Mabie Todd Swan 3260

[betweenthelens]

My husband and I ventured to the antique mall here in Hyde Park today as we'd found nothing at the consignment shop save for a nice Deco or Nouveau ink blotter, possibly bronze and definitely marble for $8. At the antique mall, I saw quite a few fountain pens but one caught my eye- this Mabie Todd Swan 3260 (3 meaning it's a lever pen and 2 designating the nib #-- Thanks to FPN member Malcy for this information on another Mabie Todd thread.)

 

The pen needs a new sac and I'd like to replace it on my own, if possible. I'll be researching that on here, but for now, I wanted to share photos of my find. I bought this for $10. I think I got a pretty good deal. I was lucky enough to find out more about the pen's provenance as well. I looked up the name on it: V.T. Sergison. Victor T. Sergison was born in Tombridge,England in 1920 and passed away this year in March in Poughkeepsie, NY.

 

Thanks for looking!

Edited August 4, 2013 by betweenthelens

[blbjdtny]

Awesome find!!!

[betweenthelens]

Thanks so much, blbjdtny. I'm pretty happy with it!

[konis]

A good buy.

Swan pens are lovely.

regards

[betweenthelens]

Thanks so much, konis. Much appreciated.

[Happy Harry]

A good deal !! Excellent pens to use, the section is a screw in one and will probably need a bit of heat to undo and the pen will take a no. 18 sac but I prefer a no. 17 as it's easier to screw the section back in. ( the sac catches on the J bar as you screw it in ). Now the numbers, 3 is model ( not lever ) , 2 indicates nib size, 6 is color (2=dark blue, 3=grey 4=drk green, 5=brown ) and the 0 is material ( 0= plastic , 1= BHR and 2=?). These came in 2 versions, the early has brass threads on the barrel and the later, like yours, has plasticthreads.

[betweenthelens]

Thanks so much, Harry. Much appreciated. I've tried heating the section with my hair dryer but it won't budge and I'm afraid to apply too much heat. Not sure how to proceed.

[Seele]

I am one who appreciates personalized markings, especially if the person can be tracked down too.

 

While not being an expert in Mabie Todd products, I understand that some of them are extremely complicated, almost to the point that they were designed by some maniac. This pen might not be one of those wacky ones, but it is just too nice, I guess it might be an idea for you to hone your craft on simpler, more pedestrian examples before attempting to work on this one.

[konis]

Hair dryer is an unfortunate idea.

Put pen for 4-6 hours in the water with a drop of dishwashing liquid.

The pen is made ​​of plastic, so the water will not hurt him.

Never not do it when pens are made with hard rubber

Rinse and try to separate the section of the body.

Let it do to some man, because you have to use a little force.

First, try to little screw (counter-clockwise) the section in oposition to the body. How to move, it will go to easily

http://images51.fotosik.pl/18/eda221c04379bdf8.jpg

http://images52.fotosik.pl/18/f175af97aa94d2f6.jpg

http://images54.fotosik.pl/18/9bf24a52075ffc34.jpg

Good luck

regards

[betweenthelens]

Hi Seele. I agree. I don't look exclusively look for pens with engravings but if a pen has a name and I know a bit about the provenance, it's all the more interesting. I indeed may end up sending the pen out as it seems difficult to just remove the section from the barrel. I am afraid to soak it as konis suggested in the event that the section is made of casein.

 

Konis, the hair dryer is on low and I am careful not to expose the pen to too much heat so I hold the pen while applying the heat, and if it's too hot for my fingers, it's too hot for the pen. Do you know for certain that the section is not made of casein so I can soak it without worry? Is the section threaded like the example you showed (a beautiful pen, too!) or is it possibly friction fit?

 

Thank you, Seele and konis!

Edited August 5, 2013 by betweenthelens

[konis]

I have pens : 3260 and 3361.

Swan 3260 all made from plastic, 3361 have barrel and cap from hard rubber.

You can safely all 3260 soak in water but 3361 no.

http://images54.fotosik.pl/19/d023787adb369b6e.jpg

regards

[betweenthelens]

Beautiful pens, konis! My husband was able to work the section out.

Edited August 5, 2013 by betweenthelens

[Malcy]

That's a good deal that you have there. It will make a great daily user and it's always nice to have a bit of history via the inscription.

 

Just be aware that even though the 60 signifies a celluloid barrel and cap, the section can be (though not always) made of hard rubber..

 

Let us know how your repair goes.

Edited August 7, 2013 by Malcy

[betweenthelens]

Thanks so much, Malcy. I really appreciate the information. I'll be careful and I will keep you posted on the repair.

[Happy Harry]

That's a good deal that you have there. It will make a great daily user and it's always nice to have a bit of history via the inscription.

 

Just be aware that even though the 60 signifies a celluloid barrel and cap, the section can be (though not always) made of hard rubber..

 

Let us know how your repair goes.

The "60" does not indicate a celluloid barrel and cap. The "6" is the color code, the "0" the material code and in this case 0=plastic. The number 3260 means: 3 is model ( not lever ) , 2 indicates nib size ( the nibs found are 1,2 and 3 with both the 2 and 3 found as "Eternal" , the no.2 eternal is a rare nib. In most cases the number of cap rings is the same as the nib, the most commonly found exception is a 3 ring cap and a 2 nib), 6 is color (2=dark blue, 3=grey 4=drk green, 5=brown ) and the 0 is material ( 0= plastic , 1= BHR and 2=? I suspect casein). All bar black come only in plastic, there is a 3 model that's seen , 3170, 3171,3172 and so on that is a late, before the end, cheap line where the last number is the color and the 7 just differentiates it from the standard line and poor in comparison. The same works with the 4xxx and 6xxx as well ( nibs go to no.6 ), the 6xxx line also has a cheap line , these are mottled in color with third number being a 4 ie 6245.

[betweenthelens]

Thanks, HappyHarry.

 

I found this, too. Interesting and informative: http://goodwriterspens.com/category/mabie-todd/

 

and this for pre-war Swans:

http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/24713838/Swan%20Chart.pdf

 

and this:

http://dirck.delint.ca/beta/?page_id=1343

 

this:

http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/24713838/1921%20Chart%20New%20York%20System.pdf

 

and this:

http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/24713838/1908%20Chart%20UK.pdf

Edited August 8, 2013 by betweenthelens

[Mesu]

Awesome find..

 

I love Mabie Todd Swan pens. Hopefully one day, i will own one.

[betweenthelens]

Thanks, Mesu! I hope so, too.

[pokermon]

Any luck getting the section off? I love Swans, they are absolutely amazing pens. The soak and heat with some muscle will get most sections off, but don't overdo it if it doesn't budge. I still have some pens where I can't get the section off even after soaking and using the heat method.

 

Some sections are hard rubber and you can tell by rubbing your finger over it and taking a sniff. Yours look plastic, but I can't say for sure.

 

I just got a section off of one of a 3220 which has the brass threads, my problem is putting the section back on takes a body builder. Somehow the threads just aren't working well together(section threads and barrel threads).

 

Oh and make sure you don't soak pass the outter threads too much since you can corrode the bar inside if it gets wet.

[betweenthelens]

Hi pokermon. We were traveling and my pen repair kit arrived the day before we left so I will start on it either today or tomorrow and keep you and everyone else here posted. Thank you so much for the information and tips. Much, much appreciated. I'm excited to begin on my first restoration.