As those of you who have been reading this blog for a while will know, I broadened my horizons a while back. I’d been a dedicated user of flexible nibs for years, but I tried using firm nibs and stuck with them until I began to understand the undoubted charm that many of them have too.
I usually have a flex pen or two, though. My everyday user these days is a sadly beat-up Conklin Endura Symetrik. It’s nothing to look at but it writes well with enough flexibility to allow the odd flourish. Luckily I also had a full flex pen today when a Spanish customer who is a calligrapher came looking for one.
It’s a Swan 3120, the dark blue version of the No 1-nibbed Swan. This one has the brass threads, so it’s the first run of the post-war redesigned Swans, made in 1948 or 1949.
The nibs on these pens give little hint of their capability, the only clue with the present pen is that the tines are widely-gapped to enhance ink flow to keep up with the demands of the flexed nib.
It has no difficulty keeping up though the nib certainly makes some large demands. Unflexed, it’s a narrow medium, flexed it’s… well, judge for yourselves. It snaps back to its unflexed state instantly, too. Those little No 1 nibs never fail to impress.
It’s on its way to Spain now, to the hands of someone who can make infinitely better use of it than I can.
