How to fill an old Parker button filler?

[Ringtop]

Hello everybody,

 

I'm very happy to have received a box today containing an old Parker Lady Duofold in jade green, and a bottle of Pelikan violet ink. Of course, I couldn't wait to fill the new pen with the new ink, but I did read some instructions on this siteVintage Fountain Pens

I depressed the button and put the nib in the ink (in the sink, oh yes) but the button would not come back up, so I gently pulled in up. I did so very slowly, over at least a ten second period so as to allow the pen to fill. The first time I did this, I guess I got barely any ink, as I ran out after writing a few lines.

The next time I did this procedure, the button came all the way out--oops! However, it seemed to fill better, and has not run out yet.

So, is it bad that the button came all the way out? Do I need to send the pen back to the store for repair?

 

Any advice you can offer will be appreciated.

 

Ringtop

 

P.S. I love how the EF nib combined with the violet ink makes my handwriting look. So different from the Parker 45

[Richard]

Buttons require a firm push. Very firm. The button's flange should bottom out against the top of the threaded boss through which the button passes. If the button goes all the way down and won't come up on its own, the pen needs repair. It's all right that the button came out. The first thing a repairer does when disassembling a Parker button filler is to pull the button out that way. As a matter of possible interest, here is a cross-section diagram showing what your pen looks like inside:

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/ref_info/anatomy/anatomy-button.jpg

 

The button fits over the end of the spring, and the other end of the spring rests against the section. When you push the button you're trying to compress the spring along its length. It doesn't like that, so it flexes outward away from the barrel wall, pushing the pressure bar against the sac to squeeze it. When you release, the spring returns and allows the sac to resume its normal shape, sucking in ink as it does so.

 

I find myself wondering at a store that would sell a pen that doesn't work -- I can see antique shops doing this, but not any retail establishment that knows about pens. Do you really want to send the pen back to such a place?

[Ringtop]

Richard,

Thank you for that fantasticly informative bit of prose--Diagram and all!

 

It does seem to me that the spring isn't working, as when I push the button in, it just stays there. The only way I'm getting ink into it is by gently and slowly pulling the button up after I've depressed it.

 

The pen came from Pendemonium, so I hope they'll be able to repair it (once they get back to town in August or so) They might just take it back as well, but it's hard to part with such a pretty pen.

 

I'll take another crack at filling it tomorrow when I'm more awake. One wants to be fully alert when wielding a big bottle of violet ink.

 

I'm getting a slightly cheaper Parker Lucky Curve pen sometime next week via ebay. Being cheaper, it will probably work perfectly.

 

Thanks again,

 

Vida (Ringtop)

 

P.S. Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever seen the chains that women wore these pens on in the 1920s-1930s? Or did they just wear them on random necklaces?

[Ringtop]

Just a follow-up and another question:

 

I tried putting ink in the Duofold again, this time following your very good advice of giving the button a "very firm push". I think I just hadn't pushed it all the way in before, not wanting to force anything and break it. Now it seems to be fully loaded with ink. Starts right up when I write with it.

 

So, now my question is: When I did pull the button all the way off the pen, did I damage the mechanism? It's not leaking or anything. Funny that I didn't want to push the button in to hard, but I managed to pull it all the way off!

 

Ringtop (Vida)

[Richard]

No, pulling the button off all the way didn't damage anything. remember, I told you that that's the first thing a repairer does when starting to replace the sac in a button filler.

 

Enjoy the pen!