Bit Of A Backstory...

February 16, 2015

Dear Monsieurs and Madames,

I have been collecting fountain pens since the age of 7 or thereabouts. Today during the midst of a clear out I found this Mentmore Supreme that I spent the vast majority of my pocket money on when I was 9. I found it at a car boot sale and believe I paid around £3 for it. It has remained lost since then only to be rediscovered today. I have very few vintage pens in my collection and certainly profess to have no expertise when it comes to repairing fountain pens. I would love to get this pen working purely on the basis that it has a memory attached to it.

I have taken it apart and believe that everything is present that should be. It is a button filler but the ink sac has largely perished. It does appear to move a little water when the button is pressed though. I have dipped it and the 14ct gold medium nib has a lovely flex to it. I really enjoyed writing with it despite the fact it is a little scratchy. The rest of the pen has some cosmetic wear that does not bother me a great deal.

I think that the pen needs a little TLC to get it back to its best, a replacement of the sac and a bit of work on the nib and then some cleaning and what not. I would really appreciate it if anyone knows of someone who would be able to carry this out for me and a rough estimate of costs.

Here are some pictures!

Many thanks in advance for any help that can be offered.

Thanman

February 18, 2015

Thanman, on 16 Feb 2015 - 16:15, said:
Dear Monsieurs and Madames,

I have been collecting fountain pens since the age of 7 or thereabouts. Today during the midst of a clear out I found this Mentmore Supreme that I spent the vast majority of my pocket money on when I was 9. I found it at a car boot sale and believe I paid around £3 for it. It has remained lost since then only to be rediscovered today. I have very few vintage pens in my collection and certainly profess to have no expertise when it comes to repairing fountain pens. I would love to get this pen working purely on the basis that it has a memory attached to it.

I have taken it apart and believe that everything is present that should be. It is a button filler but the ink sac has largely perished. It does appear to move a little water when the button is pressed though. I have dipped it and the 14ct gold medium nib has a lovely flex to it. I really enjoyed writing with it despite the fact it is a little scratchy. The rest of the pen has some cosmetic wear that does not bother me a great deal.

I think that the pen needs a little TLC to get it back to its best, a replacement of the sac and a bit of work on the nib and then some cleaning and what not. I would really appreciate it if anyone knows of someone who would be able to carry this out for me and a rough estimate of costs.

You've already accomplished the difficult part - taking it apart without doing harm. Remove the sac from the section; given that this sac hasn't turned hard and brittle, it will likely come off with some gentle prying/tugging with thumbnail. Clean the nipple the sac attaches to and measure its diameter - its diameter in 64ths of an inch is the sac size - though I generally go one size smaller. If the nipple measures 20/64ths, I would use a sac size of 19. Measure the length of your old sac and trim the new one to that length. Attach to the nipple with shellac and dust the sac with a bit of talc (pure pharmaceutical if available, bicycle tire talc also works).

I don't know where you live; but, in the US and Canada all the supplies you need are available from Pendemonium.com and woodbin.ca

February 18, 2015

Others with more experience will probably chime in, but whenever I've restored a button filler (especially old Parkers) the button has to be gently removed from the blind-cap end as well as the pressure bar. You put the section, complete with the new powdered sac in place, THEN slide the pressure bar in down the barrel from the blind-cap end, then replace the button. If you try to re-assemble the pen with the pressure bar in the barrel, it can cause the sac to twist up.

Good luck and how nice to find what once was lost. Enjoy!

February 18, 2015

Thank you both for your replies. I now think with the information that you have both provided I could probably replace the ink sac myself I should certainly give it a go. I am in the UK so I shall have a nose around online for a similar kits to the ones you suggested Iallin. The next step would be the nib. I really don't want to ruin the nib but it is really just fairly minor scratchiness. I am wondering whether to try and do a bit of smoothing myself or if it would be best to simply take it up to a pen shop in Piccadilly that I know does nib retuning. Further thoughts greatly appreciated!

February 18, 2015

There's smoothing and there's alignment - two different things. Without proper alignment of the nib tines, the nib will not write smoothly. If you have a way to magnify the nib check to see that the tips of the tines are on the same horizontal plane. There are a lot of threads in this forum about smoothing and alignment. Richard Binder wrote these notes, which may help.

Good luck.

I am wondering whether to try and do a bit of smoothing myself or if it would be best to simply take it up to a pen shop in Piccadilly that I know does nib retuning. Further thoughts greatly appreciated!

February 18, 2015

Richard Binder wrote these notes, which may help.

Great link. Thank you very much redbike. Having had a decent look at it under light it appears as though there is some slight misalignment - with the right tine ever so slightly raised comparatively to the left. It appears as though after some reading I might be able to have a go at sorting this little Mentmore out myself. I am just going to take it slow and see what I can do. Perhaps a post will appear with it sorted at some stage!

Thanks for all the tips.

Thanman

February 19, 2015

Glad it was useful. Mr. Binder's stuff typically is. Please consider magnification to really see the nib. These loupes are well regarded. The 10x is a good all-purpose loupe.

Great link. Thank you very much redbike. Having had a decent look at it under light it appears as though there is some slight misalignment - with the right tine ever so slightly raised comparatively to the left. It appears as though after some reading I might be able to have a go at sorting this little Mentmore out myself. I am just going to take it slow and see what I can do. Perhaps a post will appear with it sorted at some stage!

Thanks for all the tips.

Thanman

February 19, 2015

Yes a loupe is probably going to come in useful to actually get the detailed view I need. I'm going to have a look and try and find a UK seller but at least I know the sort of thing I am going to need!