Hello!

I recently discovered that my I've had a Mabie Todd Blackbird 5245 lying right under my nose for years and I never noticed it. It was used by my grandfather and has been kept in a box for decades.

I was just wondering if these pens can be restored and whether or not (besides the obvious emotional value) it is worth the money and the "trouble". The clip is missing and I just removed the ink sac which had completely perished. There also seems to be (a little) rust on the filling lever.

Maybe some of the Dutch inhabitants of this forum know someone who can restore this pen? I'm also curious if something can be said about the writing characteristics of these pens...

Best regards!

(one more picture...)

while swan is the top of the line english mabie todd, blackbird is the second line, followed by swallow (the student pen line). yours appears to be in decent shape, with a nice looking nib, good imprint and general lack abuse marks.
if it were mine, i think i would clean the rest of the sac off of the nipple, install a new sac and use a bit of simichrome paste to clean up the lever. the pen is probably not worth the cost of having the clip replaced imo. polish up the body & cap if you wish (some will advise against that sort of thing) and use it as a desk pen or carry it around in a case. should make a good user.

Clean it, resac it, and use it in tribute to your grandfather. Having a working heirloom at hand helps one to have a very positive outlook on life.

If the nib hasn't been damaged it ought to write fairly nicely.

Andy

I agree with WHV and Andy that you should go ahead and resac it. Mabie Todd nibs were made very well and it should be a treat to use! Replacing the clip might not be worth the trouble, instead, you might want to hunt down a metal Swan pocket. It was used for pens which did not have clips.

Alriel