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Wahl Oxford Lever Filler - Worth Restoring?


mtnbiker62

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My son-in-law to-be found a Wahl Oxford Lever Filler with a number 2, 14K nib at an estate sale yesterday. It's in pretty rough shape: quite a bit of brassing or dirt on the clip and cap ring, the clip is bent, the nib is blue from old ink and possibly slightly bent, and I didn't even try to lift the lever for fear of bending it. It looks like a grey marble body, and it doesn't appear to have any cracks or damage. It has black, conical, non-removable jewels on both ends, and a single band on the cap. The side of the pen says Wahl Oxford, Made in USA by the makers of Eversharp, and there are a couple of scrapes just under the imprint. I'm just wondering if it's worth restoring, and if you all have any suggestions for a restorer? Thanks in advance.

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Only for sentimental value if it has any of that. Or if you could do it yourself. Otherwise the cost will be greater than the value of the finished product. May be worth something for parts, if the nib is ok.

Save the Wahls!

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a lot of that stuff should be pretty easy to clean up. the only potential deal breaker is the nib. as long as the nib is good and you don't mind the other issues a simple cleaning and resac should get it into working well enough to have a fun pen to use at home. the clip might even be able to be bent back in place so you could easily carry it around, its hard to say without a photo. there is also the chance that bending it back can snap it off too.

 

the way i see it is that pen is old enough to be a grandfather. i think there is no shame in using a pen that shows that it has lived a long and full life.

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It is worth saving. Clean up the nib, polish the rest of the parts, replace the sac, fill it with ink and start writing. You will be dazzled with what a great nib it has. After that many years we all have a few scrapes and scratches.

always drink upstream from the herd

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Because it was a gift from my son-in-law, I decided to restore the pen. I was able to remove the section, and take out the dessicated sac. I panicked at that point, and decided I would have a pro look at it, so I packed it off to Danny Fudge at The Write Pen. I'm eagerly awaiting its return.

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I have a battered old Oxford and like Kelp Cowboy has mentioned, it's nib is a dream to use.

 

The pen itself is way too small and falling apart. I've toyed with giving it away as a PIF but each time I dig it out I fill it with Kiowa Pecan and scribble away.

 

Hope it doesn't cost you too much. Enjoy.

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It will cost too much if compared to market value, but if it has sentimental value, nothing is too much.

Save the Wahls!

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  • 7 months later...

The Wahl Oxford isn't necessarily expensive to fix/maintain dependent on the Wahl Oxford we are talking about. They were designed as a BUDGET (all caps for emphasis) pen. It is my understanding that the majority of them didn't have 14K nibs (very early ones did in fact have the standard 14K Eversharp "arch" nib) and the ones marked "Flexible" were not very flexible at all. They came in a few colors and filling system variants but nothing too snazzy, most were single color or a celluloid swirl of some kind, lever filling or bulb filling. They ranged in size all over the place, I have personally had three slightly different short/fat lever filling versions and one very elegant long/thin bulb filler. I will admit to liking some of the older ones, especially the bulb filler with their much nicer celluloid colors. Regardless, even the newer steel nibs are very smooth and pleasant to write with. Bringing one back from the grave usually only entails a resaccing or rebulbing, the latter being SUPER easy to do, and a thorough cleaning of the nib and feed and you have a great workhorse pen. Selling them can be difficult as they really won't fetch what you put into them in terms of money. However, they make great PiF pens or just EDC vintage pens.

 

Regards,

Paul

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I restored a couple Oxfords that were in fair shape. New sacs, cleaning and polishing, nothing difficult. One was an exceptionally smooth writer. I sold them as a pair for more than what I'd put in.

 

If it's a pen you want to keep as a user or for personal reasons, the work is definitely worth it. They are not complex or difficult to repair. They are well-designed and feel good in the hand, and if the pen you have doesn't write well, some gentle tuning can smooth it out.

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I just got an Oxford in a bunch of junk pens. The barrel and cap are beautiful, however both ends have succumbed to deterioration and age. The rest of the pen looks really clean, and very few scratches. I'm debating trying to fuse new ends onto the pen to clean it up. It won't be truly restored, but it will look nicer and be a pen to use and carry.

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  • 2 months later...

I have collected a couple of dozen of these pens in my years of collecting. I like them. Some are quite striking. My only complaint is that I can't get my hands on any matching pencils.

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  • 2 years later...

I have the remains of one of these pens with a marbled blue barrel. It has an ink window where the barrel joins the section. Alas the cap is missing and the nib badly distorted with tips missing. Looks as though it has been a rather nice pen originally. The barrel engraving is at right angles to other makers. I have been reading with interest other members experiences and consider it such a pity that my pen has been destroyed.

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