Rexall RGP Pen – Wet Noodle (On Ebay)

Here is a very interesting third tier pen. Rexall did no manufacture high end pens, but somehow this one has been kept in like new condition. The body of the pen is 1/40 14kt. which classifies as Rolled Gold Plated (RGP). There are no real dings or scratches on the pen that I could find. It really looks to have hardly ever been used. The Warranted 14kt. nib on this pen is most interesting. It writes normally as a very wet, soft fine. The flex on this comes very easily, however. Like near paintbrush easy, which is why I’m classifying it as a wet noodle. The feed, however, doesn’t do a fantastic job of keeping up. If you know what you are doing, and you are using a good, wet ink (like the Tsuki-Yo I used for the pics) you can do some nice writing without a lot of railroading. But turn your wrist while flexing or use a drier ink and you will get railroading. Still a very interesting third tier wet noodle in great condition.

SIZE:  5″ Capped

NIB: Warranted #2,F to BB (0.5mm-1.6mm) WET NOODLE (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Excellent

Restration Work:

• Pen thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Body thoroughly polished .
• 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

Moore Gold Filled Ring Top – Good Flex (On Ebay)

Here is a vintage Moore gold filled ring top. I haven’t restored many Moore gold filled ring tops, and I am impressed with the quality construction of this one. The lever mechanism feels especially stout and smooth and the pen overall feels more solid than it’s Wahl and Waterman counterparts. The back of the barrel and top of the cap does have brassing. There is some light scratching throughout the pen but no dings or dents. It has the initials “V.M.F.” imprinted on the cap. The Moore 14kt nib is a smooth writing XF/ XXF (0.25mm) that is quite smooth. Unfortunately, the nib does have a small crack extending from the back of the breather hole to just short of the “E” in “THE.” The nib has good flex and is on the border between good and super flex. It has good range from XF to BBB (1.8mm). It doesn’t quite have the ease of flex and steady flow of super flex, but it has a responsiveness that is as good or better than most super flex nibs.

SIZE:  3 3/4″ Capped

NIB: Moore #2, XXF/XF to BBB (0.25mm-1.8mm),  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
• Pen body buffed and polished
• New sac installed
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

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

Here is a made in New York Mabie Todd Swan made sometime between 1906 and 1915. This is a well made pen with gold-filled repousse band and ends and complete with chain. The BCHR body of this pen has faded a little, though it is still mostly black. The chasing has been worn mostly smooth, though visible, and the imprints are only partly visible. The cap interior is actually brass making it heavier and sturdier and it keeps the hard rubber from loosing the tight fit the slip cap needs to stay on. Unfortunately, the brass inner cap has scratched up the section through the years of use. The 14kt. Mabie Todd nib is a delightfully soft, smooth writing XF/F. Great writing experience. These old over/under feed eyedroppers are much sought after, but they tend to be extremely wet. This nib, however, manages to be just about right (5/10 of wetness). That is until you flex it and then the ink flows generously. Evern my worst inks flex without railroading in this pen. The range of flex isn’t huge (tops out at 1.6mm), but it is quite easy to flex and pretty snappy allowing for good flex without much effort. Still a very good super flex nib in my opinion, and a great pen.

SIZE:  5 3/8″ Capped

NIB: Mabie Todd Swan #2, XF/F to BB (0.35mm-1.6mm)  SUPER 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
• Body buffed and polished
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned and adjusted for optimal flow
• New sac installed
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Waterman 52V – SUPER FLEX (On Ebay)

Here is an interesting Waterman. It’s technically marked a 54V on the end of the barrel, but the girth of this pen is no bigger than a 52 and the section does not fit a 54 feed or #4 nib. Perhaps the section is a replacement. Not sure, but it’s definitely a Waterman section and fits snuggly in the barrel. The pen is made of an originally smooth black hard rubber that has faded to a dark brown. It has a few spots (more like dots) of lighter fading. The side imprint is worn and almost unreadable. There is brassing on the top edge of the gold-filled band and a little on the edges of the globe on the lever. It’s also missing the ring top. The 14kt. Waterman #2 nib is a wet writing F that writes a very nice, smooth line normally. Great writer. It has pretty good ease of flex and decent responsiveness. It’s not an upper tier super flex nib, but it is still quite good. I love this size of pen and this one can do it all.

SIZE:  4 5/16″ Capped

NIB: Waterman #2, F to BB (0.4mm-1.7mm),  SUPER FLEX (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Good

Restration Work:

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

Unbranded Vintage Eyedropper with Gold Filled Filigree – Wet Noodle ( See Price Here)

Here is an unbranded eye dropper most likely made during the first twenty years of the 1900s. It’s a well made pen with just a few flaws that use and time have added. Overall, the pen looks very nice. The gold-filled filigree overlay looks very nice with little to no brassing. The black hard rubber under the overlay is pretty black on the barrel, but has faded some to a dark brown under the filigree on the cap. There is a a beautiful engraving that reads “MJM” in a lovely script. The pen appeared to have had a clip at one point where there is now just a small hole in the cap and a small crack coming from the hole. The filigree overlay protects the cap from the crack spreading any further. There are some scratches on the hard rubber parts of the barrel between the filigree, and marks at the end of the barrel where the cap has been posted. The 14kt. Conklin #3 nib is not original to the pen, but it is a lovely wet noodle. It has an almost paintbrush ease of flesh and is extremely responsive. It allows for tremendous control of your flexing. It writes normal as a soft, smooth XF. A fantastic writer for everyday use so long as you don’t use a lot of pressure when you write. The only downside to the nib is that it requires really wet ink for the feed to keep up. The pictures are of Sailor Souten and Iroshizuku inks also work great. But my Diamine Turquoise, for example, did railroad too much for my taste. ( See Price Here)

SIZE:  5 3/8″ Capped

NIB: Conklin Toledo #3., XF to BBB (0.3mm-1.8mm),  WET NOODLE (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
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned and adjusted for optimal flow
• GF overlay buffed and polished
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Mabie Todd Swan Gold Filled Ring Top – Wet Noodle ( See Price Here)

Here is a lovely little made in New York Mabie Todd Swan gold filled ring top. The pen was made sometimes between 1906 when “Bard” was dropped from the Mabie Todd & Co. name and 1915 when all production was moved to the UK. It is in good condition overall. There is some slight brassing on the edges at the end of the barrel and there is some light scratching throughout the pen. Also there is a small ding just below the lever (see pics). Neverthless, the pen still looks good. There is a personalization that reads “Gustel.” The star of the pen is of course the 14kt. Mabie Todd nib. It is a wet noodle nib that is nearing paintbrush ease of flex. Normally it writes as a wet, soft fine that has a nice smooth sweet spot. The feed keeps up well with the flexing and even some of my inks that normally don’t flex too well did pretty good in this pen. It has a nice range from 0.4mm to 1.8mm and good responsiveness. An overall solid wet noodle pen.  See Price Here

SIZE: 3 7/8″ Capped

NIB: Mabie Todd & Co., F to BBB (0.4mm-1.8mm),  WET NOODLE (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Good

Restration Work:

• Pen mostly restored when I acquired it.
• Did some nib adjustment and fine tuning
• Cleaned and polished the pen
• Test driven for a week to insure quality

Waterman 52 – Super Flex  (On Ebay)

This a made in Canada Waterman 52 in BCHR with nickel trim. The black hard rubber on this pen has faded to a grayish brown and the chasing is worn though it still has some texture on the cap. Pretty smooth on the barrel. The imprints on the pens are still very readable. The nickel plated trim looks great. Both clip and lever have very minimal plate loss, thought there is a little if you look close. This 52 sports a fantastic 14kt. Waterman #2 nib. The nib is a very smooth, soft writing XF (0.3mm). It is a great ease of flex with good, crisp responsiveness. Lovely super flex nib. The nib does have the slight bend in the nib (both tines at the same spot), but it really does not affect the performance of the pen. A really nice vintage 52 with with great flex.

SIZE:  5 1/4″ Capped

NIB: Waterman #2, F to BBB (0.3mm-1.8mm),  Super Flex  (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Good

Restration Work:

• Pen (barrel, section, nib, feed, & cap) thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Nib and trim polished
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned
• Nib and feed tuned to write smoothly and with optimal flow
• New ink sac installed
• Test driven for at least a week to insure quality

Waterman 92 – Good Flex  (On Ebay)

This is a nice Waterman 92 is black celluloid. The pen is in overall nice condition. There is some light scratching on the body throughout, though I have buffed and polished a good deal of the scratches out. There is one small scuff beside the lever that is more noticeable. The gold filled trim is in good condition with just a bit of brassing on the edges of the clip and top of the ball of the clip. The section on these pens were still made of black hard rubber, and the section on this pen has faded just a little bit to a blackish brown. The 14kt. Waterman #2 nib is a nice, softer writing XF with just a hint of feedback. It also has some good flex. The ease of flex is very good, but it lacks the range of flex to put it on the next level. Still it flexes very nicely and is a great vintage pen.

SIZE:  5″ Capped

NIB: Waterman #2, XF to BB (0.3mm-1.7mm),  Good Flex  (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Excellent

Restration Work:

• Pen thoroughly cleaned, buffed and polished
• Nib and trim polished
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned
• Nib and feed tuned to write smoothly and with optimal flow
• New ink sac installed
• Test driven for at least a week to insure quality

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

This is a Navy blue Wahl-Eversharp Skyling in really nice condition. There is some light scratching throughout the pen but nothing very serious or noticeable. The gold filled trim is in excellent condition with just a bit of brassing on the top of the lever. The 14kt. Eversharp nib is a smooth writing XF. A great writer that is not the extremely wet writer that is often typical of these Skylines. The pen does have some good flex. The range of flex is great going from 0.3mm to 1.7mm and it has pretty decent responsiveness. The ease of flex is on the border between good and super flex, but the feed does sometimes struggle to keep up with the flexing. But still as you can tell you can do some really nice flex writing with it.

SIZE:  5 1/4″ Capped

NIB: Eversharp 14kt., XF to BB (0.3mm-1.7mm) 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

Waterman 52 – Super Flex  (On Ebay)

Here is a fantastic, near mint Waterman 52. The black chased hard rubber is still very black with only the slightest amount of fading. Imprints are still crisp. The nickel trim is in very good condition with no brassing. Imprints are all crisp. But the best part of the pen is the 14kt. Waterman #2 nib. It’s a wet writing F that is very smooth and has near wet noodle flex. It has fantastic range going from 0.4mm to 2.3mm! That’s almost 2.0mm line variation. Flex is quite easy and responsive. Some would call this a wet noodle. I would say it misses the wet noodle grade by a hair, but it’s very close. A fantastic, near mint Waterman 52 with a great nib.

SIZE:  5 3/8″ Capped

NIB: Waterman #2, F to BBB (0.4mm-2.3mm),  Super Flex  (See “Grading Flex Nibs” for How I Grade)

FILLING: Lever

CONDITION: Near Mint

Restration Work:

• Pen (barrel, section, nib, feed, & cap) thoroughly cleaned & flushed
• Nib and trim polished
• Nib and feed ultrasonically cleaned
• Nib and feed tuned to write smoothly and with optimal flow
• New ink sac installed
• Test driven for at least a week to insure quality