I've been waxing lyrical about my brand new Yard O Led Viceroy Grand Barley fountain pen, so, naturally, I manage to bring the blight upon myself. The pen started leaking ink from the point of insertion of the converter to the nib assembly. The whole interior of the pen now becomes wet with ink. This started with Private Reserve 'Plum'. I have heard, anecdotally, that Private Reserve inks are prone to leak so I switched inks to no avail. I suppose this is not too much of a big deal, but, gosh, shouldn't an expensive pen be problem-free? Anyway, I sent an email off to Filofax, and they promptly responded advising me to send the pen to YOL, UK. So off it goes tomorrow, . I just bought a Pelikan 200 from Richard Binder to make up for the loss. I'm apt to wonder now if buying an expensive pen really makes sense.

Not to worry. I had a section leak in an aging Barley standard and the UK folks are the biz. About 6 weeks to 2 months from now you'll get back a posh, works like a dream, any parts needed to be replaced YOL in tip top working condition. I even got a nice note included from the tech who worked on mine explaining what was done and giving contact info. Sorry it had to happen on a new one. Mine waited over a decade to give trouble. This is one company that exhibited true lifetime warranty as my poor Barley was showing its age. Threw in a new nib assembly and I was back writing in no time.

Ah, thank you Ghost Plane, I feel reassured now. I'm not being sarcastic BTW!

Wanted to reassure you. It was only seeing YOL's famed warranty in action that induced me to lay out the big bucks for a Grand. I feel secure knowing they'll do that much w/o charge to a battered oldtimer.

You'll probably get a postcard from Filofax when it gets there confirming it's need for a sabbatical in the UK and giving you an approximate time to expect it back. Came well packaged too.

Interestingly, I had a similar issue. In my case I removed the converter, cleaned everything out and reseated the converter. No further problems. That, by the way, is as close as I get to pen repair. Hope your pen comes back soon.
gary

Ditto. I noticed yesterday after filling it, that it was slowly oozing ink from the converter union. Pulled the converter out, wiped everything down and re-seated the converter. Problem solved!

It should be noted the converter is held by the rubber nipple and friction, it does not screw or lock in. My guess is either the factory doesn't fully seat them or they jostle in shipment.

Either way, it is a quick fix!

When I sent my YOL of dubious parentage for a DNA check I also asked them to quote me on a service. They said that they had run out of parts and would return it as it was.

They were very quick to help me out but unfortunately couldn't go much further than confirm the provenance.

Wow. I think I'd better do what Gary suggests before I send this pen on a pilgrimage.

Hello,

Mine did not leak before I tried to remove it to use a syringe to fill it up.

In fact, I did not pushed the converter in enough.
So, make sure that you correctly insert it.

I've removed it again because I wanted to properly clean the whole pen.
So far, no problem...

Thanks. I cleaned and cleaned the innards till they shone like the sun, and I'm giving it another go. Much obliged to everyone if this works...

Still leaking. FedEx tomorrow.

I sent my YOL Grand Barley off to the Repair Department at Filofax in Wilton CT on January 28th. Bob Nurin in the Repair Department responded quickly to my inquiry.

The Grand Barley returned today with a note that indicates that a new section and converter were supplied, with my nib placed into the new section.

The service was quick and courteous; now to see whether it was also effective.

gary

I got the same treatment from Filofax. I haven't filled mine yet to see if it is up to par.

Sno, I had a YOL Viceroy Grand in the Victorian finish and rate it as one of the worst pens I have ever owned but a major plus with the pen was the back up I received from the company. I had two new nib/feed units fitted within six weeks due to leakage problem. I dealt direct with YOL and found them a joy to deal with.

Thing is I should not have had to considering the outlay on the pen.

Sold it and moved on.

I feel fortunate that my YOL Grand Viceroy has been so reliable. No leaks ever and daily use for long stretches.

Final report: pen still dry, writing as it should. A beautiful pen, an excellent writer. After the initial problem, excellent customer service, we're back in business.
gary

That's the customer service that induced me to keep buying their product. After what they managed to do for an elderly Barley Standard after years of heavy use, I was confident in them as a company for their newer, high end products.

WHY ME, O LORD??!! The nightmare continues. My pen was returned to me today via FedEx (which was very nice). The converter was replaced, and the nib 'nipple' adjusted. To my surprise, the pen was shipped back with the converter full of ink, some of which spilled out of the nib. Next, to my horror, the nib has been damaged, DAMAGED: as if the pen was dropped on the nib, and the tip is bent apart. What kind of jokers are these people? I suppose I have to pay $60USD now to send the pen back again. I should bloody well melt down the pen and use it for jewelry.

UPDATE: the replacement section, nib and converter are working as they should. Gone through one fill of Baystate Blue and one of Legal Lapis with no problems noted. All is as it should be.

I am still in shock that they could actually ship back a pen with a damaged nib. The only alternative I can think of is that the pen was was damaged by customs/Fed Ex. But the fact is I've had pens flying in to me from all over for weeks now, and all are in perfect condition.

I just used a pliers and a Toyo 40X loupe to re-align the tines, and reduced the mighty gap between them. Hopefully things should be a-okay providing something doesn't start leaking again. Perhaps Yard O Led can hire me at their factory. I don't know if service differs for Third World customers, but all-in-all, disgraceful service, and an expensive defective pen.

I'm inclined to think it got damaged in shipping as my experience differed mightily.

Sno, sorry to hear about your YOL difficulties.

I have an 18-year-old YOL that I let sit forever (I'm embarrassed to admit it sat for 10 years), but I started using it again this past year and it started leaking almost immediately. I zoned out on the lifetime guarantee part, and sent it to Richard Binder for repair. It's in tip-top shape again.

Thanks people. I hope it holds together. If it was damaged during shipping then somebody deliberately took it out of the hardwood box and bent the nib; nothing would surprise me these days. However, I really do have to wonder about YOL sending the pen back to me full of ink, which naturally made a nice lake inside the cap. I'm sorry to rain on the YOL parade because when everything works with this pen, writing is a dream. I therefore agree with Ghost Plane 100% about it being a wonderful pen, despite my apparent blight. Anyway, I was thinking about doing just what you did, coco: if anything else comes up with the pen, I'll send it to The Man, Richard Binder.

Interim, I would e-mail Bob Nurin or whomever did the work [there should've been a letter in with your pen saying what was done] and let them know what happened, including the ink in the pen episode. I know they ink up and test after the work is done, so I'm betting somebody packed and shipped out of order.

Thanks, yes, I've sent three emails already. Lots of angst and stuff in them. I'd also like to know what ink they put in the pen; it's a really nice blue-black. YOL blue-black, I wonder?

I feel your pain. I missed my baby while it was gone and I didn't know the repair reputation at the time [hadn't found this place yet], so I was in terrible withdrawal from my old darling.

This is a tad worrying to say the least. I just bought a baby Viceroy Pocket Barley and it looks so beautiful! The pictures don't do it justice at all. I hope my pen doesn't leak like its big brothers...

Hi, I recently got a Grand Victorian and experienced leaks and a piston that moves with the ink inside the converter and would like to know what people saw inside the section where the converter goes. As people have advised me that it's either a faulty converter or just simply that I did not install the converter tight enough, I took a look and saw some white stuff around the inside of the front section. Is this normal or should I attempt to clean that out and try again? Thanks!

Leo

Hmm... White stuff? Can you describe the white stuff? Not to cause you panic, but is it mold?

Have several YOL pens: Imperial Dragon LE, two Viceroy Victorians (standard and pocket), and a Retro; none have ever developed a leak.

The white stuff I'm talking about does not appear to be mold, but rather resembles one of those sealants.

Mine doesn't have white inside. And I have had section leaks before, but usually after long use. That was how I discovered their lovely customer service.

I think I'll go clean the nib section up a bit, pull the converter out and use the pen as a ED.

Warning. While it will work that way, I'm cleaning mine out. It didn't occur to me to think about corrosion issues.

If I were you, I'd contact Filofax and send it in for repairs. It'll be out of rotation a couple of months if it needs to vacation in the UK, but mine came back perfection itself after a section replacement [the standard that had a section leak].

I think I'll try to clean out that white sealant looking thing in the section first. See how that works. Then look up the physical properties of silver and see what makes it corrode.