Hello everyone!

I know I haven't been here since... well... two years ago really... but I have decided to JUMP into pen repair, and after being set up with ALL the widgets and gadgets needed (many, many thanks to Al Reppert last summer at the DC pen show) I tore into the dis-functional vintage pens in my desk. With high success. However.

One of the pens that hadn't been working for the longest time is my Sheaffer Touchdown. PenHero's page. I think that I might have killed it too. A few years ago I was trying to get the section off and I didn't have the right tools. I figured that it just needed loosening so I think I soaked it overnight. Mind you, the mechanism was working okay before this. A week later, the mechanism stops working and I can't get it to come out. I was stumped.

Two years later, when I have a kick-butt pair of pliers and a bit of (gentle) elbow grease, I pulled off the section to find... this sad, sad sight. I don't know if I want to describe it, but here goes. The entire inner metal tube is COMPLETELY rusted out. like, rust-dust rusted out. I'm not sure if the overnight soaking did it, or just gradual deterioration of the pen, but I am so, so sad about this! I'll try to get a picture up in a few days... I haven't downloaded anything off the camera yet. The outer chrome-y tube is relatively fine... I haven't ventured to peer inside of it though.

So my question is, how in the world would I go about *fixing* this... and is it even worth fixing?! Do I have to ditch the entire pen, and how in the world would I go about doing that? I mean, esterbrooks are simple enough, but this is pretty.. well, scary. Anyhow. Please give me your thoughts- I'll try to post a pic soon.

~Inchworm

When I read the part about soaking, I was already afraid this would follow ... sad pen

The best thing you can do is to try to clean out the inside of the barrel as much as possible. Fortunately TD pens are strong beasts You will need a new sac protector and a new TD tube. Replace the rusted parts, plus the O-ring and the little gaskets, and it should be OK again.

Oh yes, of course you need to grease the tube very lightly, and you should put a bit of talc powder on the rubber sac.

Hi Inchworm,
You said you "pulled off" the section above. Did you mean that you unscrewed it instead?
The section of a Sheaffer TD (Touchdown) should be threaded to connect to the nib unit (late edit: I meant "barrel" NOT "nib unit" there...Serves me right for posting so late... ).

Anyway, I agree with what jthole wrote above about cleaning the inside of the barrel as much as possible (because you want the TD tube to slide up and down inside the barrel very easily) and getting some new parts (sac protector tube, TD tube, O rings for the barrel and gaskets for the blind cap and nib assembly, new sac). When you do grease the TD tube, use 100% pure silicone grease. Compared to Sheaffer Snorkels, Touchdown fill(ers are a piece of cake, but I'm sure you can do it

Yes, I hope "pulled off" wasn't meant literally! I guess it was unscrewed. You would need quite some force to pull the section off (my guess, I never tried it of course).

Oh, and put a bit of rubber cement on the threads before you assemble the section again.

(Just wanted to say that I just did a late edit to my original post in this thread, to avoid any confusion; I meant the section should be threaded to connect to the barrel (not nib unit).

I usually try my TDs without sealant first-- so far I've only found one that was at all interested in it, while the others work merrily without. This has the charm of making access for future repairs dead easy. If a sealant is required, spend some (small) money on Tryphon's section seal. It's a little tricky to work with, but it does the job admirably, and it reasonably reversible.

On the subject of the lamentable pen-- pull out the bits, and try wiping down the protector with a little mineral oil to lift the rust. You'll need to properly clean and dry the thing afterwards to keep the oil from devouring sacs, but it might be recoverable. Worth a try, at least. I've has a couple of pretty manky-looking snorks that I brought around without apparent impending failure in this way.

Thanks for all the responses- lol- sorry about the misstype.. yes I unscrewed it. I may not be particularly mechanically gifted but I can figure that stuff out. I don't have mineral oil around here so I have to go get some... I've got to find a good cleaner other than hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol, I've got a pen that's got the icky sticker-residue on the threads.

I keep examining this thing though and I'm not sure how the section separates from the inner tube/sac. Does it unscrew, does it just pull off? I'm really stumped on this.
I poked a bit at the sac (since the end of it is visible at the end) and it is hard as a rock. So that'll need to be replaced. (but, haha! not a problem! I mastered the sac replacing last night!! )

Should I go shopping online for all these supplies? (sealant, etc.)

My version of the how-to. The parts can be had online and are mostly cheap-- I've never actually looked into a new protector, so this bland generalization doesn't extend to it.

That inner tube is called the sac protector. You should pull it off gently, and remove the sac from the inside. Scrape it as clean as possible! After you replaced the sac, you can carefully push the sac protector on again.

There are a couple of online suppliers for the O-rings and the gasket (the TD only has a gasket at the blind cap, not behind the nib unit, like the snorkel). I bought a whole lot of them from the late Father Terry, so I have no idea who sells them now.

Sticker residue can be removed using peanut butter.

Good luck!

A quick update:

Thanks so much for all the tips... I sucked it up and pulled off the sac protector (yay, I'm learning new terms! haha) and the sac was in such bad shape that it wasn't even attached to the section anymore LOL... it was crusted onto the inside of the protector. I cleaned that out though with a pick and I took a bit of sandpaper to take most of the outer rust off.
Will mineral oil really take off the rust? And I do have a question... would a bit of gun oil on the outside of the protector guard from further deterioration?

Anyhow. My next question would be how in the world do I get the rust in the inside out?

So... I wish that I could find time to download the pictures off my camera... after I pulled off the sac protector, the section is left with rust all over the nipple. What do I do about that?
Seems to me like this pen is a major cleanup job.. I'm just so torn because I really want to keep it away from water but it doesn't seem like I can do that. I don't have an ultrasonic cleaner, which would probably help at this point... oh well.
Perhaps taking a cool hair dryer to it after whatever cleaning I am supposed to do would get rid of the moisture.

anyways, this is the update... if you guys have any more handy ideas (the resourcefulness here is outstanding!!) tell me.
~Inchworm

No petroleum-based oils; they'll eat the sac, and even just the fumes in the barrel may hasten its demise.
When I had a rusted sac protector (albiet not a terrible one), I took a little bit of steel wool, twisted it so it would fit inside, then pushed it inside and twisted. I don't know that it got all of the rust out, but it cleaned up a good bit.

If it helps any- in my long experience with metals and rust, an overnight soak will not, by itself, usually cause massive rust to build. Usually the killer rust deposits (like the sort that cause disintegrations) are caused by a prolonged exposure to moisture or a corrosive liquid (certain inks will do this).