My Swan Leverless Has A Hole In The Cap Top (Not Breather Hole)

[red52ripple]

I don't think there's any special tool that you need. Get the old sac out of the barrel. I use a dental pick or forceps if the sac is firmly stuck but mostly old sacs come out quite easily. Scrape the sac remains off the nipple. A 22 sac might do. Try it and see if it's going to fill the barrel. If it is, the routine to fit is as follows: Drift out the nib and feed*. Shellac the sac to the section nipple and leave it to dry thoroughly. Once it's dry, slide a "pusher" of some sort - I use a piece of slender dowel - inside the sac to hold it straight and insert it into the barrel. Without a "pusher" the sac is too floppy to go in. Refit the nib and section and you're done!

 

I'm sorry I don't know the size of sac - I never take a note of these things.

 

*You need a knock-out block for this. There's no really safe alternative.

 

Regards,

Deb

[shrieku]

I made a tool myself for picking out the ossified old sac. A stiff wire (Twisted thin wire or a burnt-out sparkler) with one end bent like a hook works fine. You could use your eyebrow tweezers (if you or your partner have them) you may get it out without any tool of course.

 

I don't really have any professional implements. I do have size 16, 18, 20 and 22 sacs, but I think they are just straight ones.

 

Best way to work out size is to try on the sacs you have on the nipple. Also try the size by inserting in the barrel. I would start with a 16 size which may fit. 18 might do as well. I think 20 and 22 may be too big s they will be too loose on the nipple.

 

Unless you are confident and are easily able to get the nib and feed out, avoid pulling that out. It is child's play for someone like red52ripple but not for an amaateur like you(?) and me. I have learnt it the hard way by breaking a few sections in my trials and errors

 

If you can get the nib and feed out and use a dowel, you will be able to get in a sac one size larger (18 I would think).

 

Good luck and let us know what size works.

[red52ripple]

 

I think 20 and 22 may be too big s they will be too loose on the nipple.

 

 

Precisely, which is covered by a tip to deal with the looseness on the nipple which I gave above, but a sac that doesn't absolutely fill the barrel won't work. A Leverless isn't either a lever filler or a button filler and it doesn't re-sac like one. It's very unlikely to be less than a No 20 sac and it may well be more.

 

Regards,

Edited February 26, 2012 by red52ripple

[shrieku]

Sorry Deb- I was not trying to conradict you. I missed the size indication in your reply. I defer to your experience

[ptrcao]

I'll keep you guys posted. I don't think have a necked sac, though I do have a 20 and 22 coming in, albeit straight ones. I might have to order in some new ones. I don't have dental pick either but some pen repair shops do apparently stock them. Probably none around here, but I'll have to sniff around.

 

 

 

P.S. Off the topic, re52ripple - I was considering laying down a bid for your

 

Item number: 270916908747

Item Title: Mabie Todd Swan No 2 Safety Screw Cap Eyedropper Filler Very Flexible Fine Nib

 

today, but the price just went over the roof, ending on 109GBP. I wasn't expecting it would get that high for a Waterman safety eyedropper - is that what these are typically worth, or was this a little unusual?

 

Also the time zone differences made it difficult to follow that auction (I'm in Australia) and I'm no early bird to be getting up so early in the morning.

Edited February 26, 2012 by ptrcao

[red52ripple]

 

P.S. Off the topic, re52ripple - I was considering laying down a bid for your

 

Item number: 270916908747

Item Title: Mabie Todd Swan No 2 Safety Screw Cap Eyedropper Filler Very Flexible Fine Nib

 

today, but the price just went over the roof, ending on 109GBP. I wasn't expecting it would get that high for a Waterman safety eyedropper - is that what these are typically worth, or was this a little unusual?

 

Also the time zone differences made it difficult to follow that auction (I'm in Australia) and I'm no early bird to be getting up so early in the morning.

 

Actually it went £122.00! That was a little unusual, I think. It was a superb nib, and I think in the end a couple of people were maybe a little determined not to give in... Anyway, I would have thought of that as an £80.00 pen, and anything similar that comes along in the future is likely to fetch that sort of price.

 

Sounds like you might benefit from setting up a sniping program.

Regards,

[red52ripple]

Sorry Deb- I was not trying to conradict you. I missed the size indication in your reply. I defer to your experience

 

No problem :-) It's just that many people get this wrong and then call the Leverless a bad pen because it doesn't hold much ink!

 

Regards,

[ptrcao]

Can you help me select the right necked sac for the 206/60? This was the only Ebay seller I could find:

 

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VINTAGE-FOUNTAIN-PEN-NECKED-LATEX-SACS-YOU-PICK-SIZE-QTY-/230724182234?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b83ba0da

 

Do I need "necked" or "necked tapered"?

[Happy Harry]

You over paid, the main reason being the difficulty in finding a clip etc. A straight sac will suffice, of the ones you have an 18 will most likely be close and once you've cleaned the old sac out you can check by sticking the 18 on the nipple, putting it in the barrel ( it will be way too long so a bit of juggling to hold everything will be required) and turning the filler...if it fits up the barrel and appears to "twist up" well then it'll do, if too big try the 16 but I suspect it'll be too small, at least you'll determine the size. I noticed you where thinking about an early eyedropper, these are not the best if you plan to use the pen a lot or carry around. Pens that hold the ink in the barrel have a tendency to "blob" as they empty, the heat of your hand warms the air above the ink, it expands and more ink is pushed out!! Also most early eyedroppers are thin pens, not always obvious from a photo. They perform best when full. The design of the feed etc. improved with time and by the '30's this became less of a problem. Swan is an excellent choice.

[ptrcao]

I'll keep you guys posted.

 

Guys, I need help with 2 questions; I don't want to do anything to ruin or devalue my pen here:

 

1) I want to sand the the nipple without eroding down the actual nipple, to remove any traces and to smooth over the surface. How, and using what? I do have sandpaper bought from fountainpensacs.com labelled 1000 - 1500 - 2000 - 2500 grit. I thought there might be something apart from sandpaper, a less erosive substitute, or one that selecrtively errodes the residue and debris but not the nipple itself.

http://www.mathannotated.com/fpn/scraped.PNG

 

2) This is the view down the nib section. Is the section blocked, or is that the way it should look? It appears as though the nib section is damned up a bit - with a slit to allow enough ink through but not too much? Or is that just a natural dried ink formation? Do I need to break through, and shatter it to clear the way?

http://www.mathannotated.com/fpn/nib_section.PNG

Edited March 15, 2012 by ptrcao

[red52ripple]

Hi,

I don't use an abrasive to prepare the nipple. I gently scrape it with a knife until the surface is clean. Your section is fine. Just ensure that you can get some water through it. If not, you need to disassemble and clean.

 

Regards,