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Gift From Attic


hariharan

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Knowing my interest in fountain pen, my father walked casually to me a couple of days back and said that “this is your grandfather’s pen. He had used it during his grad days. Try it if you like”. I was so excited and jumped at the prospect of holding a writing instrument that slid across my grandfather’s pockets since 80 years back. I didn’t care whether it would write well or not. I just wanted to be close to the family’s historical instrument that has seen more of my ancestors or know more stories of my grandfather than me.

I soaked it in fresh water for half day and cleaned it. To my surprise I noticed that the nib is 14 C SWAN nib of Mabie Todd, made in USA. With a magnifying lens, I, with lot of difficulty traced the worn out brass barrel a much faded print saying “SWAN, Mabie Todd & Co, Made in…..”. From the nib, I understand that its made in USA. There is a crack emanating from the base of the breather hole to the base of the nib. The crack is distinct and long. However, since the nib has survived more that 80 years and with the hope that the flex nib will not transfer too much load for the crack to grow in my gentle limited usage in the next years, I inked the beauty and made it glide over my paper. I felt elated with lot of childhood memories with my grandfather gushing inside.

Did I mention that my father’s casual chat and exchange incidentally happened on my birthday J J

 

 

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The nib can be repaired Greg M....forgot his last name, does such nib repair for @ $80 and reasonable for the skill needed to bring it really back to full use.

 

I'd think black hard rubber my self. There are those with ripples.

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.

 

 

 

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The barrel most probably is BHR. How does the pen fills? You may also source a replacement nib for your pen. Nice pen with a family history. Congrats.

Khan M. Ilyas

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I dont know the material. I felt quite solid, though too light a weight. The barrel had some permanent deformation at the post end. i use it as an eyedropper.

 

I dont know whether there are any nib repair specialist nearby. So far the nib is bit scratchy and once it starts it glides smoothly. It doesnt write when flexed. Also, with the long crack, i try not to flex it. Otherwise not a bad writer even with this nib. I may not use it for long, but probably for a short letter or for signatures :) :)

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You may be thinking Greg Minuskin, who has a laser welder. He repaired a cracked John Holland nib for me last year.

If it’s a really good nib it might be worth it.

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Even damaged, you're lucky to have such a gift.

My interest in fountain pens dated back to childhood, and my grandfather's pen/pencil combo. I could never figure out how to fill the pencil part, and thought the leads when in where the lever was (which is why, in retrospect, I think it *was* a combo). Of course it's long gone, now. And my mother could never understand my fascination with it -- she grew up during the Depression and remembered fountain pens being messy and leaky (but she probably never had a decent one); I think she chalked my interest/obsession with it to my being "artsy", which she was not.... Although truthfully, my initial interest was less for that than because it WAS my grandfather's. No idea what brand it was. Although when I got back into using fountain pens (just for journaling, initially) I bought a cheapie Parker cartridge pen because the name resonated with me somehow. Have no clue if Parker even *made* combos....

That Mabie Todd is a lovely looking pen. Congratulations on having a family heirloom.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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Congratulations! Thats a very nice heirloom to have. Enjoy!

 

Ditto this sentiment!

"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." Earnest Hemingway

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Cherish that pen! I began collecting pens 25 years ago when my late grandfather's old fountain pen - a Waterman's emerald ray #7, as I later learned - was stolen from my office in Prague just one day after I managed to get it working. Prior to that, I had never written with a fountain pen; I simply held onto my grandfather's pen as a memento. Frustrated and furious, I finally decided to place ads in Czech newspapers saying I would buy old fountain pens, hoping the culprit would try to sell it back to me. While I amassed a collection of hundreds of pens in this manner, I never did get my grandfather's pen back, and to this day I would probably trade all of my pens for the one that was part of my family history.

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Very cool to have something like that. I have not gotten any pens this way, but I do have a pocket watch that belonged to my maternal grandfather - a Model 1894 Waltham, which I have dated to 1908. From my paternal grandfather a Hamilton Thin o Matic which he got as a service award from his employer. I cherish them both, even though the pocket watch runs slow.

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

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This is a treasure to hang on to. I inherited my grandmother's safety filler when I was in 5th grade and today I think that this might have started my (insane) interest in fountain pens. I still have this pen and keep it in shape, many decades after I got it. Ever since I inherited the fountain pens of my ancestors.

 

The crack in your nib is not too difficult to fix. A skilled goldsmith can solder (or weld) it. It's also at a position where the flexibility of the material is less critical because it is stiff by design. I recently had a local goldsmith mend one of my vintage nibs which had a crack in a very critical place. Although he had no experience with nibs whatsoever, it worked out perfectly well. You can have a look here

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/329055-ruined-nib-never-give-up-never-surrender/?p=3954709

 

Judging from your pictures, it seems that the nib and feed are jammed a little too far into the section.

 

Whatever you decide to do with it, I hope you'll enjoy and treasure this nice pen. It's certainly worth it.

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Thanks a lot for all your responses.

 

 

I agree with OMASsimo that going to a gold smith will be better option to fix the crack irrespective of his experience with nibs.

 

The vintage nib doesnt have a tipping in the flex nib. So the gold smith's treatment will not affect the nib.

 

Yes i have inserted deeper into the section to arrest the crack growth.

 

I am too lazy to find a gold smith immediately. I will probably finish using one round of all my pens and after a few months when grandpa's turn come :) i will restart thinking about the nib. As of now, its filled with a beautiful violet ink and until its depleted the pen will be used for careful signatures :)

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Oh no..

 

I really wish you will find it someday..

 

 

Cherish that pen! I began collecting pens 25 years ago when my late grandfather's old fountain pen - a Waterman's emerald ray #7, as I later learned - was stolen from my office in Prague just one day after I managed to get it working. Prior to that, I had never written with a fountain pen; I simply held onto my grandfather's pen as a memento. Frustrated and furious, I finally decided to place ads in Czech newspapers saying I would buy old fountain pens, hoping the culprit would try to sell it back to me. While I amassed a collection of hundreds of pens in this manner, I never did get my grandfather's pen back, and to this day I would probably trade all of my pens for the one that was part of my family history.

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Yes i have inserted deeper into the section to arrest the crack growth.

 

You can see how the crack started -- when they cut the slit they went right past the "breather hole", and the stresses on the nib concentrated at the end of the cut and started "unzipping" the metal. When you take the nib to a goldsmith you should see if he can fill in that cut.

 

I think by pushing the nib deeper into the section, you've increased the stress on the nib and the cracking will accelerate.

fpn_1375035941__postcard_swap.png * * * "Don't neglect to write me several times from different places when you may."
-- John Purdue (1863)

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One puts out $80 on a Saturday night...for a hangover....if somewhat semi-flex.....and ancient, the nib should be repaired so to have a nice working piece of history. Perhaps have the sac checked at the same time......in who knows how old it is....and one would stand there sort of foolish with a repaired nib and a sack showing it's age.

 

Worth of a 'no name' nib is not much less than a 'name' one....IMO....If gold. If not, then not worth repairing.

Edited by Bo Bo Olson

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.

 

 

 

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Just be aware that a gold nib without tipping material will wear very quickly. I have a 1920s safety filler like that and the nib shows such wear quite drastically. I don't think the tipping would be in danger when soldering properly. But the heating of the material indeed can alter the flexibility a little bit. But that would be more critical on the tines before the breather hole than on the "saddle" behind it. I hope it will work out, good luck.

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Well, assuming that the max load can occur when flexing, then the type of crack growth is out of plane shear or simply mode III crack in fracture mechanics terms. (mode III crack images can be googled for clarity).

 

In such cases, a compressive force in the radial direction will be of some help as it can arrest the shear displacements in the crack front. Inserting the nib base with crack front not only introduces radial compression, but also normal compression which again is advantageous.

 

Sorry for the nerdy terms used. Yet simply, any adjustments that arrests too much of nib tip bending, especially flexing can arrest further crack growth.

 

You can see how the crack started -- when they cut the slit they went right past the "breather hole", and the stresses on the nib concentrated at the end of the cut and started "unzipping" the metal. When you take the nib to a goldsmith you should see if he can fill in that cut.

 

I think by pushing the nib deeper into the section, you've increased the stress on the nib and the cracking will accelerate.

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Have you really looked at the bottom of the tip with a 10X loupe....................I can remember when I was noobie and thought my Osmia had no tipping, in I was use to the big American Bump Under; it was tipped, just thinly. Actually a stub.....

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.

 

 

 

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