Mabie Todd Swan Eternal 46 | Mottled Ebonite GPT NY | #6 14ct ENG Nib

This Eternal 46 sits at a transition point in Mabie Todd's history. The Swan "Self-Filling" lever pen arrived in 1920 with its patented self-locking lever, and the Eternal Swan range followed in Great Britain in 1924, though most early examples were still built in the New York factory until production crossed to England in 1925. This is one of those transitional pens: a New York body fitted with an English-made Swan #6 nib, which dates the writing end to 1925/1926.

The body is mottled red ebonite, rejuvenated and hand-polished back to depth of color without flattening the chasing or imprints. The gold-plated trim is minty with minimal brassing, and the imprints read worn but clear, which puts the body at B+. It is a substantial pen at 140mm capped and posts to 178mm, closer to an oversize than a standard Swan.

The nib is a Swan #6 in 14ct, ground as a cursive italic and built to flex, a combination that rarely turns up together at this size. Held flat, the italic grind alone gives line variation, near 0.95mm down the stroke against a 0.50mm cross. Lean into it and the line opens to a full 2.64mm, better than five times its finest width, with quick, clean snapback on release. That comes to 5.28x variation from a single nib, before the italic character underneath. Most Swan Eternals of this period shipped as rigid manifolds, so a wide-flexing cursive italic like this is a real rarity. At 410g it sits in Semi Flex territory: it wants a firm, deliberate hand, and it writes a wet, smooth line with superb tipping and flow that stays regulated to the edge of its range.

Mottled ebonite rejuvenated and hand-polished. The English Swan #6 nib fitted, heat-set, and tuned for smoothness.

Tested on Sanzen TR 52gsm cream with Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black.