I just purchased a beautiful grey SJ.
There is a gap between the section and the barrel slightly wider than a 1/16 inch. It is not an open gap but rather the raised edge of the section is not flush with the barrel. It is perfectly symmetrical all the way around.
The cap is also completely on in 3/4 of a turn.
This is different than all of my J's.
Is this normal for the SJ's or do I need to send it somewhere to be fixed?
I have not inked it yet (but I want to) in case I need to send it out.
Thanks for you input

I've got several SJ's and they don't have that gap, if I'm understanding you right.

I've noticed that several of my J/SJ/LJ models don't require as much turning as others to get the cap tight--and I've bought all of mine from dealers, restored. All of mine are double-jewel if that helps. I just figured it's a variation in manufacture, though I like the security of more spins.

Although seeing the problem would make it easier to judge, I suspect that the section has been replaced, or removed and not fully inserted in the barrel. This may also contribute to your cap not taking much rotation to full closed.

The actual stop (forward motion of cap on the barrel) is provided by the front of the section coming into contact with the inner cap. If the section is not fully inserted into the barrel, it meets the inner cap earlier so you need less cap rotation to get there. Just trying this out on a pen I have handy - a J - I see that the cap advances about 1/16" with about 1/4 revolution, so the gap you have would account for another 1/4 turn when corrected.

Why not see if you can remove the section clean it, and fit it properly into the barrel?

Regards,

Gerry

I had this problem on one of mine, and it was because somehow the section was a tiny bit too wide for the barrel. When I filed down the part of the section that goes into the barrel a little bit it fit properly.

I tried twisting it to see if it would budge and it does not.
it sounds like I should send it to someone to get repaired.

A professional repairer is the right answer I think.

Further pressure may result in a split barrel as recounted by another current thread and the split "J" barrel which lives in my "Failed repairs" box.

regards
Jim

The other concern here as I've found out on two of my pens is that the feed neck (the black thing the sack attaches to and the nib screws into) can be very fragile. I've broken two of them, one on removal and one on installation of a tight fit.

Stephen