Mabie Todd 3240 Self Filler

[zwingtip]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120613258868&_trksid=p2759.l1259#ht_3770wt_1028

 

Now that I've paid (to a broke college student) a ridiculous sum for this pen, can somebody tell me about it? If it does indeed have a flexible nib, I know that I won't be able to use it right away (I'm accustomed to writing with a nail). Anything else I should know, and have I overpaid (not that it matters—it's a pretty pen and the damage is done)?

[smoores]

Looks like a very nice purchase to me...just the kind of pen that I would buy. Considering that it is "fully working condition", I don't think that you overpaid, but I am not really well acquainted with Mabie Todd pen values. I am sure that you will enjoy it though. Just take it easy, very easy on that nib for a while until you get the hang of it. Enjoy!

[zwingtip]

Oh man, I'm already planning. I think this is going to be my dedicated MB Racing Green pen (to ensure that I don't blow through my two bottles too quickly). This is really exciting. Somebody needs to take away my ebay account before I buy more vintage pens.

[Bo Bo Olson]

You got over like a fat rat.

 

not black...Dark green; great shape. 1950-52 perhaps a year or so later also.

 

THE NIB

 

The open,ORIGINAL -14 K SOLID GOLD No.2 nib is in SUPERB condition,with plenty of iridium , and writes with a nice,smooth FLEXIBLE MEDIUM line .

 

Number 2 is a small nib..... you have at least a semi-flex nib, perhaps as he says a medium flexible nib.

 

Lever filler, so you don't have to have any complicated expensive repairs from the pre-war complicated filling system. FULLY SERVICED- means it's got a fresh sac, and should be good for a few years....ask if it's a rubber sac from White or a silicon sac.

I favor changing out a silicon sac for a good White rubber sac, in it holds more ink, and was what was originally used.

 

Still a top of the line pen....

 

..the Calligraph is the next pen model...but it fell apart for quality as ball points took over 1955.

 

I'd been looking for the same pen but for half as much....it is worth it.

 

That is a prime nib on a good pen.

 

Have you ever used a semi-flex or a flexy nib?

 

Go to www.richardspens.com/

 

there is an article about how easy it is to spring a flexible nib.....

 

Now buy your self a dip pen with a couple of flexible nibs to practice with so you don't ruin your F-2 nib.

Get your self a calligraphy book and pen. There are some basic strokes from that you can incorporate into your writing.

 

 

 

Semi-flex is good....spreads easier as much as you can spread a regular nib.

F-1 is ...is that all there is. Where's the circus...maxi-semi-flex. Spread very easy but not wider or much wider than normal semi-flex.

 

F-2 or medium flexible nib.....Here come the clowns.....Handlebar mustache on the fancy L's, Sidewinder Rattlesnake S's.

That is what you are supposed to have. Now you have to learn how to use it.

Welcome to the club....I got to learn how to use F-2 also...

 

 

 

And to top it off a pretty, prime simple pen; that is not black....black is much cheaper.

[rwilsonedn]

What a beautiful pen! Don't worry about how much you paid compared to "market" value. Good vintage pens are so thinly traded that market value is a very imprecise number at best. The important things are, in my view, (a) you clearly already appreciate your new pen (b)it has been serviced by a competent craftsman, so you won't be getting a broken, incomplete pen or one that you'd have to send off for $60 service. ©this pen will grow on you, I suspect. In a few years, you will look back on how fortunate you were to get it when you did.

I agree somewhat with Bo Bo. The most important thing with a vintage nib, flexible or otherwise, is to remember that in the days before ballpoint pens, people did not normally press down on their pens. They let the tip of the pen rest on the paper with only its own weight, and then pressed very gently with a finger on top of the pen when they wanted a wider line on a downstroke. It's hard for us to understand how little pressure is necessary. But you can get the idea by just cradling the pen from below in your fingers, letting only gravity hold it against the paper, and then guiding the pen with your fingers. No pressure. The touch is really very different than the way most people write today.

I think you are going to love this. And if you do fall in love with this pen, even if you go on to explore other vintage pens, the money you save by not falling in love with modern, multi-hundred-pound extravapens will more than repay your investment in this one.

ron

[zwingtip]

I think my plan so far is to

 

1) train myself out of the ballpoint deathgrip using the section on my numerous Lamy Safaris.

2) practice using this grip on a Waterman Hemisphere to see if I can pull it off with a round section

3) try it on dad's Montblanc 146 to see if I can pull it off with a stiff nib with a bit more feedback (as well as a thicker pen)

4) buy a dip pen and some flexy nibs to move on to the world of flex

5) try to VERY carefully use the new pen and stop if I feel pressure

 

It may be a bit too careful, but better safe. I'm already in love with this thing and the payment hasn't even cleared yet. Beginning of an addiction? I think so.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Zwingtip,

 

The balance of a pen comes from the grip one uses and if you post or not.

 

Search for the thread Death Grip.

 

Mr. Calekin is a very good Calligrapher, and I am a Master of Rooster Scratch. We have valid differences of opinion.

He holds the un-posted pen in a forefinger up triangle grip, so the pen sits just aft the your first knuckle at a 45 degree angle. It is the better grip for calligraphy.

 

About a year ago, I read a thread by Mr. Calekin, where he was showing the forefinger up method of gripping a pen.

I tried it, and it took me all of two minutes to learn that....one can switch from the Old Fashioned Pinch method to the Up To Date forefinger up triangle method as one wished.

 

I, now after a year, to 98.6% of the time, out side of my US made* Parker-75 with it's built in triangle use my version of the forefinger up method to grasp a pen. (*French one does not have that built in triangle)

 

With either forefinger up methods, you are grasping a pen, not gripping it. Your hand will not be tired, you will not have a callus or a bump at the root of your second fingernail. You are grasping a pen, not holding on for dear life, cramping your hand and style.

 

Your basic writing will remain close to what it is...with some calligraphy, you can add certain basic strokes to your writing to make it fancier and better looking.

You have the nib for it.

 

 

Why I use my version of the fore finger up triangle grip.

I post my pens, and use a slight variation different than he. I want my pen in the web of my thumb. I move my thumb 1/4th to 1/3rd of an inch higher up the barrel.

 

For extremely heavy metal pens; like a Cross Townsend or a Lamy Persona, one can use my grip, and still post, but working up the barrel with the hand, until a balance point is found.

I am stubborn, and both those pens click so nicely on when posted. Half the time I will post them any way; even though both are a bit more comfortable un-posted.

 

Take your pen in hand, put your forefinger on the top of the section or nearly so. Place the pen down the first joint of your second finger, so it is no longer pressed into the root of your nail on your second finger joint, but 1/4-1/3 an inch or so, down from the nail root.

You are resting it there....not pressing it into the root of your nail.

 

A. Mr. Calikin's calligraphy fore finger up method; place your thumb so it is on the side of the pen, with the thumb nail at level with the middle of your forefinger first joint. This is a fine calligraphy grip for a "high" barrel that is just behind your finger knuckle. 45 degree angle.

 

B. If you post...move your thumb up the barrel 1/4-1/3 or a smidgen more of an inch, so that the nail of your thumb is even with the crease of your first knuckle.

The pen rests in the web of your thumb.

Or relax your hand, straighten out your forefinger a bit, the thumbnail will now be near the crease of your first knuckle, and the pen will be sitting further into the web of your thumb.

 

I have just realized he uses the short first finger method and I the long first finger method.

 

The difference is his un-posted pen sits at @45 degrees, my posted pen sits at 35 degrees. With a heavier pen, it would set at the bottom of the web of my thumb at a 30 degree angle. I find that very comfortable.

 

When I do calligraphy I do grasp the pen so it is at 45 degrees. When I write normally, and with a posted pen, I grasp the pen so it is at 35-30 degrees.

 

I hope this helps.

 

It takes all of two minutes to learn the basic forefinger up method, and 20 seconds more to learn the posted method.

Edited September 2, 2010 by Bo Bo Olson