

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  3. That is a very interesting lever design, can’t say as I am familar with it. Might I suggest you reach out to Deb at Goodwriterspens’s Blog. She was refurbishing pens for decades, but has retired. She is open to answering questions and specializes on British pens. I imagine she may have stumbled across something like this. Good luck

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    1. Hi Danny. The lever design on the Blackbird being the same as the Typhoo pen was only realised today. I know of Deb and follow the site. I shall make enquiries. I have read a few of her uploads and recently read about the Typhoo pen, which was a really valuable insight, on a site too. I believe they are a conundrum re: sourcing who were responsible for making them. I made a comment and the reply stated that, apparently, the black ones are harder to find nowadays. I flushed it a fair few times and then it seemed to settle more. Enjoy writing with it now. Thanks for the info re: Deb. All the best.

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  4. Great collection of fountain pens, Gray! I was starting to worry that I was the only one who couldn’t resist old fountain pens. Although, for me, the focus has shifted to brushes, and of course inks, and of course paper…:)

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    1. Cheers Friedrich. I try to buy wisely. There are a few bloggers who collect vintage pens. Some are really insightful reads re: history and repair. I’ve seen artists using fude dip nibs for artwork. Nice free flow results. I do like using Khadi hand made paper. Both the writing and watercolour choices. But I have never painted in any concentrated way.

      Brush work is definitely something that would be nice to try for calligraphy. I don’t know the brush types needed though and I should imagine your brush choices cost as much as some vintage pens. 😊. Thank you for your comment and all the best Friedrich.

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      1. I bought some good old fountain pens, but hardly used them for drawing. My self-cut reed pens and feathers from various birds produced better results. It always depends on what you want to do with them.

        As for my Chinese brushes, well, that borders on fetishism 🙂 But they’re usually not very expensive. When I left China, I took a few thousand sheets of top-quality rice paper with me. Because the paper was stored in a cellar for a long time, it’s even better now—absolute luxury. That’s why I don’t dare not use it 🙂

        When I finally leave, it’ll all go to the recycling bin 🙂 And someone dares to say that artists aren’t a little crazy…

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      2. When I started photography using film, I managed to get some wonderful old single grade paper. Boxes and boxes of them. Using them alongside the vintage Wetzler enlarger with a wonderful Leitz lens, the combination produced a certain synergy and ambience. So can totally understand your love of certain vintage aesthetics. The results are difficult to describe. But they become alive in a way unlooked for.

        I can’t imagine such a treasure as your cellar paper going for recycling. A New Year resolution could be to bite the bullet and use it. Wouldn’t that be an amazing feeling of using something so special. Your skills’ levels and the quality of the paper are a perfect marriage.

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      3. Yes, you hit the nail on the head with your photo example. That’s exactly the point. And yes, as soon as I get back from my trip, I’ll dedicate myself to the good paper. Since I also still have some good old ink, I should have a lot of fun 🙂 All the best and wonderful holidays, Gray!

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      4. I look forward to your new posts in 2026. It will be very interesting and exciting to see your work. Best wishes for your holidays too Friedrich. And thank you for your insightful posts and comments over the year. They are all very much appreciated.

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