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Hello there, I have recently acquired a beautiful blue swirl Bantam and I'm refitting the sac since it is a bulb system and the old sac was worn. The pen came from factory with an aluminum press fitted ring that held the old sac. (see picture) Now I need to remove this ring in order to properly fit another sac, but have been experiencing some difficulty doing so. Does anyone have any experience with this or how I should tackle this? As one of the pictures will show, I have started to chip away at a deep groove in the ring. Will this be problematic? Thanks in advance for any guidance whatshowever. This is the first proper restoration that I am starting so any information is welcome.

I got and Esterbrook FP (I guess it is a J) in a flee market in Mexico City for about 15 dollars more than ten years ago. I have not given it any serious use because after a while it started to drip, and besides it has a somewhat scratchy feeling. Lately, after my addiction for pens increased (look at this if you want to see why: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/267147-why-i-am-here-or-just-another-tragic-story/), I decided to give it another try. The other day I saw that it had the tines misaligned, so I aligned them. Now it writes really smooth, but it still drips, and it also writes quite wet and the nib is not so fine for my taste. Well, only yesterday I discovered that the nib could be screwed out and be changed. I just had no idea! This discovery brought my view of this pen to another level, and I am decided to enliven it! Of course it needs a resac or whatever repair to control the dripping. Then, and this is my main question, I would like to hear suggestions about Esterbrook extra fine nibs or finer! Finally, anybody has an idea about what to do with this 1461 nib? It was already curved when I got it. I thought it was normal. Now I am almost sure it is not. I guess someone did the curving trying to control the dripping or the wetness... (The barrel reads "Esterbrook. Hecho en México. Marca reg.". The nib is 1461 and says "Made in U.S.A.") Open to your consideration! A pair of photos follow...

I have a pen that arrived in a pretty bad state. The sac was missing and the nipple was all gunked up and the feed was full of ink. So I wanted to see if the feed was good or not (I couldn't pull it out w/ the nib, seems tightly fit). What I tried was to put maybe 4 drops of ink into the barrel ala eyedropper style and then push the section back in. After turning it upright and trying to write with it, the ink literally poured out, leaving a giant drop whenever the nib touched the paper. I'm assuming this is because the barrel wasn't airtight. From how I understand it, eyedroppers are meant to have a slight vacuum (aka sealed barrel) which I assume helps prevent the ink gushing out, similar to how punching a hole in the bottom of a beer can, then opening the top allows the liquid to flow. So assuming this, is it ok to assume that the fact that ink flowed through means the feed on this is fine and that if I re-sac it (and thus create a seal / vacuum for the ink) , it -should- work properly? I mean, I know you can't give me a guarantee, but any advice from someone with actual experience in pen repairs would be welcome. ::EDIT:: Also, the pen is a Waterman Stalwart. If anyone knows how to remove the nib and feed, I'd be much obliged. I tried seeing if it was friction fit, but if it is, it's in too tight for me to safely remove it.