Got An Old Eversharp With Broken Nib

[eharriett]

A surprising find! Got an old Eversharp at an antique fair this past weekend. Almost passed by it because I thought it was a Wearever, until I saw the nib. Anyway, guy wanted $5 for it because it has a small crack on the cap. No other cracks anywhere else though.

 

I've seen these adjustible type nibs before but never actually owned one. I've never tried to attempt anything with them before. I'm betting it just fell on the ground, nib first. Anyone at the amateur level ever try and fix these? Can they be bent back, or must they be replaced? I wouldn't mind trying my hand at it. Any advice would be helpful. I am not an expert on Eversharps. I've got a Skyline and that is it. This is my only other one.

 

[FarmBoy]

Looks like chunks of the slider are missing.

[eharriett]

Looks like chunks of the slider are missing.

Oh no! Does that mean I cant even bend back that nib into place? It needs a total replacement? I know almost nothing about these pens, including what they called that nib or the model of pen.

 

The good news is it just came apart with a little bit of soaking. Aside from an ossified sac, the inside is totally fine.

Edited September 18, 2018 by eharriett

[eharriett]

Well, three days in water and I think the nib is a bit clearer. Does this help shed any further light on it?

 

[coleb87]

You've got an Eversharp Doric 1st generation with an adjustable nib, in the color "Kashmir"- such pens are very highly sought after, and the first gens can be dated from 1931-35ish. I've got two, one of which is the same as yours- Kashmir green celluloid, hard rubber section, adj. nib. The celluloid on these are beautiful but very fragile and reactive, among the most unstable of any of my vintage collection. If it were me, I'd buy a slider of the correct size (they occasionally pop up online) then I'd send it to a very reputable nibmeister, and have the tines straightened and new slide installed. 1st-gen Dorics with original adjustable nibs in working order are very nice and quite collectible. If there is any chance of salvaging that nib, I'd take it if I were you.

 

Oh, whatever you do, don't expose this pen to a bunch of sunlight or anything. If you end up using it, I'd recommend a very safe ink such as pelikan, waterman, etc. Also, if there is any bit of translucence at the ends of the pen, this is the celluloid crystallizing. It's very common and irreversible unfortunately. More so, it is capable of spreading to other celluloid pens you may own- store it separately from your others but do let it "breathe" so as to vent off any gasses that occur from celluloid degradation.

Edited September 19, 2018 by coleb87

[eharriett]

Thank you!! I had no idea.

 

So, find a new "slide." Never looked for one. I'll see what I can find. I was finally able to gingerly remove what remains of that sac. I'll leave it apart and try to find that part and bring it with me to the Ohio Pen Show. I expect this year the bulk of my money will go to repairing pens rather than acquiring new ones.

 

Thank you very much. I had no idea what I was looking at, or what I was looking for. This helps.

[coleb87]

Thank you!! I had no idea.

 

So, find a new "slide." Never looked for one. I'll see what I can find. I was finally able to gingerly remove what remains of that sac. I'll leave it apart and try to find that part and bring it with me to the Ohio Pen Show. I expect this year the bulk of my money will go to repairing pens rather than acquiring new ones.

 

Thank you very much. I had no idea what I was looking at, or what I was looking for. This helps.

I might add that if you cannot find a slider, it's not the end of the world. It merely allows you to adjust how flexible the nib is, so without the slider you'll always have full flex! So if you can just get the nib bent back into shape and retipped if needed, you'll be in good shape. I'm glad to help, so let me know if you need to know anything!

[sidthecat]

A broken slider only means you have a very flexible nib that might be repairable. Send it to one of the nibmeisters mentioned in the Repairs forum and you might end up with an exceptional writer. I have a couple of sliderless Dorics and they’re splendidly flexible writers.

[eharriett]

A broken slider only means you have a very flexible nib that might be repairable. Send it to one of the nibmeisters mentioned in the Repairs forum and you might end up with an exceptional writer. I have a couple of sliderless Dorics and they’re splendidly flexible writers.

 

Yup. It is in my repair bag. Got about 7 I'm taking to the Ohio Pen show (haven't decided if I'm going to do the MI show yet) and instead of buying pens this year, my main goal is getting the ones I have fixed.

 

Now if I can just find the missing repair guy who has some of my other pens....