What is on your bench?

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

On 10/9/2023 at 7:52 PM, es9 said:

Funny—my experience has been the opposite. Fixing really bad bends has proven really challenging for me. I find it really challenging to get the tines properly aligned again… there’s always a bulge or kink somewhere, and I’m really worried about work hardening or popping the tipping off. Resorting to sand paper can’t be the right move. 
 

That said, my smoothening game has really come a long way since I started all this. I have a pile of pens I’ve restored that I plan to sell at some point. But I’ve managed to get some of them so smooth that parting with them will be really hard. 

 

Well, I'm not particularly good at it, I can just get them to write well enough to the point where I think most people would find them usable. I don't try too hard to get all the bends out as long as it's relatively aligned and writes smooth-ish without digging into the paper. I figure a pen that writes okay is better than a pen that does not write at all.

 

I got the Snorkel up and running, not totally happy with it but I never am. I had some trouble properly aligning the snorkel but I got it close enough. The retracting feels a little rough but it might be that the front of the sac protector has some grunge on it. Fills fine. I am a little disappointed with the nib, it is indeed stubby but it's a little rough. I don't want to mess with it since it's an uncommon nib so I'll leave it alone. I did a touch of smoothing but not going to do more.

 

Not that it matters but I restored my first snorkel in October of last year, so it's my one year "anniversary." This is my fourth or fifth and I have two more I need to restore at some point. Three if you include a desk pen I picked up for $5 at a flea market but I think I'm going to save that one for parts. Still not really all that great at doing these.

 

I made the mistake of trying to restore a second pen the same day, that did not go well. I bought what I thought was a Peter Pan pen but I am fairly sure this is a knockoff as it is not as well built (IMO). When I was taking it apart I noticed the feed was extremely loose to the point where I accidentally pushed it in just while lightly cleaning the nib. Put everything back together, a new sac, and it would barely write. The feed would literally fall down or in just from mild shaking. Long story short, I was shaking it to try to get the feed back out and accidentally jammed the nib into my desk, breaking it.

 

 

I need to find a new nib for this. And also a new feed. The feed is so loose it slips in and out with literally no friction. I have no idea how this was functioning before. As far as I know, ebonite does not shrink. It seems to be the original feed so I have no clue what happened. 

 

A side note on this one. I saw a "Miniature Deluxe Baby Pen" sell on eBay recently. A small baby-size brass bulb filler - it was listed as having a "14k nib" and sold for $160. It had the same nib as this pen, a clearly low quality untipped stainless steel nib. I feel really sorry for whoever purchased that pen. Had a lot of bids going too... Not sure if I can post an eBay link but I am sure you can find it if you look. I don't understand why it sold for so much.

[FarmBoy]

There is a following for the small 'flower adorned' pens of old.  I don't pretend to understand what motivates the two eBay bidders.  Those pens sometimes had gold nibs and sometimes they were plated.

 

As for the $5 pens being restored, I generally like to restore pens that start over $15.

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

The one I'm talking about was just brass, no flower. The nib was definitely gold plated, it had a stamped "spoon" tip, looked exactly like the one on mine. I am not aware of any gold nibs that had stamped tips instead of "real" tipping. I always wonder if I'm missing something when I see third tier pens go for this much...

 

I even have the same exact pen, mine has a crack in the cap though and came with an actual warranted gold nib, albeit with broken off tipping. I got mine for like $20 though... need to try finding a replacement nib for that pen someday as well. Not a very high quality pen, it doesn't post well. I imagine it cracked from someone trying to post it forcefully.

 

Also kind of a strange pen, it is made of brass and has a press-fit section. I guess you're supposed to just put a sac in there, can't eyedropper it because it doesn't have an ebonite body under the brass like most pens of that type. I guess it was cheaper to just machine it out of a small hunk of brass than doing it with ebonite and adding an overlay.

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

On 10/9/2023 at 4:06 PM, LoveBigPensAndCannotLie said:

 

Yup always do. The o-ring was dried out but the point seal was okay. I'll replace it anyway to be safe, better safe than sorry. Also it's probably the easiest part of the snorkel restoration process, everything else I have a lot less fun with.

Figured. But i wanted to ask since you hadn’t mentioned it.

 

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

Ugh everything is bad again, I was cleaning out the snorkel and I noticed that it was taking a lot of effort to pull the snorkel back towards at the very last few rotations. Rotated it pretty hard to the point where it was unscrewing the body. Tried a few things like putting an exceedingly light bit of silicone grease on the spring (by light I mean light, I took some on a very fine paint brush and wiped most of it off before putting it on the spring, just wanted to get a tiny bit), didn't work.

 

I eventually realized the snorkel was a little loose and I guess it got pushed in somehow? I was probably overturning the knob to get it back in because it wasn't going in as much as it should have been. Fully disassembled it to reset the snorkel tube with a fresh coating of shellac and I notice the section had a hairline crack at the very end. 

 

Got really upset because I figured that I created the crack somehow by screwing the nib "unit" on too hard or the aforementioned extra turning to get the snorkel back in. I started chipping at it, figured that it was useless anyway and threw it away. I looked at some pictures I took before restoring the pen and looking closely, I am pretty sure the hairline crack was there before I did anything to the pen... I should have just kept it. It didn't leak and this is a user-grade pen for myself anyway so a small hairline crack isn't a big deal.

 

I put in the section from the desk pen, it actually has some damage too. Used a generous amount of shellac this time and I am hoping the snorkel does not loosen itself this time. Fills fine but boy am I not happy... I am definitely taking a break after this. Haven't had a series of bad repairs like this in a few months. Had a oversize Wearever shatter on me a few days ago too. I have no more pens in the mail at the moment and will refrain from buying any at least until November. Or I'll try...

 

I'm sorry for hogging this thread, I'll stop posting if you guys want me to. I know my posts get a little long winded and my issues must make some of you more experienced pen repair people cringe. Hopefully this helps other people who are new to this avoid my mistakes at least...

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

That sucks. 
 

i feel your pain. I’ve had a few repairs go south on me too. 

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

I give up on this pen, I have to admit defeat. Now I noticed the snorkel retracts way too far. I guess I stuck it too deep. It is solidly shellacked in so I can't do anything about it now.

 

I did a great magic trick, I turned a pen that could have been functional into a parts pen. Great.

[VacNut]

5 minutes ago, LoveBigPensAndCannotLie said:

I give up on this pen, I have to admit defeat. Now I noticed the snorkel retracts way too far. I guess I stuck it too deep. It is solidly shellacked in so I can't do anything about it now.

 

I did a great magic trick, I turned a pen that could have been functional into a parts pen. Great.

No worries.

 

We are playing around with 90 year old pens that were never meant to last this long.

As the thread implies “ What’s on your bench”, it isn’t “Tell us your success stories”…always interested in the good, the bad, and the “uglies”

 

cheers!

[es9]

3 hours ago, LoveBigPensAndCannotLie said:

I give up on this pen, I have to admit defeat. Now I noticed the snorkel retracts way too far. I guess I stuck it too deep. It is solidly shellacked in so I can't do anything about it now.

 

I did a great magic trick, I turned a pen that could have been functional into a parts pen. Great.

You’re welcome to do as you please, but this doesn’t sound like a “parts pen” situation. Snorkel parts—especially universal ones like sections—are usually quite easy to find. And other than getting a new section, all you need to do is reset the snorkel tube. 
 

Note that you should *not* shellac the snorkel nib unit in. If anything, use a little rosin-based thread sealant. Additionally, use thread sealant when screwing the section into the barrel. 

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

I didn't shellac the nib unit in, just the snorkel into the plug (was careful not to get any shellac between the plug and the protector, that would be bad). I think this is the recommended practice for loose snorkels. I am not sure how to get it out now as I used a pretty generous amount. 

 

I tried heating it up and pulling on it but it pulled the plug out a little bit instead of the snorkel itself and I stopped pulling at that point. Is there something I can soak this in that will dissolve the shellac without harming the sac protector or the snorkel?

 

It still fills fine and writes okay, it is just that the snorkel does not extend as far as it should. It is probably about 2-3mm too deep. I think I am going to leave it alone for now, working on this pen has put me in a stupor.

 

I probably need some additional parts to better overhaul this, the replacement section from the desk pen is rusty and a little deformed. Also the wrong color, but I kind of like it, gives the pen more personality:

 

[es9]

On 10/6/2023 at 9:18 PM, es9 said:

I just finished restoring the filling system on a small sheaffer vacuum filler—new viton o-ring secured in with a styrene closure washer, new head gasket of the proper material/dimensions, and the section is sealed with rosin-based thread sealant. It takes water well, but some comes out the back when I flush it. No evidence of a leak. 
 

I’ve done a few of these pens and I’ve never had this happen before. Any ideas? 

Bump. Anyone?

[FarmBoy]

2 hours ago, es9 said:

Bump. Anyone?

A significant majority of those pens are possessed by an evil spirit from hell.  If you take it apart enough times the spirit will be released and it will work. 
 

Or just scare it out with an open flame. 

[gweimer1]

10 hours ago, FarmBoy said:

A significant majority of those pens are possessed by an evil spirit from hell.  If you take it apart enough times the spirit will be released and it will work. 
 

Or just scare it out with an open flame. 

 

I've been known to sit in a circle of candles while working on some pens.

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

I've taken to praying before working on vacumatics and snorkels. It's not working so far. Maybe it's because I'm agnostic.

[es9]

13 hours ago, FarmBoy said:

A significant majority of those pens are possessed by an evil spirit from hell.  If you take it apart enough times the spirit will be released and it will work. 
 

Or just scare it out with an open flame. 

That’s good advice. Makes me wonder whether having some skyline parts around gives the evil spirits even more power. Time to burn some sage or something… 

 

Re the sheaffer: I just can’t figure out why this is the first time I’ve run into this problem. I must have somehow damaged the o-ring when installing it—though I have no idea how. 

[ralfstc]

9 hours ago, es9 said:

Re the sheaffer: I just can’t figure out why this is the first time I’ve run into this problem. I must have somehow damaged the o-ring when installing it—though I have no idea how. 

 

Sorry to say, I think that's correct. Or there is a scratch/groove in the plunger rod.

 

Shouldn't be too hard to pull it apart and try again.

 

R.

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

A mostly successful restoration, this Sheaffer Commandant:

 

 

 

I'm a sucker for these military clip Sheaffers, it's such a sleek look. As usual I have some complaints though, the cap is slightly cracked where the clip is attached on one side which wasn't visible in the listing where I bought it. My other Sheaffer with a military clip (a full girth Sheaffer Defender) has the same issue.

 

Sheaffer made some very nice pens but they were really bad at making usable and durable clips it seems. Still, this is mostly a cosmetic issue, I almost never use a pen's clip besides as a rollstop.

 

Bigger issue is I suspect the pressure bar is slightly damaged as the lever is very floppy and doesn't seem to fill 100%. I suspect the seller or someone else tried lifting the lever when it had a semi-petrified sac in it as the sac that came out of it was indented and the pen looked freshly polished when I got it. I'm going to leave it alone as it works well enough.

 

The nib is decent so far as well. A little feedbacky (I've never experienced a totally smooth Sheaffer nib before they started manufacturing the Triumph points) but it's a medium which I like (equivalent to a modern day fine) and I prefer these "3" (and also the Feather Touch 5) nibs to the Lifetime ones because the Lifetime ones are usually too stiff and dry for my taste.

[cat74]

Just a quick and easy sac replacement on my latest Esterbrook M2....fun little pens!! Teal to add to the collection. Came to me with no sac...didnt look like they had pulled off the pressure bar, pulled it off, cleaned the remnants off and new sac...ready to use!!

 

 

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

Nice!

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

Another mostly simple restoration, this Morrison ringtop:

 

 

The only challenge with this one is the nib was very loose and the feed was way off from the nib. For the life of me I cannot get the feed to stay aligned (I shift it over and the second I start writing with it, it shifts back to the above position) and at this point I'm thinking the feed might not have been cut symmetrically in the first place.

 

It writes well enough, although a little dry so I am going to leave it alone. I know when to admit defeat. The other issue is a manufacturing defect, the overlay is a little too tight, and doesn't have allowance for the end of the lever to pass it, so it nicks the overlay right at the end of the lever when filling. I thought the overlay might have been shifted over but it looks perfectly aligned. Probably just lack of attention to detail, Morrison being a lower tier brand and all.

 

Other than that, the pen is not bad. The hard rubber is very oxidized which is fine, I think the gold overlay makes the discoloration not look as bad. The plating is very thin as to be expected from Morrison (1/40th rolled gold from the imprint on the pen) but the overlay itself and quality of engraving is actually a lot nicer than I expected. If it was done in sterling silver or in a much higher percentage rolled gold it'd be comparable to the overlays on the more expensive brands IMO.

 

Also, I don't know if it is just this pen (the butt of it seems rather worn, no innuendo meant) but it posts extremely well, better than some of my Waterman vest size pens.

 

Edit: Welp, found an issue. The cap does not have an inner cap so it pretty much dries out instantly (cap has both the usual cap breather holes and it has openings on top where the ring attaches. Anyone else have one of these? Does yours have an inner cap or is this how these were designed?