A.W. FABER 993 FOUNTAIN PEN

A.W. FABER'S 993 FOUNTAIN PEN

A.W. FABER 993 만년필

A.W. FABER's fountain pen without any sign of Osmia.

Just like some other vintage fountain pens of Faber Castell, many things are not known about this model.

The model number 993 seems to follow other Osmia fountain pen numberings.

For example, I have similar model numbers 663 and 884 fountain pens with Osmia's traces.

This model, 993 fountain pen, appears to have some common points in terms of the design.

For example, the oval shaped body and the gold trim at the end of the cap.

On the other hand, it has several distinct points as well.

First, the way A.W. FABER put its name.

Other fountain pens used letters like "A.W.FABER-CASTELL" or "A.W.FABER-CASTELL DOSSENHEIM-HEIDELBURG", in parallel with the name Osmia.

This one, however, has simple A.W.FABER with its balance trade mark.

This notation was found in the early 1900s fountain pen.

The difference is that this one has newer balance symbol, while the early 1900s fountain pen has older balance symbol.

It is believed that A.W. FABER changed its trade mark at 1930s-1940s.

So I guess this is not from the early 1900s.

A.W. FABER is imprinted on the clip.

This style was seen in another fountain pen that was believed to made around 1936.

In several senses, this pen is quite confusing.

There is no diamond mark of Osmia.

Faber Castell deleted the traces of Osmia step by step.

So if a pen has no sign of Osmia, it could be either older than Faber company started to acquire Osmia or later than Faber company fully acquired Osmia.

I found that there was a debate about its age on the internet.

It seems that this fountain pen is known to be made later than 1950 since a seller claimed that it was come from 1950s.

I also thought that could be true since the fountain pen looks a bit like that of Osmia.

However, I couldn't find the Osmia's 99x fountain pen.

If there were information about Osmia's 991-994 fountain pens, it would be clear.

However, for several reasons I listed above, I'd like to believe this fountain pen made earlier than 1950.

Most of all, pens with both names of Osmia and Faber Castell use name A.W.FABER-CASTELL as I posted many times.

Until now, fountain pens with the name A.W.FABER and its balance trade mark were older pens.

For instance, this one was made around 1936, and this was released in 1949.

A.W. FABER also had its own numbering system with three digits, so there could be 99x fountain pen series.

The last interesting point is this nib.

Again, the nib has no Osmia's name and its diamond symbol.

Even the other A.W. FABER pens had castell nibs.

Only the model that was released in 1910s-1920s had another type of A.W. FABER nib.

Anyway, this pen is very elusive and controversial.

Still, it is one of the fun of collecting vintage pens!