Jump to content

Post-Christmas Present - Mabie Todd Swallow

hoopla

By hoopla
in Mabie Todd Research/Special Interest Forum/Group

 Share

Recommended Posts

hoopla New

hoopla

Posted
Posted

I decided to get my wife some vintage pens for Christmas, as she only had a selection of modern ones, and none with any flex to speak of. I had bought her a couple of the new 'Mabie Todd' pens, based purely on the looks, and it got me interested in the company, so that was my prime target. I got distracted by a pretty pen, however, and bought a Parker Moderne first. After much time on fleabay, I found what looked like a very good MBT Swan, re-sac'ed and with a writing example included.

 

That should have been enough, but then I stumbled on to this Swallow. The pictures weren't great, and the description was worse, but it looked different from any other pen I'd seen. When it arrived, I was completely blown away by how beautiful it was. It took me a little while to get it sent off for a new sac and cleaning up (very well done by Tom Heath), so it didn't arrive back until after Christmas. I should have saved it for her birthday, but I couldn't bare to put it away. She loves it to the extent that the other two haven't even been inked yet.

 

http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae111/travelling_scott/pens/mbt/3d794fef.jpg

http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae111/travelling_scott/pens/mbt/5c5dafff.jpg

http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae111/travelling_scott/pens/mbt/2e20d5c4.jpg

 

Can anyone tell me anything about the vintage of this pen?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 4
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • hoopla

    3

  • Bo Bo Olson

    2

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Bo Bo Olson Ancient Artifact

Bo Bo Olson

Posted
Posted

Fantastic pen! :notworthy1:

 

What nib, regular flex, semi-flex, slightly flexible or full flexible?

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
hoopla New

hoopla

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Fantastic pen! :notworthy1:

 

What nib, regular flex, semi-flex, slightly flexible or full flexible?

 

Neither of us have any experience with flexible nibs or other vintage pens, so this isn't terribly educated, but I'd say semi-flex to slightly flexible; definitely not as flexible as vintage MBT's can be (according to what I've read here).

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bo Bo Olson Ancient Artifact

Bo Bo Olson

Posted
Posted

I have a couple of Full Flex nibs, that I'm not really ready skill wise to use.

 

I do like semi-flex, and have 7 slightly flexible nibs, that I like now even more than semi-flex.

 

So you have a fine nib, to go with a great pen.

 

You do have to have experience to judge the difference between semi-flex and slightly flexible.

 

I have an inherited pen, an Osmia-Farber-Castell 540.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm300/BoBoOlson/faber_osmia_62_f_marbled_15.jpg

 

I thought it as noobie, a wet writer. A nib those who use poor paper complain about, and others like.

The cork died after 6 weeks...well it had sat around dry for 30 years; 15 of them in my back drawer.

 

A year later, I got my first 'mythical' semi-flex and :thumbup: thought it semi-flex.

 

Then some months later, I got a maxi-semi-flex Rupp nib, that I decided finally was a Slightly Flexible.

That 540 was Slightly Flexible after all :yikes: and I'd not the experience to know.

 

A few pens down the road you will know exactly if it is semi-flex or slightly flexible.

 

The main thing is to enjoy your nib and very, very pretty pen. :thumbup: :thumbup:

 

By me that pen would be fighting it out for most pretty pen, and I can not see any one not having it in their top ten.

 

I knew I wanted a Swan...and I wanted for a long time a lever Swan....now I know which one. :clap1:

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
hoopla New

hoopla

Posted
  • Author
Posted

...

 

I knew I wanted a Swan...and I wanted for a long time a lever Swan....now I know which one. :clap1:

 

That is the funny thing, I was looking mostly for Swans, and not the "lesser" Swallow, but this one is spectacular. Most Swans are very conservative, and when one with some attractive color and/or design comes up, they tend to go for a lot more. This Swallow is also bigger than most of the Swan's I've seen, including the one I bought.

 

- Thanks for the compliments (on the pen) and your thoughts on geting to know the range of flexible nibs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33583
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26772
    5. jar
      jar
      26105

  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      Links to web pages or articles about Chinese typesetting, signwriting, etc.

      By Shanghai Knife Dude · Posted

      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By A Smug Dill · Posted

      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By adamselene · Posted

      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By A Smug Dill · Posted

      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      Skeleton of a primer for a budding hobbyist

      By adamselene · Posted

      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o

  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More

  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...