Empex Squeeze Filler Fountain Pen c. 1963

by Jim Mamoulides, June 22, 2023

Empex Squeeze Filler fountain pen in black c. 1963

An Empex Squeeze Filler?

Collectors who are familiar with the name Empex will immediately associate it with the Aqua Pen, introduced c. 1959 as the Universal Aqua Pen and by 1960 rebranded simply as Aqua Pen. Aqua Pens were sold through at least 1967 based on advertisements I’ve gathered on them. It was the patented invention of Max and Alex Goldman of the Universal Fountain Pen & Pencil Company, Inc. that uses a replaceable dry ink cartridge activated to make ink when the pen is filled with water and then gently shaken. They were awarded United States Patent 2,879,744 on March 31, 1959. This is the same concept as the ink pellets used in the trench pens of World War I, eyedropper pens that stored dry ink pellets in a small compartment in the barrel. Ink was made by dropping a pellet in the barrel's ink chamber, then filling it with water and giving it a few shakes.

I was working on an update to my Aqua Pen article when I discovered this Empex labeled pen. Aqua Pens look very similar and differ only by the trim and clip stamping. The less common, earliest ones will have UNIVERSAL stamped on the clip and most of the later ones will have AQUA PEN stamped on the clip. This aligns with the advertising branding dates of 1959 for Universal and 1960-1967 for Aqua Pen. Pens with EMPEX stamped on the clip and Empex gift boxes are common enough that many collectors call all Aqua Pens Empex Aqua Pens. A review of advertising leads me to believe that it’s more likely they should be called Universal Aqua Pens if Universal is on the clip and Rohill Aqua Pens if the clip simply says Aqua Pen. Why? Beginning in 1961, most advertisements include “by Rohill,” if they give any indication of the manufacturer, and many have this expanded to “Rohill Company of 1133 Broadway, New York, NY.” The single advertisement I’ve found that uses the Empex branding is in the April 1963 Boy’s Life.

Meanwhile Back At The Ink Making Ranch

Empex Squeeze Filler fountain pen in black c. 1963

Let's get back to the pen that started this investigation. Since I’ve seen a lot of Aqua Pens, I expected to see the long ink making cartridge inside when I opened it. They are usually dry and mostly intact. Many Aqua Pens appear to have never been used. Not surprising as they were judged not recommended in a review in the Consumer Bulletin Annual of 1961-1962. But this pen had a metal press bar squeeze filler unit inside surrounding an ordinary rubber ink sac. A quick examination showed that the cap, barrel and nib section are interchangeable with other Aqua Pens. Removing the metal filler unit frame reveals a shellacked on rubber sac and no evidence of a breather tube integrated with the feed. It appears to be a standard Aqua Pen section with a sac put on and a squeeze frame slid onto the back of the section. The frame was also originally secured in place with shellac. The barrel is a snug fit and if the metal filler unit frame is not glued in place, it will stay stuck in the barrel when the barrel is removed from the section. It goes together so well that it almost looks like the real thing, but is it?

Is It Legit?

This is either a nicely done squeeze filler retrofit starting with an Aqua Pen and adding an ink sac and squeeze filler frame that fits the section and barrel or it was an attempt by the manufacturer to also offer a squeeze filler option in the same pen format. The parts fit well enough that at first I was leaning toward an unusual and unknown Empex branded pen. What gives me pause are how the squeeze filler unit fits. First, many similar squeeze filler pens have a friction fit that holds the metal filler frame in place where it won't need shellac to glue it on. A glued on filler frame makes ink sac replacement a little more difficult than a unit that can be pulled off. Second, the barrel fit over the metal filler unit is a little too tight. In normal use the metal filler unit may come off and stay in the barrel, which would annoy the user. Third, why not have a breather tube if the pen has a squeeze filler?

Aqua Pens were advertised and sold for about eight years with no mention of any other type of filling system. Since there are no advertisements for such a pen over that period and I’ve never seen another one, I’m persuaded that this is a retrofit. If there are several readers who have also found one of these, then I might change that opinion. Please let me know if you have one! Since there is no documentation on this pen, I won't be doing an identification guide.

Empex Squeeze Filler fountain pen in black c. 1963

Performance

Does it work? The ink sac was old, but I was able to ink it a little for testing. Aqua Pen nibs have folded tines instead of tipping material and this example writes decently and evenly, but it’s not going to rise to being a daily writer. It’s a novelty pen. It’s light weight and about 5 1/8 inches long with the cap on and 5 3/8 inches with the cap posted on the end of the barrel. It feels better with the cap posted. The fit and finish are fair, typical of cheap pens. The stainless hooded nib is gold plated. The thin cap and trim plating is quite worn. It does not have the gold plated barrel end cap usually found on Aqua Pens.

Ink making Aqua Pens are interesting because of their filling system. If you find one, try it out! They aren’t hard to find and won’t be expensive to collect. They came in at least six colors: green, black, red, maroon, blue, and grey. If you find one with a squeeze filler, let me know! Now it's time for that update on the Aqua Pen article!

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References

Advertisement, Boys’ Life, April 1963, page 76

Consumer Bulletin Annual 1961-1962, Consumers' Research, Incorporated, 1961, page 188

“Universal / Empex Aqua Pen c. 1959-1963” by Jim Mamoulides, January 21, 2010, updated January 13, 2018

United States Patent 2,879,744 granted March 31, 1959