Another newbie question:

I sent in a couple of Sheaffer pens to be restored and just learned to my horror that both have cracked barrels! To my untrained eyes they looked fine. Here is my newbie question:

I have an Estie J that seems to work fine, so I didn't send it in to be restored. Might its barrel be cracked as well and perhaps I haven't noticed?

I just checked out the exterior of the pen body (the "barrel," no?) carefully and see no cracks, but perhaps this is something that is not easily visible. Would there be other symptoms?

Esterbrooks have a habit of cracking in the barrel (or body) threads and at the cap lip. If your section (the black gripping part) is tight and doesn't wobble then your Estie is most likely not cracked. To find a cap lip crack gently run your fingernail along the edge and it you find a catch look for a crack there.

All pens suffer from cracks and some are notorious for them. The Pastel series suffers from cap lip cracks and the early V-clips and $1.50 pens tend to have issues. Many cracks in an Esterbrook can be repaired. The issue is often cost. On a common Esterbrook, it is more cost effective to find a new cap or barrel than it is to repair the crack. If you have Morocco Red V-Clip you fix the crack.

Crack repair can be a gamble. If the crack is the result of shrinkage once the gap is closed, the mating parts may not fit correctly. Cracks in threads have problems with alignment and after repair the threads may need to be chased to clean them up.

If your pen works as is, I wouldn't worry about it.

Hope this helps,

Todd

Thanks again Todd. Well, a close examination shows no cracks in my Estie. But it seems my two Sheaffers were visibly cracked and I didn't notice. Fortunately are in good hands.