Antique store find!

[m13a8]

Hey everyone! I found a pen in an antique store recently and I've got some questions about it.

 

The tag only said "1920s Wahl Pen" but it looked so good I just had to buy it. The nib is stamped "WAHL 2". On the cap, "Wahl Pen" is stamped, and just under it is "Gold Filled Made in USA". The lever moves, but there is no sac inside. I don't know how to take apart the feed assembly to check it for cleanliness, but if anyone here can provide some insight on that it'd be greatly appreciated!

 

Specifically, I was wondering what "gold filled" means. Also, I was wondering what I should use to clean the nib and possibly the feed assembly of this pen. The price paid for it was approx. $42. Was this fair?

 

Pictures attached!

 

http://i45.tinypic.com/2mob3vt.jpg

 

http://i50.tinypic.com/5v574o.jpg

 

(thanks to my wonderful girlfriend for the hand modeling!!)

 

http://i46.tinypic.com/b8x1dv.jpg

 

http://i49.tinypic.com/6730at.jpg

[Roger W.]

Fair price for a gold filled ring top you could have paid a little more and not been offbase. Gold filled means that the outer layer is gold on a base (brass) metal - thicker than plating so that's the difference - it's better. You need a sac and to clean off the nipple. You could shine a light down it to make sure the guts aren't corroded - it takes needle nose pliers to put it back in if the pressure bar falls out. Use an old toothbrush to clean the nib and feed.

 

Roger W.

Edited February 14, 2010 by Roger W.

[m13a8]

Thanks for your input! :-) it looks fairly clean on the inside! Nothing looks badly corroded inside, and the pressure bar moves up and down like I think it probably should when I pull the lever. The lever's operation is very clean and smooth! I'm going to get on cleaning the nipple tonight, then I'll go at the nib and feed in the morning!

 

Is there any special solution I should use with the old toothbrush? Just water?

 

 

Thanks for your input!!

[m13a8]

Thanks for your input! :-) it looks fairly clean on the inside! Nothing looks badly corroded inside, and the pressure bar moves up and down like I think it probably should when I pull the lever. The lever's operation is very clean and smooth! I'm going to get on cleaning the nipple tonight, then I'll go at the nib and feed in the morning!

 

Is there any special solution I should use with the old toothbrush? Just water?

 

 

Thanks for your input!!

 

 

Just a couple more thoughts...I'm scraping the nipple with my thumbnail, and there's a brown powdery substance that comes off. It seems to be about 1 mm and all around. Also, the nipple fits snugly into the pen body when there's no sac attached. Does this firm fit mean that this substance that's turning into a brown powder that I'm scratching off with my thumbnail is old sac and not 90 year old plastic?

 

Thanks,

 

Aaron

[markc]

The brown stuff could be the previous sac that likely dried up and became powder. I doubt that you could be scraping away parts of the feed holder.

[m13a8]

Thanks so much for your help! :-) I've decided to keep going a little further, and now I can see the distinction between feed holder and old dried-up sac. It's proving to be kind of a pain to remove.

 

Just hoping I get lucky here...does anyone have an idea of what size of sac I'm going to need for this pen?

 

Thanks!!

[kernando]

The brown stuff is shellac.

[Shangas]

Hi,

 

It's a beautiful 1920s Wahl "Art Deco" gold-filled ringtop that you have there. Probably mid 1920s. Ringtop pens such as that were worn with Double-Albert watch-chains and they were men's pens. Women's ringtop pens were generally longer, but there's no reason why you can't clip that onto a chain and turn it into a necklace.

 

A word of warning, though: If you do clip this onto a watch-chain or a necklace, be mindful that the pen can unscrew of its own accord and go skydiving without warning. It doesn't happen often, but it can happen. It happened twice to me (I clipped my wahl A/D ringtop pen onto my watch-chain). Fortunately, it wasn't damaged, but just be careful. These pens have flexible nibs, and they can be more significantly damaged if they hit the floor nib-first.

[gyasko]

For $42, i'd buy it. The last one i saw in an antique mall was going for $125, which i thought was 3-4x too much.

[pen2paper]

GF means you Don't want to zealously polish with flitz or simichrome.. Just a soft cloth, or soft/well-worn jewelers cloth will shine this to perfection without removing the Very Thin layer of gold.

A. of Pentiques resacced mine.. Susan Wirth then showed me how beautifully this nib would lay down a semi-flex line.. Instantly my favorite pen! Luxury Blue is fabulous in a semi-flex nib!

 

 

[m13a8]

Thanks for your input!!

 

Last night I got most or all of the sac scraped off the feed holder. I'll post more pictures tonight, because I'm worried if I did a good enough job or not.

 

I also used an ear syringe to force water through the feed, and was pleasantly surprised when the feed was very clear! Just running water through the feed shined the nib up quite a bit, but I plan to see if I can get a little more of the bottom of the nib cleaned up with an old toothbrush.

 

I'm very excited about this pen! I'm glad it doesn't need any serious repair, because I don't have the experience to do anything too much and I don't really want to pay to have it restored.

 

I hope to order a sac earlier this week (according to pendemonium I need a 17 1/2). Hopefully sometime in the next week or two I can have this pen back in writing condition!

[Roger W.]

I wouldn't worry too much - you probably got the nipple cleaned off sufficiently. When you shellac on the new sac it just needs to be airtight which isn't hard to achieve. Ear syringe is great to clean the feed/section as it is a lot more work to knock the nib and more can go wrong.

 

Roger W.

 

http://www.sheafferflattops.com/images/Ringtop14.jpg

Gold filled Wahls

 

http://www.sheafferflattops.com/images/Ringtop16.jpg

Rare Wahl ringtops (enamels, "brain", colonial ring, consoles, and Hanlin)

[m13a8]

Wow!! Those are some beautiful pens!

 

The antique store I was in also had a Parker 51 in a gold box...it was marked $75. I could afford it so I didn't even look at it...just an aside, if someone happens on this and is interested I'd be willing to play middleman and pick it up for them at no profit to me.

 

Back to the Wahl...I'm not sure if I can wait to get a sac on this pen to write with it...I think I'll dip it a little later! I have a feeling that even though this is my first vintage fountain pen, it definitely will not be my last! This community has been very supportive and helpful!

 

I'll post pictures again when I get the sac done. Thanks again for your help everyone!

[gyasko]

Just to reiterate what has already been said, there is (probably) no need to knock out the nib and clean. Why risk it? Many a pen has been broken through overzealous cleaning. I also feel that there is no need to take an ear syringe to it -- though that is certainly less risky to the pen. With a 51 or a c/c filer or anything with an intact filling system, one can fill it with water write with the vintage ink left in the pen. This is obviously less applicable to a pen like this which will need a new sac, but it's still possible to dip the nib and feed in water. Who knows? The previous owner might have left a bit of Skrip Persian Rose in it.

[gyasko]

Just to reiterate what has already been said, there is (probably) no need to knock out the nib and clean. Why risk it? Many a pen has been broken through overzealous cleaning. I also feel that there is no need to take an ear syringe to it -- though that is certainly less risky to the pen. With a 51 or a c/c filer or anything with an intact filling system, one can fill it with water write with the vintage ink left in the pen. This is obviously less applicable to a pen like this which will need a new sac, but it's still possible to dip the nib and feed in water. Who knows? The previous owner might have left a bit of Skrip Persian Rose in it.

[m13a8]

I dipped the nib and ink and wrote a little with it a minute ago. The nib is slightly scratchy as if it may need to be sent to a specialist some day, but I'll let that wait! It's a great writer and I'm definitely glad I bought it!

[jbb]

Score!!! I love my gold filled Wahl Ringtops! They have wonderful flex... and I press really hard when I write. BTW, If the pressure bar comes out it's a little tricky to get back into place sometimes (there's a channel it slides into inside) but we're all here in case you run into any challenges when you re-sac the pen. The price was fair. You can luck-out and get them cheaper but you'll also see them for more. Congrats.

[m13a8]

Thanks! :-)

 

When I dipped this, I noticed the nib not flexing very much even when I pushed hard. Could this be because I was writing on very cheap paper out of a $2 spiral notebook? Maybe I'll try it again later in my Rhodia pocket pad, I think that has got a little better paper in it!

 

I still need to get around to actually ordering a sac...I'll try to get that little feat accomplished!

 

It's really awesome that there's a great community here that's willing to help a new person like me do some basic restoration on a pen

[teej47]

Odds are that it's just not all that flexible. One of the great things about Wahl/Eversharp was the wonderful variety in their nibs. Test drive a dozen Sheaffer's or Parkers from the same era and probably nine of them will be pretty firm, and the other three will be semi-flex at best. Most or all of them would be on the fine side of medium and finer. Roll out a dozen Wahl/Eversharps and you'll find everything from a big ol' juicy flex stub to an extra fine nail, and just about anything in between. Awesome stuff!

 

If yours is scratchy, the tines are undoubtedly out of alignment. These nibs are like butter when they're in tune. You may be able to rectify the nib alignment yourself... just don't touch the thing with anything but your fingers (and fingernails), and use a loupe or magnifying glass to take a properly close look before doing anything. Don't be tempted to do any grinding... a rough point is rarely the cause of that scratchyness. There are some really good articles around on how to do this (I have to get back to work, so I'll leave you to look... or maybe someone else will point to the right place), so make sure and read all you can before attacking your nib. All that said, it's really rewarding to bring a pen back to life! Good luck and great find. Enjoy!

 

Tim

[m13a8]

Thanks Tim!!

 

I'll definitely read around about reworking the nib. I'm very nervous to do that, especially because I've never tuned a nib before. I notice a space between the tines farther up towards the feed, but at the tip they are very tight together. So much so that when I was wiping the nib off gently, one of the tines hopped up on top of the other and they were overlapping. Maybe they just need to be spread a little towards the tip?

 

When I have time, I'll do some more reading around about nib tuning, but in the meantime any information other members may have would be greatly appreciated!