What Did I Do To My Esterbrook J?

[majolo]

I have a nice Esterbrook J lever filler, bought fully restored and working nicely. I ordered some different nibs to try the interchangeable nibs feature. Before receiving them I wanted to try to get the existing nib out and, long story short, I "unscrewed" the section instead of the nib unit.... Once I felt an elastic resistance I realized my mistake and pushed it back in. But now the filling mechanism seems to be broken: it won't draw up water, and the lever doesn't quite behave the same (won't stay out at 90 degrees without holding it there).

 

Did I break the sac? Did I do something further to damage the mechanism? I'm going to buy another J anyway since they're not too expensive, but should I try to fix it and learn from my mistake? (Very new to vintage pens here, but have been reading on richardspens.com and trying to learn more.)

 

Thanks in advance.

[FarmBoy]

Warm the end of the barrel and pull the section. You most likely have a twisted up or damaged sac.

 

Farmboy

[majolo]

The section was coming out fairly easily (about 1/4 inch) until I felt the elastic resistance. Could the sac have gotten stuck to or hooked on something in the barrel? From what I've read it should only be attached to the section, is this correct?

[Gloucesterman]

Listen to what Farmboy said. The required restoration might simply be a careful removal of the section and a new sac. It's not a difficult thing to do on one's own. Several YouTube videos available.

 

If you choose to do it on your own the real cost involved would be buying the sac, talc and shellac. Unless you have them on hand what you buy will repair many "lever-fill sacced" pens in the future.

 

Good saccing... it's pretty straightforward.

[DanDeM]

From what I've read it should only be attached to the section, is this correct?

Yes.

 

Now think about that.

 

To change an Estie nib you screw it out.

 

You screwed out the whole d*****d section.

 

Screw the section and you twist the sac.

 

Twist the sac and the lever goes wonky.

 

Have you considered something that uses cartridges or MS Word?

 

Edited July 26, 2016 by DanDeM

[majolo]

Yes.

 

Now think about that.

 

To change an Estie nib you screw it out.

 

You screwed out the whole d*****d section.

 

Screw the section and you twist the sac.

 

Twist the sac and the lever goes wonky.

 

Have you considered something that uses cartridges or MS Word?

 

 

I must say the tone of this does not seem very welcoming. Nevertheless, thank you for the information.

[estie1948]

There is some damage done to the sac in all probability. You may have twisted the sac (good possibility). You may also have snagged the twisted sac on the pressure bar (very slight possibility) or the twisted sac may have moved the pressure bar a bit out of line (very slight possibility).

 

So what do you do now? When you say the section was coming out about a quarter of an inch, could you see the end of the section where the sac is attached or was it out a bit farther so that you saw the sac beyond the section? If you saw only the section where the sac is attached, that elastic resistance you felt may have been just the sac/section tight in the lip of the barrel. In which case, follow Farmboy's advice. Gently warm the end of the barrel where the section enters it until you can pull the section and sac free. If you are uncertain as to how far the section was out, then do this before you try anything else. By warming the end of the barrel where the section fits in, you cause it to expand slightly giving the extra bit of room needed for the section and sac (twisted or not) to come out.

 

If you are 100% certain the section was out a bit farther so that you saw the sac beyond the end of the section and could see that the sac was not straight, then you can try turning the section as if you were screwing in a nib unit in the hopes that you could untwist the sac and it will all slide out nicely. It might work.

 

Keep us advised of your progress. This is a very fixable situation and one day, you will be explaining to someone new to vintage pens how to fix the problem. You will probably tell them to hold on to the section when they start to unscrew the nib unit of an Esterbrook. Don't you wish one of us had the foresight to tell you that before you started to unscrew the nib unit of your Esterbrook J.

 

Don't get down on yourself and don't give up on the pen. You can do this. I promise.

 

-David (Estie).

Edited July 26, 2016 by estie1948

[Sasha Royale]

I don't think you broke the sac. I think you broke the fill lever or the J-bar. Or, maybe, something became dislodged. Don't force it. Have it serviced.

[gweimer1]

I would think that a well restored pen should allow for even some twisting of the section without a major problem. A lot of pens I've worked on had the old sac still attached after removing the section, and they weren't twisted as I removed the section.

 

So...as others have mentioned....

 

• You'll need to remove the section at this point to find out what happened.
• Resistance indicates that something was already not right in the pen. Moisture inside (that's why we use talc) can promote things sticking and rust.
• If the lever is now loose when extended, my guess would be a broken J bar, as well.
• This is a pretty straightforward situation, and we'll get you through it. There's some satisfaction to be found in learning this for yourself. Future pens will make use of this knowledge.

[drop_m]

I think the person who served your pen doesn't have applied talc on the ink sac. I've forgot to do it on one of the first pens i've serviced - - and i came across of a problem like the one you've described.

In mi case the sac was not broken but just twisted on itself and has blocked the lever to remain in place at 90°

If you're interested on vintage pens, i suggest you to try to solve this problem by yourself. Apart from being funny and rewarding - imho - it will make your life easier in your next "vintage experiences"!

Edited July 27, 2016 by drop_m

[majolo]

Thanks all for the advice. I got the section and sac out. The sac had gotten twisted around and hung up on the J-bar (I think that's what it's called). The sac is pretty much squished especially at the front end so it doesn't open up. I took the sac off for now and expect I will replace it eventually, but for the immediate future I have a new pen body coming in the mail.

[estie1948]

Well done! You are half way home on your first fountain pen resacing. See the resacing topic in the Esterbrook forum for what to do now. Your supplies (if you haven't already gotten them) can be purchased from several sources just one of which is Pendemonium (www.pendemonium.com). Be sure that the talc you use is pure talc (such as what your supplier will sell you) and not talcum powder. Many people have tried to save a bit and use some talcum they already have on hand. It has ingredients that will bring a rapid end to the new sac you are installing.

 

Congratulations again on getting past that first hurdle!

 

-David (Estie).