With a Touchdown (a TM Valiant in this case) is it acceptable to operate the Touchdown mechanism (pull out, immerse, push in) when the pen is not totally empty? I have a small amount of ink left in the pen (not a lot, but a little), and have found that the pen dries out faster and is a bit more irregular with low ink. Would it do any harm to do a fill, even though there's a little ink left? Or does the pen have to be totally empty to avoid damage? Thus far I've waited until empty to do fills (not the most convenient when you run out in the middle of something), and was wondering if this was necessary for the pen. Thanks





(Cross Posted to Sheaffer as well)

I have heard that you can damage a Sheaffer Vacfil by filling before it is empty but I haven't heard that about a snork or touchdown.

You can't damage a TD by operating the filling mechanism before the pen is empty. All that you are doing when you press the filler down is to compress the air inside the barrel, which in turn squeezes the sac. Same for a snorkel - except that with a snorkel you shouldn't pull the filler back with the pen in the ink. The vacuum that is created in the barrel could pull ink past the point holder gasket, which will then do nasty things to the spring (like rust) that's inside. I've had to repair a couple of pens where this happened shortly after restoration. It won't matter with a TD.

Frank Dubiel suggested that operating the filling mechanism on a vacuum filler Sheaffer might damage the pen because it could force ink past either the piston washer (which it does and should) or the packing unit. I don't know that it's an issue with a pen that has been properly restored with modern materials - the 0 ring for the packing end, and a urathane material for the piston washer. Both materials are pretty robust, so shouldn't be damaged. None that I have restored have had any problems....

Excellent- thank you for the replies. I saw them last night and did a fill before going to bed. It seems fine- and it will be ready to write today for sure. Thanks!

Pulling up the TD tube with the nib immersed on a TD pen will also draw ink into the barrel if the sac is bad (or just loose on the section -- I'd not do that.

I suspect this happens when the pen fails to fill correctly due to a hardened sac, but there is no source for new protectors other than a different TD pen....

Peter