Another Snorkel - On Estimating The Time Of Last Repair

[Watermonkey314]

I'm travelling so I haven't been able to fiddle with my first, partly-repaired Snorkel. My second Snorkel did arrive just before I left, and I've got it with me now. It appears to be a first-year Sentinel (white dot, 14k Triumph nib, SS cap w GF furniture) in surprisingly good repair. I'm quite happy with having paid $24 shipped for it!

 

I'm making the guess at it being a first-year pen based off the sac protector and Richard Binder's page on Snorkel repair - it has the "first-year" type of protector with one larger guide rail and no crimping to the plug. Given that, it's about 62 years old. I was fully expecting the rubber to be ossified, but I was shocked to find that's not the case. The point holder gasket was nice and pliable when I pulled it out; as I insert the sac protector+snorkel, I feel a similar amount of resistance as I did with my partly-repaired Snorkel. Likewise, the rear O-ring also seems ok, as it seems to produce a comparable amount of suction as my other Snorkel. Finally, the sac itself seems pliable, and some (extremely cautious) testing with water showed the entire fill system appears to be at least somewhat functional. (Another point of note - the section threads were not sealed, so I believe this implies that someone has been inside the pen.)

 

Now, I'm well aware of the danger of an unrecognized sac failure in a Snorkel, but I strongly believe that this pen has been serviced. I just don't know how long ago it was; the seller didn't know it was even a Snorkel and mentioned that he'd found it inside his grandmother's desk. Would you recommend resaccing it anyways? Would semi-regular checks inside the barrel be sufficient to monitor the health of the sac?

[Tylerjordan]

Always resac pens that haven't be explicitly restored. It will save you trouble down the road!

 

I would replace both seals, too. Even if they seem good now there is no guessing how old they are or when they'll fail.

Edited August 18, 2014 by Tylerjordan

[GG917]

I have seen snorkel with worn o-ring still doing a little "pfff" when working the filling mechanism. But you'd better change them to make sure the pen is filling completely. The minimum for a snorkel restauration is to change the sac and two seals (front and back).

 

Changing a sac in a snorkel without taking care of the seals is like resacing a lever filler but not de-rusting the pressure bar.

 

Some unrepaired snorkel can open witouht having to apply heat, the adhesive can simply give up. It's aroud 60 year old!

Edited August 18, 2014 by GG917