Last Monday I won a pale green Esterbrook J on Ebay. I'm new to buying vintage pens and new to Ebay, and I've realized since that there were things I should have looked for and questions to ask before I bought the pen. But I deliberately kept my bid lower than adrenaline prompted me to set it, and I don't think I did awfully bad. I got the pen for about $18 including shipping.

The description of the pen on Ebay said it had no cracks, chips, scratches, etc., and it writes. What I didn't realize until I did some reading on FPN is that the sac could be old an near breaking down even if it could be filled and write temporarily. I also saw information on FPN about flushing pens from Ebay to clean and test them.

My questions are what should I do to prepare the pen for writing when I get it and what should I do if the sac breaks while I'm flushing the pen or filling it? I understand it would be good to replace the sac on the assumption it isn't new and may break, but I have never done any pen repairs. I'm tempted to get into it someday, but it won't be soon.

Thanks for any advice.

There's plenty of advice on how to do it & how to select the right sac size etc its something I think I should learn/ relearn to do & I'm about to have a go when the sacs arrive. If I make a mess of it I'll consider sending it off for a repair. Its all about gaining a bit of extra knowledge. I don't think you should be frightened of having a crack at it. Richard Binder's site has some info as well as others.

One of the first things you should do is to remove the section and look at and feel the sac. Is it soft and flexible, or hard and brittle? That will be your first clue as to whether the sac might be safely used. Many people will not use an old sac and will replace it, but most Esterbrook sacs are still in very good condition. If it feels soft and flexible, stick it in some water and fill it up before you put it in the pen (you can do this by squeezing it). Let it set overnight and check for leaks. If it does not leak, it's probably safe to use. You will probably want to replace the sac eventually, but at least you can use your new pen in the mean time!

Also, make sure you unscrew the nib and soak it in some cold water. This will remove any old ink that dried in it and will make it work much better.

Exactly what he said. Congrats on your new pen!

And then there is the other side of the coin...

(Confessional post to follow...)

I really like the Esties, but I have the mechanical aptitude of a small appliance bulb. My one redeeming
mechanical skill is to know when, if I do *one* more thing, I'll sc**w it up beyond all repair. (Actually,
I guess I could have a worse one skill...)

Putting about 300k miles on 5 different motorcycles and making it home all the time on them has helped
some but I still don't have a lot of self-confidence in my mechanical skills. (Tonight, I have even less...)

I would really also like to score some poor Ebay Estie orhpan and resac it, maybe polish 'er up some and
give it a new home.

Recent developments have me wondering if I am up to that even more than before...

I am just getting back into FP's and was lucky enough to get a beautiful restored Pearl Gray SJ from Todd
(Toulouse). Having no idea what ink I'd like, I also got a 4 pack sampler from Pear Tree. I'm loading the
pen with a small eardropper til I figure out what I like enough to get a whole bottle of.

The first time I went to pull the nib, dummy me inadvertantly turned the whole filler section around some.
That of course twisted the sac some and gave me my first good dose of blue/black fingertips alot sooner than
I'd hoped. I pulled the nib/sac section out most of the way, got it untwisted and back together fine.

Well, almost fine.

I go to try my second ink sample tonight which of course, entails me flushing the pen. All goes ok this time,
the pen flushes fine and I get new ink in without having to pull the sac section again. Unfortunately, now, there
is the slightest amount of floppage with the fill lever not staying tight against the barrel like it should

This nesessitates my eleventy nineteenth eedeeit noob email to Todd. (Thank God he has the patience of Job...)

Since he knows my J-bar was in good condition just a couple weeks ago, he thinks I most likely moved it out
of alignment when I pulled the sac section to get it untwisted. Then he tells me that to really get it right again,
the J-bar needs to come out and I (ESPECIALLY ME) might bend it up even more taking it out...I'll probably have to
end up sending it back to him for him to fix my sc**w-up.

(head in hands. SIGH...)

So...maybe I will try and work on one someday soon. I'd *really* like to. But I'll be dam**d if I'm going to try
and work^H^H^H^sc**w up even more, a basically brand new Estie that Todd has already put into tip-top
shape for me.

So, those of you here who can use tools without sticking yourself in the face with them, (and do such great jobs restoring these pens) should be very thankful for that gift.

Some of us aren't so blessed.

Bruce in Ocala, FL

Don't be too hard on yourself Bruce.... I'm willing to bet there isn't a one of us that hasn't mucked up a pen at least once. Plus, I don't think you've done any major harm.

If the section was that easy to twist, it probably should have been tighter in the first place .. something I can correct along with the jbar.

Todd

And now the other Todd.

Like Todd said, don't be to hard on yourself if you break a pen or two along the way. Yeah it can be painful but it happens--the trick is we just don't tell people about the ones that got away that often. Esterbrooks and the 2 buck Wearever make great pens to learn basic repairs on and we sort of encourage that now and then. The days of finding 50 cent Esties are likely gone for ever so the tuition price has gone up on pen repair. Just don't start out on that red Visumaster or the yellow ice dollar pen you found at the local flea market for 5 dollars...

Some day I'll start a thread of the worst Esterbrook disasters. I'm sure several of us have more than one...

Todd

Yeah, it wouldn't perturb me near as bad to mess up some $10-15 diamond in the rough rescued out of the dusty
hellhole of some stuck shut desk drawer from Ebay. Taking a chance on wrecking a beautiful essentially brand
new Estie from Todd (Toulose) is something altogether different.

I'm sure I'll still attempt an "orphan rescue", I just had hoped things would have gone a bit smoother for me than
they have so far.

Thanks you guys (Especially Toulouse) for making me feel not quite as ignorant as I know I am.

Bruce in Ocala, FL

Thanks for the advice and encouragement.

I've been intrigued by the idea of pen repair since I found out that some repairs are fairly easy for pen owners to do themselves. I must be a budding pen geek because the idea kind of excites me. I like seeing how things work and doing things with my hands like needlework so pen repair may be in my future. I got an Estie because I'd been reading how much people like to write with them. I'm getting the impression that some people like them because they are accessible for repair too.

Bruce's pen repair war story was enlightening and encouraging. It gave me the feeling that it can't hurt to try and fail to replace a sac. It can't even hurt to try and fail several times until I succeed or figure out it isn't for me.

Congrats and Welcome.

I just sent you a PM about a sac

Oh Yea, what JohnBoz said...........

There are two bits of best advice anyone has given me on repair.
First, start by working on a pen you can afford to break, a junker preferably. You got no place to go but up.
Second, take your time and don't rush or over force it. If you soaked that barrel and the section won't come off, soak it again, try again tomorrow. Much better than shattering the section so now you have to go parts pen shopping on top of everything else.

I gotta tell ya, it's pretty great when you finish, fill it, and every once in a while as you're writing it pops in your head "hey! I fixed this!"