What is on your bench?

[es9]

I am rather obsessed with my black Sheaffer Balance OS vac as well as my black Sheaffer PFM I.  The latter might be my favorite pen in part because I personally prefer silver trim on a black pen.  

[Teterman2005]

12 minutes ago, VacNut said:

I am with you on large black pens. I am a member of the Black Pen Society and there is nothing similar to a tray of black Vacumatics.

 

I can’t think of another set of pens with such dramatic flair.

That’s just awesome, you’re like an executive-platinum-double-plus member of the “black pen society”!
 

I love seeing the size contrast between a regular ‘ole major and the the super-sized ones... no wonder their value is super-sized as well! 

[Teterman2005]

10 hours ago, VacNut said:

That looks like a mint pen. You are lucky to find it. The clarity is gorgeous.

 

Thanks!  I was holding off on “getting into” vacs until I rounded out  a couple of mini-sheaffer collections, but this one forced itself on me 😜.   I love the optical illusion, my staff probably wonders what the heck I’m doing sitting there just staring a pen!

[Teterman2005]

6 minutes ago, es9 said:

I am rather obsessed with my black Sheaffer Balance OS vac as well as my black Sheaffer PFM I.  The latter might be my favorite pen in part because I personally prefer silver trim on a black pen.  

i got an OS green balance at an unexpectedly low price, and now I’m obsessed with finding a black one I can afford...

gonna be awhile given my last few impulse buys 😳

 

Just can’t beat a good “business pen”..... I really like silver trim too, but I’m staying away from looking at PFMs until I can afford one!

[VacNut]

Slowly making my way through all the Vacs. 
This week will be the Shadow Wave Vacs. They are absolutely stunning if the barrels are clear and unambered.

Too bad they never made OS or Max versions of these pens. Most of the Vacs have a Speedline filler, but I hav one pen with a lockdown with a 47 date code. Made in the USA, not even a Canadian oddity.

[VacNut]

Although, it appears Olsen made many Shadow Wave pens with the lockdown fillers for the Danish market. Someday, I hope to return all these barrels to working pens.

[Teterman2005]

1 hour ago, VacNut said:

Slowly making my way through all the Vacs. 
This week will be the Shadow Wave Vacs. They are absolutely stunning if the barrels are clear and unambered.

Too bad they never made OS or Max versions of these pens. Most of the Vacs have a Speedline filler, but I hav one pen with a lockdown with a 47 date code. Made in the USA, not even a Canadian oddity.

Nice vacs!!

[es9]

Beautiful!!!  I am currently on the hunt for a gray shadow wave myself.  I much prefer the speedline fillers for pens I write with -- they're  less finicky and I don't have to worry about the little ledge wearing away.  I wish my golden web could take a speedline.  

 

Also, is the third from the left in the shadow wave pic a standard-size black reticulated?  

[siamackz]

Has the pleasure of restoring this lot of beauties a few weeks ago for a friend! 

 

[es9]

The HYP is beautiful. Is the celluloid on the burgundy vac starting to go? 

[VacNut]

18 hours ago, siamackz said:

Has the pleasure of restoring this lot of beauties a few weeks ago for a friend! 

 

That is quite a collection. Did your friend send these for a general cleaning and light service or were these pen a full restoration? Curious if they waited so the entire lot could be sent at once? If so, they are very patient.

[VacNut]

1 hour ago, es9 said:

The HYP is beautiful. Is the celluloid on the burgundy vac starting to go? 

I think the vac color is just from age. Vacs don’t tend to rot, except for Ripleys, candy stripe, and Golden Webs. The celluloid is very stable, unlike Italian pens...😢😓😩

[siamackz]

3 hours ago, VacNut said:

That is quite a collection. Did your friend send these for a general cleaning and light service or were these pen a full restoration? Curious if they waited so the entire lot could be sent at once? If so, they are very patient.

Yes hey came altogether. He acquired it from someone else as a lot for sale. I had to open them all apart and check the filler, change the filler for some, etc. 

[es9]

8 hours ago, VacNut said:

Vacs don’t tend to rot, except for Ripleys, candy stripe, and Golden Webs.

Interesting. I had read about the other two being vulnerable, but not the golden webs. I’ll have to take some extra precautions, like micro-chamber paper. 

[VacNut]

1 hour ago, es9 said:

Interesting. I had read about the other two being vulnerable, but not the golden webs. I’ll have to take some extra precautions, like micro-chamber paper. 

I asked about the webs, as it is not uncommon for the pen to develop a orange or amber colored area at the top of the cap or at the base of the barrel. May be related to the type of ink being used. You can search the forum.

[da vinci]

Wanted to contribute to this thread as I enjoy reading it so much! 😊

 

I am more of a modern pen collector but did the WES Pen repair course a while ago, which gave me a much better appreciation of vintage pens, and some skills to restore/repair them. I am not accomplished by any means but I enjoyed replacing the safe on this CS58 yesterday! It’s easy to see why the previous sac wasn’t effective in taking ink!

 

 

[VacNut]

6 hours ago, da vinci said:

Wanted to contribute to this thread as I enjoy reading it so much! 😊

 

I am more of a modern pen collector but did the WES Pen repair course a while ago, which gave me a much better appreciation of vintage pens, and some skills to restore/repair them. I am not accomplished by any means but I enjoyed replacing the safe on this CS58 yesterday! It’s easy to see why the previous sac wasn’t effective in taking ink!

 

 

 

I have never restored a lever filler. How does the lever connect to the push bar? Is there a pin connected to the push bar? How does one insert the pin?

[da vinci]

5 hours ago, VacNut said:

 

I have never restored a lever filler. How does the lever connect to the push bar? Is there a pin connected to the push bar? How does one insert the pin?

I think it’s more straightforward than a Vac 😊

 

At the bottom of the lever there are 2 lugs which slot into the grooves on the pressure bar. You just slide the bar, with care, on and off. 

[da vinci]

A Parker Duofold on the bench today. It looks like someone has already restored the pen, replacing the pli-glass sac with a standard black rubber one, although it seems to work ok. Interested to know what people would do about cleaning up the space protector as you can see where the Parker inscription is, there is considerable corrosion. Just a polish? Wire brush? Ammonia solution soak then brush? I don’t want to damage the sac nor destroy the imprint entirely...

 

 

[VacNut]

5 hours ago, da vinci said:

A Parker Duofold on the bench today. It looks like someone has already restored the pen, replacing the pli-glass sac with a standard black rubber one, although it seems to work ok. Interested to know what people would do about cleaning up the space protector as you can see where the Parker inscription is, there is considerable corrosion. Just a polish? Wire brush? Ammonia solution soak then brush? I don’t want to damage the sac nor destroy the imprint entirely...

 

 

Ron Z mentions using diluted vinegar to loosen alum vac filler units. I heat diluted vinegar solutions in my kettle to remove minerals. I would think a light wash may help.