I bought a 5 dollar esterbrook pen at a pawnshop. However, when I try to open the lever to fill it, the lever only opens about 5-10 degrees before it stops. Is this normal behavior? I'm not just not sure if the filling mechanism is working or not. Thanks

Hi Gdr,

The thing that is probably stopping the lever's movement is an age hardened ink sac so the pen is non working rather than broken. The sac can easily be replaced and the pen returned to working order very quickly and easily. For $5.00 plus the price of an inksac and a few minutes work its still a good cheap pen, enjoy it.

Cheers, John

Check Richardspens.com for an article describing how to change a sack. The model pen is an esterbrook.

Note: if you put a little added pressure on the lever and you hear crunching, then it is a hardened ink sack.

Regardless, the sack should be replaced if you don't know the restoration history.

Ah, thank you! I pushed the lever and now it loosened with a sickening crunching sound.

However, the lever feels loose now and it won't lock into place. Where can I get a sac? I don't suppose they don't sell them at Wal-Mart

You can get an ink sac from Giovanni at Tryphon (catalog), or from Pendemonium.

Good luck!
Ann

You'll want a size 16 sac. You'll need to cut it to 2". You'll also need some shellac to glue the sac to the section nipple. All described on Richard's site, Da Book - or elsewhere in the Repair forum. See Pinned threads for reference sites.

Regards,

Gerry