Just came across this post. I'd never trust a very old eyedropper to work without blobbing, but no one said you can't use them as dip pens that carry much more ink than their steel counterparts. Here on my desk there's an archaic Onoto sans cap that does sterling work in this manner. Lovely show, Chris. Cheers from Oz.
I think FPH resurrected the Mabie Todd be a few years ago. This pen is interesting and certainly worth investing in. A co-worker once showed me a Waterman with a piston that looked more like a drill bit. He claimed it was from 1905. It was a monster of a size, made of ebonite. Have you heard of such a pen?
Yes, saw a Facebook posting recently. Very rare. facebook.com/groups/1803676809861861/?hoisted_section_header_type=recently_seen&multi_permalinks=1939975836231957
Thanks Chris . What a treasure , i hope i look that good when I'm 100 years old although you would need a shovel to find out lol :-) I wonder why it has a hole in the top if you do find out I'd be really interested in knowing the answer.
Many vintage pens had holes in cap but on the side level with section when cap closed. These were to avoid Vacuum when uncapping. A hole in the top of cap is a mystery to me. Pen has been cleaned out & put with my other Swans. Not only over a hundred but still functioning.
By happy coincidence I have exactly the same 3212 Mabie Todd pen, seen here th-cam.com/video/7ZlEU7Shrwc/w-d-xo.html I is maybe interesting that the name pen could be derived from the quills used for writing instruments being taken from the male Swan, and the name for the male Swan is "Pen". The nib on these 3212 is indeed very soft and flexible, a real pleasure to write with, unfortunately my example needs re tipping and I do not know where that could be done. Chris B.
Stef's pen is much longer & has more gold bands. Mabie Todd made many pens with a similar shape. 3212 is the same on both pens. Stef also had ink blobs from his pen also. Thanks for sharing.
I have the exact same pen, 3212, nice to see someone else has it. Mine is less oxidised than yours, still has its chasing and good markings. The only slightly oxidised part is the bottom of the section. My pen has 3212 only, without the MED marking, and the nib on mine also does pretty good hairlines. Yours looks pretty "medium". I'm wondering why if the last number is supposed to indicate the nib width. Or is it the overall nib/feed size you meant? However, I'm missing the bottom gold ring on mine. If you or anyone has an extra ring going, can you please let me know?
beautiful
Just came across this post. I'd never trust a very old eyedropper to work without blobbing, but no one said you can't use them as dip pens that carry much more ink than their steel counterparts. Here on my desk there's an archaic Onoto sans cap that does sterling work in this manner. Lovely show, Chris. Cheers from Oz.
Thank you Chris. May you never stop taking us on this amazing journey!
Thank you, Chris. I enjoy your Chinese fp videos but these vintage and refurbishment videos are my favourites.
Always nice to see things that endure the tooth of time for this long.
You say "modest collection" but what a wonderful (and inspiring!) group of lovely, historical pens.
Thank you, Chris. This was a great deal of fun, and quite informative.
Very enjoyable. Thank you, Chris.
Fascinating nib/feed system!
Great, informative video. Thanks!
I think FPH resurrected the Mabie Todd be a few years ago.
This pen is interesting and certainly worth investing in.
A co-worker once showed me a Waterman with a piston that looked more like a drill bit. He claimed it was from 1905. It was a monster of a size, made of ebonite. Have you heard of such a pen?
Yes, saw a Facebook posting recently. Very rare. facebook.com/groups/1803676809861861/?hoisted_section_header_type=recently_seen&multi_permalinks=1939975836231957
Thanks Chris . What a treasure , i hope i look that good when I'm 100 years old although you would need a shovel to find out lol :-)
I wonder why it has a hole in the top if you do find out I'd be really interested in knowing the answer.
Many vintage pens had holes in cap but on the side level with section when cap closed. These were to avoid Vacuum when uncapping. A hole in the top of cap is a mystery to me. Pen has been cleaned out & put with my other Swans. Not only over a hundred but still functioning.
By happy coincidence I have exactly the same 3212 Mabie Todd pen, seen here th-cam.com/video/7ZlEU7Shrwc/w-d-xo.html I is maybe interesting that the name pen could be derived from the quills used for writing instruments being taken from the male Swan, and the name for the male Swan is "Pen". The nib on these 3212 is indeed very soft and flexible, a real pleasure to write with, unfortunately my example needs re tipping and I do not know where that could be done. Chris B.
Stef's pen is much longer & has more gold bands. Mabie Todd made many pens with a similar shape. 3212 is the same on both pens. Stef also had ink blobs from his pen also. Thanks for sharing.
I have the exact same pen, 3212, nice to see someone else has it. Mine is less oxidised than yours, still has its chasing and good markings. The only slightly oxidised part is the bottom of the section.
My pen has 3212 only, without the MED marking, and the nib on mine also does pretty good hairlines. Yours looks pretty "medium". I'm wondering why if the last number is supposed to indicate the nib width. Or is it the overall nib/feed size you meant?
However, I'm missing the bottom gold ring on mine. If you or anyone has an extra ring going, can you please let me know?
Well, according to the page from the book, that should definitely have been the line width.
From writing I'd say its a medium. As nib is not marked, can't determine if original nib.
Yikes...that's a LOT of ink dumping on the page.
They must have had super thick paper back in those days....
Many used blotters.