Found A Vintage Pen. Now What?

[Plume145]

Hi everyone!

 

I'm up to my ears helping my mom declutter my grandparents' household (my grandma died back in November, my grandpa twenty years back but grandmother, who was the packrat, lived in the family home until the end so no sorting had been done prior...basically a total nightmare, ahem).

 

Anyway in all the enormous amounts of clutter, I dug out this little pen:

 

 

 

 

I haven't got much of a clue about when it was used, by whom, etc, the best I can tell is it's from my grandad's side of the family. I don't know enough to date pens, but judging from my family history it could have been bought as early as the 1910s or 1920s (assuming it is that old - no idea).

 

If I can get this thing to a state where I can use it, that'd be neat. I can definitely see myself giving it a run for its money because it's a pretty good size - close to my One True Pen the MB 145 (albeit lighter) - and a funky swirly print that's special enough to entertain me but not so gaudy I tire of it.

 

I don't see any cracks on the barrel or cap, the rubber sack thing looks sound, fresh and flexible not dried out, and the tip of the nib seems whole. However, it's pretty gunked up in ink, and the metal thing inside broke basically as soon as I looked at it a little too hard. I took a loupe to the nib and it says 'E. FABER 14K GOLD PLATED MADE IN U.S.A.'

 

That's all I know. Other than gently twisting off the barrel to look inside ad very gingerly lifting the little lever thing, I haven't dared do anything else. Seeing as I'm a stone noob at this I would love to get a list of the steps to take in the right order and everything - sort of have my hand held lol - but really, any ideas and insights will be gladly received, even jumbled or out of order

 

thanks!!

[betweenthelens]

Oooo. It's pretty! The sac looks a bit pitted to me; perhaps it's just a photo effect? I think you'll need to soak the nib, remove the sac and scrape the nipple (the section onto which the sac fits), and replace the sac and the pressure bar (the broken metal piece).

 

My friend Tim on here directed me to www.richardspens.com and I bought the basic pen repair kit after which I've restored four pens thus far. Good luck. It's lovely.

[DanDeM]

Take a look at this:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/189313-how-to-replace-an-esterbrook-sac/

 

because that sac could do with refreshment.

 

However the "the metal thing inside broke basically as soon as I looked at it a little too hard." will need replacement.

For ±$50 you can get all the tools and parts to bring it back to life. If you choose to do that, the nib/feed/section will

need a thorough cleaning too.

 

Or for less money/time/effort/risk send it to Brian Anderson (the Esterbrook Mod) at http://www.esterbrook.net/index.shtml

and let him do it for you.

 

It's not difficult to do, but I wouldn't recommend your first restoration be done on a family piece like that.

[Uncle Red]

Also, it's probably from the thirties. The pen is made from celluloid and it's not printed, the colors are pigments in the plastic. I don't see where the pressure bar is broken, don't throw it out. + 1 for Brian Anderson.

Edited August 13, 2013 by Uncle Red

[Plume145]

Oooo. It's pretty! The sac looks a bit pitted to me; perhaps it's just a photo effect? I think you'll need to soak the nib, remove the sac and scrape the nipple (the section onto which the sac fits), and replace the sac and the pressure bar (the broken metal piece).

 

My friend Tim on here directed me to www.richardspens.com and I bought the basic pen repair kit after which I've restored four pens thus far. Good luck. It's lovely.

oh, so one kit repairs multiple pens then? that sounds pretty handy, thanks!

 

Take a look at this:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/189313-how-to-replace-an-esterbrook-sac/

 

because that sac could do with refreshment.

 

However the "the metal thing inside broke basically as soon as I looked at it a little too hard." will need replacement.

For ±$50 you can get all the tools and parts to bring it back to life. If you choose to do that, the nib/feed/section will

need a thorough cleaning too.

 

Or for less money/time/effort/risk send it to Brian Anderson (the Esterbrook Mod) at http://www.esterbrook.net/index.shtml

and let him do it for you.

 

It's not difficult to do, but I wouldn't recommend your first restoration be done on a family piece like that.

oh, so it's one of those infamous esterbrooks I keep hearing so much about, huh? Well, that's cool! And a good thing I never actually got around to buying one to try it, since this was sitting in that chest all this time

 

That sac replacement procedure doesn't look too horrible does it? As long as you've got some experience with small repairs and DIY on small items like this? And while it is technically a family piece in that it's been around for decades, I wouldn't say it has that much sentimental value - I don't have memories of anyone using it, and given it was just rolling around in the bottom of a large hope chest type thing that was full of all kinds of random objects including broken stuff, I don't think it had any sentimental value to anyone else either or it would have been stored somewhere with more care *shrug* So it might not actually be such a bad candidate!

 

The only thing that concerns me is whether I'd be able to take care of the nib and feed myself, or if I would need to send it in to a professional anyways in which case, might as well have someone else do the lot.

 

you also have me wondering with what you said about how sending it to Brian Anderson would be easier, quicker, and cheaper than doing it myself. I mean I understand how it will be quicker and less of a risk, but cheaper too? It's just that usually DIY jobs actually save money, isn't it, that's the trade off for having to put in more time and and effort?

 

Also, it's probably from the thirties. The pen is made from celluloid and it's not printed, the colors are pigments in the plastic. I don't see where the pressure bar is broken, don't throw it out. + 1 for Brian Anderson.

Thirties, then it would have been either my grandad's school pen (he was born 1922). Thanks for the rest of the info! Wow, Im sort of excited about this falling into my lap like this!

[DanDeM]

1. It's not an Esterbrook. Is there any lettering on the clip?

2. If the JBar fell out all by itself it's dysfunctional, i.e. not likely to stay in alignment with the lever

when the pen is re-assembled.

3. The initial cost of tools and supplies will be greater than having one pen repaired by a pro.

If you expect to restore other pens then the investment makes sense. Your call.

[betweenthelens]

Plume, one kit pretty much does it all, basics-wise, and even then there are other tools that will come in handy and that are actually pretty necessary like an X-acto knife to scrape the corroded sac off of the nipple, a bulb syringe, some Simichrome, a worn piece of flannel to use with the polish, ammonia to mix with water to soak the nib, and a good magnifying glass and light. Anything more and you'll need a few more tools.

 

I will, however, defer to the experts here who suggested you send this one out since it is a special piece. Find a cheap pen to practice on before tackling anything of sentimental or monetary value.

[rwilsonedn]

It doesn't appear that anything this pen needs is hard. You'll need to replace the J-bar (the long metal thing that broke) and the sac, as others have mentioned, and soak the nib and feed, then flush them thoroughly to clean out the dried ink.

An E. Faber is a nice second-tier (or so) pen, and can have a very nice nib once you adjust it and smooth it.

I would suggest that if you don't feel like buying a full kit or playing scavenger hunt on the Web to get the replacement sac and J-bar, some shellac and some talc (you shouldn't need any special tools), then send this one out. On the other hand, if you are intrigued enough to start looking in antique stores for other old pens, then by all means get the kit, and welcome to the disease.

ron

[paultyler_82]

It's an Eberhard Faber. The trickiest part on repairing this pen is going to be the J-bar, not really too difficult. Woodbin.ca will have sacs, J-bars, talc and shellac.

[Sasha Royale]

E. Faber means Eberhard Faber. I think they are still producing. 1910 / 1920 might be too

early. The style seems contemporary to my Esterbrook J-seies pens. That would be the

hayday of lever-fill pens. 1940's ?

 

I think you can have it cleaned and put into working order for the price of a tankful of gasoline.

The pen belonged to your grandparents. Maybe she wrote letters with it to him, while he was

away at war. Maybe he wrote a letter of proposal to her with it. They proudly announced the

birth of their children, including your parent. People use o write. They put heart and soul into

their pens, and inked it onto paper.

 

"Dear Ethel, Glory be ! I just had to write to you about the birth of my granddaughter. She is

definitely the most beautiful little girl in the history of the world. She will be great someday. . . . . "

 

I would rather have a family heirloom fountain pen, in good working order, than any $500

fountain pen on the market.

 

Have yours restored and cherish it.

[Plume145]

1. It's not an Esterbrook. Is there any lettering on the clip?

2. If the JBar fell out all by itself it's dysfunctional, i.e. not likely to stay in alignment with the lever

when the pen is re-assembled.

3. The initial cost of tools and supplies will be greater than having one pen repaired by a pro.

If you expect to restore other pens then the investment makes sense. Your call.

 

1. Actually there is some! I hadn't seen anything at first but I guess I finally tilted it in such a way that the light fell on top of the markings. It says 'WEAREVER', which rings a bell too - I think I've seen it mentioned around the forum?

2. Yep, it fell out by itself. I don't remember doing anything in particular after separating the nib section from the barrel - as far as I remember the piece of metal just slid out.

3. How about two pens? I know I have this as well

 

I've been meaning to look into this too for a while now. Going by your experience, around where would you place the threshold for whether or not it's worth acquiring the stuff and the skills to fix these pens - how many repairs?

Plume, one kit pretty much does it all, basics-wise, and even then there are other tools that will come in handy and that are actually pretty necessary like an X-acto knife to scrape the corroded sac off of the nipple, a bulb syringe, some Simichrome, a worn piece of flannel to use with the polish, ammonia to mix with water to soak the nib, and a good magnifying glass and light. Anything more and you'll need a few more tools.

 

I will, however, defer to the experts here who suggested you send this one out since it is a special piece. Find a cheap pen to practice on before tackling anything of sentimental or monetary value.

That doesn't sound too bad - I already have all of these except for the simichrome and maybe the ammonia (I might have some of that too - if not it's dirt cheap).

 

As for value, I wouldn't say it has that much sentimental value in that I had no idea this pen even existed before today - I definitely don't remember anyone using it or even any stories about it (you know, like 'when I was 12 I got my first fountain pen as a reward for getting into high school, it was [insert description]' or something) and judging from how it was just rattling around the bottom of an old trunk thing filled with a bunch of stuff of no great value, I'm guessing its previous owner (who would have been its first owner if we go by Uncle Red's estimate) wasn't too soft about it either.

 

That leaves monetary value, about which I haven't the slightest clue! But I'd be might surprised if it was that high.

 

It doesn't appear that anything this pen needs is hard. You'll need to replace the J-bar (the long metal thing that broke) and the sac, as others have mentioned, and soak the nib and feed, then flush them thoroughly to clean out the dried ink.

An E. Faber is a nice second-tier (or so) pen, and can have a very nice nib once you adjust it and smooth it.

I would suggest that if you don't feel like buying a full kit or playing scavenger hunt on the Web to get the replacement sac and J-bar, some shellac and some talc (you shouldn't need any special tools), then send this one out. On the other hand, if you are intrigued enough to start looking in antique stores for other old pens, then by all means get the kit, and welcome to the disease.

ron

Yeah, I kind of think I'm slowly talking myself into doing this on my ownio. lol

 

When I soak the feed and nib, do I just do it like with a modern pen or do I need to be sure not to leave it too long or whatever? The oldest pen I've used is probably from the sixties or something, a c/c, but I think I've caught some references to how you should be careful with the soaking because some materials absorb the water and warp or swell.

[paultyler_82]

Well... apparently you have a Wearever, NOT an E Faber... perhaps a Wearever with a Faber nib? Odd, anyway, still looks like it could be a good little writer. Pretty sure that second pen you have posted is a Waterman... maybe an Ideal of some sort but I am no Waterman expert so I can't pin the exact model down for you.

[Plume145]

It's an Eberhard Faber. The trickiest part on repairing this pen is going to be the J-bar, not really too difficult. Woodbin.ca will have sacs, J-bars, talc and shellac.

Thanks for providing another possible source for the supplies! It's nice to have a few options because I'm located outside of North America and with this kind of specialized item, I often have to try several places before I find one where the shipping is affordable

 

E. Faber means Eberhard Faber. I think they are still producing. 1910 / 1920 might be too

early. The style seems contemporary to my Esterbrook J-seies pens. That would be the

hayday of lever-fill pens. 1940's ?

 

I think you can have it cleaned and put into working order for the price of a tankful of gasoline.

The pen belonged to your grandparents. Maybe she wrote letters with it to him, while he was

away at war. Maybe he wrote a letter of proposal to her with it. They proudly announced the

birth of their children, including your parent. People use o write. They put heart and soul into

their pens, and inked it onto paper.

 

"Dear Ethel, Glory be ! I just had to write to you about the birth of my granddaughter. She is

definitely the most beautiful little girl in the history of the world. She will be great someday. . . . . "

 

I would rather have a family heirloom fountain pen, in good working order, than any $500

fountain pen on the market.

 

Have yours restored and cherish it.

oh, I'm with you on heirlooms vs pricey new pens! Absolutely As a matter of fact a good third of my pen stash is inherited pens

 

But this particular one...eh, I don't see it. For one thing, if it was my grandmother's that's more likely to make me hate it than cherish is, because I'm afraid she was a thoroughly despicable individual - a serial abuser who rejoiced in making those closest to her suffer and who left behind a legacy of nothing but pain and discord.

 

Now if it was my granddad's, that's different; he was a genuinely good man, and a lovely grandpa But even so, the pen's not that significant as a memento because it doesn't really have that definitive connection to any person or experience. I mean, for example, I find myself thinking of it as 'that pen I found' (or now the Wearever) rather than 'grandpa's pen'.

 

So, probably as suitable for guinea pig duty as any pen I might pick up on ebay or somewhere, you know?

 

Well... apparently you have a Wearever, NOT an E Faber... perhaps a Wearever with a Faber nib? Odd, anyway, still looks like it could be a good little writer. Pretty sure that second pen you have posted is a Waterman... maybe an Ideal of some sort but I am no Waterman expert so I can't pin the exact model down for you.

yeah, I guess it is odd isn't it? Maybe someone swapped the nib at some point? Sort of an early frankenpen?

 

thanks for the tip on the second pen! Now I know to take it to the Waterman forum, that's more than I knew before

Edited August 14, 2013 by Plume145

[MarcS]

all the discussion here is about restoring this pen. just wondering, for the vintage collectors out there: are there vintage pens whose value to a collector would be diminished by restoration? obviously, a pen that does not write loses its appeal to a pen user, but antique furniture, for example, loses its value to a collector if it is refinished, etc.

[betweenthelens]

Hi Plume. That second pen has a clue to its identity. Look at the end of the clip. Maybe you or some other astute fountain pen aficionado will be able to identify it based on this logo. It's a pretty pen.

 

I have a Wearever that I posted on here a while back. I had it restored as I hadn't yet begun my own restorations. My pen is pretty but has a scratchy nib that can cut paper if not used carefully. I do believe I'll end up selling this one.

[Plume145]

all the discussion here is about restoring this pen. just wondering, for the vintage collectors out there: are there vintage pens whose value to a collector would be diminished by restoration? obviously, a pen that does not write loses its appeal to a pen user, but antique furniture, for example, loses its value to a collector if it is refinished, etc.

Good point! Didn't think of that, although I reckon it only really matters if the pen is particularly rare or high value, because if not will it really be of much interest to collectors? I don't know, really, I'm not the slightest bit of a collector, myself! I guess the discussion skipped straight onto restoration because of how I explicitly asked for that in the OP, and that set the tone. But I agree, that's something to think about in every discussion of what to do with vintage finds in general

Hi Plume. That second pen has a clue to its identity. Look at the end of the clip. Maybe you or some other astute fountain pen aficionado will be able to identify it based on this logo. It's a pretty pen.

 

I have a Wearever that I posted on here a while back. I had it restored as I hadn't yet begun my own restorations. My pen is pretty but has a scratchy nib that can cut paper if not used carefully. I do believe I'll end up selling this one.

There's a logo on the end of the clip? Where? you mean the ball-shaped ending? That reminds me of more recent Sheaffers, like the No-Nonsense line (which I believe is itself based on earlier designs) but is it really that simple?

 

But yeah, I like this pen too It's all cute and little, too And the nib's sort of weird - the very tip slopes down! I thought it was damage when I first noticed, but I also have a matching desk pen (that's the name for the ones that are long and tapered and don't have a cap because they're designed to live in a tubular pen holder thing that sits on your desk, right?) and the nib on that slopes down as well, in exactly the same way, so I figured it's no accident.

 

The nib of this Wearever does feel a little too sharp when I run my finger over it, so I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out scratchy as well. That'd be a bummer because I like my nibs smoooooth But I'll give it a chance, for sure! Maybe it's just excess gunk that's making it rough like that

[Uncle Red]

The second pen looks like a Waterman. Is there anything stamped on the barrel? Check the base on the pen for a Waterman model code, probably 52V or 52 1/2/V. Well worth restoring. Let's see some more pictures of the nib; top, side and bottom.

[betweenthelens]

Yikes! I meant on the lever!

 

I can make out that the nib is 18 carat so that's good.

 

Check this out on Wearever nibs: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/8220-how-to-replace-wearever-nibs/

 

 

Eager to hear how this turns out!

 

Best,

Laura

Edited August 14, 2013 by betweenthelens

[Plume145]

The second pen looks like a Waterman. Is there anything stamped on the barrel? Check the base on the pen for a Waterman model code, probably 52V or 52 1/2/V. Well worth restoring. Let's see some more pictures of the nib; top, side and bottom.

 

 

Yikes! I meant on the lever!

 

I can make out that the nib is 18 carat so that's good.

 

Check this out on Wearever nibs: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/8220-how-to-replace-wearever-nibs/

 

 

Eager to hear how this turns out!

 

Best,

Laura

 

hmm, the base? Which part is that exactly? Is that maybe the base of the desk pen? Because unfortunately I haven't got that - just the to-go version that I posted, and the movable part of the desk pen, but not the stand with the tubular holder.

I checked it all over very carefully looking for any markings in general, and most particularly something like what you said - 52V etc. I looked everything over systematically, barrel, cap, clip, section, nib, and feed, but the only definite markings are on the nib: 'WARRANTED 18CT' plus something I can't ead. Elsewhere, I found some possible traces - something that might be intials just above the clip on the metal part that circles the cap (looks done by hand, not professionally), and the two ends of the pen have little traces that look like there *might* have once been something glued onto there...maybe. The clip itself hasn't got anything else.

The lever does have something that might be a logo, like Laura suggested:

 

And here's the nib:

 

 

 

[betweenthelens]

Interesting nib curvature.

Yes, to whom does that logo belong???

A mystery for sure.

Loading the nib photo onto my photo software to see if I can make out what's below 18ct.