A Pair Of Rolled-Gold Swans

[Cob]

The self-filler is a New York pen from about (I would guess) 1924. It is fitted with a Pat. 1915 clip.

 

The leverless was a bit of a pain; English from about 1933, its internal mechanism had rusted away and the fact that it is thinner than the standard leverless pens of the period (e.g. L200/60) made the repair trickier than it might have been. And of course the nib was bent too. Anyway it works now and as I hope the writing shows, it was worth straightening the nib!

 

The colour difference is interesting I think, the New York pen being quite a bit darker; perhaps there was more "gold in the rolling"?

 

Rgds

Cob.

 

Edited August 26, 2015 by Cob

[chunya]

Hi Cob, I think that there is a difference between gold-filled (a thicker outer skin of gold which the States used) and our gold plating ... might explain the richer colour?

 

ps Nice work!

Edited August 26, 2015 by chunya

[Cob]

Hi Cob, I think that there is a difference between gold-filled (a thicker outer skin of gold which the States used) and our gold plating ... might explain the richer colour?

 

ps Nice work!

Thanks Chunya.

 

A good point, though I have been told that Mabie Todd England metal parts were rolled gold, which I suppose is the same as gold filled?

 

Of course nobody used 24ct gold for gold-filling (or rolling!) so perhaps the alloys - and/or percentage of gold were different.

 

Rgds

 

Cob

[Greenie]

The top pen, lever filler, "barleycorn" - Is that an overlay? Is the cap fully BHR on the inside?

 

The bottom looks to be "all metal" except the inside of the section, like the Wahl all metal.

 

These two make a very interesting pair to compare. Pattern. Construction. Filling mechanism. Different "color"

 

The color difference can also be due to how the alloy is mixed. There is "yellow gold" (looks like normal gold), "green gold" (I think this looks yellow), "rose gold"

I am not sure what to call the pale gold vs richer gold color.

Here was where I got my education from FPN members using my Wahl metal pen collection:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/265482-wahl-gold-filled-metal-pens-different-colors-of-gold/

[Cob]

Thanks. Got it in one - or should that be two?

 

The leverless is a metal pen and the self-filler an overlay.

 

Both have a bit of plating loss - mainly owing to posting - but they have lovely nibs so that's fine as far as I am concerned. I have kept the self-filler for quite a while and may continue to keep it. The leverless will probably have to be moved on!

 

Best regards

 

Cob

[missuslovett]

Good stuff. There's an almost identical; RG leverless tick-tocking its way to a finish on Ebay right now. The nib on it is black. I think it's just gunge. I was tempted but I'm currently skint.

[Cob]

Good stuff. There's an almost identical; RG leverless tick-tocking its way to a finish on Ebay right now. The nib on it is black. I think it's just gunge. I was tempted but I'm currently skint.

Hmm, it's very easy to reach a state of skintness when one spots Swans for sale.

 

C.

[Ursus]

I think that you are right about the difference in gold content - perhaps they are 16 and 9 K.

[Ursus]

Oh, I quite forgot to tell how beautiful they are! Boy-o-boy; and what flex!