Aurora Gold-Filled Pen – Wet Noodle

Here is a lovely vintage gold-filled vest-sized pen very similar in style to a Waterman 52V. There is no actual company hallmarks on the pen itself, but the nib does say “Aurora.” What I can tell you is that Aurora did start in 1919, that this pen has all the markings of a European styled model, and that therefore it could be an early Aurora. Regardless, it is a high quality pen with a high quality nib. The 18kt gold-filled overlay is in great condition with no dings or dents, and it only has some light scratching. The orange hard rubber under the overlay is visible under the cap and has very little fading to it. There is little to no brassing on the body, and the chasing still looks great. The 14kt. Aurora nib is a long and slender tined beauty that writes normally as a surprisingly smooth XXF. The flex is phenomenal. Wonderfully soft this nib easily swells to BBB (l.6mm) lines, and is also very responsive allowing for some great control. Whether you want a nice springy XXF writer or want something with soft, responsive flex, this pen is a great choice. 

SEE PRICE HERE

SIZE:  4 3/8″ Capped

NIB: 14kt. Aurora  #2 , XXF to BBB (0.2mm – 1.6mm)  WET NOODLE

FILLING: Lever-filler

CONDITION: Excellent

Restration Work:

• Pen thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Nib polished and tuned to write smoothly
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned, heat set, and adjusted for optimal flow
• Replaced ink sac
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Mabie Todd Swan GF with Over/Under Feed – Wet Noodle

Here is a gorgeous made in New York Mabie Todd Swan eyedropper with a beautiful gold-filled overlay. Overall, the pen is in great condition. There is no brassing on the overlay and capped looks like a little used pen. The imprints are gorgeous and there is no personalization. There is a little scratching on the end of the barrel where the cap was posted, and there is a lot of scratching (but still no brassing) on the section from the cap being taken on an off. The cap fits very snuggly. Like it’s not coming off without a firm tug. In fact, it might be a little too snug, but is best uncapped by twisting the cap while you pull. The 14kt. Swan #2 is a beautifully soft and smooth writing XF. My original test was on paper that had some hand oil on it which is why I originally had it as an XXF.  The flex comes very easily with excellent responsiveness. The range is excellent going up to BBB (1.6mm), and the feed is plenty wet. It’s a gem of a nib that both writes beautifully and has fantastic flex action.

SEE PRICE HERE

SIZE:  5 3/16″ Capped

NIB: 14kt. Mabie Todd “Swan” #2 , XF to BBB (0.3mm – 1.6mm)  WET NOODLE

FILLING: Eye Dropper

CONDITION: Excellent

Restration Work:

• Pen thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Nib polished and tuned to write smoothly
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned, heat set, and adjusted for optimal flow
• Base crack on nib welded 
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Waterman 22 – Wet Noodle (SEE PRICE HERE)

The Waterman 22 was made with a tapered cap that was meant to be posted to give the balance and feel of dipped pen. These tend to be fairly fragile due to the how thin the hard rubber is on the cap and section. This one survived quite well save for one blemish. The cap had a dreaded crack and the lip was slightly chipped. I trimmed the lip just enough to make the chip disappear and filled the crack with a glue made for bonding hard rubber. The glue is dyed black, but this pen’s hard rubber has faded some to a dark brown, so the glue does not blend in perfectly. But if it was black you would see it, and even as it is if you didn’t know it was glue you would just assume the rubber didn’t fade as much in that area. The point being that the crack is no longer a functional issue (it’s probably now the least likely spot on the cap to crack), but it is small cosmetic one. This 22 comes with two gold-filled repousse bands, which are in lovely shape. The original imprints are still mostly readable, but do have some wear. The 14kt. Waterman #2 is a fantastic wet noodle that writes normally as a wet XF. It is smooth, though it does require a soft touch. And due to that softness the tines do have a little trouble staying in line. In other words, this is best used as a dedicated flex pen than a daily writer. Range of flex is very nice going from XF to BBB (0.3mm to 1.6mm). The feed is abundantly wet, so the responsiveness can suffer a little when you first start flexing, especially if your ink is getting low. It’s one of the 22s that made it, and it’s a lovely noodle to boot. 

SEE PRICE HERE

SIZE:  5 1/2″ Capped

NIB: 14kt. Waterman #2, XF to BBB (0.3mm-1.7mm)  WET NOODLE (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Eyedropper

CONDITION: Good

Restration Work:

• Pen thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Nib polished and tuned to write smoothly
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned, heat set, and adjusted for optimal flow
• Trim cleaned and polished
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Restoration Services and Prices

I’ve been restoring vintage fountain pens for many years now and have offered my services to customers from time to time. I’ve entered a season of life where I have a need for flexibility due to the care our two autistic sons, so I thought I’d start offering my services more broadly to generate a little income while staying flexible.

Check out the restoration page for a list of services and prices, and email me at dannystr78@gmail.com to get things started.

Wahl-Eversharp Gold-Filled Skyline – Super Flex

This is a standard size Skyline in a full gold-filled body. Overall, the condition is pretty good. The only spot of brassing I could see is a little on the edges of the lever from rubbing on the pen cap when it is posted. There is a decent sized ding on the body (see pic), and one very small ding on the cap. Often these pens are full of pin prick dings and scratches all over. The 14kt. Eversharp nib is beautiful, wet writer. Silky smooth and soft nib with lots of flow. It writes normally as a F/M (0.55mm). The flex comes quite easily with decent range going up to at least 1.5mm. For a near medium nib, the flex responds with surprising snappiness. The flow is more than enough to keep up, which isn’t surprising for a Skyline. Overall, great pen in a durable and beautiful metal body.

SOLD

SIZE:  5 1/4″ Capped

NIB: Eversharp 14kt., F/M to BBB (0.55mm-1.5mm) SUPER FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Good

Restoration Work:

• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned
• Nib and feed adjusted for optimal flow
• New sac installed
• Pen thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Body and trim cleaned and polished
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Waterman Ink Vue with “RED” Nib – Medium Flex

Here is Waterman’s unique “Ink Vue” pen. These pens use a small rubber sac in the back of the barrel to pull ink into a transparent ink chamber in the barrel. It’s Waterman’s answer to the Parker Vacummatic. You actually fold the little lever in half and pump it 10 or times with nib immersed to fill the barrel. This barrel holds a ton of ink, so it can take a little bit to fill it. It is a very unique and fun system. The pen is in great condition. There is a little brassing on the lever that is not very obvious, a tiny bit on the bottom of the clip, and a very tiny bit on the edge of the band. The barrel still has great transparency, so you have no trouble seeing the ink slosh around in there. There is very light surface scratches on the body from normal use, but it’s pretty clean. The 14kt. Waterman 5 “RED” nib is, unfortunately, a bit of disappointment in the flex department. Normally, these have great flex, and this one only has a “Medium Flex” quality.  Normal writing is lovely. It’s an XF (0.3mm) with just a hint of “stubbishness.” It’s smooth, wet, and just a beautiful writer. Flexed, this nib ranges up to BB (1.5mm), which is pretty decent. Flex keeps up without any issues. But ease of flex is meh and as is it’s responsiveness. Another lesson and just how imprecise a science these flex nibs are. Even the color coded nibs have a great deal of variety. Flex aside, this is still a remarkable and unique vintage pen that writes fabulously and looks superb. No one is going to even think it’s old, just classic.

SOLD

SIZE:  4 1/4″ Capped

NIB: Waterman #5 “RED”, XF to BB (0.3mm-1.5mm),  MEDIUM FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Ink Vue Lever

CONDITION: Excellent

Restration Work:

• Pen thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Body hand polished
• Nib polished and tuned to write smoothly
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned and adjusted for optimal flow
• Ink Vue system restored
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Waterman 52 – Good Flex

Here is vintage Watermen 52 in BCHR. The black hard rubber on this pen looks really nice. Only faded a little to a dark grayish black. The chasing is still quite good with only minimal loss of texture. Almost no wear on the cap chasing. A little more on the body. Imprints are very crisp and look almost new including the original red paint in the “52” at the end of the barrel. The nickel trim has seen better days, however, as it shows lots of pitting on the clip. Much less on the lever but still noticeable. The 14kt. Waterman 52 is a beautiful writer as a XF with good flow. Nib just feels like a writer especially if you like them fine. The flex is good ranging up to BB (1.3mm). It has decent responsiveness, but it does lack some of the ease of flex that a “super flex” nib would have. People often associate the flex grades with the quality of nib, but that really isn’t the case. Nibs are just made to excel at different things. This one is made to be an all around great nib with some good flex when you want it. The full size 52 body makes it a great all around vintage writer.

PRICE: $259.99

SIZE:  5 1/4″ Capped

NIB: 14kt. Waterman #2, XF to BB (0.2mm-1.3mm)  GOOD FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Good

Restration Work:

• Pen thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Nib polished and tuned to write smoothly
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned and adjusted for optimal flow
• New sac installed
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Mabie Todd S.F. Wood Grain – Super Flex

Here is an absolutely gorgeous Mabie Todd Swan Self Filler in Wood Grain hard rubber and in a vest pen size. This pen looks almost unused. The color is great with little to no fading of the hard rubber. The imprints still have some of the original white paint. The Swan on the top of the cap still looks crisp as well. The black wide lever (a feature fairly unique to Mabie Todds) looks new as well. The pen is all mint condition. The 14kt. Swan nib is a wet and and soft XXF. The previous owner appears to have used some detergent to clean it out. I’ve cleaned and cleaned this, but every now and then some tiny trace of detergent gets in. I say that because I think all these measurements are accurate, but they may be slightly smaller if there is even a hint of detergent currently affecting this fill of ink. Anyway, there is a little bit of a scratch as expected on an XXF nib. The flex comes easily and the flow keeps up very well. Responsiveness is good but not as good as I would expect of this fine of a nib. A very nice flex nib nonetheless on an outstanding Swan.

PRICE: $399.99

SIZE:  5 3/8″ Capped

NIB: 14kt. Swan, XXF to BBB (0.2mm-1.6mm),  SUPER FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Mint

Restration Work:

• Pen thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Nib polished and tuned to write smoothly
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned and adjusted for optimal flow
• Pen buffed and polished
• Test driven for a week to insure quality