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Glossar Letter B

Baby  (de: Baby)  (it: Baby) Another name for the popular miniature pens of the early part of the century. Most manufacturers made these, some were very ornate and gold or gold-filled. They were working pens, usually eyedropper-fillers but sometimes lever-fillers.
Bakelite  (de: Bakelit)  (it: bachelite) The first synthetic resin, seldom used in pens because of extreme brittleness. Parker did make some Bakelite eyedroppers and early button-fillers. Note: this is not pronounced "bake-lite," but rhymes with "bagel-ite," for the man (Bakel) wo invented it."
Balance  (de: Balance)  (it: Balance) Sheaffer's name for the streamlined pen design that all manufacturers moved toward in the early '30s replacing the flat-tops of the '20s.
Ballpoint  (de: Kugelschreiber)  (it: sfera) The first successful ballpoint, invented by Lazlo Biro, was introduced in 1945 as the Reynold's. Eversharp soon introduced a ballpoint as well, but it was not until the first Parker Jotter in 1954, that the ballpoint really caught on and signaled the end of the golden age of fountain pens.
barrel  (de: Schaft oder Behälter)  (it: fusto < corpo)The barrel describes the body of the pen, which holds the ink or the ink reservoirs like cartridges or ink sacs.
BCHR black chased hard rubber  (de: Hartgummi schwarz guillochiert)  (it: Ebanite incisa nera)black chased hard rubber
Big Red  (de: Big Red)  (it: Big Red) Nickname for Parker's red Duofold Senior size. The name was also used for a Parker ballpoint replica in 1972.
Black and Pearl  (de: Black and Pearl)  (it: Black & Pearl)Black and pearl pens were made by most major companies in the late '20s and '30s and are one of the colors most prone to discoloration. Perfect color in black and pearl is extremely rare, and most collectors have never seen a specimen. Even pens which were never inked almost always show some discoloration due to the natural aging of this plastic.
Black Giant  (de: Black Giant)  (it: Black Giant) A series of huge hard rubber pens made by Parker in the early part of the century. A Red Giant was also made of red hard rubber, and while both pens are very rare, the Red Giant is by far the rarer of the two.
Bladder  (de: Tintensack)  (it: vesica di gomma) Any rubber or latex ink sac that is depressed by a variety of mechanisms to draw in and hold the ink supply.
Blind cap  (de: Blindkappe)  (it: fondellino) A threaded cap on the barrel end to cover a filling mechanism. Most common are Parker's Duofold which covers a button-filling device, and Parker's Vacumatic and vacumatic-filling 51s which cover pump plungers.
Blood  (de: Blood)  (it: Blood) A rare Wahl/Eversharp color that is a deep blood red with lacings of black across the surface. If you find one, call me!
Blotter  (de: Löschpapier)  (it: carta assorbente?) Pourous paper used to absorb excess ink after writing. Many blotters were printed with advertising and these are now quite collectible.
Blow Filler  (de: Blowfiller)  (it: Blow Filler) Best known blow filling pens are those by Crocker. Air blown through a hole in the barrel depresses the sac inside. When the blowing stops, the sac reflates and draws in ink. Most often found on Crocker pens.
Blue Diamond  (de: Blue Diamond)  (it: Blue Diamond) Introduced in 1939 on the Vacumatic, the blue diamond at the top of the clip signified Parker's lifetime guarantee as did Sheaffer's white dot. The blue diamond was also used on the vacumatic filling 51s through the '40s.
Brassing  (de: Abrieb der Vergoldung)  (it: sdorato) A term used to indicate wearing of gold-filled, gold-plated or rolled gold finishes. The base metal was often brass which became visible after wear, hence the term.
bulb filler  (de: Schlauchfüller)a pen filling system in which a small bulb like bladder is squeezed and causes a suction that fills the barrel of the pen. The Wahl Midget pen and the Pelikan Rappen Pen are examples for this filling system.
Burnishing  (de: Feder richten) A method of straightening bent nibs by stroking them with a tool. Burnishing is difficult to accomplish and should not be attempted by novices on valuable nibs.
Burp  (de: Burp)  (it: Burp) A nickname given to the Eversharp Ventura which was the last pen produced by the company prior to its purchase by Parker. The burp pen supposedly relieved itself of air pressure in the sac resulting in a more consistent ink flow.
Button filler  (de: Druckknopffüller)  (it: pulsante) A mechanism using a pressure bar activated by a button at the end of the barrel. Parker introduced the design in 1913, and it became Parker's primary filling mechanism until the vacumatics were introduced in the early '30s. Parker continued to make button fillers well into the '40s.