Two New Vintage Pens - Music Nib?

[Gump]

I'm feeling like a fish out of water with these two, almost scared to do anything to them.

 

The Artcraft is striking and the nib looks to be in good condition. It has a healthy rattle to it and will need a new jbar and sac. I'm especially leery of this one due to it's celluloid construction and the warping shown in the photos.

 

The Duocraft is stickered and appears to be NOS, except some possible nib damage. The gold section was very loose, but appears to have been shellaced into place at one time. Do you agree that the nib is damaged, or is this downturn to be expected in a music nib of the era?

 

Any advice or tips would be appreciated. I don't have a great deal invested in these, so hopefully I didn't get burned on the purchase.

[Gump]

The artcraft came apart well, but as expected the jbar and sac are toast.  The nib looks good up close, but under the loupe it's suspect: http://i.imgur.com/7ni8r3b.jpg?1 http://i.imgur.com/EaqeE7s.jpg?1

[JonSzanto]

That music nib has been mashed in, dropped or something. Should look like a standard nib, just with two slits instead of one. Info on Richard Binder's site about music nibs, if you need background.

[Paddler]

The nib on the music pen looks bent. Dip it and write with it. If it writes well, don't straighten it. I had a pen with a bent nib like that. It had been abandoned by the US Postal Service. The bend caused the tines to completely close the slit and the pen wouldn't write. I put the point against a block of soft wood and pressed until the tines were straight again. The pen has written well ever since. I don't know if this fix would work with your pen or not.

 

Regardless of nib repair, the feed is one of the old type with slotted margins. Its ink buffering capacity will be limited at best and the pen will likely burp ink onto the page as a writer's hand warms it. There is a work-around for this, but the aggravation of using a pen with a finnicky feed may make the cost of professional nib repair too high.

[Uncle Red]

Ah, it's a Duocraft! I have one much like it. The nib is bent but really worth fixing. Mine is flexible and wet. Could I see a better picture of the cap? The Artcraft looks pretty good, just a little pregnant.

[Bo Bo Olson]

I had a '36 Parker BB stub with such a bent nib.

Place it on a block of paper (softer than wood), stroke it gently with the smooth end of a drill bit until straight.

 

Many pens used the wrap around mandrel way of making pretty pens in the '30's....the ones I've seen are still strong.

Edited August 20, 2014 by Bo Bo Olson

[Gump]

Thank you for all the feedback.  As requested here are a few photos of the Duocraft cap:

 

 

http://i.imgur.com/IYfTifx.jpg http://i.imgur.com/7touDgf.jpg

[Uncle Red]

Thanks, it's similar to mine but not the same. It's worth it to get the nib repaired by an expert if you can get to a pen show. I picked up a Waterman Taperite at the DC pen show in a parts bin, the nib was much worse than yours. I got to watch Richard Binder fix the nib and now it's a great semi flex.

Edited August 21, 2014 by Uncle Red

[Gump]

Anyone have an extra bottle of Higgins lying about?

 

http://i.imgur.com/IBhBrQG.jpg?1

[Gump]

I resacced the duocraft today and think I have determined the cause of the nib damage. It appears that there is no "stop" in the cap and that the nib was simply pressed against the interior of the cap, bending the tines downward.

 

Not sure if this is a flaw in the design or if something else is afoot. Perhaps something has shrunk in its age that previous would have caused it to cap properly