Easy To Maintain Vintage Flex?

[schin00]

Now, I don't know if such a pen exists. I'm looking for an easy to maintain and long-lasting vintage flex, preferably one that doesn't use the lever filling mechanism and ink sac, or any other components easily prone to breaking after a period of time. Any recommendations?

 

Thanks in advance

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

The early eyedropper (ED) pens are worthy of exploration.

 

The Waterman's 12 is one such.

 

The notion of "easily prone to breaking" is often due to user actions - pens are not suicidal.

 

So should you post in the Repair Forum, 'I broke my vintage pen/nib', I reckon you'll be missing at least one chakra, and I for one won't go looking for it, but if found will gift it to the resident owl.

 

__ __

 

ETA: As ever, I echo the advice of other more experienced and knowledgeable Members: Should one be new to flexi nibs, start your adventure with flexi dip pen nibs.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited June 25, 2017 by Sandy1

[ac12]

As Sandy said, "long-lasting vintage flex" will depend to a very great degree on you the writer.

• If you flex the pen a lot/wide, you will put stress on the nib, shortening its life.
• If you flex the nib too much, you will spring the nib, and the nib is likely destroyed.
• If you flex on the diagonal stroke, you are probably over stressing the trailing tine.

The trick is to be

• To be gentle in the amount you flex the nib.
• Flex the nib with the ink line and nib in alignment with each other, so both tines are evenly flexed.

 

If you are willing to pay for it, you can get a vintage flex nib put into a modern pen converter or piston pen. But this will require the services of a pen tech to consult with and then do the surgery for you. So as I said, IF you are willing to pay for it.

 

By the way, what you mean by "breaking after a period of time," specifically how long is "a period of time?"

I estimate that an ink sac will last, on average, about 10 years. How does that compare with your "a period of time?"

[schin00]

By the way, what you mean by "breaking after a period of time," specifically how long is "a period of time?"

I estimate that an ink sac will last, on average, about 10 years. How does that compare with your "a period of time?"

 

For me, around a decade will suffice.

As I'm not a vintage expert, I tend to stay away from pens with complicated filling mechanisms, especially those that I want to last. I've seen many examples of vintage pens with broken levers after a few months of regular use and ink sacs that gone bad in less than a year after purchase.

[ac12]

Ink sac life is not a constant. It is a bell shaped curve, some will fail in less than 10 years, other will last longer than 10 years. I have run into 50 year old sac that will still function. Although being 50 years old, who knows when it will fail?

 

The ink you use has an effect on sac life. Stick with the traditional inks; Parker, Sheaffer, Waterman, Pelikan.

Some inks are reported to be hard on sacs and will shorten their life.

 

Vintage pens are OLD. They have to be treated with care, or you WILL break it.

Having said that, a lever is a pretty simple mechanism, and given care have lasted for over 50 years in many pens.

 

However, if you feel more comfortable with a modern mechanism, you can have a vintage flex nib put into a modern pen. But you do need to consult with the pen tech, as not all modern pens are able to fit the old nibs. And that is another problem, fit. The curve of the nib MUST match the curve of the feed and section. So there may be a lot of trial and error to find a combo of nib and pen that will fit. This is one reason you pay the pen tech the extra money for his services.

[schin00]

Ink sac life is not a constant. It is a bell shaped curve, some will fail in less than 10 years, other will last longer than 10 years. I have run into 50 year old sac that will still function. Although being 50 years old, who knows when it will fail?

 

The ink you use has an effect on sac life. Stick with the traditional inks; Parker, Sheaffer, Waterman, Pelikan.

Some inks are reported to be hard on sacs and will shorten their life.

 

Vintage pens are OLD. They have to be treated with care, or you WILL break it.

Having said that, a lever is a pretty simple mechanism, and given care have lasted for over 50 years in many pens.

 

However, if you feel more comfortable with a modern mechanism, you can have a vintage flex nib put into a modern pen. But you do need to consult with the pen tech, as not all modern pens are able to fit the old nibs. And that is another problem, fit. The curve of the nib MUST match the curve of the feed and section. So there may be a lot of trial and error to find a combo of nib and pen that will fit. This is one reason you pay the pen tech the extra money for his services.

 

What about piston and eyedropper vintage pens? Do they tend to have longer lifespans compared to those with lever-inksacs?

Edited June 25, 2017 by schin00

[Sandy1]

It is awkward that somehow I feel dismayed, so shall extricate myself from this Topic :: got to know when its time to go :: punch-out and hit the silk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdmA43T0yag

 

Perhaps other more persistent Members can promote enjoyment and avoid disappointment for Member schin00

Edited June 25, 2017 by Sandy1

[ac12]

 

 

 

What about piston and eyedropper vintage pens? Do they tend to have longer lifespans compared to those with lever-inksacs?

 

As a rule, I do NOT like nor use eyedroppers, because of the potential mess.

• You have to make sure that you seal the pen when you refill, or it will leak out the joint.
• And the greater ink capacity is questionable, if you have to keep it above half full, to avoid burping.

Besides those issues, there is nothing to wear out.

 

The OLD piston pens used cork or similar material which sometimes breaks down. The old rubber seals have the same aging problem as rubber ink sacs. So you also have potential maintenance on piston pens also. And IMHO, they are more difficult to reseal than simply resacing a sac pen.

[Bo Bo Olson]

A properly re-corking, boiled paraffin... a slightly thick mineral oil, with beeswax... then slathered with silicon grease should make your re-corked pen good for the next 70 years...

 

 

Properly treated cork is the slickest piston.....I do recommend having that done if you have one with cork.......factor that into the purchase price.

You can buy a gasket cutter and 2.0 gasket from Richard Binder...if you want to take the easy way.

That would be a cheaper repair in many cases. In many old vintage pens with 1.0 plastic gaskets....'40-@55 are such, they might need it.

I have a number of them that don't....and a few that need it. On my list of things to do...come the day.

 

I don't recommend O rings....in you might well have to yank the pen apart to grease them too often. 98.61/2% going the cheap way is the wrong thing to do.

 

Rubber sacks ain't what they once were.....the once normal 30-40 years is no longer expected. Don't use supersaturated inks in them...can die in a week to a month from reports of repairmen.

Edited June 26, 2017 by Bo Bo Olson

[FarmBoy]

 

For me, around a decade will suffice.

As I'm not a vintage expert, I tend to stay away from pens with complicated filling mechanisms, especially those that I want to last. I've seen many examples of vintage pens with broken levers after a few months of regular use and ink sacs that gone bad in less than a year after purchase.

Sounds like you are hard on pens. By definition a vintage pen has been around and 'lasted'.

 

Broken and breaking levers sounds like abuse; what are the pens of yours that have failed after a few months and what has been the mode of failure?

[sandy101]

A dip pen sounds like a solution - and it will be much cheaper. You can buy beautiful Victorian dip pens/nib holders.

[ac12]

A dip pen sounds like a solution - and it will be much cheaper. You can buy beautiful Victorian dip pens/nib holders.

 

+1

 

I use dip pens when I want to do flex writing.

A replacement nib is about $2, so if you spring the nib, it is not a huge financial hit to the wallet.

But dip pen nibs do wear, so have to be replaced as they wear out.

 

DipPens.net has some really nice straight holders, at affordable prices. I have one.

I'm trying to get him to make oblique dip pen holders, then I would get more of his holders.

Edited June 26, 2017 by ac12

[Mauricio]

Vintage pens were made with much higher quality than most modern pens. And a lot of them were made to last a lifetime if used and cared for properly. A lot of fountain pen writers owned one single fountain pen back in the day. They used it daily, wrote a lot with it, and they used that same individual fountain pen for decades. The budgets for the top pen manufacturers were deep back in the day. They could hire anyone they wanted. They could afford to purchase any piece of equipment, and use any type of new technology. The market for fountain pens was huge back in the day. The market is tiny nowadays. The cost of a gold nib costs many times more than the cost of the entire pen body in many cases with modern pens.

 

Most people barely write nowadays. Of those few who write even few know how to use a fountain pen. Of those few who use fountain pens, most of them are new to fountain pens and come with all the bad habits learned from using ball points, practice the depth grip, are very hard on pens and nibs, and put lots of pressure when writing, etc. I have also found that some of these people have huge fear of learning about all the wonderful technological developments fountain pen manufacturers made during their hay day in terms of external styles, pen materials, filling mechanism, the huge variety of nib types, pen body sizes ... and all of these were made back when the fountain pen market was huge and they had deep pockets to invest heavily in all sorts of new technologies. That marketplace was so fiercely competitive that manufacturers went to the extent to patent feeds, clips, filling mechanisms, etc. It is simply fascinating and enriching to venture into learning about all of these developments, almost as fascinating as to using and writing with our fountain pens!

 

Whatever you use, whether is a modern or a vintage fountain pen, a weed eater, a blender, a coffee maker, a new phone, a new remote control, a new car with more electronic gadgets ... anything new (to you) will require learning to use it and how to properly take care of it. I strongly recommend you to venture into this. Take one filling mechanism at a time. Learn how to use it, how to properly fill those pens, how to properly flush them, how to properly take care of them. I promise it will be an exciting and enjoyable venture!

Edited June 27, 2017 by Mauricio

[Honeybadgers]

I'd wager my well restored Schaeffer craftsman or snorkel stateman pens ($45 and $85, lever and rube goldberg fill respectively) are going to last me until I die with MAYBE an ink sac or two between them, not leaving them inked or deliberately trying to snap something.

 

Levers are literally one of the most simple and reliable filling systems that possibly could exist. The benefit is that all you have to replace in the case of a failure is an ink sac, whereas piston and vac fillers have more moving, proprietary parts. I actually adore lever fillers in pens that I'm not serially changing inks.

 

There's a reason these vintage pens are still around - they really are tough. Any vintage flexer in good, restored working order will last you 30-50 years at LEAST as long as you aren't forcing it beyond where any pen should.

 

That said, keep an eye on Greg Minusken's website - he routinely sells spencerian flex stuff in like-new condition for relatively nothing. I got a needlepoint spencerian firm full flex eversharp for $150 shipped. 0.1-1.5mm easily without feeling like I'm stressing anything.

Edited June 27, 2017 by Honeybadgers