Conklin Crescent Filler Vest Pocket/Ringtop, 1920's.[/b][/b]

I am not familiar with the internals of this pen, but here’s my problem.

The crescent has come detached from a flat pressure bar and, in cleaning rust from the pressure bar, it came apart at one of the sockets into which I believe the crescent is supposed to fit.

1. How does one fasten the crescent back into the pressure bar, given that this bar can be repaired?
2. No spring bar was in the pen when I disassembled it, only this one flat bar with the two sockets. What should be inside? Can I use a J-bar in the absence of an original spring bar, that is, once the crescent is reattached to the flat bar?

I can't help with the damaged crescent/pressure bar issue, but can with the other. There is no Jbar in these pens. The pressure bar rests against the sac. As the sac fills, its expansion pushes the crescent back into place to be secured with the ring.

Regards, greg

I had same problem with the crescent and I gave it to a jeweler to repair.

Thanks for the information and advice. From using a Crescent Filler, I recall now that there was no resistance when I pressed the crescent in for filling. As for taking it to the jeweler, I tried that but he was reluctant to touch this job since neither of us knew enough about how this filler system works. Now that I do, I'll give it another try.

After filling my Crescent filler the crescent doesn't want to come up far enough to rotate the ring under it. I have to pull up slightly on it to get the ring under it. Any thoughts??

1) You could try a larger sac.
2) Turn the pen so that the crescent is pointing down. Gravity works...

Be careful with the ring. These break easily, and it can be difficult to find replacements. A little silicone grease can be used if the ring doesn't turn easily.

tired sac. Conklin crescent fillers likes thick silicone sacs. As far as for attaching the crescent to the pressure bar, silver soldering it would do the trick just fine.

I got mine as restored so haven't looked at the sac. I believe I'll go visit my bud Danny Fudge and see about greasing up the ring and what condition the sac is in! Love that vintage flex!!

I've always wanted a conklin crescent filler...I didn't think they were this fragile!

While the lock rings are often found chipped or broken, I suspect this is more the result of fiddling than of normal use. And the crescent-pressure bar assembly is very sturdy -- it is very very unusual for the crescent to become detached. As I recall, the crescent is held to the bar by two pins that extend from the crescent's bottom and go through matching holes in the bar. The pins are then peened over. They are brass, so corrosion usually isn't a big problem. Reattachment should be a trivial task; soft solder should be amply strong for the job.