Frankenswan?

[missuslovett]

I've just bought this rather lovely Swan SF130. At least that's what it says on the cap. I'm pretty sure it's been 'matched' as we say in the antiques business. The cap and the section are a red ripple, the rest is black with gold bands. Did Swan actually produce this quaint colour-way? Perhaps someone can enlighten me?

 

 

[northlodge]

I think not. I would also think this is a marriage.

 

I would be happy to swap the cap for a black one if that is the route you chose to go down

[Cob]

Ah yes, I had a look at that one (I try to watch ALL the Swans!). I think that you have a nice Frankenswan; I hope that the nib is good.

 

Despite the fact I have quite a lot of frankenpens, I have only one Frankenswan. It is a SF 230/50 with a 230/66 cap!

 

Cob

 

[missuslovett]

That's a lovely Frankenswan!

 

Thanks, guys, as I thought and I rather like my Frankenswan as it is, gives it a bit of character! Cobb, the No. 1 nib is lovely and very different to the No. 1 on my 100/59. Both of them flex well. This one's not so springy as the 59 but conversely, flexes much more readily in normal cursive. I like it. It's a keeper! The Swan greed progresses...

Edited July 1, 2015 by missuslovett

[Cob]

That's a lovely Frankenswan!

 

Thanks, guys, as I thought and I rather like my Frankenswan as it is, gives it a bit of character! Cobb, the No. 1 nib is lovely and very different to the No. 1 on my 100/59. Both of them flex well. This one's not so springy as the 59 but conversely, flexes much more readily in normal cursive. I like it. It's a keeper! The Swan greed progresses...

Is the No 1 a Mabie Todd NY nib or stamped with the early-type Swan lettering?

 

So many of those 1920s Swans had glorious nibs.

 

Sounds like a case of terminal Swan disease to me...

 

Cob

[AAAndrew]

The closest I get to a Swan is a total frankenswan. It's a Swan Eternal #4 nib (extra fine), section and feed, in the barrel of a black Parker Deluxe Challenger and the cap of a black and pearl Parker Duofold Jr.

 

Like putting the head of a swan on the body of a goat with the legs of a dog. Actually, that's the closest I have to any of those three pens.

 

Sigh. Someday I'll have a full one.

 

At least I think the red ripple and black would look good together. Cob's though, is a big odd in the dimensions, like mine.

[missuslovett]

Is the No 1 a Mabie Todd NY nib or stamped with the early-type Swan lettering?

 

So many of those 1920s Swans had glorious nibs.

 

Sounds like a case of terminal Swan disease to me...

 

Cob

 

 

Ah, now you've reached the edge of my Swan knowledge. This nib has, top to bottom: Swan - 1 - 14 ct - Mabietodd - &co (I think - the last part is hidden in the section). How can I tell them apart?

 

You're right about the Swan's Disease. It probably doesn't have a cure, does it? Palliative care in acquisition but basically no hope!

[missuslovett]

... Like putting the head of a swan on the body of a goat with the legs of a dog. Actually, that's the closest I have to any of those three pens...

 

Wow! That's a proper Frankenswan!

[chunya]

It certainly writes beautifully, missuslovett, I love the early Swans.

I think that I possibly picked up a Frankenswan along with a few acquisitions last week, but haven't had time to really sort through them yet.

 

[Cob]

 

 

Ah, now you've reached the edge of my Swan knowledge. This nib has, top to bottom: Swan - 1 - 14 ct - Mabietodd - &co (I think - the last part is hidden in the section). How can I tell them apart?

 

You're right about the Swan's Disease. It probably doesn't have a cure, does it? Palliative care in acquisition but basically no hope!

Some of the early pens probably from just after the First World War - marked Made in England - were fitted with nibs that read "Mabie Todd & Co NY" These were followed by ones marked like yours; the font is often slightly different from that on the later nibs. Of course all the very early pens had New York nibs. Not all of the New York nibs are wonderful. I have just bought an early post WW1 SF - "made in England" - a big one with a New York No 3 nib. It's perfectly good but not exceptional if you know what I mean. I had a US-made 242/52 in Lapis Blue - very handsome pen with a good looking nib which was frankly a crashing bore; might as well have had a ball point. This one was not an Eternal either. A rare fault in a Swan!

 

And no: "bird 'flu" is shockingly persistent and resilient; I know of no cure - as you say so elegantly "palliative care in acquisition" is the answer.

 

Cob

[missuslovett]

Chunya - There's something about certain 'marriages' that re rather nice - like your lovely pen. I expect many would long to find the right cap but your Frankenswan looks rather sexy as it is. Brilliantly photographed, btw. I wish I could show mine off better.

 

Cob - Thanks for the info. I probably tend to gush a little too much about my acquisitions because I get over excited with each new gem but I've been using this Swan all evening and gradually realising just how good this nib is. My recent 59 is lovely, no doubt, but it really can't hold a candle to the Frankenswan. The 59 is...fuzzy, by comparison and, possibly, yes, a little boring. My mash-up has line variation quite similar to my MB 252, but it's an awful lot less hard work!

[Cob]

Missuslovett: gushing is good.

 

Good for the soul and good for this forum; we must do all we can to raise the profile of Mabie Todd hereabouts.

 

Cob

[AAAndrew]

Here's a picture of my Frankenswan. Not nearly as lovely as yours, missuslovett. But it writes.

 

If the heart of the pen is a Swan, then it matters not if the body is cobbled together, it's still a swan.

 

Now I need to save up and find myself a real one. Y'all have convinced me.

 

[Cob]

Thanks for the Swan/Parker/Parker!

 

I should think that the cap alone is a splendid prize is it not?

 

The Eternal nib writes just like the one I have; the great thing about my Eternal pen is that no matter how long I leave it inked it writes immediately. Astonishing.

 

Cob

[AAAndrew]

It is a nice writer. I could use with a tiny bit of smoothing but is still quite fun. The rest of the pen is in a bit of rough shape. The barrel seems to have been used by a hyperactive beaver as there are tooth marks all around the blind cap, and the cap itself is not in the best of shape. You can see the discoloration, ambering, of the celluloid and the hard-rubber top cap is brown, and what you can't see is the rather brassed clip.

 

But it's fun, well used and can hold a Swan nib.

[missuslovett]

This is what fountain pen collecting is all about! It's nice to have a cabinet full of mint examples to gloat over but the real joy encompasses the chewed section, the nib, the odd cap and barrel and all the little indicators of a pen's history that make that individual pen unique. This is the thing that excites me. They are all different and they really don't make them like they used to.

 

(gush...gush..!)

[Cob]

This is what fountain pen collecting is all about! It's nice to have a cabinet full of mint examples to gloat over but the real joy encompasses the chewed section, the nib, the odd cap and barrel and all the little indicators of a pen's history that make that individual pen unique. This is the thing that excites me. They are all different and they really don't make them like they used to.

 

(gush...gush..!)

"The Nib"

 

Is everything - provided of course that it and the feed get along nicely.

 

Cob

[northlodge]

Here's a picture of my Frankenswan. Not nearly as lovely as yours, missuslovett. But it writes.

 

If the heart of the pen is a Swan, then it matters not if the body is cobbled together, it's still a swan.

 

Now I need to save up and find myself a real one. Y'all have convinced me.

 

 

 

I think this is a issue that really gets to the repair / restoration issue, and I know it is one where Cob & I have differing views.

 

I try wherever possible to return a pen to as near original condition as I possibly can. I would always try to source the correct cap, clip, section, or whatever, and normally a project is not complete until this has been achieved. I would not through choice ever think of sticking a Parker nib in a Waterman pen, or knowing swap a correct Swan nib for an incorrect one.

 

This is of course the choice of the individual, but for me frankenpens are either projects to work on or donor pens, never a satisfactory end product.

[AAAndrew]

I would always prefer to have complete pens. Every once in a while, though, something is just so manifestly "not right" that it develops a rightness of its own. Usually, it is because it is an artifact of a past owner. It displays evidence of use, ingenuity, sometimes desperation. I don't want to make a habit of collecting these exceptions to the rule of good pen ownership, but the occasional example I find intriguing.

 

It's similar to a truly horrible chisel I have from my time when I did woodworking with hand tools and collected a small set of old tools. It's a chisel of good quality that has been rammed deeply into a rough oak stick with broad-head steel tacks in the end for whacking with a hammer. Despite this travesty of good tool ownership, the rough oaken stick shows definite evidence of extended usage. It is smooth in the places you would expect from handling, and the wood is deeply impregnated with the oils of the cretin who used this. It's so extraordinarily deviant from anything one would want or expect that I find it fascinating. It has ultimate functionality, pure function without the slightest nod to style or elegance.

 

In the end it has a sort of beauty all of its own.

 

Or I'm just weird.

[Cob]

 

I think this is a issue that really gets to the repair / restoration issue, and I know it is one where Cob & I have differing views.

 

I try wherever possible to return a pen to as near original condition as I possibly can. I would always try to source the correct cap, clip, section, or whatever, and normally a project is not complete until this has been achieved. I would not through choice ever think of sticking a Parker nib in a Waterman pen, or knowing swap a correct Swan nib for an incorrect one.

 

This is of course the choice of the individual, but for me frankenpens are either projects to work on or donor pens, never a satisfactory end product.

I don't know that our views differ so very much. For example, my one Swan Frankenpen was bought as it is in a batch of other pens. If you know where I might find a cap for a 230/50 I should be delighted to hear about it. I have never seen another 230/50 eithe rin the flesh or for sale anywhere..

 

As for ,my other Frankenpens,they are either cobbled up using pieces I have to hand for example a scruffy Summit S75 with a Waterman's No 4 nib feed and section. There's a handsome Byers & Hayes pen from the 30s that had a horrid nib that broke; it now has a nice Swan Stub from a scrap Swan pen that was beyond a prayer. I have an unusual Croxley with wide cap band; this one is fitted with a superb De La Rue 33 nib, streets ahead of the original nib that was fitted, and which has gone to a friend to restore another Croxley. And so on!

 

Three old Swans arrived today; one will become a pen to move on; the others will go for spares - in fact one has already donated its clip to restore another Swan. An earlier purchase gave up its filler lever to make good another really nice old Swan.

 

And so it goes!

 

Cob

Edited July 2, 2015 by Cob