Jump to content

Is This A Metal Cartridge? How Does This Work?


jspatton53

Recommended Posts

I just bought a Sheaffer desk fountain pen. When I took it apart to refill, I saw this metal cartridge(?). There are two view holes on opposite sides and one at the end. I assume that is a sac in it. It looked like dried shellac on the screw part for the barrel. I was able to pull it down about a quarter of an inch, but it doesn't seem to want to go any further. (I haven't applied a lot of force to remove it yet.)

What is this thing and how does it work?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

John

post-101561-0-30201600-1414621991_thumb.jpgpost-101561-0-55410300-1414622011_thumb.jpgpost-101561-0-97579500-1414622031_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 5
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • kirchh

    2

  • jspatton53

    2

  • gregamckinney

    1

  • risingsun

    1

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

You are disassembling the pen, not accessing the filling mechanism. The reason you see remnants of a sealant on the threads is because those threads were sealed to allow the filler to work properly; you've broken that seal.

 

This type of pen uses the Touchdown filling system. The back piece of the body (in this case, the taper) unscrews at that slender trim ring, and then you withdraw it; you then place the point in ink and depress the rear part and hold the point in ink for a few seconds to allow the sac to expand and draw in a full load of ink. You take the point out of the ink, screw the back piece back in, and you are ready to write (a little wiping of the front area is usually needed as well).

 

--Daniel

"The greatest mental derangement is to believe things because we want them to be true, not because we observe that they are in effect." --Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet

Daniel Kirchheimer
Specialty Pen Restoration
Authorized Sheaffer/Parker/Waterman Vintage Repair Center
Purveyor of the iCroScope digital loupe

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's Richard Binder's page on the various filling systems that have been used over the ages. Take a look at the Touchdown section.

 

--Daniel

"The greatest mental derangement is to believe things because we want them to be true, not because we observe that they are in effect." --Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet

Daniel Kirchheimer
Specialty Pen Restoration
Authorized Sheaffer/Parker/Waterman Vintage Repair Center
Purveyor of the iCroScope digital loupe

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is a Touchdown filler, often abbreviated TD. There is a sac inside the metal guard that is compressed when the outer sleeve is depressed.

Richard Binder has a good page about them:http://richardspens.com/?prof=td_tm

 

Best Regards, greg

Don't feel bad. I'm old; I'm meh about most things.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks to all. I had no idea what I was looking at and figured someone would know. I'm fairly new to all of the ins and outs of fountain pens, although I've had Sheaffer school pens since high school way back in the early 70's. Later I had Easy Change Osmiroids. But that has pretty much been it and they all took cartridges.

Lately, with renewed interest in fountain pens, levers, pistons, and cartridges are just about the only things I've come across. So many different ways to get to the same end results.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Most Contributions

    1. amberleadavis
      amberleadavis
      43844
    2. PAKMAN
      PAKMAN
      33494
    3. Ghost Plane
      Ghost Plane
      28220
    4. inkstainedruth
      inkstainedruth
      26624
    5. jar
      jar
      26101
  • Upcoming Events

  • Blog Comments

    • Shanghai Knife Dude
      I have the Sailor Naginata and some fancy blade nibs coming after 2022 by a number of new workshop from China.  With all my respect, IMHO, they are all (bleep) in doing chinese characters.  Go use a bush, or at least a bush pen. 
    • A Smug Dill
      It is the reason why I'm so keen on the idea of a personal library — of pens, nibs, inks, paper products, etc. — and spent so much money, as well as time and effort, to “build” it for myself (because I can't simply remember everything, especially as I'm getting older fast) and my wife, so that we can “know”; and, instead of just disposing of what displeased us, or even just not good enough to be “given the time of day” against competition from >500 other pens and >500 other inks for our at
    • adamselene
      Agreed.  And I think it’s good to be aware of this early on and think about at the point of buying rather than rationalizing a purchase..
    • A Smug Dill
      Alas, one cannot know “good” without some idea of “bad” against which to contrast; and, as one of my former bosses (back when I was in my twenties) used to say, “on the scale of good to bad…”, it's a spectrum, not a dichotomy. Whereas subjectively acceptable (or tolerable) and unacceptable may well be a dichotomy to someone, and finding whether the threshold or cusp between them lies takes experiencing many degrees of less-than-ideal, especially if the decision is somehow influenced by factors o
    • adamselene
      I got my first real fountain pen on my 60th birthday and many hundreds of pens later I’ve often thought of what I should’ve known in the beginning. I have many pens, the majority of which have some objectionable feature. If they are too delicate, or can’t be posted, or they are too precious to face losing , still they are users, but only in very limited environments..  I have a big disliking for pens that have the cap jump into the air and fly off. I object to Pens that dry out, or leave blobs o
  • Chatbox

    You don't have permission to chat.
    Load More
  • Files






×
×
  • Create New...