So I have some vintage pens...
A few are in writing shape; I think my Esterbrook would still write if I put ink in it right now; anyway, they all need a cleaning. I've searched office supply shops and stationers for pen cleaner but it as yet eludes me. My girlfriend tells me to use plain rubbing alcohol but I'm honestly worried I might damage the workings of the pens as while they might not hold great monitary value (The Sheaffer's seems downright cheap!) they are of great sentimental value because they were my grandmother's. So what should I use to clean a pen? One was in use until a couple years ago and the others have all been out of service for anywhere from probably at least two decades (The Parker 51 and Sheaffer's) to probably the better part of a century (The Parker Duofold and the no-name gaudy pen). How do I clean these?
Also, I have two bottles of ink (for the pens that require it; the Shaeffer's is a cartridge fill and Shaeffer cartridges are readily available and I have some on hand). One is Sheaffer "Skrip" ink, the other is Waterman. Is one clearly superior to the other? Both are pretty old, but I used to use the Waterman in high school so as of about 5 years ago it was writing well. The Sheaffer ink is what would be described as "New Old Stock", forgotten in a desk drawer decades ago. So does ink go wrong, and if so how long does it take to do so? Should I fill these pens with ink on hand (I might be able to turn up some Parker ink as well) or procure new ink, and in either case is there a clear prefference?
So now on to the hard question... Two of the pens are in non-writing shape: The Duofold (I believe it to be a 1928 model, it is fat and black like the orriginal red Duofolds and AFAIK black was only available in 1928 and they changed after that) is in poor shape; the plunger under the end cap has a bad feel to it; judging by diagrams I have seen of these pens I'd say the little rubber diaphraghm is probably done for (no surprise after 80 years!). I have no idea if it writes; I can get the tip out with some difficulty (it doesn't have threads, it's fritction fit VERY tightly) and could in theory fill it with ink with a syringe or similar instrument and see if it will write, but that'd be useless until I clean it... Also there is no breather tube attached to the tip as shown in the diagram but I'm not sure of the assembly exactly so it may be as it's supposed to be.
The "no-name pen" is an average sized pen; its cross-section would form a decagon; it is a lever fill and the clip, lever, and cap decoration are all gold. The only markings are on the clip (PAT'D) and the nib ("WARRANTED" and "14K" although if it was ever gold in color or actual material it's now horribly black and tarnished). The plastic it's made of has a marbled appearance of black and white-grey (The white-grey elements almost wanting to be mother-of-pearl) with red highlights. This pen's ink bladder went hard ages ago and crumbled to dust inside the barrel. Can it be saved or is it even worth saving?
I'll try to be fairly brief - others will chime in later in the day, I'm sure...
You're a lucky person to have heirlom pens. I think these are treasures!
First - no alcohol on or in pens. It has a place in restorations, but a very limited one. Pen cleaner (I like Kooh-i-noor RapidoEze) can be found in art supply stores that sell "technical" pens (stylographs). As an alternative, ammonia and water, mixed to a 1:10 or 1:20 ratio can make an acceptable cleaner. Plain water is frequently all that's needed to clean the inner workings, if given time to act. If the pen will fill with water, do so and then let it sit nib down in a small container (pill bottle) of water. Just keep the water level barely above the point where the nib fits into the section (don't soak the whole pen). Flush again after a couple of days of soaking. If the sac is intact, this may be all that's needed for your Esterbrook and Sheaffer (which may be a "school pen").
Ink... Old ink should be okay, but needs to pass a couple of tests: 1) No mold or really bad smells 2) No solids in the bottom of the bottle. NOS vintage ink can be wonderful stuff. If you do turn up some Parker ink, just make sure it's not Parker "51" ink, or Superchome ink as both can be rather bad (corrosive) for your pens.
Okay, the "harder" questions... First, the Duofold is a nice pen, and does have a significant monetary value (it's not the Mona Lisa, but it's a nice pen). I'd suggest that you not pull the nib and feed from the section, as this is an easy way to break the feed or section, or to crack the nib. 1920's Duofold nibs were made of a 14K alloy that was more easily cracked than later nibs. The button under the blind cap connects to a presser bar that depresses a sac inside when pushed. As you said, the sac has most likely perished and requires replacement. I'd not try this pen as an eyedropper - correct restoration is in order. If the presser bar is bad it can be easily replaced, as can the sac. I'd suggest going for a professional restoration if you've never done this work before. These heirlooms worth it. The "no-name" pen is kind of hard to identify without a picture. Again, this should be easy to restore, but I'd leave it to someone that has done it before.
Sacs and most internal parts are readily available. There are many on this list that restore pens, and would be competent to look after these treasures. Several of us restore pens, but don't advertise. Others do such work full-time. Price, quality of work, and turn around time are all variables. No matter who does the work, don't hesitate to ask for references, price estimates, and time estimates before you send these off for repair.
Oh, and your Parker "51"... If this is an Aerometric filler (as opposed to a Vacumatic), it may just need simple flushing to be useable. Here's a good reference that will help you to determine which type you have: Richard's P51 Profile.
Cheers,
Tom
You're a lucky person to have heirlom pens. I think these are treasures!
First - no alcohol on or in pens. It has a place in restorations, but a very limited one. Pen cleaner (I like Kooh-i-noor RapidoEze) can be found in art supply stores that sell "technical" pens (stylographs). As an alternative, ammonia and water, mixed to a 1:10 or 1:20 ratio can make an acceptable cleaner. Plain water is frequently all that's needed to clean the inner workings, if given time to act. If the pen will fill with water, do so and then let it sit nib down in a small container (pill bottle) of water. Just keep the water level barely above the point where the nib fits into the section (don't soak the whole pen). Flush again after a couple of days of soaking. If the sac is intact, this may be all that's needed for your Esterbrook and Sheaffer (which may be a "school pen").
Ink... Old ink should be okay, but needs to pass a couple of tests: 1) No mold or really bad smells 2) No solids in the bottom of the bottle. NOS vintage ink can be wonderful stuff. If you do turn up some Parker ink, just make sure it's not Parker "51" ink, or Superchome ink as both can be rather bad (corrosive) for your pens.
Okay, the "harder" questions... First, the Duofold is a nice pen, and does have a significant monetary value (it's not the Mona Lisa, but it's a nice pen). I'd suggest that you not pull the nib and feed from the section, as this is an easy way to break the feed or section, or to crack the nib. 1920's Duofold nibs were made of a 14K alloy that was more easily cracked than later nibs. The button under the blind cap connects to a presser bar that depresses a sac inside when pushed. As you said, the sac has most likely perished and requires replacement. I'd not try this pen as an eyedropper - correct restoration is in order. If the presser bar is bad it can be easily replaced, as can the sac. I'd suggest going for a professional restoration if you've never done this work before. These heirlooms worth it. The "no-name" pen is kind of hard to identify without a picture. Again, this should be easy to restore, but I'd leave it to someone that has done it before.
Sacs and most internal parts are readily available. There are many on this list that restore pens, and would be competent to look after these treasures. Several of us restore pens, but don't advertise. Others do such work full-time. Price, quality of work, and turn around time are all variables. No matter who does the work, don't hesitate to ask for references, price estimates, and time estimates before you send these off for repair.
Oh, and your Parker "51"... If this is an Aerometric filler (as opposed to a Vacumatic), it may just need simple flushing to be useable. Here's a good reference that will help you to determine which type you have: Richard's P51 Profile.
Cheers,
Tom
So here they are. Sorry about the bad photo, I take better than this but it's 3:30 AM and I'm just hoping to have some info when I wake up 
The Sheaffer's, The Esterbrook, The Parkers and the Mystery pen... forgot to take the butt cap off the Duofold.
When I said the "nib" on the Duofold I didn't mean I pulled out the metal nib itself, but the whole plastic end of the pen in wich it is mounted. I assumed it was the type with the small rubber diaphraghm but if it was to have had a sac then indeed it is probably useless.
The Sheaffer's, The Esterbrook, The Parkers and the Mystery pen... forgot to take the butt cap off the Duofold.
When I said the "nib" on the Duofold I didn't mean I pulled out the metal nib itself, but the whole plastic end of the pen in wich it is mounted. I assumed it was the type with the small rubber diaphraghm but if it was to have had a sac then indeed it is probably useless.
OK, so: the Sheaffer is a cartridge filler. You probably do not have to do anything difficult to get using this one: just remove the old cartridge and clean the pen with cold tap water (if it is clogged some soaking of the nib part might be necessary; if it is really badly clogged, an ammonia solution as mentioned above might help). If you can blow air through the pen, you're ready. If the nib is intact, just put in a fresh cartridge and write.
With the Parker 51, the case is probably similar. It is an aerometric type, these usually do not require any servicing in their first 50 years. Just clean the nib & feed part with cold water (you might fill the pen with water as well, and soak it the nib for a few minutes). If the sac is OK (its material is pretty resistant to age and corrosion, this is the only pen that withstood Parker 51 ink), and the nib is intact, youre ready.
The Duofold: this seems to be a really nice pen. I advise you not to try using it as an eyedropper. It would leak badly, and ink would corrode the metal parts in its barrel. On the other hand, most restorers are familiar with Duofolds, and if restored, they are wonderful writers, those who have them claim that they're better than their modern versions.
The Esterbrook and the mistery pen: I do not know much about theese, but if the nibs are intact, I would be sure that they're worth resacking.
With the Parker 51, the case is probably similar. It is an aerometric type, these usually do not require any servicing in their first 50 years. Just clean the nib & feed part with cold water (you might fill the pen with water as well, and soak it the nib for a few minutes). If the sac is OK (its material is pretty resistant to age and corrosion, this is the only pen that withstood Parker 51 ink), and the nib is intact, youre ready.
The Duofold: this seems to be a really nice pen. I advise you not to try using it as an eyedropper. It would leak badly, and ink would corrode the metal parts in its barrel. On the other hand, most restorers are familiar with Duofolds, and if restored, they are wonderful writers, those who have them claim that they're better than their modern versions.
The Esterbrook and the mistery pen: I do not know much about theese, but if the nibs are intact, I would be sure that they're worth resacking.
Thanks!
The Esterbrook is in fine shape, it just needs a cleaning. I cleaned it with water when I first got it, I'll do it again. You're quite correct, the sac of the 51 is in good shape as well, very springy and resilient. I'll clean it too and report back. I'll post photos of the mystery pen in the appropriate forums. Thanks all!
The Esterbrook is in fine shape, it just needs a cleaning. I cleaned it with water when I first got it, I'll do it again. You're quite correct, the sac of the 51 is in good shape as well, very springy and resilient. I'll clean it too and report back. I'll post photos of the mystery pen in the appropriate forums. Thanks all!
Updates!
The Esterbrook, after simply rinsing the nib, is its old self! Didn't even have to fill it, the ink I last put in it years ago flowed freely and it writes beautifully, like it always did.
The cheap Sheaffer's impressed me, I cleaned it with cold water, blew out the nib and was rewarded with a blue splatter in the sink, even though the pen hadn't been used I'd imagine in well over 20 years at the least as it was in the drawer I took it from even in my childhood and I only tried to write with it not five minutes ago. Apparently ink in a pen must take decades to dry up. It produces a line so amazingly fine that I'm going to start using it with frequency. I didn't think a fountain pen could produce a line so amazingly fine! It's honestly about as fine as my ceramic-nib Japanese-made archival drafting marker, if not finer!
The Parker "51" was another story. It cleaned up OK (it too still had some ink in it!) and drew ink just fine (lots of bubbles) but at first stedfastly refused to feed ink. A few pages of drawing lines had it writing pretty well, but it probably needs a soaking to be as good as I think such a renowned pen should be.
The two pens in need of repair I decided to dip and see how they wrote. I am definitely repairing the Duofold; it has a very smooth feel to it and feels great in the hand. The nib on the mystery pen, on the other hand, when looked at through a lens, is crooked, and if you tweak it so the blades sit side-by-side and then write with it, you can hear it tearing up the paper. (So often this sound is used in movies when someone is writing with a fountain pen, but as far as my limited knowledge of the subject goes, and correct me if I'm wrong, but if you can hear it tearing paper, you're doing it wrong.) Since the individual blades of the nib want to sit more on top of one-another than side-by-side, I'm not quite sure what to do here. Thoughts?
The Esterbrook, after simply rinsing the nib, is its old self! Didn't even have to fill it, the ink I last put in it years ago flowed freely and it writes beautifully, like it always did.
The cheap Sheaffer's impressed me, I cleaned it with cold water, blew out the nib and was rewarded with a blue splatter in the sink, even though the pen hadn't been used I'd imagine in well over 20 years at the least as it was in the drawer I took it from even in my childhood and I only tried to write with it not five minutes ago. Apparently ink in a pen must take decades to dry up. It produces a line so amazingly fine that I'm going to start using it with frequency. I didn't think a fountain pen could produce a line so amazingly fine! It's honestly about as fine as my ceramic-nib Japanese-made archival drafting marker, if not finer!
The Parker "51" was another story. It cleaned up OK (it too still had some ink in it!) and drew ink just fine (lots of bubbles) but at first stedfastly refused to feed ink. A few pages of drawing lines had it writing pretty well, but it probably needs a soaking to be as good as I think such a renowned pen should be.
The two pens in need of repair I decided to dip and see how they wrote. I am definitely repairing the Duofold; it has a very smooth feel to it and feels great in the hand. The nib on the mystery pen, on the other hand, when looked at through a lens, is crooked, and if you tweak it so the blades sit side-by-side and then write with it, you can hear it tearing up the paper. (So often this sound is used in movies when someone is writing with a fountain pen, but as far as my limited knowledge of the subject goes, and correct me if I'm wrong, but if you can hear it tearing paper, you're doing it wrong.) Since the individual blades of the nib want to sit more on top of one-another than side-by-side, I'm not quite sure what to do here. Thoughts?
R.O.,
Good work getting the Estie and Sheaffer back up to speed again! It's great that you're writing with them already.
You're right; an extended soak and flush should make your Aerometric "51" write well again.
The Duofold is a nice pen. Certainly worth the cost of restoration.
The nib on the mystery pen can probably be straightened. If you can hear it tearing paper when you write with it, it's not aligned correctly. Sometimes it's possible to align nibs using only gentle fingertip pressure. Go slow; if it won't get there, leave it for someone with experience and the right tools.
Cheers,
Tom
Good work getting the Estie and Sheaffer back up to speed again! It's great that you're writing with them already.
You're right; an extended soak and flush should make your Aerometric "51" write well again.
The Duofold is a nice pen. Certainly worth the cost of restoration.
The nib on the mystery pen can probably be straightened. If you can hear it tearing paper when you write with it, it's not aligned correctly. Sometimes it's possible to align nibs using only gentle fingertip pressure. Go slow; if it won't get there, leave it for someone with experience and the right tools.
Cheers,
Tom
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