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Mt Swan 242/30 Nib Crack?


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Just looking at this pen for sale on a local auction site: has the slit been cut too far? Is this likely to cause problems (I guess it hasn't for the last 80 years or so).

http://trademe.tmcdn.co.nz/photoserver/plusw/476633095.jpg

Edited by johnmc2
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There is nothing to worry about at all, it happens when they cut the slit, they went slightly beyond the breathing hole.

 

Best regards.

Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous  Who taught by the pen

Taught man that which he knew not (96/3-5)

Snailmail3.png Snail Mail 

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I have seen this on a number of MT nibs; I cannot imagine why they did it.

 

Cob

fpn_1428963683__6s.jpg “The pen of the British Empire” fpn_1423349537__swan_sign_is.jpg


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Working on piece rate, how many nibs were they expected to knock out a day to earn a decent wage, Cob?

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Ha ha! Industrial relations is not my long suit Peter!

 

DId they work on piece rate I wonder? Tricky with precision work in expensive material I should have thought.

 

C.

fpn_1428963683__6s.jpg “The pen of the British Empire” fpn_1423349537__swan_sign_is.jpg


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Just to add to the answer already given -

 

It was not unusual to see the slit cut too far. The stresses on the nib end up on the heart and the nib should be stable. Not an issue at all with the pen.

 

Hopefully some Kiwi will enjoy that pen! I would be all over that, but it appears that international bidders aren't openly accepted (is it the site or the seller?), and I really would only want the Swan.....

Edited by Greenie
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Just to add to the answer already given -

 

It was not unusual to see the slit cut too far. The stresses on the nib end up on the heart and the nib should be stable. Not an issue at all with the pen.

 

Hopefully some Kiwi will enjoy that pen! I would be all over that, but it appears that international bidders aren't openly accepted (is it the site or the seller?), and I really would only want the Swan.....

After writing my previous comment, the thought did cross my mind that perhaps with the alloys used at the time there was found to be a stress raiser at that point and so the sllt was intended to relieve this - obviously successful in this case - and in all the others I have seen, although if this truly were the case I would have expected to have seen a small circular hole at the end of the slit.

 

Cob

Edited by Cob

fpn_1428963683__6s.jpg “The pen of the British Empire” fpn_1423349537__swan_sign_is.jpg


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What happened to the cat pictures? That big sun sculpture is just not befitting of SidTheCat.

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It is a shame but good on you for making him pay for the privilege. There seem to be a few new sellers and collectors on Trademe these days

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I don't actually have a picture of the dear, departed Sid (and his equally late sister Nancy) but my sister sent a picture of the poster, which I designed about a million years ago. I thought I'd wear it for a while before I find another cat picture.

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And a quick Google Images search shows that this is the poster for The Wicker Man. Did you design it for the movie, or did the movie people choose it later?

 

What interesting back stories there are in fountain pen land !

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Hello, Yes the Swan 242/30 went to me in Melbourne, Australia. I was pretty sure the nib only had an extended slit, but definitely not a crack. Such extended slits are quite common. The Swan was a good purchase despite the comment that I was made to pay. I'll still be paying in getting it up to full running order but it probably only needs (hopefully) a ne sac which are fairly easy to do on lever pens. The Croxley's were only around from 1947 to 1949 and this one looks to be in great condition as most of them still are. The Onoto are, by and large, very good pens so it was pretty much a no brainer for me to buy the trio. The end bid was somewhat below what my auto bid, so I consider I got a pretty reasonable outcome.

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It's ok, and I agree that there are only a few good old/antique pens that come up for sale on T'Me - the Swan was an exception to the general rule (even on Ebay world wide it would be a rarity). I had been absent from T'Me for quite a few years and only recently had a look there, and then up popped the Swan. I also picked up 3 more pens from two other sellers, one of whom actually had a couple of bids on the trio of pens that included the Swan. I wouldn't say I was a pen collector yet, although I do have maybe 50 pens (including some antique dip pens etc), but I use all of them as writing instruments rather than just sitting on the shelf to look at. I also do simple repairs on pens, but leave the more difficult jobs to a professional.

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That is a beautiful pen you bought. Anyone with an eye for that pen qualifies as a connoisseur of Mabie Todd Swan to me!

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I designed the poster for a small-scale release of the film in (I think) 1979. My sister did the lettering for the title. We put together an image from the film and a piece of art from the novel. A great example of what you can do if there's no money in it for anyone.

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Received the Swan (and the other pens in today's mail). The Onoto ink sac is presently rock solid and will need replacing, otherwise the pen is in excellent shape. The Croxley pen too is in good shape. I thought the sac in the Croxley might be ok but it won't fill so a sac replacement will be required. As for the Swan, it's a 242/30 (on the base of the pen) I have never seen one like it before and I can't find it anywhere displayed on the Internet (at least not one that has seven bands on the cap), but no doubt it features in one of the better known pen collectables books. The lever on the Swan was stiff so I lightly tugged at the joint at the barrel and the nib joint assembly came away quite easily. With the slight twist motion the old dried up sac virtually disintegrated and fell away out of the barrel and the lever loosened and now works as it should. Only a small portion of dried sac material surrounded the pen nipple and I only used my thumb nail to scrape the old sac completely away from the nipple, so the nipple will only need a tissue paper with a cleaning agent on it to make it ready for a new sac. As for the nibs on these pens - all are quite fine writers with just a dip into an ink bottle as a trial. The Swan nib slit has been fractionally over cut but it in no way interferes with the superb writing experience this nib gives. Just a fabulous pen and quite long. Capped it's 14cm. and posted it's 17.2 cm.

Edited by glen49
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My last post on the Swan (Mabie Todd) Pen 242/30 purchased on TM. I found one that sold in the UK for £95.00. The model No. quoted for that pen was 6338. That pen had an overall length of 130mm (capped). The cap rings (7) were quite worn and the imprint on the barrel was similarly worn. Not so with the Swan I purchased which has very good clear cap rings, fine imprint on the barrel and has an added gold inlaid cartouche (also on the barrel) with fine scrolling around its edges. The overall length of my Swan is definitely 140mm. The Cartouche has not been engraved with the name of the previous owner. So I believe that this pen may well have been a special order pen as the cartouche would have been quite an expensive extra to be inlaid into the pen barrel.

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These multibanded BHR Swans came in a lot of banding patters, and a plate for engraving was on many of them. I would still call these uncommon, since I try to buy them when I see them and so far I have only 1 full sized (and four of the similar ringtops).

 

It is a beauty. If you tire of it, PM me!

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I'm waiting for a dark blue ringtop with four gold rings on the cap. A very pretty thing, and the seller says it's got flex.

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