Is It Profitable To Restore Vintage Pens For Selling?

[Elandaria]

I'm very fascinated about how fountain pens work and I want to learn how to repair them and restore them, just because I like to know how to repair things. But for doing that I need to invest time, effort, and money for buying the pens and tools, so I want to get sure that is a redituable activity. And why not, to earn a few extra money for doing something that I like.

[FarmBoy]

What are your expectations in terms of margin and total revenue?

[canibanoglu]

It all depends on the price you buy the pens at. If you want to earn something meaningful, you would be buying the pens at around $10-20 on average and after restoration you would be selling them for around $150 on average. You need to invest a lot of time to learn how to do the repairs correctly and you need some luck to find the replacement parts that you are going to use. There will of course be pens that you can sell for much, much more than $150 but finding those pens is a challenge in and of itself, so don't plan on it.

 

In time, you will gather the courage to actually fix other people's pens. Don't take this lightly, it is a huge responsibility. That will bring in money as well but as I said, you need to have the parts to make the repairs and finding the parts for a pen is often harder to find than the pen itself (for vintage pens of course).

 

My advice is don't worry about earning money from this yet. You obviously don't know how to do repairs yet, buy some cheap, battered pens and try to fix them. Once you fix them, you can try to sell them for some profit which would go towards offsetting your parts/tools expenditures. You will mess up pens beyond repair, that is a fact, don't take it too harshly and try to learn from your mistakes. And whatever you do don't try to repair pens that you can't afford to break.

 

Focus on specific models first. Maybe early Watermans? Parker vacumatics? Parker 51? Vintage Montblancs? Vintage Pelikans? You pick your poison.

 

But above everything else, enjoy the process itself.

[fabri00]

Tools needed are not so expansive.

[zaddick]

The answer is yes, it CAN be profitable, but at lot has to do with how fast you learn and how cheap you can get the pens that need help.

 

Look at sited like this and other main pen site classifieds to see what restored pens sell for from people who are pros. Don't expect to get that much and that should give you an idea of potential profit opportunity.

[gweimer1]

I'll chime in, since I am two years into essentially what you describe. Pretty much everything posted so far is what I've found. I'll add a number of random observations and experiences.

 

• Restoring pens is part chemistry, part engineering, and lots of patience
• You can start out with pens that are easily obtained and not expensive to repair, but over time you should plan on investing a good deal of money in the long run - parts, tools, reference books, solvents/polish, storage, etc.
• Get to a pen show, and take every session on repair that you can. They are invaluable.
• Buy the Marshall-Oldfield book on repairs.
• Practice, practice, practice. Expect to break pens. That's where your first parts supply will begin.
• Listen to the knowledge passed on by others. Don't be afraid to ask questions. The Repair Q&A forum here is a great place to learn things.
• Learn about nibs and how they work. This may be one of the most valuable skills you'll get. An ugly pen that writes beautifully is a better thing than a beautiful pen that you can only look at. If you see the bargain bins at pen shows, you'll find a lot of nice looking pens that have nib problems.
• Plan to lose money for at least your first year. Until you have a reputation, you will have to anticipate low returns for your time and effort.
• Look at everything closely. Learn the small details for as many pens as you can. Knowing the parts, and how each pen is constructed, will teach how to spot that Sumgai deal somewhere that is being sold really cheap because it is mislabeled.
• Buy pens that you may not be able to sell, but can use to learn about a new pen and how it works. I've learned a few pens that I got cheap because they were flawed, but the experience was what I paid for. It's how I got my hands on, and learned how to fix, a Waterman Lady Patricia ink-vue and the Waterman glass cartridge pen. Those reference materials you get can step you through the process.
• Don't fret over losing a good deal on a pen that needs to be fixed. There will be plenty of opportunities to get one again.
• Take your time and enjoy yourself. I am pleased with my progress over the past two years.
• Help others. This is a great community, and helping each other is how we learn and how we can share our experiences with others.

[Elandaria]

Thank you for all your answers.

 

I just bought a black Esterbrook SJ from a flea market and it will be my first pen restoration. Wish me luck!

[redbike]

Thank you for all your answers.

 

I just bought a black Esterbrook SJ from a flea market and it will be my first pen restoration. Wish me luck!

Good pen to start with. One tip on Esterbrooks: the sections are fragile if not supported by a nib unit, so to be safe keep a nib unit in the section when working on the pen. Good luck.

[ac12]

You will have to generate a LOT of repair work to recover your investment, and begin to make a profit.

This will take a long time, MANY years.

 

Damaging or destroying a pen is part of the "tuition" of learning to repair pens.

Start with cheap/inexpensive pens, because you WILL damage/destroy pens as you learn. I have.

As GW said, you will accumulate pens that you damage/destroy, and they will be your "parts pens" to scavenge for parts to repair other pens. This what I call my "AW SH*T" box, because that is what I say when I break the pen.

I would NOT take on pens that you are not familiar with, as you do not want to learn on a clients pen, and risk damaging or destroying it.

 

For me, pulling the section from the pen is the hardest and most dangerous part of repairing a lever or button filler. That is likely where you will break the barrel.

Some are friction fit, others are threaded. Pulling a threaded section won't get it out, you need to unscrew it.

Some like the Parker 61 are non-intuitive, and you have to know the trick to disassembling it.

 

The next part is knocking out the feed. Do it wrong and you damage the nib, or crack the section.

And the feed of Esterbrooks can't be knocked out the same way other feeds are. There are several threads on removing the Esterbrook feed+nibs, search for them.

 

Some of the tools are expensive (individually or collectively); Parker Vac filler tools, nib block, various small tools.

- The Vac tools are expensive enough ($75 USD for the filler removal tools) that unless you will repair MANY vacs, you will not recover the cost of the tools.

- Most metal nib blocks are EXPENSIVE, about $300+ USD. There is a much less expensive acrylic nib block, about $30 USD, that is usable for most of us non professionals.

- You will need many small tools, which in total will probably be expensive. Some you can make or modify yourself, but other will have to be bought.

 

For me, I know I may never recover the total cost that I spent for tools and education.

What I make just helps to offset PART of the cost.

Edited October 25, 2016 by ac12

[Elandaria]

Good pen to start with. One tip on Esterbrooks: the sections are fragile if not supported by a nib unit, so to be safe keep a nib unit in the section when working on the pen. Good luck.

 

Thank you for the tip.

 

Actually the pen is in working condition, so it will be very easy, I hope (unless I screw it). It has the original esterbrook sac, it's dirty and every time I clean it you can see little solid residues in the dirty water, so I don't know if replacing it with a new one or just try to clean this one in a obsesive way. The nib is a 9556 and it writes, very dry and with a lot of feedback, but it writes; also it delivers a lot of nib creep, and I mean A LOT, I really don't understand why because it doesn't leak at all. The body of the pen needs a nice polish, no big deal about that. The lever is a little bit loose and I can listen it moving when I write with the pen and it's annoying.

[FarmBoy]

Thank you for the tip.

 

Actually the pen is in working condition, so it will be very easy, I hope (unless I screw it). It has the original esterbrook sac, it's dirty and every time I clean it you can see little solid residues in the dirty water, so I don't know if replacing it with a new one or just try to clean this one in a obsesive way. The nib is a 9556 and it writes, very dry and with a lot of feedback, but it writes; also it delivers a lot of nib creep, and I mean A LOT, I really don't understand why because it doesn't leak at all. The body of the pen needs a nice polish, no big deal about that. The lever is a little bit loose and I can listen it moving when I write with the pen and it's annoying.

If you are restoring the pen replace the sac.

[estie1948]

I would like to suggest you spend some time looking at the many pages of Fountain Pen Restoration web site ( https://munsonpens.wordpress.com/category/belmont-pens/ ). You can see how restoring a fountain pen should be done. Click on the different pen names in the far right column to go to different pages to see the pen when he has disassembled the pen in need of repair and the completed pen once it is restored. Every part of the pen is cleaned. Every defective part is replaced. The completed pen often looks as good as when it was new. This is what every good pen restorer does. Go to some of the pen restorers who are members here. While most don't show before and after pictures, you will notice that the pictures of the the restored pens that are for sale look like new pens. It is not easy. It is time and labor intensive, especially at the start. I have repaired some of my pens when they needed it including replacing the occasional sac and such, but this does not constitute restoring the pens. It is just keeping them writing. An ever present complaint is that someone purchased a pen on eBay that was listed as restored but was merely repaired, if even that.

 

You can restore fountain pens. You have the ability and can learn the procedures and how to use the tools. If you develop your skills sufficiently and are diligent, you will earn a reputation as a pen restorer and maybe earn some money at it. I wish you great luck.

 

-David (Estie).

[PaulS]

some very good advice here.................... and then what if someone asks you to re-plate the lever, clip and cap ring/s - do you automatically turn them down, or rush out and buy the necessary kit? I understand it's not that expensive and can of course make an older pen look very clever, since it's the older ones that need this sort of rejuvenation.

Every time I reach for the Marshall and Oldfield repair manual - an essential piece of kit in my opinion - I'm always reminded of the late Arthur Twydle's maxim......... "Repairing pens should be fun and usually is until you start repairing other people's pens. Only then do you appreciate what you don't know".

 

IMHO a full kit for real restoration is not cheap, and I'd agree that some years of experience are needed to become good..... however, wish you best of luck.

[Otter1]

Just an observation: Initially, you are probably better off restoring and selling pens you buy yourself. This way, if a repair doesn't work out as you hoped, no one else's property is involved. After you've done that for awhile you will have developed your skills to the point where you could repair other people's pens, and you would have a reputation with prospective clients through the pens you had already restored and sold.

 

I have performed simple restorations for friends on their pens, but as soon as I see anything that might go wrong if I repair it, I direct them to a professional restorer. A recent case was a waterman 452 with a crack in the threads around the section. I didn't want to tackle it for fear of damaging it and suggested a couple of repair places to them.

 

-Otter1

[gweimer1]

^^^ what he said. "Learn to say NO". I try to be realistic in my pursuit of this hobby/business. I maintain that until I am able to do things like reproduce parts at will, and do true invasive restoration, I am doing more repair/revival than anything. There are pens I cannot work on, and won't until I'm sure I'm equipped and knowledgeable. I can replace/swap parts, which is a start. I even have a machine shop that makes reproduction Esterbrook cap jewels to spec. Last year, someone from church gave me an old Sheaffer half Balance lever fill that was a little beat...."this was my grandfather's". I researched and told him what he had, but declined to do anything further. I might be confident enough now, but not then. Ron Zorn preaches this often, and it's the best advice I've tried to take to heart - "Do no harm"

 

We're not trying to discourage you. This is a lot of fun to do. For me, I found that I preferred working on pens than collecting them. In order to learn and grow, I have to sell the pens I've finished. If it's any indication (and I am truly a novice at this), I have been doing this for a couple years, have probably worked on 300 pens or so, 50 of which are probably laying as parts or orphans for another day, and my records show that I'm probably breaking even at best. When I bought my electroplating machine, and a planned lathe next year, that will change. The fun for me is the learning and the accomplishment.

[Elandaria]

Thank you for all your wise advices and warnings. I'm gonna be very carefull, also gonna lower my expectations (at least at the beginning).

[sidthecat]

As a customer, there's nothing like getting a pen that's ready to go.