Hi,

I have a cartridge pen with a flat-topped metal cap. The pen has a ring that fits on the barrel lip that acts as a clutch ring. When I got the pen, the ring was stuck inside of the cap. Could anyone figure out how to get it out?

Whenever this hapened to me before on my other pens, I was able to get it out successfully, but this one is stuck.

Dillon

Hey Dillon,

If the ring isn't TOO stuck in there, you might be able to get it out with just a paper clip and a needle nose pliers. Use the pliers to make a very small hook with the paper clip; you should be able to grab onto the edge of the ring with the paper clip hook and pull it out.

Good luck!

TMann

Hi,

Since the inner cap butts up with the lip of the ring, I cannot do this.

Can anyone find someone who could wrestle out that little ring for me?

Dillon

Weird...like, someone capped the pen without the section screwed into the barrel? I can't imagine how that ring could come off in the cap otherwise (unless your Sheaffer's CP is different than the ones I have).

I would suggest getting a pair of twweezers that have tapered edges, bend each edge outwards 1/16" - 1/8" from the bottom, then use your new ring removal tool to slide the tapered end between the ring and blind cap, press the tweezer ends apart (to get a good grip on opposite edges of the ring, and tug! You can do it.

Hi,

I suppose that is what happened. I almost lost the ring on my Reacktor (The new cartridge pen--not the one we are talking about) this way. I hooked up the ring, but it refuses to budge. I will take a risk now and use penetrating oil.

Dillon

Hi,

Gerry was kind enough to free the ring.

Thanks Gerry!!! I was so desperate.

Dillon

Dillon, I use super glue and glue those rings onto the barrel of my vintage Sheaffer cartridge pens, after having hubby work & work to extract stuck rings. When I'm soaking the nibs I usually do put the cap back onto the barrel, which in my case is how they got stuck.

Best, Ann

Hi,

I asked Gerry to stick the rings on with sac shellac with the release temperature of 140 degrees. Hopefully that keeps the rings from getting stuck again.

I am kind of afraid of super glue.

Dillon

So, how did Gerry extract the stuck ring?

Hi,

Honestly, I dont know. It won't hurt to ask.

Gerry, are you willing to tell us how you did it?

Dillon

It was an interesting effort - as it was much more tightly lodged in there than any I've ever seen. At first I tried the usual dental picks - but that didn't budge it. Moved on to heat in case it was perhaps shellacked in place or perhaps the expansion of the plastic might loosen it. Tried a penetrating lubricant that is safe for rubber and plastic - still no luck.

Here's probably the place for a good set of inner cap removers - which I don't have. Mine are homemade, and intended for - well inner caps only.

So the answer appeared to be in applying a little more force than possible with the usual picks and bent paperclips. I took a pair of small needlenose pliers (the type with a spring in the handle to keep them open, and using a torch heated the tips so I could bend the last 1/4 inch of the ends out at right angles to the pliers. I then ground them to fairly flat, but pointed ears that had a slight downward angle to them (ie a little more than 90 degrees). I then hardened the tips again for strength, and used them like a puller to pull the ring out. It took a fairly firm pull; surprisingly, with a rocking action to get it started. I'll probably modify the pliers to allow a screw adjustment to force them open a little harder than the force the spring provides to provide a firm grip. Some means of using a screw to apply a pulling force to the cap would also be a nice feature, but likely not easily accomplished.

So now, I'm equipped to remove those little devils way better than I was previously.

PS, I was going to suggest SuperGlue myself Dillon, but you did specifically request sac cement - which you got. Just remember it isn't as strong, so I still recommend always having the section screwed in if placing the cap on the barrel.

Regards

Gerry

Hi,

I know it is kind of weak, but it is undoable. No wonder that ring would not budge! The thing was lodged really tightly. It used to clip on the lip of the cartridge pen section, so I did not discover that it was there.

Thanks again for getting the little devil out.

Dillon

Great job, Gerry! Very creative solution...
Any job that would require me to create a tool for pen repair means that I should probably not do it myself