Mabie Todd Swan 1500

January 13, 2014

This dropped through the letterbox an hour ago. I haven't had much time to play with it, but I couldn't wait to show it to you all. Here she is: a BCHR Mabie Todd Swan 1500 eyedropper, with a pretty gold-filled band.

Big thanks to Deb from Goodwriters, who, as always, was an absolute joy to deal with.

The cap is friction fit and posts very comfortably - the lack of a clip is actually something I always rather like in a pen (1500s with after-market clips are quite common, and I am pleased to have found a pen without one), but your preference may differ! Uncapped:

Of course, the really interesting thing about the 1500 is the nib and feed setup. The 1500 was made in the 1910s, when most companies had abandoned the fiddly over/under feed for ladder feeds. Mabie Todd carried on with the over/under, and it's a wonderfully reliable mechanism - at least when Mabie Todd are making it (some vintage pens with this setup can be quite blobby). This nib is beautifully flexible; it's not the most responsive nib I own, but it feels very brush-like to use. Here are some pictures of the nib and feed, because I know that's what you're all interested in:

I didn't take a picture before I filled the pen, but the feed's long back and accompanying twist of silver wire is interesting, and Deb has a picture from a different 1500 on her blog.

I've owned this pen for all of about 70 minutes, so this is a very perfunctory look (and Tanzanite is too wet an ink to use in it, in retrospect - apologies for the scrawl). I've not written much with it yet, but I have a feeling we're going to be firm friends. The nib is smooth, wet and painterly, and the slimness of the barrel suits me perfectly.