Search the Community

Is it possible to remove the clip from a pfm III. The cap was cracked and I have repaired the crack using a solvent weld I found was recommended on here a few years ago. Now I need to smooth the repair so its less visually ugly but it is very near to the clip so Id like to remove it as the plating is still in good condition. Also the cap has been attacked by a previous restorer who drilled out the end of the inner cap, presumably to try and make the clip less wobbly or because it corroded badly. Im planning to fix that with the tip of an imperial I inner cap. Anyway, this cap has no imprints at all, not a trace was this from factory, possibly a defect? or did the previous owner also attack this part of the cap. The nib says made in USA and the AUS nib I have doesn't fit the barrel threads as well which supports this being a US pen. The trim ring is also good so it would have to have been protected to keep the plating in tact if they sanded the markings off. Secondly the micro surfaces scratches are very constant across the hole pen so I don't think they have been removed. Any thoughts on this would be interesting. thanks for any help!

I have a previously owned PFM III arriving in a couple days proported to be in good working condition. It is not being claimed to be newly restored. Should I just start using it if it appears the filler has good compression or should I send it in for service to be safe?

I've had a PFM II for a while now and recently, say the last two fills so around a month or so, when I rotate the blind cap, the snorkel does not fully extend. It stops around halfway out. There is sufficient snorkel protruding to gently pull it out to full extension and fill the pen. Winding it back in, it retracts fully. The mechanism seems otherwise quite sound: no sense of tension or hesitancy when turning the blind cap in either direction, it feels quite smooth. Just for the last turn or so, the snorkel sits halfway out. Is this indicative of imminent failure of a seal? Something else I should be concerned about?

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen of the Fountain Pen Network Not too long ago I bought a marvelous black Sheaffer PFM III. The pen came with an architect nib but was advertised as an extra-fine. Well I bought a new old stock nib unit in extra-fine. Unfortunately my pen writes only for about two pages of normal DIN A4 coppy paper before running dry. I had cleaned it two times which increased the range of my pen from about half a page to two pages. Maybe the change from Pelikan 4001 blue black to Montblanc Mystery Black helped as well. I also used a thinn wire and ran it through the snorkel tube as well. But the wire wasn't thinn enough to be able to clean the slit in the feed of the snorkel. Before continuing with difficult cleaning procedures I wanted to ask how many pages of DIN A4 coppy paper you can approximately write with your PFM's? And if you run dry does your pen still shoot ink out when you operate the filling mechanism like mine does? Best regards and wishes, sincerely, L. B. Hart

Dear friends. I'm trying to remove the inner cap of my on-going restoration Sheaffer PFM gold cap. First at all, I don't want to buy any special-task tool like the Inner cap extractor in http://www.penpractice.com/page3.html What I tried so far: I heated the inner cap with boiled water and ther I tried to use the DIY tool suggested by antonio ilmonaco in the post https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/93139-removing-inner-cap-from-sheaffer-tuckaway/ , with no results so far. Would you please give me some suggest about this? Any trick or tip? Regards, Jose

I have a black PFM set with plastic caps and stainless steel trim. A PFM I, right? Except my set has a 14kt nib instead of a palladium-silver nib. Yes, I know that the nib could have been swapped out at some point, but I am wondering if anyone knows if this combination could be special ordered from Sheaffer?

I currently have two pens I use very consistently: a Pelikan M800 with cursive ital. nib that I ground and a PFM III, also with a cursive italic that I ground. Both pens are very smooth, wonderful writers. This is the perfect size for me, and I tend to like the M800 better in terms of weight. OK, so what might be a 3rd large pen to add to these two? I have a modern, very slightly used Aurora 88 that I plan to sell—can't go with the play of the nib on the paper. I can, of course, get another Pelikan, and I am open to a vintage pen. So what might be next? Thanks in advance for the help. George

For those of you who own multiple PFMs: Is the general feel of the pen similar across the board or do you distinguish distinctive writing characteristic in each one of them? In other words, can you close your eyes and know which PFM you are using?

Hello PFM Experts, Need some help identifying the model here http://www.ebay.com/itm/232229046206?_trksid=p2057872.m2750.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Looks like I (or II?) with cap of V. Please share your thoughts. Can't wait to try out that nib :-)

Good morning all, Some days I think my brain is way older than the rest of me... The difference between the PFM-IV and V is that the IV has the two-tone cap and the V has the gold tone cap, right? Both pens are the same from nib to metal base plate aren't they? Thanks! greg

I've recently started repairing a PFM I purchased a while back and I've come across something interesting. The sack was completely ossified and required replacement. Somehow, the snorkel tube had been pushed pretty far inside the sac bushing. There was even a small indention where it seems someone tried to pull it out with some pliers. I noticed when I got the snorkel tube and sac bushing out of the sac protector the end of the snorkel tube looked as if part of the plastic might be broken off??? I'm unsure if the end part is supposed to be round or not. I compared the end to some pictures I've seen online and I'm not sure. Can anyone confirm or deny that the plastic piece on end of the snorkel tube which goes inside the sac looks correct? Notice how plastic seems to only come from half the tube.

Like many of you I see pens on auction websites. To me it's very hard to tell the difference between a PFM and an Imperial. Any advice?? PFM: http://0101.nccdn.net/1_5/15e/0a8/179/1260137681290949.JPG Imperial: http://0101.nccdn.net/1_5/37d/330/12d/skgi_4021232_5421.JPG

I hope someone can help! I have repaired/serviced quite a few PFMs with success, and for some unknown reason I have managed to break 3 sac protectors one after the other! Does anyone know of anyone who sells them - are they even made by anyone? Or maybe there's a cleaver alternative that some cleaver person has thought of? Many thanks,

Hi Guys, I have been usin my grandfather's PVM V for the last 7 years and it has always been a trusted pen. Unfortunately, a few days ago I dropped it and it became scratchy, while trying to fix it, I broke one of the tines. Do any of you have a Blue nib section which you would be willing to part with ans ship to India. This pen is a legacy for me and I wish to continue using it... help would be much appriciated.

I'm looking for a well-behaved, lightfast purple for my PFM II. I'm the sort of person who'll ink a pen, and take as much as a couple of weeks to write it dry before cleaning it. I've been known to leave my M200 inked with red-black without cleaning for months, just so I can always have the combination ready. If I find a "forever" color for the PFM-II, it could easily get treated the same way. I had been considering Diamine Bilberry, but there have been rumors which now make me hesitant to use it. I am also considering Diamine Grape. The PFM was the last of the Snorkels, and the first of the inlaid nibs. Has anyone had issues using Bilberry with either of these types? If you've used Bilberry without issue, how long did it stay in the pen?

Just getting back to writing with fountain pens. My favorite of two is the PFM I. My Vintage pen guy here i Columbus, OH installed the new bladder and it writes just ok. The nib his worn and flat and thus is prone to catching if i do not write my cursive very carefully. My question is how to shape the nib that is worn and flat to at least minimize the catching. Perhaps I should just opt for a similar pen of the era? I love the shape and look of this pen which i used in college and grad school in the 60's. My other pen is a Parker 45 with a fine nib which also has issues with catching but otherwise writes well...I purchased it in the early 60's when $6.00 was a lot of money. Thanks for your advice

Ebay No. #400732882445 So, this is a PFM, or a poorly photographed Imperial? And what's going on with that nib?

Hello All I have picked up a mint condition PFM II (Burgundy) which is boxed togther with a Sheaffer ballpen. Both the FP and pencil have a faint white overprint PFM II on the barrels and both are still wrapped in the original cellophane wrapping. The ball pen is the anomaly - no white overprint and no Sheaffer White dot which leads me to believe that it is not part of the original set. Can anyone shed light on this? Also any idea of value? Thanks David

Hi all, Wondering if someone can help out with a PFM II issue. I'm Not experienced in repair but eager to get this sorted. Got what looks to be a leak that's caused the plastic inner cap to degrade, unusual as I've only been using diamine inks but anyways. After washing the cap out thoroughly there seems to be no end of brown crud emanating from the spring loaded clip. Got a feeling its from a rusting spring thats up there. On to the question; is it possible to remove and replace the inner cap (on a PFM II) so I can find out what's going on? Many thanks for your help in advance, Badger

Hey everyone, I know this has been asked many of times over the years, and I do not really suspect my issue is much more different than what others have come across, but I need some advice. I purchased a PFM V awhile back, and have been gathering the tools and parts for renewing all the old seals/sacs. I have replaced the barrel O-ring without issue, I've also changed the point gasket holder. I also had to purchase an entirely new Snorkel Tube because the old one had been disfigured by the previous restorer (broken, and missing the inner feed). Sac had petrified into the sac protector, and I have managed to clean out all the gunk so a new sac would fit. I've refitted a new sac (dusted with graphite), snorkel tube (sans shellac). Filler tube seems fine, but upon closer inspection, on the tail end of the filler (where the screw goes in) seems badly disfigured as well, probably due to the previous restorer ramming in the screwdriver, creating a few extra opening. I'm not sure if this could be major reason which it isn't creating vacuum, as I have also installed a new rubber washer (or spider washer as some say) for the screw, fashioned from an extra sac I had. I made it a bit larger in an attempt to cover up the holes. My main issue is that it would not fill (I was hoping it would, after researching on many sites on PFM repair, even Oldfield's book). There is little to no vacuum created during the upstroke, and downstrokes, even trying the methods with wetting your thumb and sticking under the barrel, there is no suction at all. I highly suspect a hairline crack, I wasn't being able to detect one, other than a few elongated scratches. Any advice? I'm considering sending this to a professional for repairs. (I'll post up pics tomorrow)