I have a vintage pen, says "Aristocrat" on the barrel, no other markings on the pen, the nib says "Warranted 14K #8". It's a button filler, green moire striped celluloid (?) (material is similar to that used on the moire Eversharp Skylines). It has a visualated section. I'm in the process of restoring it, but can't get the section to separate from the barrel. I heated it up pretty good with a hair dryer, but it won't budge. So far I have just been trying to pull it out, haven't tried unscrewing. Does anyone know whether these pens have screw in sections, or friction fit? I don't have much experience at this, and don't want to break it.

Any other information about this brand would be appreciated, I haven't been able to turn up anything on the web.

Thanks,

Dan

Hi Dan,

Button fillers usually (always?) have threaded sections. Suggestion: if unsure, always treat a pen as if it has a threaded section.


Cheers,
Tom

Except for the streamlined Duofolds, which all have slip sections.

But the advice to treat a pens as if the section is a threaded section is always valid. Even slip sections tend to want to come apart more easily if you unscrew them. (Wahls with aluminum barrel liners being an exception)

Is it always a good idea to soak the section overnight before trying to remove the nib?

Not necessary, in most cases, and not a good thing with hard rubber sections. A short round in the ultrasonic should be enough. You aren't going to pull the nib and feed, but will be knocking them out. Pulling risks breaking either or both.

Boy, can I ever testify to that... I think I need more feeds than I do sacs at this point.

Tim
(wondering if I'll ever learn something the easy way)

One exception to this rule is the Wearever Pacemaker, which is a friction fit. I think this one is a screw in, which would explain a couple of dings in the the section, which probably resulted from someones heavy handed attempt to unscrew it in the past.

Dan