Mabie Todd Swan #6 England, 14ct Gold, 380g Superflex

🖼️ Gallery:
🥇 Grade: B+
🏠 Housing: Nikko Red Ebonite, JOWO #6
🔱 Nib: Mabie Todd Swan #6 England, 14ct Gold
🖋️ Line Spec: F/BB – 6B | 0.35mm / 0.90mm – 2.08mm (5.94x)
🌡️ Flexibility Pressure: 380g Superflex
📐 Dimensions: 23.34mm Nib Length
⚖️ Weight: 2.365g

📜 History & Provenance

Mabie Todd Swan had a continuous presence in England from the 1910s and shifted its main gold nib production from New York to the English factories in the mid-1920s, with Birmingham and Liverpool as the principal sites. The Eternal Swan and the standard flexible Swan ran as parallel product lines rather than sequential ones: the Eternal nibs were stiffer manifolds with some softness, while the flexible line — this nib's lineage — retained the true flex character that defined the brand's reputation. Because the two lines overlapped, tight dating within the era is not possible, but the English imprint and size class place this nib likely after the Eternal Manifold Swans were already in production, probably late 1920s into the early 1930s.

The #6 is a substantial size in the Mabie Todd catalog. Its 23.34mm nib length and 2.365g weight dwarf most other size 6 nibs both vintage and modern, and sit dimensionally closer to modern size 8 nibs. The scale pairs visually with oversized modern bodies, no more chunky barrels with tiny nibs (nakaya 😹).

Fitted into a Nikko red ebonite housing with a JOWO #6 ebonite feed for a ready-to-write nib unit.

🧪 QA & Recommendation

A true superflex in the flexible Swan line — 380g of pressure delivers a 5.94x multiplier from a 0.35mm / 0.90mm rest to a 2.08mm full flex. What sets this nib apart is the unflexed profile: F horizontal against BB vertical puts it in flexible stub territory before any pressure is applied, and moderate pressure opens the tines cleanly into a solid 6B with the stub edge sharpening the contrast on every downstroke.

The tipping runs unusually generous for a nib this size. That buys durability and some forgiveness under pressure now, and real room for a future custom grinder to re-profile toward an italic, architect's cut, oblique, or needlepoint flex without compromising structure. Snapback is responsive for a nib this soft — tines return to position without overshoot.

Tine alignment, tipping, and heat-setting were addressed before the nib was seated into the JOWO housing. B+ reflects honest writing wear with crisp imprint legibility and full structural integrity.

Best suited to experienced flex writers drawn to large-format flexible stubs, owners of oversized modern pens who want proportionate nib scale, and collectors open to a future re-grind. Will show off ink characteristics sheen, shade, shimmer, extremely well with it's broad lines.

Tested on Rhodia 80 gsm, inked with Waterman Serenity Blue.