Blackbird (and vintage flex) newbie questions

[PithyProlix]

I got this eyedropper-filled Blackbird a few days ago. It's not only my first Mabie Todd it's also my first pen with 'real' flex. 

 

Questions:

• Is it normal for the tines to be this far apart in 'resting' position? 
• How far should the nib and feed be inserted into the section? 
• Should I put a lot of ink in the barrel? Should it be able to work well with just a small fill? 
• Suggestions for inks that work particularly well with this pen? Ideally, I would like to use a vintage-looking brown or sepia. Also, I am on an extended trip and brought along a small bottle of Pilot Blue Black so I am hoping that will work well. (?) 

 

Ink didn't flow consistently in my initial tries - actually a little difficult to get flow going. When it flows it is great, though. I used a small fill of L'Artisan Pastellier Classique Marron, which is supposed to be a "safe" ink for vintage pens.

 

 

 

 

[Greenie]

The nib should look "normal" at rest with the slit gently closing towards the tip, and the tips touching.  The nib and feed are not aligned correctly.  The feed should extend a bit farther out under the nib, or the nib needs to be set deeper.

[effrafax]

Quite often the tines are separated because of pressure from the feed not being properly set.  As Greenie noted, get the nib and feed aligned properly, then you need to set the nib to the feed.  The easiest way to do this is to place the nib and feed into just boiled water for about thirty seconds (as seen on the FPR web site: How to heat set a fountain pen feed).  Hopefully this will allow the nib to close the gab between the tines.  If it doesn't, you have a bigger problem: realigning the tines of a flex nib is tricky.  I've done it a couple of times but it can be a very hit and miss affair.  You may want to consult a nib meister about that.

 

[PithyProlix]

Thank you very much, @Greenie and @effrafax, for the advice. I will give those things a try. 

 

I live in Thailand and we don't have nibmeisters - nor even a fountain per repairperson - but I should be in Los Angeles for a few days in a couple weeks and I'm thinking I can find someone there. (I actually brought some other pens along hoping to leave for Mike Masuyama or some other nibmeister there to grind to italics so perhaps, if the tines do not come together sufficiently, one of them can fix it. Not sure if there is someone there who specializes in vintage flex though. Mike was good about responding to a recent email so, if he doesn't do that kind of work, I believe it is likely he can recommend someone.)

 

A pen like this is a very rare find in Thailand, I got it for a very good price, and when the ink flows it really is quite lovely, so I think it is worth putting some money into getting it working well. If anything, I now understand what vintage flex is really like and won't waste anymore time looking for modern pens with nibs that are intended to flex.

 

EDIT: I was having trouble finding photos that show where the nib & feed should be positioned in this pen. Are you aware of any, please?

Edited November 19, 2022 by PithyProlix

[effrafax]

Quick search found one from Goulet: Aligning the nib and feed on a fountain pen, should give you some clues.

 

One thing you might like to try, if you're willing to give it a go, is to remove the feed and nib (which you're going to have to do to align the nib anyway) and see if the tines of the nib meet (or nearly meet) at the tip when the nib is out of the pen.  This will tell you if the issue is with the nib/feed needing heat setting or whether it's more serious and needs more work.

 

[PithyProlix]

I guess the nib needs work, huh? 

 

 

 

I paid the equivalent of about $55 USD for the pen. In your opinion, is it worth the money to have this professionally fixed? I don't know what the cost to have it fixed would be but I would guess that, because the going rate for most types of grinds is $40 USD, I have a feeling that a repair cost would be in the same ballpark, I'd really like to have a really fkexible pen, such as this. 

[dipper]

You could search on eBay. Not to buy - but to look at the photographs of nibs and feeds and compare tine gaps, lengthways positions, etc.

 

No postage charges for looking at photos, so any location on eBay can be used.

For example on eBayUK a search today shows over a dozen "Swan Mabie Todd pen" items including this with seven photos....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165782460911?hash=item26996799ef:g:Ov8AAOSwh05jdWOX&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoH12gJ5FZt%2BYlH6aEvs9HrlxYznsLER81gW2MZnpsufXjqkg1PEW9lRhZmfYWroFCuxofe%2BHmFtjeLzyxAQEhYCkaf0eFfJtjGBndyvhSYVoWGgPR3f1u0BWDzrc9TKJ2hPaU1EMPeo2%2BiTo6JTmWg00wR9u1d5wDgc%2BgUT5ZaSz6MqEWl2wzv4Mo59aadUq%2FmF%2F7CQrj9a%2FFms13gFcYSw%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR4Dl4_qSYQ

 

[PithyProlix]

1 hour ago, dipper said:

You could search on eBay. Not to buy - but to look at the photographs of nibs and feeds and compare tine gaps, lengthways positions, etc.

 

No postage charges for looking at photos, so any location on eBay can be used.

For example on eBayUK a search today shows over a dozen "Swan Mabie Todd pen" items including this with seven photos....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165782460911?hash=item26996799ef:g:Ov8AAOSwh05jdWOX&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoH12gJ5FZt%2BYlH6aEvs9HrlxYznsLER81gW2MZnpsufXjqkg1PEW9lRhZmfYWroFCuxofe%2BHmFtjeLzyxAQEhYCkaf0eFfJtjGBndyvhSYVoWGgPR3f1u0BWDzrc9TKJ2hPaU1EMPeo2%2BiTo6JTmWg00wR9u1d5wDgc%2BgUT5ZaSz6MqEWl2wzv4Mo59aadUq%2FmF%2F7CQrj9a%2FFms13gFcYSw%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR4Dl4_qSYQ

 

 

Thanks for the great idea. Yes, there are many relevant photos there. Tine gap on mine seems to be much too wide, clearly. 

 

(BTW, based on photo of sample writing, the nib on mine is easily a lot more flexible than the particular one you linked to. ) 

 

After thinking a bit about whether it would be worthwhile to get the nib fixed, I think it very likely is. The money I have spent on it already is a sunk cost. Moreover, it is rare to find a pen like this in Thailand, where I live, and I strongly prefer to keep my pen purchases local within Thailand, avoiding eBay, etc.