I find myself writing about Swans very often but I do use other pens! Over the years I’ve had many Conway Stewarts and I enjoy them too though they don’t usually have the variety of nibs that Swans have. Most Conway Stewart nibs are firm medium. All the other nib types occur, but not at all frequently. I’ve had the Conway Stewart Italic which is a named model in its own right, and a very nice pen. A little line variation can often be induced from Conway Stewart nibs though very flexible ones are uncommon. That’s okay by me; I don’t do flex. Conway Stewarts are reliable. A few years ago I did a ..read more

After we closed the sales site I did little with pens for several months. I wrote with them, of course, corresponding with friends. I have many good writers that I have accumulated over the years. A couple of months ago I began going through various drawers and boxes and found pens that I had set aside in the busy times, as either too time-consuming to repair, or even beyond repair. My time is my own now so I don’t mind – or even enjoy – the more complicated repairs. And of course nothing is beyond repair. The main reason I gave up commercial restoration and repair was arthritis in my hands. I ..read more

I had several pens inked but none was a Swan so I thought I would amend that. I had a very pretty green marbled pre-war no-number Swan that I hadn’t used in a long time – if ever. I filled it and it was a disaster. The semi-flex nib would only write with pressure and not very well even then. It seemed very likely I would have to strip it down and find out what the trouble was but I thought I would try the soapy water trick first. One drop of Fairy Liquid in a small glass is enough, then a good flush followed by a rinse. It gave me a good line for a paragraph then reverted to hard start and ski ..read more

Just skimming through eBay’s new vintage listings this morning and I am overpowered by all the Parkers! Good pens, of course, but so many of them, almost to the exclusion of other old brands. The pens I’m really looking for, the Swans, Mentmores, Summits and Wyverns seem very thin on the ground compared with a few years ago. This isn’t a scientific study, just my impression. We always knew the profusion of old pens couldn’t last forever. Are they tapering off now? Amusingly, I see Jinhao pens sneaked into the listing simply by adding ‘vintage’ to brand new pens ..read more

I could have sworn I wrote about this pen before. I’ve owned a couple of them and I’ve known the story forever but, no, I didn’t write about it! If you think of Platignums as cheap and shabby pens this one will come as a surprise. It’s soundly made throughout and it has a good hooded nib, common at the time and perhaps helpful in preventing drying out. The chromed cap was fashionable in the fifties. Altogether a great pen from the house of Mentmore, one would say. Except that, like the Parker 61 and the Waterman X Pen, it’s a capillary filler. These pens aren’t entirely disasters though their ..read more

I’ve been presented with a free review copy of this book. Though I am extremely grateful to receive it – I would have had to buy it anyway – those of you who have read my previous book reviews will know that I will not be influenced by that and in any case it wasn’t the authors’ intentions that I should be influenced in any way. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the book. Anyone with an interest in British pens will know of, and probably own, Stephen Hull’s previous works and Andy Russell’s volume on the Conway Stewart Dinkie. Those glorious works should make us expect that this ..read more

Once in a while an exceptional pen appears in eBay. Just such a pen is this beautiful – and very uncommon – Conway Stewart Dinkie Major. The Major is larger than the ordinary Dinkie. That makes it a little more practical and easier to write with. The pen was made around 1931 and is the 640 model. The glorious pattern is green, black and bronze on a red ground. Thanks to Paul (acetateblue). The auction is here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305459193192 Thanks also to Andy Russell: 50 Years of the Dinkie, 1922 to 1972 ..read more

Yet another pen that I know very little about but it’s a beauty and well worth including here. From the general appearance and the ‘k’ for carat I take it that the Presto is American. It shows quite a resemblance to a 1930s Waterman with its rivetted clip, flat top and complex feed. In all, a very handsome pen. We are left to wonder how a pen that wasn’t well-known even in its country of origin made it here. The larger pen companies like Parker, Sheaffer and Eversharp had agents or outlets here. Not Presto, though, so far as I am aware. Thanks to Nigel Simpson-Stern (treasurer of The Writing ..read more

Often on a Saturday or Sunday I’ll have a look at the eBay listings and I’ll find a rarity or oddity to share and write about. Not today. There was nothing I hadn’t written about before. All the usual things: relatively modern Parkers, boxes of dip nibs and uninteresting collections of cheap pens. There was one I considered writing about, an attractive and less common pen, but what put me off was that the seller photographed the pen in his hand. Why not just lay the pen down on a suitable background? I find the inclusion of a hand in the photograph distracting and annoying and it doesn’t show ..read more

My friend Michael Dunn believed he had won this pen until it was snatched away in the last second of the auction. He saved the pictures for me. They’re not perfect, being oddly cropped and with an unfortunate background but they’re enough to show the glowing colours. The Popular Prince is a Mentmore sub-brand and was made in 1926. The prince referred to was to become, briefly, Edward VIII. He was, indeed, very popular. Though I was aware of its existence I haven’t seen this pen before. It must be quite rare. Thanks to Michael Dunn and Stephen Hull: The English Fountain Pen Industry 1875 – 1 ..read more