Broken Nib Collar

[squeakyao]

Hello everyone,

 

Today I finally attempted to take apart my two Esties, a black and a green J. It wasn't easy to separate the section and barrel, but with the help of a good friend and a hairdryer I did it.

 

Unfortunately, I've now got a bunch of parts. Both pens lack sacs, which will be difficult to procure here in Taiwan, and the black is missing a j-bar. More importantly, one of the nibs is missing a tine and its collar has disintegrated as well.

 

I'd like some advice- should I Frankenpen one whole, and keep the other for parts? Or wait until I can procure sacs, a j-bar, shellac and a brand new nib and put them together? The insides of both pens are quite rusty, so I'm wondering if it's ok to soak them in water.

 

Thanks for reading my long rambling!

 

Kelley

[Hobiwan]

You can indeed "cannibalize" you way to one complete pen (I would) and wait for parts and a new nib for the other.

 

If there are any old, beat-up or broken "other brand" lever-fill pens available, you can grab a J-bar from one if it's approximately the size of your Esterbrook. It's not stock, but it'll do.

 

For cleaning the inside of the barrel, don't soak in water, unless you can be sure of drying it and the lever ring out completely. Otherwise it'll start/continue to rust, and eventually swell the barrel. Swab it out with something that's non-corrosive and won't deteriorate plastic or rust the ring. I've used a bit of olive oil on a Q-tip for the worst of it, then dried that out, without any perceivable problem. Others may weigh in with other/better solutions.

 

HTH

[gweimer1]

I've been using a small bottle washer brush to clean barrel guts. You should be able to find them at a restaurant supply or cookware supply store. Or maybe even a baby store (pictured are bottle washers from an infant supply site)

 

http://c2.q-assets.com/images/products/p/dr/dr-006_1z.jpg

Edited April 12, 2015 by gweimer1

[squeakyao]

If there are any old, beat-up or broken "other brand" lever-fill pens available

 

Have you got any examples of "other brand" pens? For example, where I am right now it's a lot more easier to get pens from China, I was wondering if they've made any lever fill pens.

 

And the olive oil sounds great, I'll be sure to try that out! Thanks

[squeakyao]

@Gweimer,

 

I need to ask - are the bristles on those also made of steel? I'm worried about damaging the insides by brushing too vigorously and such.

 

Thanks for the suggestion!

[gweimer1]

@Gweimer,

 

I need to ask - are the bristles on those also made of steel? I'm worried about damaging the insides by brushing too vigorously and such.

 

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

Definitely not steel. Probably nylon.

[Tom Heath]

never too soon to start a part box , preferably by pen maker brand

 

If you are working on pens you will no doubt break a few along the way and gradually build a pen part inventory.

 

Esterbrooks are a good a place to learn as any.

 

From an Esty you can harvest, ( I like that word)

 

Both end jewels, the nib and section , the inner cap and sac protector bar the clip

 

Practice and patience are the by words here.

 

Do buy parts or parts pens when offered, vintage pens & Vintage parts go hand in hand

[CoCoPenny]

If anyone has a front section for an Estie J, I am in need. I broke one trying to pry it away from the barrel.

[ac12]

CoCo

Warning, that may be difficult to find. The reason is shrinkage. Over the decades, parts have shrunk. So the section from one pen may not fit the body of your pen. When Tom said "parts box" this is one of the things he meant. Having several sections, so you can test fit them to find one that will fit.

 

BTW, how did you "pry it away from the barrel" ?

[ac12]

Spare J-bars, ink sacs and replacement nib assemblies are available from Anderson Pens.

 

Do NOT soak the pen in water. Water will get into places where you will never be able to get it out.

Water + metal = rust or corrosion.

 

Clean the barrel dry. And the brush that gweimer posted looks good. You just need to find a small enough brush to go into the barrel to clean out the small particles. The larger pieces (pieces of the ink sac and broken J-bar) are more difficult to deal with. If you are lucky, they will shake and fall out.

[CoCoPenny]

Hee hee, I "pried" it using a section tool. What I didn't realize at the time, unfortunately, was that I needed to have the nib unit in the section when I did it. Lesson learned. My spare parts box may have just begun!

 

Thanks everyone for your help and advice. I shall heed it!

Edited May 12, 2015 by CoCoPenny

[ac12]

Section tool AKA spark plug wire tool, gives you way too much leverage on crushing the section. And the angle of the bend while fine for spark plug wires does not make sense to me for removing a section. It seems to me that it would be pretty hard to control the angle of motion, possibly risk cracking the barrel. But what do I know. I just use a 3 inch section of bicycle inner tube.

[CoCoPenny]

I am proud to say that with the aid of a truly wonderful Good Samaritan (who shall remain anonymous for the time being), I have successfully replaced the sac on my Esterbrook SJ! Thanks everyone for the advice and support.

 

Now I just have to work on aligning the nib with the lever!

Edited May 19, 2015 by CoCoPenny

[gweimer1]

Very nice!

[CoCoPenny]

Very nice!

Thanks again!

[welch]

I am proud to say that with the aid of a truly wonderful Good Samaritan (who shall remain anonymous for the time being), I have successfully replaced the sac on my Esterbrook SJ! Thanks everyone for the advice and support.

 

Now I just have to work on aligning the nib with the lever!

 

I've always wiggled the section off under hot tap water...with the nib-unit in place, of course. I've seen sections with various types of gunk -- dried ink, ex-shellac, who-knows-what. Hot water might be unnecessary, but it makes me feel better. Also found a few lever-pens that seemed to have been glued together.

 

Now do another Estie, since you've probably got extra sacs and shellac and such. Can't let the sacs just sit when there are three sizes of "ordinary" J-pens and about a half-dozen color patterns. And then there are the pastels, the nurse pens, and then the pens earlier than the typical J.

[CoCoPenny]

 

I've always wiggled the section off under hot tap water...with the nib-unit in place, of course. I've seen sections with various types of gunk -- dried ink, ex-shellac, who-knows-what. Hot water might be unnecessary, but it makes me feel better. Also found a few lever-pens that seemed to have been glued together.

 

Now do another Estie, since you've probably got extra sacs and shellac and such. Can't let the sacs just sit when there are three sizes of "ordinary" J-pens and about a half-dozen color patterns. And then there are the pastels, the nurse pens, and then the pens earlier than the typical J.

Thanks! I have become addicted to finding broken Esties to fix up now. I have 4 more to play with! I have one with a nib collar that is cracked. I read that I may be able to use a solvent to fill the crack. Any thoughts?