The "feel" of a pen is as much a function of its thickness as its length, weight, and balance. The listings on this page should help you in selecting a vintage pen that best suits you. The measurements given here denote the outside diameter of the barrel at its widest point. The diameter at the point where the fingers grip the pen might have been a more useful indicator, but since that point varies from writer to writer, where to make the measurement would have been rather subjective. Note that these measurements are necessarily approximate, due to normal manufacturing variation.
Click here to download a more extensive list of measurements in .pdf format, compiled by John R. Gleason.
| Aurora Optima |
|
12.7 cm long |
14.0 mm diameter |
| Lamy 2000 |
|
13.7 cm long |
13.0 mm diameter |
| Montblanc 146 |
|
14.0 cm long |
13.2 mm diameter |
| Montblanc 149 |
|
14.7 cm long |
14.8 mm diameter |
| Parker 75 |
|
12.8 cm long |
10.7 mm diameter |
| Parker Sonnet |
|
13.3 cm long |
11.0 mm diameter |
| Parker Duofold Centennial |
|
13.7 cm long |
13.2 mm diameter |
| Parker Duofold International |
|
13.1 cm long |
11.7 mm diameter |
| Pelikan 400 |
|
12.6 cm long |
12.2 mm diameter |
| Pelikan M600 |
|
13.3 cm long |
12.7 mm diameter |
| Pelikan M800 |
|
14.1 cm long |
13.5 mm diameter |
| Sheaffer Legacy |
|
13.8 cm long |
12.7 mm diameter |
| Sheaffer Targa |
|
13.6 cm long |
11.4 mm diameter |
| Vanishing Point (old style) |
|
13.7 cm long |
12.0 mm diameter |
| Waterman Liaison |
|
14.3 cm long |
12.2 mm diameter |
| Waterman Phileas |
|
13.5 cm long |
12.0 mm diameter |
| Waterman Preface |
|
13.3 cm long |
10.7 mm diameter |
Pen diameters at widest point on
barrel, in millimeters:
| Conklin 25P: |
9.5 |
| Conklin P5: |
11.5 |
| Conklin 75: |
13.0 |
| Conklin Senior Endura: |
13.1 |
| Esterbrook J: |
11.8 |
| Esterbrook LJ, SJ, CH: |
10.5 |
| MT Swan GF #2 Leverless: |
9.7 |
| MT Swan #2 size LF (1940s): |
11.7 |
| Montblanc 134: |
11.6 |
| Montblanc 644: |
11.6 |
| Montblanc 149: |
14.8 |
|
|
| Pelikan 100: |
11.5 |
| Pelikan 100N: |
12.0 |
| Pelikan 400: |
12.2 |
|
Sheaffer Oversize Flat-Top: |
13.0 |
|
Sheaffer Oversize Balance: |
13.0 |
| Sheaffer 1949 Touchdown: |
11.3 |
| Sheaffer Touchdown/Snorkel: |
10.5 |
| Wahl HR roller-clip, #2 size |
10.7 |
| Wahl Oversize Signature: |
13.7 |
| Wahl Eversharp Bantam: |
8.4 |
| Eversharp Skyline (full-size): |
11.5 |
|
|
