Sheaffer Feather Touch Lever Fill 1912-1914

[downbytheriver]

I have received a Sheaffer Feather Touch lever fill pen, I have cleaned it the best i can and have dipped it to see how it writes, and it is real nice but the sac has dried up and i can not get the section apart to replace it, the pen has dates that range from Dec 10, 1912 to Nov 23, 1914.

I am having trouble attaching a picture to this post but can email or text it to someone if you need to see it,

Thank you

Brad

[redbike]

Things to try to get it apart.

 

1. Soak the pen in water up to the level of the section/barrel joint. This serves to dissolve any dried ink which may act as glue to hold the two pieces together. Do not submerge the pen further as you do not want to rust the metal j-bar inside the pen.

2. Use heat - either a hair dryer or heat gun to loosen the joint. You must be careful as too much heat will warp the section or barrel. Keep your fingers near the joint as you apply heat. If it's too hot for your fingers, it's too hot for the pen.

3. Use something to increase your grip on the pen. Some use a bike tire tube, some use a piece of carpet gripper pad. Be careful with this method too as you risk damage if you apply too much torque.

 

This is also worth reading. Good luck.

[Ron Z]

Daniel Kirchheimer or Roger Wooten can give exact dates for the nib. The dates you see are patent dates, not the dates that pens were made. The Feather Touch nib was found on a lot of different pen models, and is not an indicator of the model itself. They appeared on some of the earlier Balance pens on non-white dot (so non-Lifetime) models on the early 30s, and then on into the 1950s on pens like the Admiral.

[downbytheriver]

i have tried water and i have GW 135D tool meant to grip the pen. and it doesn't work , im not concerned so much with the J spring, as i have extras. so the only other avenue is heat which i will try next, thank you for all the help.

Brad

 

[kirchh]

If you are not experienced using heat to remove sections, you might want to practice on some pens you don't mind destroying before taking on a pen you care about.

 

I don't recommend employing a procedure without regard to whether the pressure bar (not really a J-bar, in this case) will be damaged; it's unlikely that you have a correct replacement, and the pen will not function as well (and it will be somewhat devalued) with an incorrect replacement part.

 

The pen sounds like a flat top from the early to mid-'30s, if the nib is original, or it might be an earlier pen with a replacement nib.

 

--Daniel

[Lazard 20]

... the pen has dates that range from Dec 10, 1912 to Nov 23, 1914.

Brad

 

Although Sheaffer had already flirting with the feathertouch concept before, Sheaffer'S Feathertouch nibs not appear until late 1931.

[kirchh]

 

Although Sheaffer had already flirting with the feathertouch concept before, Sheaffer'S Feathertouch nibs not appear until late 1931.

 

Well, by August, 1931, pens with nibs using the Feathertouch principle were being sold, though it sounds like the OP's pen has a nib actually marked "Feather Touch" (or a variant thereof), which would be a few years later (early-mid '34) at the earliest.

 

--Daniel