Having purchased a lot on the dreaded place containing a nice Ronson pencil lighter, and a CS 475, I've finished repair/restoring the lighter and now turn my attention to the pen.
I took some pictures:


The lever is jammed and the section won't move. Do I soak it?, heat it?, or what.
I have identified it as a 1935 - 40s dated, cone topped, large lettered pen.
Any help, suggestions, etc., gratefully received.

Hi Nordenfeldt,

Go for heat rather than soaking, they look better black.

The section/barrel joint can stand a fair amount of dry heat, some rubber gripping tool, I use rubber sheet and my hands, some people prefer section pliers to grip both parts, it is friction fit section so gentle rocking whilst pulling usually does the job. Even if someone has shellaced the section in place (it does happen) then heat will win in the end.

The cap will respond to the same sort of treatment but you can soak the inside by sealing the breather holes and filling the cap to above the inner cap level with water/ammonia solution, then empty the fluid and have a go at shifting the cap end, it no joy then heat will eventually win through.

You might need to repeat the processes a couple of times but they work 99% of the time.

Good luck,

Cheers, John

Hi John,
Many thanks for the advice. I used a hairdryer and some rubber-ish sheet that I got in the States to stop things slipping off dashboards.
So;


It came apart fairly easily. The sac was stuck to the lever at the top and sheared off. The pressure bar came free from the lever without problem. I used one of my favourite tools, a small square section awl with square cross section, to scrape all the crud off the bar, and then polished it with fine steel wool. Attempting to reassemble the lever mech., however, I have a nasty feeling that the ends of the pivot through the lever have rotted off.


How do I replace this, (assuming it should be)?
Many thanks
Chris.

OK, I gently scraped the sides of the lever inside and out with my little awl, and eventually took my courage in both hands and pushed at the pin ends, whereupon they fell out.



Now it was simply (!?!) a matter of finding a suitable pin, (which turned out to be the end of a Ronson Lighter Service kit's wick installer), and cutting it to length.



Then you try a re-assemble it and discover that if you place the bar in the "obvious" manner, i.e. with the cut off in the bar facing down, you can't get the re-sacced section in, as the end of the bar is too far down. (How you'd ever get it out again, I don't know ((yes I do--- you just rotate the lever again....)).
Re sac as usual, and whilst you're waiting for the shellac to dry, visit your local road-blockers emporium and acquire some genuine talc, (as it stops your work smelling of babies).....put it all back together and test it.

Well... it's all back together;



I think the difference in cosmetic appearance is interesting, very little (if any) polishing has been done. It seems that the oil on my fingers, (and a little bacon fat from a good sarnie) has made quite a difference.

The lever was, I think, originally (gold?) plated. As you can see, it's pretty un-plated now. I doubt that it's worth getting it re-plated, does anyone have any suggestions to improve it cosmetically?



I've put in one of the nib, as I've been playing supplementary lenses.



This was really the first pen I’ve restored, I’m rather proud of it, and it writes nicely. I would welcome all criticisms from those who’ve progressed further along the road, as to finish etc., etc.
ATB
Chris.