The Burnham 46 glass nibbed pen, called the 'Crystal', was made during and just after WW2 when metals were needed for the war effort. The style of clip suggests this is probably c.1945.
The pen is generally in very goood condition but it does have a crack in the cap lip, it is not conspicuous, doesn't affect the pen and repairing it would only make it more noticeable so I've left it 'as is'. Nevertheless, it is a good looking and quite unusual pen.
The finish on the pen is very good and has a crisp and clear barrel imprint. the Gold filling has also held up well.
Apart from the nib material it is a perfrctly 'normal' Burnham 46. The old ink sac had hardened with age so it was replaced and the pen was thouroghly cleaned and tested.
Until I tested this pen I'd never used a glass nib before and was amazed at how well it writes. It requires virtually no pressure and has excellent ink flow, no 'blobbing' and very consistent. Some line variation can be had by rotating the pen or changing the angle of contact. It is quite smooth, doesn't 'catch', and has just the right amount of feedback. I have used hundreds of different nibs and this is the only one that makes my scrawl something less than criminal, the writing sample is about five times longer than usual!
The Burnham 46 Crystal pen is more than an 'oddity', it is a very functional and well made pen, it's also a lot of fun!