Waterford pen assembly mystery

[Nibology]

I have been challenged by my son-in-law to re-assemble his silver Waterford fountain pen, but I am stumped. This is an estate sale find that has worked for a while however after disassembly for cleaning, it does not seem to want to go back together. I am wondering if there is a part that has been lost (a sleeve?) or a glue requirement to hold it together?

 

The nib and feed assembly fit somewhat loosely into the metal section, but there seems nothing to hold it all together. It seems like it would require glue to hold the feed assembly inside the section AND glue to hold the threaded collar that holds the converter and that screws into the barrel. Could it be that there was glue that simply dissolved, or wasn't noticed when the pen was disassembled?

 

Waterford fountain pens are still a brand being sold, although apparently not connected to the Waterford crystal brand anymore.

 

Does anyone have experience with this pen design?

[A Smug Dill]

At a guess, the grip section is of a similar design to what Sailor uses today for its Professional Gear and Profit lines of fountain pens, and the nib unit would be secured in the same manner. You might want to look up on YouTube and such about disassembly of Sailor Profit (or Pro Gear) pen models.

[Ron Z]

There should be threads on the back end of the nib housing, which screw into the metal thread bushing, holding the section itself captive between the two.  It is not uncommon for the threads on the housing, or at least part of the threads, to break off and remain in the thread bushing.  It looks like that is what has happened here.  They may still be there.  If the bit of thread is still in the thread bushing it might be possible to unscrew it and solvent weld the pieces together.  But it may be necessary to epoxy the housing and bushing in the barrel - making sure that you do not plug the end of the piercing tube.

 

I think that Waterford used Schmidt nibs in these.  Hampton-Haddon Marketing in Philadelphia owns the brand, and provides service.  You might contact them.

[Nibology]

17 hours ago, A Smug Dill said:

At a guess, the grip section is of a similar design to what Sailor uses today for its Professional Gear and Profit lines of fountain pens, and the nib unit would be secured in the same manner. You might want to look up on YouTube and such about disassembly of Sailor Profit (or Pro Gear) pen models.

I have some Sailor pens, although not any with a metal section. However I think this is a different configuration.

[Nibology]

5 hours ago, Ron Z said:

There should be threads on the back end of the nib housing, which screw into the metal thread bushing, holding the section itself captive between the two.  It is not uncommon for the threads on the housing, or at least part of the threads, to break off and remain in the thread bushing.  It looks like that is what has happened here.  They may still be there.  If the bit of thread is still in the thread bushing it might be possible to unscrew it and solvent weld the pieces together.  But it may be necessary to epoxy the housing and bushing in the barrel - making sure that you do not plug the end of the piercing tube.

 

I think that Waterford used Schmidt nibs in these.  Hampton-Haddon Marketing in Philadelphia owns the brand, and provides service.  You might contact them.

 

Ah, thank you! Yes, on close inspection with a loop, the feed housing has a ragged edge where the threads used to be. It appears to be a Schmidt, yes. I have measured the wings of the nib and come up with 7.2mm, which is somewhat between the sizes listed for various Schmidt sections. I am thinking it is an FH341 in terms of visible features although the FH341 is for a nib with a 7.7mm wingspan.

[Nibology]

Hampton-Haddon Marketing indicate on their website that they no longer do repairs. I have however reached out to schmidtpenparts.com who handle Schmidt nibs, to see if they can supply a little more information about the dimensions of these feeds to make it easier to get it right. (Other than nib wingspan, Schmidt does not provide dimensions of its feed components in their catalogue).

[Nibology]

Received some technical drawings from schmidtpenparts, selected the correct steel nib/feed assembly, ordered it and installed it with the original gold nib and feed satisfactorily. I needed only to unscrew and remove the broken bit of the original nib section that was still threaded and hidden inside the metal sleeve. Now writes beautifully. Thank you Ron Z for your insights!

[WillieCh]

Interesting, I have the same exact Waterford pen and facing a similar issue. My feeder is sideways and not lined up with its nib. See pictures. Plus, my nib housing looks to have come apart and part of it is just held on by the nib flare. I haven’t tried to remove  or unscrew my nib housing from the grip yet. I arrived at this point seeking information on how to disassemble it when I found this thread.

 

I believe my nib housing and my feeder is broken. Can you give me the schmidtpenparts part number for the  nib housing you ordered from them? I going to have to also have the feeder. My understanding of the anatomy is, nib sets flush on the feeder, that held in by the nib housing, inside the mental grip. In this case the feeder and the nib housing might be the same part?

[WillieCh]

Standby…. I just sent this message to Schmidt.

 

From: Willie Ch <>

Sent: Monday, May 6, 2024 8:55 PM

To: info@studiopens.com <info@studiopens.com>

Subject: Feeder

 

I have a Waterford fountain pen that I believe uses a Schmidt type nib assembly. See attached pictures. I haven't tried to unthread it from the grip yet. The as you can see in the picture part of the feeder is broken. I'm calling everything black plastic the "feeder", I'm guessing they are the same molded part that threads into the metal grip.

 

I would like to reuse my nib is possible. 

 

Can you help me with parts in my case? 

 

Willie Ch

Abingdon VA USA

[WillieCh]

Couldn’t resist. Is the black feeder one peace? The nib has to detach from the broken feeder some way. That’s my question. 

[Ron Z]

The rim at the front of the nib housing has broken off.  It might be possible to solvent weld it back in place (remove the nib and feed before you try) but a new nib housing would be better.