What a wonderful surprise I just had!

I visited with my Aunt over Christmas and she has just dug out from one of her cupboards an old pen - she thinks has never been used - when she used to work for a Stationers many many years ago - probably about 60! - and she sent it to me in the post!!

It is a Burnham No 44 - and she even sent it in the little cardboard box that it came in saying "A Burnham Pen" which has the filling and cleaning instructions on the back!

The Pen is very glossy and is grey, plum and black cracked ice pattern and the nib says "Burnham, Medium, S20". It has a lever fill which won't move - I don't want to force it! I don't know anything more about this pen - it's very petite though and I just had to dip it in some ink to try it out - it writes very smoothly!!

Where would be the best place to get it restored? I'm guessing it would only need a new sac - if that is what it uses? (can you tell I'm new to this!!??).

Any help would be gratefully received.

This is a wonderful gift from my favourite Aunt and I would love to be able to use it!!

Chris.

I have one of those! It is green/black/gray cracked ice.

The section screws into the barrel with a standard right-hand thread. Mine was not shellacked in place. I could just unscrew it and have a look at the sac. If yours is hardened, you can replace it with a No. 16 cut to 2 1/4".

Sorry, I don't know any penmeisters in the UK.

This is a really nice little pen. It writes very well.

Paddler

Oh yes, it was a bit stiff but did unscrew - whew! - and you are right - inside I can see debris in the barrel which I guess is the hardened sac. I don't know how all that would be removed?....plus, I presume a No.16 is a new rubber sac - how does it fix to the nib end? - actually quite interested now in wondering if this is something that I could do myself successfully??

Many thanks.

You have already done the hard part, probably. You just chip the remains of the sac out of the barrel, being careful not to damage the pressure bar under the lever. Sometimes the hardened rubber parts just fall out. Sometimes some of the old rubber sac will adhere to the inside of the barrel and must be chipped free. A small assortment of dental picks or a jeweler's screwdriver can be used.

The remains of the hardened sac must also be scraped from the nipple at the back of the section. Do this carefully so you don't scrape a flat place on the nipple. A flat may cause an ink leak later. A small knife is handy for this. Oddly enough, a rather dull knife sometimes works better than a sharp one for this task.

Sac diameters are measured in 64ths of an inch. A No. 16 sac is 16/64" in diameter. Using kitchen arithmetic, that is 1/4." I don't know where you can obtain sacs in the UK. I get mine from the Pen Sac Company in Carlsbad, California. I think your pen needs a sac 2 1/4" long. You should check the length; Burnham may have made different length barrels for this model. The sac doesn't need to be necked or tapered - use just a straight sac. Buy one too long and then cut it to size. There is no mystery to getting the length right; you just don't want the sac to hit bottom in the barrel and then kink or twist when you insert the section all the way.

You install the new sac by spreading a drop of shellac on the nipple and just a bit of shellac around the mouth of the sac. Then slip the mouth of the sac all the way onto the nipple and let it dry there for a few hours. The diameter of the sac is smaller than the diameter of the nipple. You start one side and then push it all the way on. The sac will stretch. Coat the outside of the sac with powdered talc, and reassemble your pen.

I think Richard Binder's web site has more explicit directions for replacing a sac. If you have never done this repair before, it can help to read two or three different procedures for it until you can visualize everything with your mind's eye. Patience is your friend here. Find links to all this in the pinned topic at the top of Repair Q&A.

Congratulations on getting a very nice pen!

Paddler

Thank you Paddler for such a detailed explanation - makes it seem almost do-able for someone like myself!! I guess shellac is a special kind of glue?...is it easy to come by?...known by any other name that I could go and buy in the stores?

I would love to try to repair this pen myself - almost don't want to send it off anywhere now it is in my possession! - on the other hand, I don't want to risk damaging the pen or "bodging" the job!.....

UPDATE........

I HATE MYSELF NOW! I was reading a piece on a web site about how to remove the sac - using tweezers to get inside the barrel and pull the remains out - I tried this, but as I was doing so (using fine ordinary tweezers) - a piece of the pen barrel (the screw bit) flew off - it's broken! - just a smallish chip about 1/4" and I still have it - do you think this can be repaired??? - I feel utterly awful about this and just want to turn back time so that I could prevent myself from "fiddling" - should have left it to the experts!!!.....what do you think?

Don't hate yourself. It is just lousy luck. Don't beat yourself up by saying, "If only . . ." If only your grandmother had wheels, she would be a trolley car.

Save the pieces and see what a professional pen restorer has to say. It may be repairable. You need to talk to someone with experience in fixing this kind of problem.

Paddler

Hi,

Probably too late now, but if you need this type of repair in future, you could try here.

http://www.penpractice.com/page2.html

I have used Laurence for a Vac and a couple of CS leverfills and have also bought a couple of pens on Ebay that the sellers claim had been repaired by him. All work very well and I am about to send a button fill Mentmore to him for repair.

There are other reputable repairers but having tried Laurence and found he is very reliable I will stick with him.

Andy

You are right, of course, and I have put it down to bad luck and feel better now that I am resolved to having to send it to someone professional to get it fixed - thank you for your common sense!....and sense of humour - you made me laugh out loud!

Thanks Andy, I shall be in need of a repairer now, so may well approach Laurence to see what he has to say about my dilemma!

Hi penlady, Try Jim Marshall...Pen and Pencil Gallery. He is in your neck of the woods... The Pen Museum Peter Twydle might help too. TTFN