I am thinking about venturing into repairing/restoring pens for my own use and maybe an occasional sale/trade to fund future acquisitions. I am fairly good with my hands and have infinite patience for detail work. I have a small collection of junker pens that would be great for practice repairs. My question is: Is there a basic starting tool set that I should be thinking about. I have Da Book as well as the newly released repair book by Marshall and Oldfield. I don't want to just order tools for the sake of ordering and then wish I had followed some guideline. Any suggestions on a basic setup to get started? Thanks. /Craig

Craig,

Try this link and the other in it! http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...amp;mode=linear

Then tear into some pens!

I was just about to post that link but Buzz beat me to it. Glad I refreshed the page.

Thanks! I have read most of the prior threads and am starting to get a feel for what I need to get started. Time to get inky and into a pen or three. /Craig

Really, there are not a whole lot of tools necessary for basic pen repair. But there are definitely some things you'll want.

Go to Home Depot or Lowes and pick up a quart of orange/amber shellac. See if you can get a dental pick with pretty straight points. I had an old one that had filing on the tips, which made it doubly useful.

If you ever need to knock out a feed/nib, you don't have to really invest in a knock-out block. What I've found to work just as good is a pair of quart sized paint cans almost touching, with the section resting in the middle of the two cans. Finding something to knock it out with is a bit harder. I found that a screwdriver shaft is fine, but it's only good for larger sections. Just make sure it's flat. Make sure to have a sponge or something beneath it to catch the nib.

These "tools" have allowed me to repair lever fillers to snorkels.