Macniven & Cameron Waverly

[Pterodactylus]

I bought this pen about 9 years ago from ebay.
They sold quite a bunch of them as never out of stock pens and advertised them as flexible nib pens.
They said it was produced about 1940.
I know that the company was in business until 1964.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macniven_and_Cameron

The pen is an eyedropper, actually very light, made of plastic, has an ebonite feed and a 14ct gold nib.




(Macniven & Cameron Waverley)


The pen is quite simple, the builidng quality is ok, but nothing special, I would call it a entry pen.
It has an engraving on the barrel "Waverley Cameron Made in Great Britain"





The nib has has the typical "Waverley" form, just like the steel dip nibs and is stamped with "Waverley 14ct".

The form was also patented, you can read about the nibs here:
https://vintagepensblog.blogspot.com...erley-nib.html





The tipping of the nib is quite special compared to most other nibs.
At the end it has a kind of upturn.
The breather hole is not round (has the "Waverley" form)





Actually this pen is not one of my favorite ones.
It is very prone to burping and dripping (especially if it is not inked up completely).
So what I usually do before starting to write is to give it a wipe with a paper towel as a preventive action.
Otherwise it is usually too wet or even drip ink on the paper when starting to write.
Using a very dry ink might also help a bit.

When you keep continously writing it´s actually quite ok to write with it (just don´t make too long thinking breaks).
It also gives you quite ok line variation. I would say it´s more than semi-flex but in the lower full flex range.



(Macniven & Cameron Waverley ..... Octopus Burgunder)

[Yazeh]

Thanks Ptero for posting it here.
I guess that would be a perfect candidate for Iron galls, like Essri, Registrars etc....

[penwash]

Interesting pen, Ptero.

Sounds like a good nib saddled with a low-budget body that doesn't stand the test of time.

[eachan]

The whole issue of the so-called "Waverley" fountain pen nib is an interesting one. Deb had some things to say about it years ago.
https://goodwriterspens.com/2013/03/...-waverley-nib/

[eckiethump]

Funnily enough, this very morning I was cleaning up one of these pens of my own. They are hard rubber, but so good you would never think so, with many of them. Mines I soaked in Domestos bleach, it has, in my experience be Domestos, to be effective, to get back to black, with no detriment to the barrel material. Came up very well, the material is possibly some of the best black hard rubber you'll encounter. Maybe it came from the North British (terrible name for Scotland !) Rubber company in Dundee Street, Edinburgh
These pens I believe were made for the Indian Civil Service, where rubber may rot ?
Famously A.N.Other "adopted" the Waverley name for nibs they produced or shaped ?
et