Cap Restoration

[JimStrutton]

Usual caveats, no association, just a happy customer.

 

Thanks to Kevin at Pen Time and to Ray for giving me the link in the first place, (but on a totally different subject ie replacing a 61 arrow,) I have had a "51" cap restored.

 

I am one happy punter, a pen that started out as a bunch of spare parts is now a handsome black user with a nice but not perfect Lustraloy cap.

 

The before and after pics tell the tale:

http://www.strutton.free-online.co.uk/Pictures/Pens/51capbefore.jpg

http://www.strutton.free-online.co.uk/Pictures/Pens/51capafter.jpg

 

The cap had a few scratches, and deeper cuts, a shallow dent, plus a crack that Kevin found and reinforced with epoxy.

 

He has done a good job in getting it back to a nice brushed finish with a polished rim. He turned the cap around in a day, kept me posted on progress by email and sent me the tracking number so I could trace it if needed.

 

The pen now looks good, writes well and is another user for the collection.

 

Kevin's site for those so inclined is Pen Time and he also lurks around here too

 

Great to deal with and on the basis of one cap, does good work quickly.

 

Jim :bunny1:

[kissing]

Could "PenTime" be derived from that "show" inside Tim Allen's Home Improvements, "ToolTime"?

[Richard]

For what it's worth, a brushed finish is not technically correct for that cap and that pen. Among "51" models, only the Flighter should have a brushed finish. Most people who do this kind of work do a brushed finish because it's much easier to do than a true matte Lustraloy. The image here shows a matte Lustraloy restoration I did recently; the pen is a Navy Gray Vacumatic filler.

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/ref_info/restoration/lustraloy2.jpg

[JimStrutton]

For what it's worth, a brushed finish is not technically correct for that cap and that pen. Among "51" models, only the Flighter should have a brushed finish. Most people who do this kind of work do a brushed finish because it's much easier to do than a true matte Lustraloy. The image here shows a matte Lustraloy restoration I did recently; the pen is a Navy Gray Vacumatic filler.

Hi Richard,

 

As usual you are correct, but I need to update you on a couple of points. First Kevin and I discussed that it was not the right finish, but the fact the cap was cracked he was reluctant to try anything other than a brushed finish as the acid treatment to get a true finish would attack the crack and could have written the cap off, so this was a cosmetic compromise.

 

Also as to the age and heritage of this pen, well give me a clue? I built it from bits I had as spares from and eBay frenzy over the last year, so it is a true FrankenPen. The only thing I can say is that I believe that all the parts could well be of UK origin, more than that I can't say.

 

I think this brings us into a wider discussion that my friends get into with vintage cars. When is a car genuine? A friend has a 1954 Lancia, that I know is built from three donor vehicles, but has the chassis and registration from the oldest and most desireable.

 

My aim here was to just get a pen that worked that I carry about to let people try a 'proper' pen. I got Kevin to see what he could do with the cap as an experiment and from that experiment I have achieved a good effect and the pen that was built from what people might have called 'Junk' now works fine and looks good.

 

I agree with you however, if this was a significant pen, then you should try to keep it as accurate as possible, but this is just a user.

 

Best

 

Jim

[mike1]

Hey the guy loves his pen and is full of pride over having a great looking and servicible writer. Let him bask in the joy of it. He loves this pen. Come on don't spoil it for him. Even if it's not perfect it's like that first car you rebuilt as a kid. Do kids do that now?

[wdyasq]

Hey the guy loves his pen and is full of pride over having a great looking and servicible writer. Let him bask in the joy of it. He loves this pen. Come on don't spoil it for him. Even if it's not perfect it's like that first car you rebuilt as a kid. Do kids do that now?

I think it is improtant the ignorant (ME!) be advised it is not 'original' so we don't purchase something (like on eBay) that is obviously (to the educated) not correct.

 

Jim- I do the same anology with cars but use a ficticous wrecked Ferrari made into a six-pack of restorations, each with a significant amount of parts from the original 'famous' car. Which is the original?- What is a restoration? - what is a fabrication?

 

Thanks for pointing out the 'obvious' Richard.

[JimStrutton]

Good point,

 

I think it is improtant the ignorant (ME!) be advised it is not 'original' so we don't purchase something (like on eBay) that is obviously (to the educated) not correct.

 

Having said that if anybody was buying these seriously, then they should look at Parker 51 .Com or Richard's own site for that matter to see what a genuine cap for a circa 50's "51" looks like.

 

My error, I was chuffed to rocks to get this 'Junk' back into a presentable pen that I should have mentioned in my write up that I knew it was only an approximation of the proper finish. Who knows I may find a better cap for it and then this cap can be a spare.

 

As to eBay, for the prices you pay, don't expect to get a pristine collectable unless you are truely very lucky

 

Having said all that, guess what, this "51" writes as well as the most expensive "51" I have and I don't panic about having it in the pocket of my old working jeans!

 

Jim

[Richard]

...I need to update you on a couple of points...  My aim here was to just get a pen that worked

I agree, based on what you say, that what you have is eminently workable in the context for which you targeted it, and if it were mine I'd use and display it proudly as a pen I'd saved from the dustman. Heck, any "51" that is being used is better than a pile of "51" parts.

 

...he was reluctant to try anything other than a brushed finish as the acid treatment to get a true finish would attack the crack and could have written the cap off, so this was a cosmetic compromise...

$ set user/mode=pedantic

 

Here is where Kevin and I differ. I don't use an acid treatment to produce a matte Lustraloy finish. Acids are difficult to handle, difficult to judge, difficult to clean up after, and dangerous. To use an acid bath would require that the clutch and inner cap be removed and that the "band" area be masked with an acid resist to protect it from the etching action. This is all too much like work for me. :D

 

$ set user/mode=normal

 

Also as to the age and heritage of this pen, well give me a clue?

I'm going to guess that the sac guard probably has a plastic end cap, so what you have would be a post-1950 Mark I. (Short clip appeared sometime around 1951.)

 

I think this brings us into a wider discussion that my friends get into with vintage cars.  When is a car genuine?

Ooh, that's a rathole I'll avoid, thank you very much. Is a 1937 Cord 812 that has all original factory parts, restored to perfection, original? What about the same car that's been painted with DuPont Imron enamel, which didn't exist while Cord was in business?

 

(A hearty cheer and a round of applause for the first person who identifies the computer operating system in which the "set user" lines could be seen.)

[RyanL27]

I think this brings us into a wider discussion that my friends get into with vintage cars.  When is a car genuine?

Ooh, that's a rathole I'll avoid, thank you very much. Is a 1937 Cord 812 that has all original factory parts, restored to perfection, original? What about the same car that's been painted with DuPont Imron enamel, which didn't exist while Cord was in business?

Plato has a story about this called the Ship of Theseus....