Advice sought, Waterman 52 with whacky clip

[Nightjar]

@pen lady duh, nope, didn't order talc, will do 🤣🙏🏼

[pen lady]

Good. When it comes, you'll think "nah - I'll never use all this"! But trust me you will. Because once you've tasted the pleasure of resurrecting a piece of one hundred-year-old technology, this won't be your first pen repair project.  Get yourself a really good book on the subject, I like Marshall and Oldfield's one, super helpful. Richard Binder (richardspens.com) has a very, very helpful site, with masses of information. Ron Zorn (mainstreetpens) has information in Articles and Essays about cheap pen repair tools, also an excellent place to start.

 

Welcome to the ride down the rabbit hole my Friend!

[Nightjar]

With copious thanks for advice... I fitted a new sac; I sanded and polished to get closer to original black, but without destroying inscription and chasing; and I made and fitted a gold cap ring to the existing groove... not authentic but I think sympathetic (and reversible), and it resolves the structural issue of the cap lip cracks (well, I hope it does). A very amateur effort, I know, but I'm happy with it. Please forgive the sanding: having tried it once, I doubt I'll do it again.

 

The gold ring was in a box of silver/gold scraps I inherited from my grandmother, along with some tools... it was already soldered (presumably it was going to be an earring or something), and it was a bit smaller than I needed, so I could hammer it bigger on a ring former. That's a nice connection, for a pen that was probably available around the time my grandmother was an art student.

 

 

 

Edited 15 hours ago by Nightjar

[Nightjar]

Oh, and I will get that book @pen lady 🙂

[Penguincollector]

1 hour ago, Nightjar said:

With copious thanks for advice... I fitted a new sac; I sanded and polished to get closer to original black, but without destroying inscription and chasing; and I made and fitted a gold cap ring to the existing groove... not authentic but I think sympathetic (and reversible), and it resolves the structural issue of the cap lip cracks (well, I hope it does). A very amateur effort, I know, but I'm happy with it. Please forgive the sanding: having tried it once, I doubt I'll do it again.

 

The gold ring was in a box of silver/gold scraps I inherited from my grandmother, along with some tools... it was already soldered (presumably it was going to be an earring or something), and it was a bit smaller than I needed, so I could hammer it bigger on a ring former. That's a nice connection, for a pen that was probably available around the time my grandmother was an art student.

 

 

 

 

  That’s some beautiful work, especially for a first attempt! Great job! I’m super impressed.

[Nightjar]

Thank you @Penguincollector, I think you're probably too kind, and I feel a bit guilty about even the careful 2500-grit sanding. But hey, it was in battered cosmetic condition, so hopefully not a serious crime! And it's nice to keep the original cap, despite its damage. Have a great day!

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Nightjar

[pen lady]

Oh, good job! How's the writing experience? One other thing (sorry), if you're used to modern pens, when choosing ink for this pen be careful. Nothing shimmery or too highly pigmented. The feed on a 100 year old pen isn't designed for that.  I always recommend using inks made by fountain pen companies, Waterman, Parker Sheaffer, MB etc.