Waterman's 100 Year Pen

[pjsmithe]

I picked up a pretty beat up Waterman's Hundred Year Pen several months back. (Pictures aren't great.)

 

 

This model was originally maroon, but has become almost black with age. It had a transparent amber end on both the barrel and cap. The barrel amber had completely disintegrated, as you can see in the last picture. All the gold hardware and nib had serious tarnish issues and the pen was overall in sad shape.

 

I chose to replace the amber end with a clear cast acyrlic piece. Though different from the original, I liked it better and I make no claim that this pen is restored as original. I also had to shape a longer piece of acrylic, as I had to cut pretty far down the barrel to get to solid plastic.

 

All the work was done by hand (I don't have a lathe). The gold hardware and nib were laboriously cleaned with jeweler's cloth. The barrel and section were polished, and many of the scratches were removed.

 

I was able to get the pen apart after some work, and replaced the sac, cleaned up the pressure bar, and re-assembled. It is a friction fit section, and the fit is snug, so no need for any kind of firming the section in place. The nib is pretty large and has a medium flex. It was very scratchy at first, but some time with a paper bag brought it to a pretty smooth nib, with a fairly fine line (with no pressure).

 

 

It didn't turn out perfect, but I was pretty happy with the results.

 

 

It doesn't look at all maroon, as it does in a few of these pictures. It looks black, but the camera picks up the maroon with the flash. And the specks you see are just dust. And the nib doesn't look scrathy like in the second to last picture. The Hundred Year Pen lettering is very legible. I need a better camera, and some lessons.

 

 

Anyway, there it is.

[RodneyOK]

Great job! It looks like you have given new life to that classic pen. I think the clear Acrylic looks very nice on there.

[pjsmithe]

It actually looks better in person. The trasition is smooth and the new piece is very flush. If only I knew how to take better pictures or had an idiot proof camera. :bonk:

[gweddig]

Looks great, I would be interested in your method of shaping and attaching the acrylic piece without a lathe. I don't have one yet either.

 

Nice work!

--greg

[ArchiMark]

Impressive bit of work, especially, given your tool limitations.

 

[pjsmithe]

Impressive bit of work, especially, given your tool limitations.

 

 

 

I started out with a cast acrylic rod. I think the diameter was 1/2", wich was just a little bigger than the end of the barrel. I just used a file and sand paper to thin one end of the rod nd eound the very end a little. When it got real close, I just sawed off the end and checked the size. I kept filing and sanding then piece until I got it just right. I even used a spray adhesive (it's not very strong) to give it a test run.

 

I then used a few less gritty pieces of sand paper to get a smoother finish. I then polished the end piece with a polishing compound (I use Meguire's Ultimate Compound.)

 

With the barrel hollow, I glued the flat side of the acrylic piece,wiped off any excess (real fast) and placed it perfectly and let it dry. After it thoroughly dried I went back with the polishing agent and got everything nice and shiny.

 

Honestly, I think I may like the look of the scratched plastic over real clear. I may go back and rough it up with some pretty fine sand paper. (Just the clear piece, not the barrel or section.)

 

 

If I had a lathe, i would have shaped the acrylic piece with part of it fitting inside the barrel. I would have glued that part. I think that would be a better way of doing it. Also, I used cast acrylic because it is supposed to be a good bit harder than standard acrylic, making it better for shaping. I think I got the rod for $12 shipped from Amazon.com.