Vintage Pen Questions

[Bamapendude]

Estrerbrook,WeareverCongressPioneer

 

Ok I am considering adding some Vintage pens in my collection. Perhaps if they are in poor shape trying to renew them if possible. Now I know this is a loaded question and each vintage pen can vary in price based on condition model etc. So here is my question. If I found a vintage Estrerbrook, Wearever, Congress or Pioneer in good condition external wise and the pen function was unknown, how much should I consider the max to get it and try it out? Some of these perhaps are estate finds etc. I know there are a ton of factors but if I run across one at and estate sale or online that catches my eye whats the play it safe price. Or should I avoid vintage fountain pens being a newbie still to this hobby?

 

Thank You In Advance!

[gregamckinney]

"Play it safe" price depends a lot on budget and, IMO, your views on luck and optimism. It is very possible, especially for the lower tier pens (Congress, Pioneer) that the pens may require another pen's worth of parts to be salvageable. My 2c, If you are looking at vintage to learn restoration, go with the no-names, and get a bunch so you can salvage parts. If you are going with vintage to have light fix-up, and use, grab a few Esterbrooks at 10-25 bucks a piece.

 

Your last sentence is a pretty wise one, though. Vintage is a minefield. Not necessarily a bad thing, but a lot of "adventure" there.

 

Best Regards, greg

[ac12]

If you are going vintage, you will either have to restore them yourself, or send them out to be restored.

One of the considerations is cost. If it is only a few pens, it is probably cheaper to send them out. The cost of tools and supplies is the hidden cost of doing your own repairs, and the cost will sneakily creep up as you need different tools.

 

As Greg said, some pens will be in so bad condition that they are only useful as a "parts pen," to salvage parts from to repair other pens. And that is an issue with these old pens. The manufacturer is 'gone' so the only source of replacement parts is from 'parts pens.' So don't pass up a JUNKER, just make sure it is CHEAP.

 

IMHO, the HARDEST and most dangerous thing to learn and do is, removing and replacing the section from the body. To me that is where you will likely damage/destroy the pen. Been there, done that. The pieces are in my "AW $HIT box."

 

My advice is to start slow and CHEAP.

Get a LOT of CHEAP pens, because "a tuition of learning to repair pens, is the damage or destruction of the pen you are trying to repair." So learn on the cheap junkers.

 

Learn on the easy pens, such as lever fillers.

Leave the complicated pens till later. Just put them in a bag labled, 'to repair later.'

 

gud luk

Edited May 23, 2016 by ac12

[Bamapendude]

Well I like to tinker. I already tune my own nibs. I want to learn to repair pens as well. I have worked on pocket watches, built pool cues some selling for over 1500, I grew up in an auto repair shop so I love to tinker. I know how to use lathes and mills so perhaps I can make my own parts. I just don't want to start tinkering on expensive pens. Anyway that's my goal is to restore my pen finds that I plan to collect. The precision I had to use on expensive pool cues and using a lathe I am certain if I wanted to machine a pen I probably could. The learning curve probably would not be too drastic. I am sure I will screw up a few along the way. A risk I am willing to take on cheaper pens. I find occasionally messing up sometimes is the best learning tool there is.

Edited May 23, 2016 by Bamapendude

[Sasha Royale]

The lever-fill / sac fountain pen appeared in the early 1930's. The mechanism was reliable, inexpensive to use, and easy to service. In the following 25 years, there were many fountain pen models using the lever-fill system. Many are still around. Mostly, there were cheap, but I find they have nice nibs. Try to find some. They are not expensive to collect. Sixty year old plastic can be

brittle and flawed. It is easy to crack, crush, or otherwise destroy such a pen.

 

Proceed carefully.

[Runnin_Ute]

Lots of good information. Earlier this year, I did my first sac replacement on an Esterbrook J. To replace the sac on an Estie, you need the following:

 

sacs (#16) @ $2 each from Anderson Pens (I bought 3 in case I needed some down the road)

Talc $3

Sac Shellac: $5

 

Cost me $20 shipped.

 

But it is a sunk cost especially if you are just doing your own, and only occasionally. I might attribute the cost of a sac to the pen, but even for an accountant, it is to hard to do so with the rest.

[zwack]

The talc and Shellac will last you many repairs worth though.

 

My advice is, if you can, pick up the pen, carefully test any moving parts, you don't want to do any damage but you should know if you are meeting too much resistance or not enough. If you can try and open the pen do so. Look at the nib and feed, do they look damaged? does the nib flex? what is the nib made from?

 

Now based on what you can tell of the condition of the pen, what do you think it is worth to you? Remember that even if you can never get the pen working perhaps you can use that nice flexible gold nib and ebonite feed in a different pen.

 

Equally, I wouldn't pay more than $20 for a pen unless I knew a bit more about it.

[ac12]

 

Lots of good information. Earlier this year, I did my first sac replacement on an Esterbrook J. To replace the sac on an Estie, you need the following:

 

sacs (#16) @ $2 each from Anderson Pens (I bought 3 in case I needed some down the road)

Talc $3

Sac Shellac: $5

 

Cost me $20 shipped.

 

But it is a sunk cost especially if you are just doing your own, and only occasionally. I might attribute the cost of a sac to the pen, but even for an accountant, it is to hard to do so with the rest.

 

 

Overhead. Too difficult to try to figure out and allocate the tiny amount for each pen.

As a SWAG, you could allocate 30 cents of overhead to each pen, based on eventually doing 25 pens with the talc and shellac.

 

geez, only an accountant would have this discussion.