Gerry Sandusky, the affable WBAL-TV 11 sports anchor and radio voice of the Ravens, is in his home position. That means he?s relaxed, laid back in his chair and, most definitely, with a pen in his hand.
Sandusky?s love affair with finer writing tools began when fellow anchor Rod Daniels, noting Gerry had recently bought a new rollerball pen, handed him a catalog from Levenger?s, a kind of Smarter Image for the bell, book, candle and pen set.
“I saw the fountain pens and liked them, bought my first one for something like $50, 10 or 15 years ago,” Sandusky said.
And so an education began.
To listen to Sandusky speak, it?s like learning a new language, with names like Aurora (“They make the best ink, it?s like cream”), Noodlers (“Their ink isn?t as good as Aurora?s, but they have a much greater variety of colors to choose from”), Visconti, Omas, Stipula, Watermark, Parker, Montblanc ? now don?t get him started on Montblancs.
“Montblancs are poser pens. Ninety out of 100 people with Montblancs don?t know a thing about pens. Go into a Montblanc store, ask them about oblique versus stub nibs, you get” and Sandusky delivers his best blank stare. On the other hand, get him talking about pen-whisperer Grayson Tighe and his handmade $10,000 meteorite pen, and Sandusky gets charged up like Ray Lewis on a fumble.
Sandusky admits he?s a pen snob, but he?s paid for the right, quite literally, as his collection of 20 assorted pens have cost him anywhere from $75 to $750 apiece.
And there?s a story behind each one, as he seeks out the finer nibs wherever he travels, be it to Paris, London or even to the Maori tribes of New Zealand.
Maori?
“It bears symbols of the tribe. The clip is shaped like a tribesman?s shield, and the cap is engraved with the same symbol they wear as a tattoo,” Sandusky said.
New York is on his list of travels as well, and the Big Apple means a stop at the Fountain Pen Hospital.
“It?s the bomb,” he said. And No. 2 on the Sandusky Pen Scale?
“Bertram?s Inkwell in Baltimore,” where Sandusky admits he?ll chat up store manager Jim Rouse for about two hours with every visit.
“Gerry comes in a fair amount, four or six times a year. He likes colorful pens. He?s one of those guys who likes to cruise the display case,” Rouse said.
And as one might expect with someone whose occupation is journalist, Sandusky likes to journal, whether it?s notes about the Ravens or key family moments, and having a neat pen to do it with makes it a lot more fun.
“Pens are like wine. Once you?ve had really fine wine, you don?t want crappy wines anymore. You have a really fine ink pen, and a Bic-click isn?t gonna do it,” Sandusky said.
When asked if a certain pen comes with a ink cartridge, he gives a withering “you poor sod” look. Cartridges are clearly not for the true pen aficionado.
“You wouldn?t drink wine from a box, would you? If you?re going to use a cartridge, you might as well forget it,” he said and demonstrated how a pen is actually filled. With rising enthusiasm, he goes on to describe how the “nibs, the barrels, they?re all hand-made. Look at the detail work on the nib, it?s incredible. This was not punched out by a machine!”
For Sandusky there are three parts to the equation: the pen, the ink and the paper.
“When you have a great pen with phenomenal ink on great paper, well, your day is full,” he said, smiling, and admitted this may make him look geekish. “Oh, my wife, she thinks I?m a total nerd about it.”
The write stuff
Pop quiz time.
A LAMY is (1) a type of WWII aircraft (2) a crass name for an Englishman or (3) a popular collectible fountain pen.
A nib is (1) a popular cheddar snack (2) a 17th-century nautical term or (3) the writing end of a fountain pen, best if it?s at least 14-karat gold.
Answer is, it?s all about the pen.
“I loved buying the Sheaffer fountain pen blisterpak for $1 at my junior high school store,” said Baltimore Fountain Pen Society co-founder Teri Lura Bennett. “In the late ?80s, my interest began anew when I found a LAMY [the leading producer of fountain pens in Europe] in a gift shop on Cathedral Street. Afterwards I bought a vintage Sheaffer Snorkel fountain pen at David Flinner Art Gallery on Charles. This led me to Bertram?s Inkwell on Baltimore Street and the Internet, which has turned me into quite an accidental though happy collector,” she said.
“A Pelican ? that?s everyone?s favorite nowadays. Now the Parker 51, probably the most evolutionary pen because of its hooded nib, this was everyone?s favorite from 1941 to 1964,” said Bert Heiserman, 20-year pen collector and proprietor of Pen Haven in Kensington.
“You can never go wrong with the Parker 51,” said Bennett. “It was the WWII serviceman?s best friend, and the introduction of it to Japan after WWII has led to Japan producing some of the finest fountain pens made today,” she said.
OK, but what?s the deal with the 14-karat gold nibs?
“The gold nib is very durable, tipped with iridium or an alloy that was very hard so you could practically write with it forever. We?re still using original nibs from the 1880s and 1890s on up to today,” Heiserman said.
All agree that Bertram?s Inkwell is the best bet in Baltimore for finding collectible pens.
Bennett recommends visiting the “largest fountain pen show in the world” that is held every August in Tysons Corner, Va.
For more information, here are some Web sites to visit to increase your fountain pen knowledge.
» bertramsinkwell.com
» thewriteshoppe.com
» Parker51.com
» pencentral.com/penshow
» kamakurapens.com
?Dan Collins
