Conklin Crescent #30 –  Super Flex – (On Ebay)

Here is a very nice Conklin Crescent #30 in excellent condition. There is very little fading on the pen. Just a bit on the body. The chasing looks very crisp and imprints look good as new. The gold-filled trim is nearly flawless. This pen was rarely used. The 14kt. made in Toledo #3 Conklin nib is a beauty. You will not find a smoother XF nib on any pen. It’s smooth for a broad let alone an XF. Just a lovely, wet, smooth writing experience. It also has a very nice flex with excellent responsiveness. It’s everything you could want in a vintage pen.

SIZE:  5 3/8″ Capped

NIB: Conklin Toledo #3, XF to BB (0.3mm-1.6mm) SUPER FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Crescent Filler

CONDITION: Near Mint

Restoration Work:

• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned
• Nib and feed tuned to write smoothly with optimal flow
• Gold trim cleaned and polished
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Mabie Todd Swan Over/Under Feed – Good Flex (On Ebay)

Here is a made in England Mabie Todd Swan eyedropper model 1500 with over/under feed. The BCHR is in pretty good condition. It does have some moderate fading to a dark black-brown. More so on the body than the cap. Chassing and imprints on the body are still pretty good. The imprints on the cap are quite faded and only partially readable. Slip cap has to cracks and hold tight. The 14kt. Swan nib is a wet and smooth writing F. It has some good flex ability going from 0.4mm to 1.6mm. It’s too stiff to be classified a super flex in my opinion, but it does have decent responsiveness for how wet a pen it is. You definitely don’t have to worry about railroading.

SIZE:  5 1/4″ Capped

NIB: Mabie Todd Swan 14kt., F to BB (0.4mm-1.6mm)  GOOD FLEX (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
• Body buffed and polished
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned and adjusted for optimal flow
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Waterman 14 Red Mottled – Super Flex (On Ebay)

Here is a nice Waterman 14 eyedropper in red mottled hard rubber. Patent date on this Waterman is 1884. It’s likely over 120 years old, but still in very nice condition. There is a little fading to the hard rubber, but it still has very good color for it’s age and has even retained some of it’s original shine. Imprints are pretty good. A little faded, but certainly readable. The only real flaw is a tiny chip on the edge of the cap, but the there are no cracks. The 14kt. Waterman #4 is a perfect specimen of the joys of vintage nibs. It’s a juicy, soft, smooth F that is really a stub. Notice the line variation in the writing sample. It has some superb flex that ranges from 0.4mm to 1.7mm and has an ease of flex that is nearing wet noodle status. It also has very good responsiveness. It’s a beautiful, early Waterman.

SIZE:  5 1/4″ Capped

NIB: 14kt. Waterman #4, F to BB (0.4mm-1.7mm),  SUPER FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Eye-Dropper

CONDITION: Excellent

Restration Work:

• Pen (barrel, section, nib, feed, & cap) thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Nib polished and tuned to write smoothly
• Inside of barrel thoroughly cleaned.
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned and adjusted for optimal flow
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Waterman 55 Red Ripple – Super Flex (On Ebay)

This is the big and beautiful Waterman 55 in Red Ripple hard rubber. The hard rubber has faded a bit, but still has pretty good color. The gold filled trim has no signs of brassing. The imprints are still very crisp. And, well, it’s big. The 14kt. #5 Waterman nib is a beauty. It has near wet noodle ease of flex that has pretty decent responsiveness. It writes normally as a wet F (0.4mm) that is smooth and has a nice soft bounce to it. It doesn’t take much pressure to get line variation. It ranges up to 1.7mm (BB+). I would say the nib is quite a bit better than most #5/ #7 “Red” nibs that I have used. It’s just a big beautiful pen with a big beautiful nib.

SIZE:  5 3/8″ Capped

NIB: Waterman #5, XF to BB (0.4mm-1.7mm),  SUPER FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Excellent

Restration Work:

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

Wahl-Eversharp Skyline – Super/Good Flex – (On Ebay)

Here is a very nice standard size Skyline in burgundy with a gold-fill cap and trim. There is just some very light scratching on the body, which is typical of these pens. But I have buffed and polished most of it away. There is just a tiny prick of a ding on the cap. The only brassing I see is just a bit on one side of the lever. The 14kt. Skyline nib is a nice XF with some flex. There seem to be fewer XF flex Skyline nibs than say F to M, so I always enjoy it when I do. The nib writes smooth and wet. It’s really a lovely writer. The flex on this pen is a bit hard to grade. It has super flex range, responsiveness, and ink flow, but it is a bit on the stiff side. It’s still more than capable of some really nice flex work.

SIZE:  5 1/4″ Capped

NIB: Skyline 14kt., XF to BB (0.3mm-1.6mm) SUPER/GOOD FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Excellent

Restoration Work:

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

Mabie Todd Swan Gold-Filled Ring Top – (On Ebay)

This gold filled ring top Swan was originally made in New York and has an 1904 patent date. I really like Mabie Todd ring tops as they just feel like high quality. It’s hard to describe without using them. Anyway, this Swan has four decent dings on the end of the barrel, and a few tiny scuffs on the lever. I don’t see any other brassing. There is some light scratching throughout the pen. The 14kt. #2 Swan nib is a firm and smooth XF. It has about a 4 out of 10 wetness. If you are looking for a vintage portable pen that will write on cheap paper, this might be for you.

SIZE:  3 3/4″ Capped (not including the ring)

NIB: 14kt. Swan #2, XF (0.2mm-2.0mm)  SUPER FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Fair

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

Wahl Oversized Flat Top – Super Flex – (On Ebay)

Oh I love these oversized Wahl Pens. To give you an idea of the girth of these pens, the barrel is a whopping 14mm in diameter. By way of comparison, the cap of Waterman 55 is only 13.5mm. A Pelikan M800 barrel is around 13.3mm. The hard rubber of this pen has faded to a dark black/brown. Chasing is a little worn but still pretty good. The gold filled trim looks pretty good with no brassing. There are a couple very tiny dings on the lever. A single mm or so has been cut off the lip of the cap (it probably had a small crack and was removed to stop the crack from spreading). The monstrous 14kt. Wahl “Signature” nib is an ultra, butter smooth M/ B (0.6mm) that writes juicy with just a bit of a stubbish quality to it. It is has a soft flex, which gives it a really soft feel when writing. Definitely a pen for long writing sessions. The flex ranges up to BB (1.7mm) and is pretty responsive. Just a great pen.

SIZE:  5 1/2″ Capped

NIB: Wahl-Eversharp “Signature”, M/B to BB (0.6mm-1.7mm) SUPER FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Good

Restoration Work:

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

Wirt Vest Pen- Super Flex  (On Ebay)

Here is a Wirt vest pen in BCHR. The black hard rubber is still very black with hardly if any fading. The chasing looks great as well. There is no brassing of the nickel trim. The pen is in really nice condition. There are some deeper scratches around the section where someone probably used their teeth or a tool to get the section out. The 14kt. Wirt nib has the breather hole in the feed so that it looks like a dip nib. There is a very slight crease up on the tines. The nib may have been slightly sprung at some point. However, the nib seems to retain its shape just fine, and I imagine will continue to do so so long as it is not over flexed. The flex range on this nib is not immense going from XF to BB (0.3mm – 1.5mm), but it has fantastic snap back and the flex comes quite easily. I love the way this nib writes. It has that vintage slightly stubbish nature to it that gives even XF writing some character. Even for just normal writing, this nib is a soft, smooth superb writer.

SIZE:  5″ Capped

NIB: Wirt, XF to BB (0.3mm-1.5mm),  SUPER FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Excellent

Restration Work:

• Pen (barrel, section, nib, feed, & cap) thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Nib polished and tuned to write smoothly
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned and adjusted for optimal flow
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Mabie Todd Swan w/ Over/Under Feed – Super Flex (On Ebay)

Here is the Mabie Todd & Bard, made in New York Swan pen with over/ under feed. Since it retains the the “Bard” name it would predate 1907. The pen has faded some to a very dark black/ brown color. The chasing has worn, but is still partly visible. Imprints are still present but also worn. The slip cap is good and tight. The 14kt. Swan XF nib writes beautifully. It is soft and smooth and a true pleasure to use. It does have some decent flex that goes up to 1.5mm. It’s just a bit too stiff to be graded higher in my view, but you can still do some good work with it. If you like writing with a #2 pencil, then you will love writing with this 100 plus year pen.

SIZE:  5 1/4″ Capped

NIB: 14kt. Swan #2, XF to BBB (0.3mm-1.8mm)  SUPER FLEX (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
• Trim buffed and polished
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned and adjusted for optimal flow
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Waterman 52 1/2V Red Ripple – Super Flex  (On Ebay)

This is a gorgeous Waterman 52 1/2 V pen in the famous Waterman red ripple hard rubber. The pen is in superb condition. There is very little fading to the hard rubber. It’s lost a some of it’s shine, but it still has it’s beautiful color. The imprints are all good and crisp throughout the pen. The trim shows no signs of brassing. The 14kt. Waterman #2 is a wonderful XF (0.3mm) that writes surprisingly smooth and wet. This pen also has some beautiful flex that comes with ease. It ranges from XF-BB (0.3mm-1.5mm). And while that is not as big a range as some super flex nibs, this one has a superb responsiveness that is hard to match. It’s a stunner and a great writer.

SIZE:  4 1/4″ Capped

NIB: Waterman #2, XF to BB (0.3mm-1.5mm)  SUPER FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Excellent

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