I left the London Writing Equipment Show last
week, dear Readers, with a Cadet in my pocket. Yes, Palimpsest is now the proud
owner of a Summit S100.
Summits were made by a Liverpool-based pen
manufacturer which was established in 1899 as “Lang Co. Ltd”, became Curzon,
Lloyd & MacGregor Ltd, then Curzons Ltd in 1920, L. Wilson & Co Ltd in
1928 and finally settled for the name “Summit Pens Ltd.” after the Second World
War – a wise move since Summit was the most successful pen this company ever produced.
S models were the most commonly available
Summit models, the earliest being manufactured in 1929. You can find out all
about them in the Summit Pens
website created by Summit collector, Paul Martin.
My Summit Cadet has got a stunning barrel and
cap with a wonderful green marble effect, very vibrant and pearlescent. The cap
is a screw-on with a black flat top (slightly concave), a metal clip engraved
with the word “Summit”, and a single nickel trim. In contrast with other Cadets
dating from the late 1940s I browsed in the site above this one’s barrel has a
rounded end. “Cadet S100 Made in England” is stamped near the screw thread. The
pen measures 124mm capped, 140.5mm uncapped.
There is a delightful 14ct flexible nib,
producing ever so smooth writing. The Cadet is a lever filler so lifting the
lever compresses the ink sac inside. You place the nib in the ink, close the
lever and wait for 10 seconds to allow the sac to inflate completely. I’ve inked
the Cadet with J. Herbin Vert Empire (to match the exterior). The nib succumbs
easily to pressure making writing a real pleasure.
Tsk tsk... that lovely flex nib deserves something more luscious than a stolid black ink. Feed it something in that shades.
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