Swan 2060 - A Wartime Swan With A Huge No6 Nib

[Malcy]

It may be becoming obvious that I like Swans. I needed a 2060 to finish this series and finally it is here. I hope that you enjoy reading about it.

 

Mabie Todd & Co UK was based in London and in 1940 fell victim to enemy bombing that destroyed the factory. They salvaged some equipment and produced a new range of pens - the 0160 (No2 nib), the 1060 (No4 nib) and the 2060 (No6 nib). These pens were made in black but there were also versions produced in beautiful lizard celluloids.

 

The styling is Swans 1930s semi-flat top design. Conservative but neat. All pens in the range look similar but differ in size and cap band configuration. The 2060 is mostly made of celluloid but the top cap, leverless knob and sometimes the section are black hard rubber. M,T&Co was a late user of black hard rubber, even constructing pens from it in the post war era. The quality of construction is the same across all the pens and is very high. The plated areas of these pens are in particular well made and rarely show significant if any wear unlike the pens of some of their contemporaries. The bodywork has that typical smooth celluloid feel and a sense of solidity.

 

 

The first thing that you notice about the 2060 is how chunky it is. The barrel is 13.5mm and length is 136mm capped and 169mm posted. The pen is big enough to write un-posted but is nice to write with posted, the light cap does not unbalance the pen. The pen has a mass of 22g of which the nib alone accounts for 1-2g (beyond the resolution of my scales) of 14K gold worth £20-£40 at today's gold price. Of course we don't care about scrap gold values but this is why so many pens appear on ebay nibless. The pen has suffered the usual M,&Co mania with stamping, I can find four counting the imprint and three of 'Swan', though the model number usually stamped at the bottom of the barrel is absent. This happened occasionally, though I don't know why.

 

 

What can you say about this nib. It's huge and is a lovely writer. It is one of the Swan Eternal nibs, so guaranteed to be pretty stiff but these pens also came with flexy nibs. A slight amount of disappointment as I prefer a bit of flex but I'm not complaining and it would suit most modern fountain pen users who are used to nails. Flow is even and there are no skips, it writes an even medium line. It doesn't dry out when the cap is off. The filling system of these pens uses the pre-war leverless filler system which is not hugely efficient. The barrel has a twist knob at the end. This turns an entanglement bar inside the pen which wrings air out of the ink sac and it fills with ink when the knob is turned back. Getting maximum filling efficiency needs a supple sac of maximum size. The recommended size is a 24 necked and this sac cannot be fitted simply by sliding it into the barrel. The nib and feed must be removed so that a dowel inserted into the sac through the section can push the sac all the way in. The nib and feed are then fitted. They are a conventional friction fit. I couldn't wait to find this size sac, so have fitted a size 22 straight, the largest that would fit the nipple. It doesn't fill as well but works and I will replace it with the correct size when I get one.

 

 

The 2060 was replaced in the late 1940s by the torpedo shaped 4660. It has the same size 6 nib (this is a flexy stub) and similar length/diameter but the leverless filling system is entirely different. The filler knob actuates a conventional pressure bar as used in button fillers resulting in much more efficient filling of the ink sac. Early versions of this model can be found stamped with the 2060 model number and it was also made in hard rubber as the 4661.

 

The commonness of the pens in this range is in proportion to the nib size. 0160s are relatively common, 1060s less so but 2060s seem few and far between. I had to wait quite a long time before this example came my way. When you consider that they were made at the height of the blitz, I am surprised that the larger nib sizes were made at all. The Germans stopped using gold nibs in 1938. The relative rarity of the 2060 makes putting a value on it difficult, but it is certainly worth more than the £33 that I paid for it. It won't be straying far from my pen case other than to be used.

 

Appearance & Design 9

Construction & Quality 9

Weight & Dimensions 9

Nib & Performance 10

Filling System & Maintenance 5

Cost & Value 10

 

Conclusion 52/60

[georges zaslavsky]

very nice pen and great review.

[goldiesdad]

I love simple elegant designs .... I would love to have one in my collections ... Lucky you ...

 

Thanks for a Great review on some outstanding pens ...

[reval]

That seems to be a great pen. I don't have Swans in my collection yet, but this pen is certainly one is would like to have,

[watch_art]

WOW! THAT'S AWESOME!

[Ghost Plane]

Want...that...stub!

[Uncle Red]

Gret pics and collection. Thanks for sharing them with us.

[Inkwisitor]

Interesting and helpful review which is spreading the good word about Swans - Thank you!

[Soot]

Malcy, thanks for the review! Note** that's one HUGE nib!

[red52ripple]

Excellent review, Malcy, and an impressive pen. I enjoy your thoughtful and detailed reviews. Keep up the good work!

 

Regards,

[leod]

very nice flock and review

[Azuniga]

Malcy

Thank you for your careful and detailed review, those who do not know Swan can only start to share your love for those pens.

I already read it twice and I will be back.

Regards, Ariel

[Malcy]

Thank you all for your kind words. It won't be the last Swan review, there are too many models that I haven't tried yet.

 

When we researched and tried to make sense of the model numbers for the Swan numbering chart, I was aware of the three models in this review. I just couldn't figure out where they fitted in. Now all is clear, even if the numbering system makes no more sense.

[pelman]

Malcy

Thank you for your careful and detailed review, those who do not know Swan can only start to share your love for those pens.

I already read it twice and I will be back.

Regards, Ariel

 

+1, I too have read this review a couple of times.

Excellent review and I would love to get hands on one of these pens.

 

Congratulations Malcy and enjoy in good health.

[Tom Aquinas]

Thank you for the review. It was good research. :clap1:

[GraySummers]

Hi.

I am brand new to this site today and ran across the fountain pen network because I have just bought a Swan 0160 #2 nib 14ct from eBay and saw your review. I joined to say thanks for the review. Thanks for this insight and history. The pen cap of the pen I have bought is not the original so I now have to hunt for one in the future. But hey....the pen is a joy to write with. I filled with Mont Blanc mystery black and it simply glides across the paper.

 

I am working out the machinations of the site at present. Bit naive at the moment.

 

Good fortune and thanks for this information.

 

Gray Summers.

[Chuchulan]

I am also a great fan of Swan pens and want to add my 2060 to this thread. As stated the flat end 2060s were succeeded by the 4660 in 1947, both with the nail-hard no.6 Eternal nib. The Eternal nibs were made twice as thick as the regular Swan nibs ( similar to the Lifetime nibs). I believe the no.8 nib was an optional extra at purchase for the 'My Nib is bigger than your Nib' owner. As to whether the phantom no.10 exists, I have to see one to believe it. When M &T began making the torpedo shape 4660, a few of the early models still had the 2060 model number, presumably from leftover barrel stock with the centered Swan imprint. This is my model and probably my favorite Swan pen for writing. C

[vronksky]

Does anyone have any insight as to where the L670/60 fits into this history? Mine has a terrific #6 with flex, flat top with the inset swan, rather like the 2060 shape but I’m curious if the L means that it’s longer or fatter, newer/older, etc. Thanks!

[ralfstc]

@vronksky Fabulous pen, lovely nib! Nice find. I believe L may simply mean leverless, but Cob will be along soon to sort it out!

 

Best,

 

Ralf

[vronksky]

@ralfstc Thanks Ralf. yes I believe you’re correct, simply part of the Leverless releases.

Side note, I just got Stephen Hull’s coffee table book yesterday, and it is truly Awesome. Life size shots and their respective stories all laid out clearly. truly great.The 2060s as discussed in this thread in there too of course. 👍