What is your latest pen acquisition?

[Cob]

Cob, two fabulous pens tht 4572 and the Chatelaine. Can one buy a Swan magnet like yours? I may be interested....

Ha ha very good!

But the problem is that magnets are not as discriminatory as one would like: for example here's one I would love to have but it's already too rich for me with nearly two days to go and it's in the USA, so postage and customs charges would probably double the already colossal price!

Best regards

Cob

[Empty_of_Clouds]

When people talk about antique shop finds I have to start at the other end by actually finding an antique shop! One of the main reasons for my reluctance to sell pens on is the sheer difficulty in finding such pens later should I have a change of focus. You should come and live in the pen and ink desert over here for a couple of years. Yeah, I know, first world problems.

[Quantum Sailor]

Cob, two fabulous pens tht 4572 and the Chatelaine. Can one buy a Swan magnet like yours? I may be interested....

Ha ha very good!

But the problem is that magnets are not as discriminatory as one would like: for example here's one I would love to have but it's already too rich for me with nearly two days to go and it's in the USA, so postage and customs charges would probably double the already colossal price!

Best regards

Cob

I don't know about anyone else, but I've gotten several pens that were vintage on there lately that someone seemed to have photo shopped all of the defects of the pen out. My last one the images showed a perfect pen with absolutely nothing wrong and I get the pen to find a large crack running through the cap of the pen. It was an obvious one too, discolored and filled. It also had a big chip out of the bottom. So then you're out the shipping to return and the customs charges because those aren't included in a refund.

[Cob]

Cob, two fabulous pens tht 4572 and the Chatelaine. Can one buy a Swan magnet like yours? I may be interested....

Ha ha very good!

But the problem is that magnets are not as discriminatory as one would like: for example here's one I would love to have but it's already too rich for me with nearly two days to go and it's in the USA, so postage and customs charges would probably double the already colossal price!

Best regards

Cob

I don't know about anyone else, but I've gotten several pens that were vintage on there lately that someone seemed to have photo shopped all of the defects of the pen out. My last one the images showed a perfect pen with absolutely nothing wrong and I get the pen to find a large crack running through the cap of the pen. It was an obvious one too, discolored and filled. It also had a big chip out of the bottom. So then you're out the shipping to return and the customs charges because those aren't included in a refund.

That sounds terrible.

You should not have to pay the return shipping at least if the item had undisclosed faults; ebay is quite good these days in this regard. I have had about 16 cases in the past 12 months all resolved satisfactorily - apart from those where I have been fortunate to be dealing with decent and reasonable sellers.

To lose the customs charges seems especially unfair.

Cob

[Quantum Sailor]

Cob, two fabulous pens tht 4572 and the Chatelaine. Can one buy a Swan magnet like yours? I may be interested....

Ha ha very good!

But the problem is that magnets are not as discriminatory as one would like: for example here's one I would love to have but it's already too rich for me with nearly two days to go and it's in the USA, so postage and customs charges would probably double the already colossal price!

Best regards

Cob

I don't know about anyone else, but I've gotten several pens that were vintage on there lately that someone seemed to have photo shopped all of the defects of the pen out. My last one the images showed a perfect pen with absolutely nothing wrong and I get the pen to find a large crack running through the cap of the pen. It was an obvious one too, discolored and filled. It also had a big chip out of the bottom. So then you're out the shipping to return and the customs charges because those aren't included in a refund.

That sounds terrible.

You should not have to pay the return shipping at least if the item had undisclosed faults; ebay is quite good these days in this regard. I have had about 16 cases in the past 12 months all resolved satisfactorily - apart from those where I have been fortunate to be dealing with decent and reasonable sellers.

To lose the customs charges seems especially unfair.

Cob

Thanks for the tip, I will try to get that taken care of if it happens again. I've probably lost enough to buy another pen on return shipping and fees.

[Special K]

Test

[AltecGreen]

Here are the last two lots of pens I picked up. Most are Japanese with a few Italians thrown in for good measure.

[jadehawk]

Just finish restoring my first 3 vacumatics..

[Cob]

One or two interesting ones have turned up here lately. Here's a nice Swan Minor, stamped SM2/60 on the end of the barrel. I suppose it dates from about 1932. What is unusual is the herringbone chasing and gold-plated cap band. Most of the Minors I have seen have simpler longitudinal chasing and chrome-plated metal parts. I did once have a Minor 2 that had a GP clip but no cap band - but the longitudinal chasing.

This one has a lovely classic Mabie Todd fine nib.

Cob

Swan SM2_60.jpg

[Cob]

Here's a sort of distant relative of my previous submission to this thread. It's an eye-dropper called "The Traveller" produced by Edward Todd & Co of New York, presumably some time before 1920. Edward Todd went into partnership with John H. Mabie in 1860. In 1868 he separated and formed his own company. He died in 1892 and the business was carried on until 1932 by his son. I need to do a little work to the feed arrangements, but as may be seen the small very flexible nib is delightful.

Cob

Edward Todd Traveller 4.jpg

[Sevenof9]

Cob you have a nice selection of vintage flex pens. 7

[Cob]

Cob you have a nice selection of vintage flex pens. 7

They seem to come in little batches - I'll get a few with quite "normal" nibs (if Mabie Todds can ever be called normal!!) and then like the proverbial buses, a few come along at once!

Rgds

Cob

[Deb]

That Edward Todd eyedropper is a stunner and it's a rarity too!

[musicman123]

Mine is a Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze B. It's been my grail pen for a while now! I'm so excited!

[Hawk]

Here's a sort of distant relative of my previous submission to this thread. It's an eye-dropper called "The Traveller" produced by Edward Todd & Co of New York, presumably some time before 1920. Edward Todd went into partnership with John H. Mabie in 1860. In 1868 he separated and formed his own company. He died in 1892 and the business was carried on until 1932 by his son. I need to do a little work to the feed arrangements, but as may be seen the small very flexible nib is delightful.


Cob

Edward Todd Traveller 4.jpg

Awhile back, I purchased a Todd Pen Traveller with two gold bands, also an eyedropper. The nib appears to be from another pen since it is marked Blackbird MT & Co. Ltd. Made in England. It is an extremely wet writer. I like it for what it is.

[Cob]

[QUOTE=Hawk;136650]

Here's a sort of distant relative of my previous submission to this thread. It's an eye-dropper called "The Traveller" produced by Edward Todd & Co of New York, presumably some time before 1920. Edward Todd went into partnership with John H. Mabie in 1860. In 1868 he separated and formed his own company. He died in 1892 and the business was carried on until 1932 by his son. I need to do a little work to the feed arrangements, but as may be seen the small very flexible nib is delightful.


Cob



Awhile back, I purchased a Todd Pen Traveller with two gold bands, also an eyedropper. The nib appears to be from another pen since it is marked Blackbird MT & Co. Ltd. Made in England. It is an extremely wet writer. I like it for what it is.

Yes Mabie Todd Blackbirds are easily found here in England; what is curious is how the nib ended up over there! Many of the Blackbird nibs are very nice; how's yours?

I would say that the nib in my pen is rather smaller than a Blackbird's, though I haven't yet removed it to have a look. I will say that the Edward Todd pen appears to be of the very best quality. I shall be looking out for them!

Rgds

Cob

[Hawk]

Beats me how the nib swam the pond. Bought the pen from Krantz; his son Charlie picked out the pen so I call it my 'Charlie Pen'. Your nib appears to be more narrow and maybe longer. It isn't, however as flexibile as yours. It writes nice for me. Based on your advice, I will have to look out for more of them. Eyedroppers aren't my highest priority but they have a place in my abstract collection.

[Jon Szanto]

The first truly vintage pen I purchased, about 4-5 months into pen fancy (and that's about 5 years ago) was a Sheaffer Balance in the Ebonized Pearl celluloid. I've remained fascinated by that material since (as evidenced in the set I posted earlier), and have a few different items. Recently one caught my eye, a vacuum-fill "First Lady" (D53WS, dating from around 1935 or later; ID made after I had the pen). I had only known of the pens as lever fill.

Anyway, when it got to me, at first I thought it was odd that the Ebonized part of the barrel was only in about the middle third; all of my other pens used the material all the way to the section, and further back on the butt. It was when I dug into the catalogs to try to ID the model that I realized something I never new existed in this material, or was possible. I've done the best I can to show that in the second photo, though my tools and skills are limited. All I can tell you was that it was one of my biggest surprises lately, and a really learning moment!




The pen will be off to Gerry Berg this week for restoration, as it is an early model with the plastic-coated iron rod, badly deteriorated, and I want this done right. Pix when it gets back!

[Crazyorange]

The first truly vintage pen I purchased, about 4-5 months into pen fancy (and that's about 5 years ago) was a Sheaffer Balance in the Ebonized Pearl celluloid. I've remained fascinated by that material since (as evidenced in the set I posted earlier), and have a few different items. Recently one caught my eye, a vacuum-fill "First Lady" (D53WS, dating from around 1935 or later; ID made after I had the pen). I had only known of the pens as lever fill.

Anyway, when it got to me, at first I thought it was odd that the Ebonized part of the barrel was only in about the middle third; all of my other pens used the material all the way to the section, and further back on the butt. It was when I dug into the catalogs to try to ID the model that I realized something I never new existed in this material, or was possible. I've done the best I can to show that in the second photo, though my tools and skills are limited. All I can tell you was that it was one of my biggest surprises lately, and a really learning moment!




The pen will be off to Gerry Berg this week for restoration, as it is an early model with the plastic-coated iron rod, badly deteriorated, and I want this done right. Pix when it gets back!

I'm curious....ink window? Or was it created for another purpose? Your pen is outstanding....truly a classic.

[Jon Szanto]

I'm curious....ink window? Or was it created for another purpose? Your pen is outstanding....truly a classic.

It's a semi-transparent barrel that, before the celluloid of that age ambers, would allow one to hold it up to the light and see how much ink was in the barrel. The thing is, I never realized that they were able to make them out of that material. I was given the following information after posting elsewhere:

The early Vac-Fil pens used this multi-piece barrel construction, with a central transparent section capped by opaque pieces on both ends, using mortise-and-tenon joints for strength and sealing (the packing unit closure disk was captured during assembly between the central barrel section and the opaque rear portion). The Ebonized Pearl and the black materials were layered with a striped black/clear under-sheet and helically wrapped; marbled Gray Pearl also was helically wrapped, at least sometimes (I have to check some examples, as I have a memory that there were also some other construction[s] used). In the case of Ebonized Pearl, the material could not practically be curved or tapered, because the pearl chunks were not formable, and so Sheaffer chose to use plain black celluloid for the tapered ends of the pen as well as for the cap lip, which is also mortise-and-tenon jointed under the cap band (at least one prototype pen exists with Ebonized Pearl material throughout). The helical striping is shown in Sheaffer catalogs.