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Hi all, I just purchased a lovely vintage Conway Stewart Dinkie pen and pencil set, circa early 1950s (from Heritage Collections in the UK). Both write beautifully. (Picture below) But I wondered if anyone out there collecting them can fill me in on some basics: 1. How do I refill the lead in the pencil? Through the tip or the barrel? If the barrel, is there some secret to getting in to the barrel? 2. Similarly, how do I separate the fountain pen section from its barrel? 3. Is Casein a form of plastic? 3. Is the 1.2 mm lead readily available? Has anyone out there tried 1.1 mm lead, which I've seen for sale, and found it fits sufficiently well? ---Both pen and pencil seem to be so tightly connected that I fear if I try to open them, I might break something. Are they supposed to be this way? I started to wonder whether I am not supposed to open them at all . . . . But that doesn't make sense to me, since these pens/pencils were used by so many for everyday writing and they would have needed to get at them at some point or another. Many thanks for any help. Liz

I've just become the proud owner of a vintage CS which needs a new sac. I'm quite prepared and happy to do this work myself and while waiting for the arrival of my new pen I'm trying to amass the equippment which I'll need. It would be a great help if someone could tell me which size of sac the Dinkie 550 takes so that I don't have to wait too long to write with my new baby. Thanks in advance for any help or advice you can give about sac repair. I've been watching videos and lurking here to pick up tips, but anything you can offer by way of helpful words will be appreciated.