Is It Possible To Disassemble A Sheaffer Converter?

[Strombomboli]

Along with an old Sheaffer Prelude, I got a converter, the screw type, which doesn't function smoothly. I tried to disassemble it, but didn't succeed. The principle seems to be the same as with, e.g., the Pelikan converters, but I wasn't able to get the metal ring off the converter. Does anybody know if it is friction fit, so that I would need to just try a little harder, is it glued on, so that it won't come off, or is it screwed on, which would mean that it has become a little rusty? Does anybody know? I'd be grateful for an answer. (I tried the search function, but to no avail.)

[mhosea]

I tried and didn't succeed, also. I have some silicone grease in a syringe with a 20 gauge blunt-tip needle that I use for re-greasing ED threads. I just squirt a little silicone grease on to the walls of the converter and work it to loosen my oldest one up, but it's still quite stiff.

[Strombomboli]

Thank you! So there's not much hope...

 

[jar]

Converters are cheap and repairing them usually not effective. Just buy a few and put them in a drawer to use when needed.

[Strombomboli]

Well, these are not really cheap, at least not here in Germany. On Amazon, the cheapest one costs 7.20 €, which is almost ten dollars, and the one I bought in a store recently cost me 8.95 €, which is 12 $. For that prize, I could have a Chinese fountain pen sent from Shanghai.

[Sasha Royale]

A lot of pens are lubricated with silicon "grease". I am sure it works well for water valves and pumps.

However, fountain pen pistons are delicate, as are the converter pstons. I use the TWSBI lube. I put an invisible amount of it on the inside of my Reform 1745 barrel. Now, the piston is so smooth that one might think it broken. Great stuff !

[jar]

Well, these are not really cheap, at least not here in Germany. On Amazon, the cheapest one costs 7.20 €, which is almost ten dollars, and the one I bought in a store recently cost me 8.95 €, which is 12 $. For that prize, I could have a Chinese fountain pen sent from Shanghai.

 

 

LOL

 

Yes you could get a Chinese fountain pen and if that floats your boat, go for it.

[Strombomboli]

Unfortunately, it doesn't float my boat, I'd rather go with pens which need Sheaffer converters! (You know, what I'm talking about, don't you?)

 

I will try to get some silicone grease inside a syringe, i.e., another syringe; until now, I only have one for ink.

[Strombomboli]

Unfortunately, that doesn't float my boat, I'd rather go for pens that need Sheaffer converters! (You know, what I'm talking about, don't you?)

 

I will try to get some silicone grease inside a syringe, i.e., another syringe; until now, I only have one for ink.

Edited November 15, 2013 by Strombomboli

[jar]

What is the result of a leaky converter?

 

Isn't it worth $12.00 to avoid a leaky converter?

 

When water or ink gets past a piston seal it is because the seal itself or the wall of the cylinder are damaged. Silicone grease may mask the problem for awhile but do not fix anything; the problem remains.

[mhosea]

The problem is that the converter is stiff, not leaky. Lubrication is the right thing to try first. Failing that, throwing the converter away makes sense.

[recluse]

You can lubricate it using a thin staple. Unfold it, grab a bit of the silicon grease on the tip and put it onto the inner side through the hole. Then redistribute it by moving the piston up and down a few times. Don't forget to clean the walls of the hole before inserting the converter back into the pen.

[Tweel]

The metal ferrule at the top of twist converters is typically cemented in place nowadays (Or otherwise "seized" -- the ferrules on some of my Waterman converters appear to have been spun on so fast that they melted the surface of the plastic, and that holds them in place.). So far, I've been able to get them all off by heating the metal and unscrewing them (-- they're screwed onto the converter) while hot. Good luck -- don't melt your converter!

[Strombomboli]

Finally a good tip! I'll get my asbestos gloves out and will try it.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

You can lubricate it using a thin staple. Unfold it, grab a bit of the silicon grease on the tip and put it onto the inner side through the hole. Then redistribute it by moving the piston up and down a few times. Don't forget to clean the walls of the hole before inserting the converter back into the pen.

 

Wow ! Thanks for that. I recently finally gave up on trying to disassemble my Reform 1745, which I bought here in 2009, and which may or may not be NOS. I am suspecting that it was of recent Chinese manufacture four years ago.

 

What I did was spend time trying to get the silicone grease right at the juncture of the piston head and the walls of the barrel/ink chamber. Nothing straight could get that done. Eventually I just broke a toothpick and used that. I could only get the silicone grease on the walls of the ink chamber, not right at the junction of the piston's edge and the wall. The piston did work better after I ran it up and down a few times. So that's probably good enough.

 

For future such endeavors I'll keep the staple in mind. I'm not sure it'll be long enough though. But I'll find out.

[recluse]

 

Wow ! Thanks for that. I recently finally gave up on trying to disassemble my Reform 1745, which I bought here in 2009, and which may or may not be NOS. I am suspecting that it was of recent Chinese manufacture four years ago.

 

What I did was spend time trying to get the silicone grease right at the juncture of the piston head and the walls of the barrel/ink chamber. Nothing straight could get that done. Eventually I just broke a toothpick and used that. I could only get the silicone grease on the walls of the ink chamber, not right at the junction of the piston's edge and the wall. The piston did work better after I ran it up and down a few times. So that's probably good enough.

 

For future such endeavors I'll keep the staple in mind. I'm not sure it'll be long enough though. But I'll find out.

 

This is how I lubricated the piston in one of my Senators. The staple should be bent slightly to reach the wall and a few attempts were required but eventually it did the trick. Comparing to that lubricating the Sheaffer converter was totally hassle-free.

[viclip]

As to getting silicone grease through small entry holes & placing it where you want it, I like using a length of bare electrical copper wire. It's readily available in various diameters & being malleable can be easily shaped &/or re-shaped for any application. I use it to lube converters as well as piston-filler barrels where disassembly is neither desired nor required. As a precaution against scratching, the end of the wire should be filed or sanded smooth.

[Ink Stained Wretch]

As to getting silicone grease through small entry holes & placing it where you want it, I like using a length of bare electrical copper wire. It's readily available in various diameters & being malleable can be easily shaped &/or re-shaped for any application. I use it to lube converters as well as piston-filler barrels where disassembly is neither desired nor required. As a precaution against scratching, the end of the wire should be filed or sanded smooth.

 

Oh, jeez, another option I didn't think of . I have loads of old 22 gauge electrical wire around here. I could strip off the insulation and bend some of that, too. Wow, the old perspicacity is wanting in my old age .

 

Thanks for the tip.

[jar]

 

Oh, jeez, another option I didn't think of . I have loads of old 22 gauge electrical wire around here. I could strip off the insulation and bend some of that, too. Wow, the old perspicacity is wanting in my old age .

 

Thanks for the tip.

 

Pipe cleaners.

[recluse]

 

Pipe cleaners.

 

BJ's cleaners do work: the wire in them is one of the softest among widely available. They should be stripped first, of course.