hi there

[PimpleMaze]

Thought it would be appropriate to introduce myself here, before i bother you people with my questions.
My name is Ronald, I live in Holland, and i like music, reading and drinking good beer, i collect pretty folding knives and mechanical keyboards, and just a few weeks ago i fell in love with fountain pens.
It's a whole story, so I'll leave a bit of blank space under this line. If you're already bored you can just skip it and and just say hi.


It started just over 4 years ago, when my wife and me went shopping for a wedding ring.
(She is a good writer. I love her short stories and poems / and her handwriting is a form of art, it's beautiful with a lot of curls and strokes, but often totally unreadable).
We went in and out of jeweler's stores, seeing rings, one more ugly than the other, and i started wondering why I'd have to pay so much money for such a silly idea: 'I'll ring you like a bird to show the world you're mine'.
so i dragged her in to a pen shop and picked up a Mont Blanc.
'This one has a golden ring'.
She totally melted. She was marrying a guy that understood. She had a wedding ring, a Mont Blanc, and we bought some pots of nicely colored ink as well.

She loves that pen, and i love to see here writing with it. She took it to all important occasions, to put her autograph in olive green on our wedding certificate, sign contracts and such,
But she's too careful to use it as a daily pen. It's way too precious to her.

I never touch that pen. I believe a fountain pen is something personal, and shouldn't be borrowed to others. though she would let me if i wanted.

We have a 7 year old daughter who loves to draw, and is very good at loosing her pencils.
There will be an Easter breakfast at school tomorrow for which she has to bring the breakfast for a colleague.
3 weeks ago she got a blank paper bag, with a little note inside that said what the boy wanted to eat (white bread, brown bread, butter, chocolate sprinkles, chocolate milk and a painted egg).
She had to make a drawing on the paper bag and paint the egg. She came home crying.
'I don't even like that boy, i don't want to go'.
So i offered to get her a new box of pencils and new box of felt pens. all of a sudden Easter was a joy again.
I wanted to get her some decent pencils, that actually color, instead of just scratch the paper, so the next day she went into town with the worst father ever.
I dragged her in an out of shops, breaking sealed packages of pencils and felt pens, drawing on pieces of paper i ripped of price tags, discussing with shop owners that i can't buy a pencil without trying it first.
And then her eye fell on a little fountain pen. No brand, four euro, completely plastic, except for the nib of course.
'Daddy, can i have a fountain pen? pleeeeaaase?'
I was amazed she even knew what a fountain pen was. 'Of course'. She was so excited. She almost forgot the 60 piece box of pencils and the beautiful set of felt pens. She just wanted an ice cream and go home as fast as possible.

We came home. With my daughter jumping around me I charged the fountain pen with the included cartridge and scratched it on a piece of paper.
It took some scratching, but then the ink started to flow.
All of a sudden I felt jealous of my own kid. What a joy to write. what had i been missing. 'I want one!'.

So for the first time I tried my wife's wedding ring. It was even worse. I didn't want to give it back. A whole page of quick brown foxes, I even liked my handwriting.
I needed a fountain pen of my own!
So I started to search the local advertising sites, and found a gazilion of beautiful pens for a bargain, or more, or less...
I picked a 1952 Parker Vacumatic, green, Made in Canada, in perfect working order. paid 11 euros for it.
When i came home from work, my wife was waiting at the door, overwhelming me with hugs and kisses.
'what a lovely present'.
SHIT!
I tried it... it's a great pen. they shipped it filled with ink, didn't leak on the way. writes as smooth as butter on a baby's but. couldn't make it scratch if i tried. but heck... it was hers.
Back to the advertisement site.
Ordered myself a Mabie Todd Swan for 20 euros, and a surprise, that i can't tell, because my wife is reading.
I am waiting for them to arrive now. can be any day.. i hope there will be mail on Easter!

I'll upload some pic's of the pens when they come in. hope someone will be so nice to give me some background information.

[Anne]

Hello and Happy Easter! :)
What a nice story! I am so glad that your wife and daughter have such an appreciation for fountain pens as well - Pat On The Back For You!

[PimpleMaze]

oh, right... how do you upload an image here?

[Anne]

Okay, I hope this works for you, but this is what I have to do to post pictures:
Start new thread, Click on Attachments, +Add Files, Browse - click on a picture ( depending on where you have it on your computer, etc. ) to highlight it and click "Open", then click on "Upload".

[jar]

Welcome home. Pull up a stump and set a spell. Watch out. Buy age 9 they need enough pens to match the color of each bow.

[Hawk]

Welcome. Great story; I enjoyed it.

[distracted_mom]

I've tried with my family...no one loves them like I do.
Welcome!

[Hawk]

You picked two great pens, the 51 vac. (even though I prefer the aerometric) and the Mabie Todd Swan. Keep up with the stories.

[Wahl]

Hi Ronald, :welcome:

[southpaw52]

Welcome Roland. Looking forward to your sharing.

[PimpleMaze]

As i said, I bought two fountain pens on an advertisement site. The man who sold them assured me they were not 'new', but in good working condition:
One Mabie Todd Swan, and a Dutch made pen from 'Het Vulpenhuis'.
So, yesterday was the big moment. the mailman came with what was supposed to be my first two fountain pens.
I actually pulled the package from the mailman's hand while he was shoving it through the letter box.
They came, in an envelope, nicely wrapped in cardboard and bubble plastic. I couldn't wait.
I flew up the stairs, to the attic, where i have my desk. Struggled and fought to rip all the sticky tape and wrapping off as fast as i could and ended up with two very pretty looking fountain pens between a pile of trash.
I was so excited.
I picked up the Mabie Todd Swan first and gave it a quick inspection. the nib seemed a bit bent, I'd worry about that later. first check the filling mechanism.
I dipped the pen in a cup of water, pulled the lever, and nothing happened.
Nothing! Tried it again. Still nothing. I gave the pen a shake, which dirtied my whole desk and keyboard with water and ink rests.
Something was definitely wrong.
I carefully unscrewed the section from the barrel, which went surprisingly easy, and i immediately realized why the filling mechanism didn't work:
It wasn't there!
This pen was completely empty!
I just bought an empty barrel with a nib and a cap. What a disappointment.

I picked up the other pen, same twisted nib. i was feeling sick by now.
This was a push button filler, so i pushed the button:
ALSO EMPTY!

50 euro's lighter, and still no pen.
I had been scammed.
I tried the telephone number, but got an out of order sound.
I sat down, drank a beer to relax, and wrote the man a very polite e-mail asking for a refund. I haven't received an answer yet.
Luckily the man had wrapped the pens in an old bubble-plastic-envelope, on which his full name and address are written.
This story hasn't finished yet.


Anyway, here are some pictures of what was supposed to be my introduction to the fountain pen madness:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m9LE3BWEu0M/VvY02PPMIQI/AAAAAAAABec/ziBfBqMWOUs2niwCZUtqWJ8v3YzdymEwQCCo/s1600-Ic42/IMG_2681.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QiKG-mB5uvw/VvY02KHc_5I/AAAAAAAABec/59ApYQpGoywU5oEgA7_2XQv6e3qnu91iQCCo/s1600-Ic42/IMG_2682.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wMQr_IthP98/VvY02NqhJ7I/AAAAAAAABec/GE_TiE-vjxwp5OWuBW22rlEwUWJVSCk5wCCo/s1600-Ic42/IMG_2683.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GpCNRoabuGA/VvY02LpsLaI/AAAAAAAABec/Qo1L_FHMjwEp2eMlHBOL6pU_rXLC6ZyTQCCo/s1600-Ic42/IMG_2687.jpg





https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Mce57q_uEF8/VvY0B5TcMiI/AAAAAAAABdM/zDC7ryvybp0jlFuMNrVWE-5ljnbL6pYdwCCo/s1600-Ic42/IMG_2689.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UBooxoaTcjY/VvY0B28uu_I/AAAAAAAABdM/_jilX7PzhN4L5Dy_vrttqp8IlmsTBqWBQCCo/s1600-Ic42/IMG_2694.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-geQWJEt3r9k/VvY0B3HbtdI/AAAAAAAABdM/yVatneSu02UKIM8jTH0AhuErLw_IntkvQCCo/s1600-Ic42/IMG_2700.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9MqQUpkgQ1U/VvY0B4fUx4I/AAAAAAAABdM/zObKh1O4f_YFEMo5cUmwqCXz8kxj1MHWgCCo/s1600-Ic42/IMG_2695.jpg

[Neo]

Eke you go through PayPal? They have great refund policies.

[PimpleMaze]

Alas, no PayPal used. Against all my principles i paid by bank transfer.

Anyway, my anger is cooled by now, and i guess i have to live with another lesson in misfortune.
I'll try, but probably those pens will never be taken for a refund, which leaves me with no other option than getting these pens to work.
Who knows, I might just find a new hobby :)
Luckily I just joined a fountain pen forum, so hopefully people here can be of some assistance.

I took both pens apart again, and my guess is, though I'm not a fountain pen repair expert, that all i need for these pens to hold ink again is a pair of squishy rubber sacks.
As for the nibs, i guess that with some patience i can carefully bent them back into position, or in worst case try to find a replacement nib.

Does anyone know if replacement sacks are available, and if so, refer me to their sellers?

[penwash]

First of all, Welcome!

Secondly, even though the pens are empty, you can still test the nibs by dipping it in ink and write.
See if the nibs can write and take a note how it writes if it does.

The nib tines look a bit rough on the Swan but if the alignment is good, it can still write just fine.
On the other pen, the nib looks okay (a bit bent at the end, but I have two Wahl pens that has the same look on their nib and they write beautifully).

if I were you, when you get a hold of the seller and if both pens writes, I'd negotiate a partial refund. Keep both pen for 10 Euros, then spend up to 40 Euros to have them restored. Then you'll get two nice 14K nib pens that write well.

[Anne]

I feel bad that you had this experience. I am glad that you have joined here though, a lot of people here can offer technical support. I am still not as experienced, so I can only offer emotional support :( and maybe some useless ideas!
For what it is worth, I can see the beauty in these pens. I agree with Penwash that it would be worth it to get them restored. Maybe you could have a nibmeister handle the gold nibs too.
Good Luck with them, you aren't alone in this :). As far as places to buy the sacs, I have these guys on my list and other members might have more to add:
Pentooling . com
vintagepens .com
andersonpens .com
woodbin . ca
pendemonium . com

[bwperdue]

What a rollercoaster of a story! I'm glad it didn't kill your love of fountain pens. I'm going to keep watching this post for the next chapter. :)

[domnortheast01]

PimpleMaze,
Hi, a couple of nice pens. I have just bought a couple of Mabie Todd Swans myself in the last couple of weeks. Both needed re-sacing which I have done (I knew that before buying them though), and they both write very nicely now. I am in the UK and get my ink sacs from Pendragons ( http://www.vintagepensacsandparts.com), I believe you said you are in Holland so that is not far to send them. I expect there are suppliers in Holland too.

You will also need a small bottle of shellac to secure the ink sac in place. I think your Swan is a 3260 (I can't quite make out the number on the nib in the picture you posted). A quick Google for resacing a fountain pen will bring up numerous guides, also there is Richard Binders site which has lots of useful information (http://www.richardspens.com/?page=ref/00_refp.htm).

Good luck, & have fun.

[domnortheast01]

Oh, & if it is a 3260 you will need a size 18 sac.

[sharmon202]

HI, thanks for joining & sharing your story. These people are the best. Ask for help and you will get more than expected. It is a great group.

[PimpleMaze]

I actually got a hold of the seller.
I wrote him another most satisfying, but polite e-mail, threatening him with the possible consequences of his fraud.
Told him i had his full name and address, and i was ready to take copies of our communications to the police.
I gave him two options:
1. I'll keep both pens, but I'll pay a fair price of €10 each, and I will have the pens serviced. in which case I would expect €30 back on my account within 2 days. (Thank you Penwash for this wonderful idea).
2. You pay me back the full amount, after which I send you back the pens in the same state as i received them.

Beside that i put the highest offer on each of his advertisements, with a message referring to my e-mail, so i was probably too annoying to ignore.

His first reply was one of rage.
He capitalized and exclamation marked that it was normal business to sell vintage pens without an ink sack.
If he would sell pens with an ink sack at these prices he might as well give them away.
He was not a fraud, and he would pay me back the d*mn money.

I answered with quotes from our pre-sale communication, Where I explained him that i was looking for a good pen to write, and he assured me that both pens were good and fully operational.
These pens are far from operational. they need nib work and can't even be filled.
I gave him some examples of vintage pens that had had been serviced and were selling for around €30. My price of €50 is fair enough for two working fountain pens.
I thanked him for his reply, and excused myself for the possible misunderstanding.

One hour later the full amount, shipping costs included, was transferred back to my bank account.

I took one more look at my pens. I felt sad really. They were pretty. It could have been such a nice project to get them back to work, i would have been so proud, and it might have made a nice picture story here. Pity.
So i covered my desk in a mess of cardboard and bubble plastic again, wrapped the pens so they could withstand a nuclear attack.
Wrote the envelope with my finest handwriting (with a ballpoint :mad: ), put on some extra stamps, and dropped it in the mail.

____________________
I contacted the man who sold me the vacumatic which my wife confiscated. He has another vac for sale, (Black and brown, #6, thin button filler, which i believe indicates 1946?).
Unfortunately the metal ring fell off the cap, but it has a new ink sack, and the nib seems to be in fine condition.
He agreed on a price of €10, shipping included. :D

I'll let you know when it arrives.
____________________

I am still looking for something special. I feel like all my hard work may be rewarded. After all, i did save us €40...

____________________

One seller agreed on €20 for these 12(?) pens. I'm still thinking about it.
I rather have one special pen than 12 pens that are .. average.
I'm not yet familiar enough with fountain pens to see if it's anything worth buying.

23988

I see something that looks like a parker 41, a coupe of cheap sheaffers, an Ero, something that looks like a union genie on the bottom right.
Can someone tell me if this would be a good deal? the seller couldn't tell me anything about the pens.

[PimpleMaze]

Oh, and i do apologize for my behaviour. I have been so occupied with this whole story that I almost forgot to thank you all for your warm words of welcome, and the helpful comments to my story.

@ domnortheast01
http://www.vintagepensacsandparts.com seems like an awesome place for parts. I guess i will do some shopping there when my newly developed madness matures.
the Swan was a 3140. i believe the 3 means 'Swan', 1 means 'fine nib', 4 means 'green', and 0 is for the plastic material. correct me if i'm wrong

[Stanley Howler]

Ah, a 3140, I guess that'll hold a sac size smaller than the 32xx range as the barrel will be a little thinner (a size 17?) but I've not repaired one of those so worth asking round. Mike at Pendragons may know. I believe the 3 indicates a lever filler and a 4 is the twist top filler, I have a 4460, so twist filler (4) with a number 4 nib (the nibs get larger the higher the number, size 1, 2, 4, 6), in black (60). I am new to Swans too though so maybe someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

[Morgaine]

Hello and welcome from Wales...

What a story.... I was in a shop a couple of years back looking at the Parker fountain pens. There was a girl (possibly around 10-12 years of age) with money from a birthday present looking too. The adult with her said that she couldn't have one because she wouldn't know how to write with one. I could have said something but I didn't.

How is your daughter getting on?

[PimpleMaze]

Hello and welcome from Wales...

What a story.... I was in a shop a couple of years back looking at the Parker fountain pens. There was a girl (possibly around 10-12 years of age) with money from a birthday present looking too. The adult with her said that she couldn't have one because she wouldn't know how to write with one. I could have said something but I didn't.

How is your daughter getting on?

Well, she likes to draw with everything. I've seen some beautiful drawings in bright blue ink, but i think that's a good thing. I think it's great to draw with fountain pens. I haven't seen any serious writing yet, but i did notice her handwriting seriously improved lately. I don't know everything, I work a lot. But I wouldn't be surprised if things are related.
She's really treasuring it. She lost it one time. We had to search the whole house. She had it put very safely in a little box, under her pillow and forgot..
She's using a Lamy ABC fountain pen in school. The school provides those to the kids.
I'll give it some time, and then I think I'll pick up one of those Lamy Safari's for her, i heard a lot of positive things about those pens. -In purple of course.