What is on your bench?

[GlenV]

11 hours ago, LoveBigPensAndCannotLie said:

Very impressive, and the pen looks quite nice. I'm a sucker for mottled hard rubber pens, nothing like them.

 

I had another disastrous "restoration" today, I don't understand why I am so unlucky. I have a rainy day supply of Esterbrooks I haven't restored, figured I'd do one as a palate cleanser after the last Waterman. Nearly everything that could have gone wrong did.

 

First, the nib was one of the butterfly tipped 1xxx series ones, one of the folded over "tips" was broken off. No problem I thought, I have a spare 2550 nib. The damn thing would not unscrew. I applied heat, let it soak, nothing. Eventually broke off the feed and mangled the nib. Not too upset about that, the nib was beyond repair anyway. I knocked it out, now the problem of getting the nib "unit" out. 

 

Absolutely nothing I did would make it budge. I tried sticking spare feeds of a similar size in to grip the unit, no dice. Eventually I ended up shoving a damaged nib/feed from trash pen in to unscrew it. The threads were gummed up with something, I don't think it was normal ink. I had to soak the section in ammonia wash for three hours to get all of it out of the threads, with copious scraping with a pick.

 

The pressure bar was completely broken as well, which is a bad sign. Esterbrook Js are basically bulletproof, so if you find one with broken parts you know unholy things have been done to it. I thought no problem, I have a bunch of spare vintage j-bars from lower tier pens. Not a single one would fit. I finally shoved in one of my hated modern replacements, and I had to place a sac one size down.

 

It now "fills" with a floppy lever and holds a piddling few drops. These are supposed to be "EASY" pens to restore. I have an irrational desire to just step on this pen and end its misery. I just want one (bleep) problem free restoration, that's it. I guess my expectations are too high.

 

Edit: After googling, apparently the floppy lever is a common problem with any Esterbrook that doesn't have its original j-bar, or close enough to it because the levers on these are so short. I don't have power tools to grind down the replacement jbar to fit perfectly so I guess it will have to stay floppy.

Thanks but not really a restoration, more of a repair, but it is fun to save cool pen from the parts box.  I haven't done but a couple Esties, and those I gave away, but any pen can be a challenge. I learned to repair things in the past partly because I had broken some of them!  In my limited experience if I come to any challenge I have to set it aside and think about it for awhile to avoid breaking something, and I don't wade into anything without being sure how it went together. Youtube, Richard Binder, Grandmia pens, Phil Munson's blog all helped and here from Ron and others. 

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

The problem I'm having is, after over 3 years of doing this, the repairs are getting harder not easier. I don't know if my luck is just atrocious or I'm frustrated. I've restored so many Esterbrooks and never had this issue before. And this pen had many issues. I suspect it was inked with a permanent ink or something worse.

 

To make matters worse, I also just lost the one remaining c/f cartridge I had. The thing straight up just disappeared, I had it drying after cleaning it out (wanted to ink up an old c/f pen I restored like a year ago that I really liked) and I can't find it now. Just having a really bad week for pen stuff.

[VacNut]

Take a break from the hobby for a day? It should an enjoyable pastime.

I nearly always feel better when I look through the stored repaired pens. Sometimes it’s like Christmas morning 

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

23 minutes ago, VacNut said:

Take a break from the hobby for a day? It should an enjoyable pastime.

I nearly always feel better when I look through the stored repaired pens. Sometimes it’s like Christmas morning 

 

I think maybe I am just getting disillusioned with the hobby. I spent the past few years voraciously buying pens and learning everything I could about them, I'm at the point where I can recognize most US-made pens from like the 1910's up to the 1960's/1970's (and some popular European ones like the various Pelikans), even the more obscure brands.

 

I've restored most common pens - I am kind of bored of them, and the expensive ones I'm hesitant to take a risk on. It hurts a lot less when you mess up an unrestored Esterbrook you may have gotten for $10 than a PFM that cost $150+. I want to try restoring a Sheaffer vac-fil but given my luck and level of patience, I'm not sure it's worth investing in the tools.

 

The other problem is unscrupulous or clueless sellers. I buy mostly "as-is" and it feels like gambling. I purchased this Moore Fingertip (one of my "grail" pens), albeit with no cap. The pictures were blurry but the nib looked alright. This is what I got:

 

 

The tines weren't just misaligned, they were completely crossed over sideways. I did manage to "fix" it after hours of trying to fix it, but man it was disappointing getting that in the mail.

 

 

Still not perfect, but I tested it dry on paper and it felt pretty smooth. Haven't put a sac in it since I don't have a cap for it and will probably never find one since these are uncommon.

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

Man, someone needs to put out a public PSA for people to not use shellac on sections. I just had a bear of a time getting a Waterman Stalwart section out. Took like an hour of heating and soaking attempts, and when it did finally come out, I heard a very loud crack.

 

I've spent like 15 minutes looking the pen over with a loupe and a light and I can't find a crack so I am assuming it was the shellac releasing. I can see remnants of some shellac residue in the body of the pen towards the back of where the section would slot in. Very stressful.

[VacNut]

I had to research the pen, as I am not familiar with the Stalwart. Is the section threaded? If not wouldn’t it have been necessary to shellac the section into place? If the sac was brittle, it may have been installed quite a number of years ago. If the celluloide shrunk, it could make removing the section more difficult.

The celluloids looks fairly thin. I can appreciate your concerns.

 

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

Nope, not threaded. Most friction fit pens were not shellacked in my experience, the tolerances of the section and pen body were usually tight enough for it to go in snugly without needing any kind of additional sealant. I'd say out of all the pens I've restored maybe like 5% had the sections shellacked in, and it's usually an "aftermarket" repair, not how it came out of the factory. 

 

I personally only use shellac for Parker 51 hoods, it's acceptable for those since acrylic can handle really high heat so it's less of a risk to heat it up to soften the shellac. Celluloid is too fragile and heat sensitive, there's always a risk that you heat it up a little too far and deform the barrel. 

 

Edit: Oh, I have used it for very loose sections, but I don't use it as a sealant. I'll apply a few layers to the section and wait for it to dry fully (like at least a day) before reinserting it. I use it more to build up the section so it is a tighter fit, not as a glue.

[VacNut]

It’s necessary to seal the Vacumatic barrel to the section with rosin to create an air tight seal. Could they have used rosin instead of shellac?

Is the section loose without the resin?

[Ron Z]

Threads need to be sealed to prevent leaking.  Both Sheaffer and Parker used a rosin based thread sealant.  This applies to any pen that has a section that screws into the barrel where ink is held directly in the barrel like a piston filler or plunger filler.   DO NOT use shellac.  Shellac sets hard, and can make it very difficult if not impossible to unscrew the section without damaging the barrel.  Sheaffer barrels are thin enough that you might shear the barrel off.  Vacumatic barrel walls are thicker, but can warp if you have to use a lot of heat.  The exception is a 51 where the material can handle the heat needed to remove the hood if sealed with shellac.

 

When you seal with a rosin based sealant, you don't have to screw the section in tight.  Just snug will do.  Let the stickiness of the thread sealant hold the section in place.  Cleanup is with Naphtha, lighter fluid or mineral spirits.

 

Silicone grease is a lubricant, not a sealant.

[bsenn]

Since you mentioned Naptha, I have a question - is Naptha generally safe for contact with all common pen materials? (I assume it's not safe with casein, but in the US casein isn't that common).

[VacNut]

Ron,

Great information. Thank you.

I have been soaking vac parts in naphtha for days, sometimes inadvertently as I forget, to loosen clips and jewels with no ill effect. Can speak for other celluloid pens.

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

On 2/4/2025 at 12:01 AM, LoveBigPensAndCannotLie said:

Very impressive, and the pen looks quite nice. I'm a sucker for mottled hard rubber pens, nothing like them.

 

I had another disastrous "restoration" today, I don't understand why I am so unlucky. I have a rainy day supply of Esterbrooks I haven't restored, figured I'd do one as a palate cleanser after the last Waterman. Nearly everything that could have gone wrong did.

 

First, the nib was one of the butterfly tipped 1xxx series ones, one of the folded over "tips" was broken off. No problem I thought, I have a spare 2550 nib. The damn thing would not unscrew. I applied heat, let it soak, nothing. Eventually broke off the feed and mangled the nib. Not too upset about that, the nib was beyond repair anyway. I knocked it out, now the problem of getting the nib "unit" out. 

 

Absolutely nothing I did would make it budge. I tried sticking spare feeds of a similar size in to grip the unit, no dice. Eventually I ended up shoving a damaged nib/feed from trash pen in to unscrew it. The threads were gummed up with something, I don't think it was normal ink. I had to soak the section in ammonia wash for three hours to get all of it out of the threads, with copious scraping with a pick.

 

The pressure bar was completely broken as well, which is a bad sign. Esterbrook Js are basically bulletproof, so if you find one with broken parts you know unholy things have been done to it. I thought no problem, I have a bunch of spare vintage j-bars from lower tier pens. Not a single one would fit. I finally shoved in one of my hated modern replacements, and I had to place a sac one size down.

 

It now "fills" with a floppy lever and holds a piddling few drops. These are supposed to be "EASY" pens to restore. I have an irrational desire to just step on this pen and end its misery. I just want one (bleep) problem free restoration, that's it. I guess my expectations are too high.

 

Edit: After googling, apparently the floppy lever is a common problem with any Esterbrook that doesn't have its original j-bar, or close enough to it because the levers on these are so short. I don't have power tools to grind down the replacement jbar to fit perfectly so I guess it will have to stay floppy.

 

If anyone wanted an update on this (surely, everyone was on the edge of their seats)... I finally relented and swapped the original j-bar from a Esterbrook deskpen I had lying around into this pen. The loose lever was driving me crazy and I figured a nice working blue SJ was of more use than a boring, nonfunctional deskpen (don't have a base).

 

Unfortunately the lever is still floppy. Not as bad as it was with the modern replacement bar but still has a bit of play. Not sure if it was the effort but it is annoying me less now so I guess that's a good thing. Esterbrook J's are the kings of "standardized" part pens but it seems like they really really don't like nonstandard/replacement parts. Learned my lesson with this one.

[Ron Z]

On 2/17/2025 at 10:00 AM, bsenn said:

Since you mentioned Naptha, I have a question - is Naptha generally safe for contact with all common pen materials? (I assume it's not safe with casein, but in the US casein isn't that common).

 

I haven't had many casein pens, but casein is sensitive to moisture.  I'm not sure about naphtha.   But I don't know why you would need to use thread sealant on a casein pen, needing naphtha to clean up.  I've use naphtha on just about every pen material out there, and have never had a problem with it damaging anything.  It dries very quickly and doesn't leave any residue.

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

I give up on this (bleep) Esterbrook J, there's something wrong with it. Was trying to clean it out, after pulling the lever, it went back to being floppy. I have tried to reset the j-bar like 20 times now, and it will not behave properly. I have ripped the sac out of this pen, and the rest of it (pressure bar, nib, section, cap) will be parted out for spares for other pens. 

[Penguincollector]

Hi!

 

  I finally gave in and joined the dark side. It’s not a super complicated project, but it’s the first one that I have done alone. I have an Eversharp Symphony that needs a new sac, and a Sheaffer Fineline that needs that and some crack repair. 

[FarmBoy]

6 hours ago, LoveBigPensAndCannotLie said:

I give up on this (bleep) Esterbrook J, there's something wrong with it. Was trying to clean it out, after pulling the lever, it went back to being floppy. I have tried to reset the j-bar like 20 times now, and it will not behave properly. I have ripped the sac out of this pen, and the rest of it (pressure bar, nib, section, cap) will be parted out for spares for other pens. 

Patience Grasshopper, patience. 

[LoveBigPensAndCannotLie]

11 hours ago, FarmBoy said:

Patience Grasshopper, patience. 

 

I think I got it, apparently 21st time's the charm. Although I'm hesitant to say it because I don't want to jinx it. I bent the end of the bar into shape and put in a slightly shorter sac and it appears to be holding better.

 

I realized the problem, I didn't realize my SJ is missing the little plug in the barrel to position the j-bar. I thought only the full length J and LJ sizes have them (to standardize the length of the j-bar with the shorter pens) but I guess I was wrong.

 

It seems to be okay for now without it but if it starts flopping around again I'll try cutting out a small piece of eraser to shove in the barrel to fix the positioning of the bar.

[Nethermark]

Took on some Swedes today, all piston fillers

 

 

The first from the left is a Welco. I can't find any information on this brand, but as I've only seen them in Sweden, so I include it here.

The second is a Svanströms Crystal pen, made in England

The last three are all Perfecto's, probably German made

The usual defects: pistons stuck and in need of new cork seals, and total brassing of the cap bands.

 

 

[VacNut]

4 hours ago, Nethermark said:

Took on some Swedes today, all piston fillers

 

 

The first from the left is a Welco. I can't find any information on this brand, but as I've only seen them in Sweden, so I include it here.

The second is a Svanströms Crystal pen, made in England

The last three are all Perfecto's, probably German made

The usual defects: pistons stuck and in need of new cork seals, and total brassing of the cap bands.

 

 

Those all look very similar to Osmia and Soennecken pens. I see the attraction. Are they pre-war celluloide?

[Nethermark]

10 hours ago, VacNut said:

Are they pre-war celluloide?

I'm pretty certain the one on the right is 1950s or maybe even later. The other ones could as such be anywhere between 1935 and 1960, but I find it hard to put a date on these