Wh Smith "the Seal Pen" Section Hard Rubber? Open With What Temperature?

[anaglyphos]

Hi!

 

This is partly a specific question and partly a general one.

 

I got two WH Smith BCHR Seal Pens, one without clip, one with clip. The one without is open, so I know the section is friction fit. The one with clip has a section I have not yet managed to open.

 

Could someone please tell me what material the sections of these pens are made of? I would guess probably of hard rubber. Since I am only a beginner in this whole field of fountain pens, I am absolutely not sure about this.

 

Here comes the general part of the question into play:

 

To what temperatures may I heat hard rubber sections/barrels to help open them (using a heatgun with regulated temperature)?

 

Also: To what temperature may I heat hard rubber to have it regain its original form? Concerning the re-setting of a feed I have read that the temperature should be short of boiling, and so far I have done that with the hottest water from the tap (steaming a little) - which worked well. But that could maybe also be done using the heatgun as well as other things like getting rid of some dent impressions on one of the pens....

 

I am greatful for your help. So far I got two pens restored, one of them a Mentmore Autoflow where I got no helpful advise at all. I think I managed anyway. Seems, that bug of restoring pens got me somehow

 

Thanks!

 

[anaglyphos]

OK, finally it came apart. So here is the recipe. Get yourself some charming old black and white murder mystery film and while watching, fiddle away with the pen for 90 minutes, gently gently wiggling and unscrewing. When the film ends go to the heatgun, set it at 70° C and after a few minutes the section comes free . Before that he heatgun alone, at this moderate temperature, had not achieved anything. Seems to be the combination.

 

However, I would still be interested, in how far you can go temperaturewise with hard rubber 1) to loosen a section, 2) to bring the hard rubber in its original form in feed setting or removing dents. I can find out the latter by gradually heating until dents vanish. But I cannot try out 1) - as I would not want the threads to melt away...

 

Thanks, Amelie

[balson]

if the pen is hard rubber over heating is not a big issue compared to other materials. if it burns your hands when you touch it, its too hot. shellac softens at around 140 degrees. you have to watch out with celluloid because it starts to soften pretty close to that point, around 165 degrees and will quickly burst into flames not much hotter than that. various plastics will quickly shrink and deform if they get too hot. compared other materials hard rubber is incredibly forgiving. i was not able to find any specific references to what temperature is best for heat setting but from my experience it should be hot to the touch.

 

you do not want to use water or steam with hard rubber as water, especially warm water, can quickly discolor hard rubber.

[anaglyphos]

@balson

I was well aware of the limitations and dangers you mention, but thanks for mentioning them to a beginner. This is 100% better than to to point out when it might be too late...

 

For the reasons you describe water was not an option and for those reasons I also limited the use of the heatgun to 70° C (158 ° K) on the section/barrel. I was not absolutely certain that the section was indeed made of hard rubber.

---

 

Sections of hard rubber pens:

Would sections of BHR pens generally be made of hard rubber if the barrel is? I guess so, as celluloid and plastics came later. (But then, there could be some BHR pens dating from later periods...) But probably they would be of hard rubber. Is this assumption generally correct?

 

Pen knowledge:

Restoring pens - simple cases of course - is fun and rewarding even for a beginner. The one thing I wonder about - which might soon turn out to put a temporary halt to my efforts - is the fact that I do not know where to find specific information of how a certain pen is built and how it can be repaired. Richard Binder's website is a phantastic and rich source for this kind of knowledge, many specific information can be found there. All that is covered is explained really well, step by step, so one can follow the description even without prior specific knowledge. Richard, thank you so much for this approach! But of course not everything can be covered there. I also own the repair book by Marshall/Oldfield. It is a wonderful book, but studying it I often get the feeling, I missed out on the Level 1 Book ("Basics for the Beginner" I would call it, with lots of images step by step...) I hope the Frank Dubiel book will contain this kind of information from scratch, even if not so much on European pens.

 

What do I do when I got a lever filler, want to do a supposedly simple re-fitting of a new ink sac - just to find out that some part is missing or the lever/pressure bar needs to be disassembled. Even with a flexible torchlight I cannot see how exactly the lever is attached to the pressure bar. What kind of pressure bar would be needed for replacement? Is there a C-ring or whatever else you have?

How do you know these things?

 

Take for example these Seal Pens by WHS (probably made by CS) . I can look into the barrel with a flexible torchlight. But what do I see? There is the lever and it is connected to a pressure bar. Which kind of pressure bar? And which kind of attachment? If I would want to disassemble the pen I would need to know beforehand in order not to destroy anything. In this case I hope it will still be functional, but what if not? Or take the pen I restored to function and appearance before these Seal Pens. It is a nice Conway Stewart No. 388 in black. Fortunately the filling mechanism did not need replacement. But what if it had? Where would I find such information? Where would I find out how to repair a Mabie Todd Swan button or lever filler or twist filler? You get the feeling... Where is all this information stored? Is it only to be found in old repair manuals?

 

Very curious to know more!

 

 

[Orrell Post]

I did a pen repair class, bought the Marshall and Oldfield (as instructed), got a copy of Parker Pen Repair Manual No 5115 and Onoto Pen Repair (Crook, Hull, Marshall and Oldfield - still looking for more manuals), built up the tool collection then took the tutors advice to practise, practise, practise. I was also told that breakage provides spare parts. I am still nowhere near to being proficient on a wide range of pens but keep working on one.

[GG917]

I started with lever filler (Esterbrook and others), then moved on more complicated pens, like touchdown and snorkel, Parker 51, waterman safety etc...

 

I do spend a lot of time reading on how the pen are made and how to restaure them, that way I avoid doing mistakes during repairs. One important thing I have learntis that you need the correct tools for the job you're doing. Seems an obvious advice but it is usually not what you think when you're starting doing repair. For exemple you may think a pair of pliers can do the job for removing a vacumatic pump but you're more likely to end up with a ruined pump. Reading on various sources has avoided me doing this mistake for exemple.

 

own-made tools can be usefull but you've got to be sure that they are not damaging the pen when using them.

[anaglyphos]

@Orrel Post

A pen repair class, nice idea! Would be surprised to find one anywhere near, though.

I had somehow suspected that I will find the information only in repair manuals. What a pity that there seems no collection of those available anywhere.

 

I was also told that breakage provides spare parts.

Good point. Only problem, as soon as I started to work on a small bunch of inexpensive pens I bought for learning and practicing a little, I began liking each one and did not want to risk damaging it by unscrupulous examinations

 

@gg917

I started with lever filler (Esterbrook and others), then moved on more complicated pens, like touchdown and snorkel, Parker 51, waterman safety etc...

Seems the obvious way to go. That is why I said I am starting with lever and button fillers. Still you need to know what they look like inside.

I do spend a lot of time reading on how the pen are made and how to restaure them, that way I avoid doing mistakes during repairs.

 

LOL, if you read my post it is all about where to find exactly this specific information on pens. Apart from the two books mentioned and a few websites with some scattered "How To Do"s, what kind of additional sources are there? It starts to look like I will need some repair manuals...

 

One important thing I have learntis that you need the correct tools for the job you're doing. Seems an obvious advice but it is usually not what you think when you're starting doing repair.

Using the best tools available is a must for me with each and every endeavour I start, regardless if it is computers, art supplies, whatever. Moreover I have great appreciation and even love for well designed and produced mechanical tools. See, your advice is not lost on me