Call Me Mabie

So...Sunday was rough.  A crushing Patriots defeat left me with a few options.  I could go crazy or I could go downstairs, pull out a few pens and get some work done.  I opted for the pens. (Crazy right?)

I was rummaging through the archives and came across a Mabie Todd Eternal 44 that I had forgotten about.  I wrote about it back in 2008 and one of the comments from Mr. Munson was to "restore this, it's a beauty." So that's exactly what I did. 

The usuals were needed; a good breakdown (I am talking about the pen, my emotions were already shot) ultrasonic bath, scraping and probing (again...the pen,) new sac, polish, polish, polish and I was really happy with the results. Its near perfect and if I were shipping this one out, I would have spent a little more time on it,  but in the end this one is for me and I wanted to see how much it would come back while still catching some of the 4:00 Eastern games. 

There's what I was looking for: "ETERNAL" hanging out near the end, gleaming. There's huge sense of accomplishment in restoring these pens.  I am glad I took the time to notice the details and what needed repaired.  Eternal apparently stood for the Lifetime guarantee.  Right below here on the end is 44 over the E.T.N. initials.

I reassembled everything,  threw in some ink and good news...no leeks!  Happy day. Of course I used this for two days straight before the review, so it could use a little wiping down but you get the idea.  (You foodies got the joke right?)  Leeks?  Not funny if you have to explain it.

I am guessing this was built somewhere around 1927, but I am not exactly sure.  There's a ton of history out there on the Mabie & Todd company,  but I struggled to pinpoint the true date of this pen.

Here's a better shot of how the shiny bits shined up.  I like the Swans with the logo on the clip- but the Patent info is fun also.  They made this pen in some funky colors and I will be on the lookout for those now. Shiny!

 So thank you Mr. Mabie, Mr Todd, Mr Munson and Mr. Tom Brady for allowing this pen to get restored and back into the rotation. I would also like to thank whoever owned this pen before me and decided not to chew on it. You have saved me a ton of work by not doing that.  I have seen prices all over the place for these.  Some people are selling the nibs for $60, but I am keeping this one.

The nib is a #4 and BROAD!  Tasty, wet and fun to write with. To be honest...broad nibs are not exactly my cup of tea.  I like to write tall and skinny and these just do not allow for and I feel like my handwriting suffers.  EF is usually best for me but in this case it is a welcomed change.

I am not positive why I went with brown ink- other than it was handy and it feels a little like Fall. I know soon I will switch over to some black ink,  but not until I go through this filling.  Next Sunday might mean another restore depending on the games outcome but restoring this pen was the bright spot in my Sunday afternoon.. But I am still hoping for a win next week.

Call me Mabie...(funny right?)
Seth