Yard-O-Led Nib Unit

[Alexcat]

Firstly, I know I made a huge mistake/boo boo...am daft, etc. insert word if choice. Trust me, Ive used them all, and then some.

I bought this:

"The plain version of the Viceroy style. Purchased in 1988. The nib is a medium point and the original. On the pen cap there is a tiny dent, barely visible. Pen number 4635 YOL 925 . Hallmarked. Wooden box and YOD guarantee"

When I got it, it wouldn't write...I tried soaking, gently(no chemicals whatsoever, not even Fairy) patience, multiple flushing s etc. still wouldn't write.

Long story short, contacted seller, who was adamant it wrote when he sold it, and he thought I may have damaged it in my attempts to fix. He offered a return, but conditional on him sending it to a repairer(and I had no way of knowing whethervId be named/charged for repair etc)

 

Got myself so upset( lot of life stuff going on, recently widowed, am very fragile right now, can cope with very little) and wondering if I had in fact damaged it, that I closed the eBay case and Sid I'd get it fixed myself. I know that sounds stupid, buI really couldn't cope with the hassle.

 

So.

Asked my friendly penman if he'd look at it, explained it all, upshot is that it has a crack; this is what he said(and he also said that there was very little chance that I had done the damage):

 

"have just taken a good look at the forward part of the section, and there is definitely a spiral shaped crack in it that extends for about 5 or 6 mm. As such, you are unlikely to ever get a decent ink flow from the nib. You would need a replacement section. Your pen is quite an old model, and YOL no longer make sections of this type, so i don't really know where you'd get one from. "

 

Does anyone have any suggestions(other than trying to contact the seller on eBay....already did, no response, and as I was stupid enough to close the vase, he is in the right)

 

Is there any other nib unit which would fit, or anywhere I could get a replacement without spending a fortune?

 

Hope this makes sense....

Alex

[Beechwood]

I presume that your friendly pen man is Eric, and if he doesnt have a repair solution then you are going to have your work cut out for you.

 

My first contact, after Eric, would be to Yard O Led and see if they can help.

 

http://www.filofax.co.uk/brand/yard-o-led

[Alexcat]

Not Eric...Andy, of Andys pens....will try Eric, and Yard'. Thanks for your help

Alex

[Ghost Plane]

Contact Yard o Led. A few years back I sent a well-used standard size to them for repair that had a horrendous leak from one of the black sections they no longer make. They gave me a brand new nib & silver section at no cost under the lifetime warranty and shipped it back. Assuming they may do the same for you if you don't mind changing the whole nib/section unit. All it cost me was postage to File-o- Fax, their distributor here in the States. Awesome company!

[Alexcat]

Ghost Plane, that sounds wonderful.....though as Im not the original owner, would they still do that?( embarrassed to admit a stupid eBay purchase....too long to explain: caveat emptor and all that; not possible to return it now, to the seller, and in any case, for what it is, it would still be a bargain even if I had to pay a bit....)

Alex

[Ghost Plane]

I think so. Ask and see.

[marionpasadena]

I have a similar issue - Bought a lovely vintage (20-30 yrs old, maybe older) sterling yard o led fountain pen from eBay - it's been great for about a year but just recently the casing around the grip area must have come loose because now it's lodged inside the cap and it does not want to come out. Any ideas on repair? I didn't see a reference for Yard O Led repair in the US, and given that it's an older item I am not sure how to proceed. Thank you so much for any advice/suggestions.

[Alexcat]

I don't know if it is any help, but I can give you the UK address if you like....Im sending mine there; I have tried using it, it does write a little, but the ink seeps through the crack in th nib unit, leaving me with Stone Grey fingers....let me know and Ill send you the details...best of luck

Alex

[marionpasadena]

I don't know if it is any help, but I can give you the UK address if you like....Im sending mine there; I have tried using it, it does write a little, but the ink seeps through the crack in th nib unit, leaving me with Stone Grey fingers....let me know and Ill send you the details...best of luck

Alex

Yes if you could provide address / contact info I would appreciate it. I'm going to try to take to a store that sells yard o led and see if they can assist with a repair as well. Thank you!!!!

[Ghost Plane]

US you send it in to FiloFax. They do any forwarding from there. Google Yard o Led and File o Fax (know I'm misspelling that). The address should be pinned somewhere here on the board if you do a search.

[whych]

Filofax are the main agents/suppliers of YOL, so contact them for your country.

[Alexcat]

The UK address I was given, when I called the Filofax folk, is:

 

Yard-O-Led Pencil Company

The Jewellery Business Centre

Spencer Street

Hockley

Birmingham

BI8 6DA

United Kingdom

 

Hope it helps

Alex

[Alexcat]

Excellent news on the Yard-o-led front.....I posted it to the address novel, with a letter explaining thatI was not the original owner(might seem silly, but D much rather be honest and upfront) Yesterday I received, by guaranteed next day signed for delivery, the pen, complete with new nib and unit, and also minus the slight 'ding' in the cap. Looked like new.

 

Am amazed at the wonderfulness(made up word but best I can think of) of this.

 

Thanks to all the folks here for the help and advice

[Beechwood]

Excellent news on the Yard-o-led front.....I posted it to the address novel, with a letter explaining thatI was not the original owner(might seem silly, but D much rather be honest and upfront) Yesterday I received, by guaranteed next day signed for delivery, the pen, complete with new nib and unit, and also minus the slight 'ding' in the cap. Looked like new.

 

Am amazed at the wonderfulness(made up word but best I can think of) of this.

 

Thanks to all the folks here for the help and advice

Thats perfect, good ending to the story.

 

Wonderfulness is fine, right up there with fedupment.

[Ghost Plane]

Nice to hear their excellent service continues!

[Kelly G]

That sort of service helps make Y-O-L pens worth their cost - notwithstanding they are great pens, of course.

[FPRebel]

A search for the problem I'm having with a YOL brought me to this. Is Filofax still the primary supplier of YOL in the US, and would they be my first contact?

History/issue: I have a Victorian Viceroy Standard purchased several months ago from a vendor you are all familiar with and who has an excellent rep. Upon receipt, I had to run water through it many times to clear it of residual green-ish ink (surprised by that). After air-drying, I loaded it with Doyou and enjoyed the YOL writing experience immensely!! Cleaned it easily with several rinses of water, air-dried it, placed it back in the YOL box and stored it. Yesterday, I wanted to rotate it back in, so I loaded it with Noodler's Blue. As soon as I lifted it from the bottle, the converter began to drain through the nib back into the bottle. dripdripdripdripdrip ..... In less than 20 seconds it was empty! Rinsed, examined the nib - it appeared properly seated. Gave it a little push inward to be sure. No give. Then i pushed on the back of the converter. It felt properly seated as well with no leak. Repeated the fill. The draining commenced. Rinsed, ran water through. Interestingly, twice it held water in the converter and twice it all leaked out just like the ink. I tried a Diamine ink next - Aqua Blue. It dripped out immediately, too, through the nib.

Thank you for your HELP!

[hari317]

Try a different converter, any std international one will work. Use water.

 

If the dripping persists the issue is with the nib unit, most probably a crack somewhere.

[FPRebel]

Try a different converter, any std international one will work. Use water.

 

If the dripping persists the issue is with the nib unit, most probably a crack somewhere.

Thank you! This is extremely helpful!

All, please forgive if I posted my question in the wrong place.