Leaky Desk Pen

[Wandering Man]

Can anyone tell me what's happening to my pen? This was my grandfather's desk pen from 1929. When I dug it out, it was in really bad shape. I sent it off to the fountain pen hospital, and got it back in great condition.

 

 

Yesterday when I picked it up, I had ink all over my fingers. The pen seems to be leaking around the seam between the barrel and the section:

 

 

I was having problems with the nib coming out of the holder mis-aligned earlier. I stuck a bit of duct tape around the top edge of the holder to keep the pen from sinking all the way to the bottom and resting on its nib.

 

Did something break loose inside? Is this going to be repairable? Or will the pen always leak? Thanks for any advice.

 

[ac12]

A cracked section?

I have a pen that the section was cracked just when it steps down in size, right at the section/body junction.

 

When you said:

"I was having problems with the nib coming out of the holder mis-aligned earlier."

What did you do to the pen to re-align the nib?

[Roger W.]

The pen is not likely to be leaking near the section unless FPH did a bad job. It is more likely that when you place the pen in the holder it is hitting in such a way to make the pen leak into the holder and then to get on the section. How inky is the holder? If it is the pen the sac might not be properly attached and it would leak into the pen around the joint.

 

Roger W.

[Wandering Man]

A cracked section?

I have a pen that the section was cracked just when it steps down in size, right at the section/body junction.

 

When you said:

"I was having problems with the nib coming out of the holder mis-aligned earlier."

What did you do to the pen to re-align the nib?

I would roll the pen upside down and gently press. That was a couple of weeks ago. I've not had to do that since I put the duct tape in.

 

The pen is not likely to be leaking near the section unless FPH did a bad job. It is more likely that when you place the pen in the holder it is hitting in such a way to make the pen leak into the holder and then to get on the section. How inky is the holder? If it is the pen the sac might not be properly attached and it would leak into the pen around the joint.

 

Roger W.

Not much ink in the holder. I just pulled the duct tape of, and it had gobs of ink on it. I've stuck the pen back in the holder, and could here the nib hit the bottom. Do the nibs generally sit on the bottom of these? I would have guessed that the desk holder was supposed to support the pen without letting the nib rest on the bottom.

 

Was the duct tape siphoning ink out of the pen?

[ac12]

The nib is NOT supposed to hit bottom.

The holder should ether have a taper so the section can go in only so far, or have a ledge that the section will rest on.

 

If you put something into the holder, it should NOT touch the nib or the feed. If it does, that would wick ink out of the pen.

 

I suspect that the holder is for a different pen than the one that is in the pix, one with a larger diameter section.

Or that holder is missing an inner sleeve that would hold the pen.

[Wandering Man]

I think it might be missing a sleeve.

 

I removed the duct tape last night, and this morning there is no new ink. So maybe the duct tape was touching the nib. I thought I had it high enough in the holder to avoid that.

 

If I slide the pen into the holder very gently, the section will catch on the ridge and the nib doesn't touch.

 

I found an old photo of my grandfather with this pen on his desk. The pen is from 1929, and the photo is from the early 1950's. It is the same pen. But that doesn't mean he couldn't have swapped it out sometime in the 21 years before the picture was taken.

[Wandering Man]

Roger W,

Is that a Shaeffer in your avatar? Or do you have the same Wahl Eversharp pen that I have?

[Wandering Man]

One more question ....

 

How do I remove the ink stains off of the barrel? Cold water and vinegar don't do the trick. I don't want to damage the pen.

[Vintagepens]

That isn't a Wahl-Eversharp base, which would explain why the fit is causing you problems.

One thing also: to reduce risk of leakage, when the desk set isn't in use, fold the holder down so the pen is level or -- if possible -- slightly nib-upwards.

[Roger W.]

My avatar is the Sheaffer banker's lamp of 1928 made by Amronlite which is a tradename for Faries Manufacturing.

 

Stains on jade are often permanent.

 

Roger W.

[Wandering Man]

That isn't a Wahl-Eversharp base, which would explain why the fit is causing you problems.

One thing also: to reduce risk of leakage, when the desk set isn't in use, fold the holder down so the pen is level or -- if possible -- slightly nib-upwards.

You can tell from the picture? Can you also tell what pen should be in there? The base was made by A.C. Rehberger.

 

Thanks for the advise of pushing it down. I hadn't thought of that.

 

Edit: name of ACR

Edited January 19, 2015 by Wandering Man

[Wandering Man]

I've done some searching on ebay, and I can see the difference between the Wahl and the Shaeffer. I think my grandfather must have "upgraded" his pen, but not the base.

 

I found this set:

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Shaeffer-Dest-Set-with-Marble-Base-and-Bronze-German-Shepard-Figures-/261493859573?pt=Antiques_Decorative_Arts&hash=item3ce23fa4f5

 

Those are my German Shepherds!

[Roger W.]

http://www.sheafferflattops.com/images/Policedogs2.jpg

Three Sheaffer sets and a matching ashtray. Dogs cast in Germany.

 

Roger W.

[Wandering Man]

Very nice.

I rotate through my pocket pens. How do you rotate through desk sets?

[Roger W.]

I'm a collector and not a user per se so rotating is not important. I'm not sure it would even be feasible as I have around 375+ sets.

 

Roger W.

[Wandering Man]

You just need to find someone with 375 desks, then you'll be all set.

 

That's really impressive.

[Wandering Man]

Well, to find a place to park my Wahl Eversharp pen, I bought this:

 

 

It arrived yesterday, and ....

 

The pen doesn't fit. The pen just goes all the way to the bottom, just like in the Sheaffer desk set. I had tried the duct tape solution before to hold the pen off the bottom, but that was not satisfactory. It just caused the pen to bleed.

 

After looking around my workshop for a bit, I picked up a 410 Shotgun shell. I emptied the shot, wad and powder, cut off the metal part and shortened it a bit.

 

It is a perfect fit. I slipped it into the holder, and it makes a perfect sleeve. It is held tight enough that the pen doesn't pull the plastic out, and the opening is small enough that it holds the pen tightly, forming a seal around the pen.

 

Hopefully, I won't get wear marks around the pen from contact with the plastic sleeve.

 

I could have saved myself a bit of money if I had thought of this sooner, by placing the sleeve in the Sheaffer desk set.

 

In the meantime, I know own a Sheaffer pen, for the original desk set:

 

[Vintagepens]

Wahl desk pens (the celluloid and HR ones, at least) come in two different thicknesses. Your pen is the slenderer, and I suspect your newly-acquired holder accommodates the thicker. Lots of details . . . .

[Wandering Man]

Not knowing what you think you know costs money!

 

So far, the shotgun shell sleeve is working, so I'm happy. Some day I may get brave enough to risk another base. Of course, then I'll have to look for a desk pen to fit this base.

[Roger W.]

Not knowing what you think you know costs money!

 

So far, the shotgun shell sleeve is working, so I'm happy. Some day I may get brave enough to risk another base. Of course, then I'll have to look for a desk pen to fit this base.

Shotgun shell -not really. It's not that it just "fits" in the socket. The face of the pen should rest on a ledge in the socket that, in theory, should act as an inner cap in a pocket pen. This was done so that the pen was ready to write when pulled from the holder and hadn't dried out. The early holders are mostly set at an angle so this air tight inner cap thing doesn't work that well though I have an early Conklin that always writes. You should have a proper holder.

 

Roger W.