Wahl 14K Pen

[broitsseth]

hi, first time poster

 

i have a wahl 14k pen i have no idea what its worth or what it is but here are pics and can someone please help me out on figuring out what it is:

http://picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/24792658

 

sorry for the bad picture quality all i have at the time is a laptop to take pics with

 

the tip says this on it: wahl

o

14k

 

on the cap it says: wahl pen gold filled made in u.s.a.

Edited November 29, 2017 by broitsseth

[penmanila]

it's a wahl ringtop from the 1920s, gold-plated with a 14K nib. see here:

 

http://www.peytonstreetpens.com/wahl-ring-top-fountain-pen-tiny-gold-filled-greek-key-flexible-fine-0-14k-nib-excellent-restored.html

[broitsseth]

wow!

i had no idea it was worth so much!

mine has what looks like ink stains on it can those clean off?

ill eventually be selling it but i want to get the most i can for it so im trying to make it look better any things that make it less valuable?

[Kelly G]

Best advice, don't try to do too much to your pen. That is not a pen you want to learn repair techniques on. Also be aware that with old fountain pens, condition is critical when determining price. They Peyton Street pen is in excellent condition and restored - in other words, very little if any wear and a new sac installed; in working order. Your pen in its present condition is not worth nearly as much. But, it does have value. If you wish to extract the most value from selling it, you might consider having a pro do the restoration and then sell it. I'm guessing you will spend $35 - $50 on the restoration if nothing is seriously wrong with the pen. A good pen tech can advise you if the pen is worth the expense of restoration.

 

Good luck with your pen!

[penmanila]

that's right. i myself have found these pens on ebay (i still have a few of them) for much less than that, so as kelly says, it depends on condition (and also on how badly a buyer wants one). if you're new to pens, don't mess with it--something might break off. (if i remember right, some metal wahl pens have sections that screw in the other way). send it to someone like danny fudge (www.thewritepen.net) for restoration. he'll do a great job for less than $50.

[broitsseth]

yeah, im pretty new to pens and from the advice given ill send it to someone to get it fixed but from what i can tell the tip is bent and it needs ink so besides danny fudge are there other any people i should contact to get it restored?

[crescentfiller]

OP, You have a nice little pen. It would take very little to get it up and running.

 

It needs a new sac ($2.00), a bit of a gentle soak (nib, feed, section), and a very light polish.

 

However, I'm not sure you'd get much more than half of the price of the pen in the link. Those folks have an established reputation and offer a guarantee. You might actually be better off selling it as-is.

 

So, I would caution spending a lot to have someone restore it for you. Nonetheless, Danny Fudge does excellent work, has very reasonable prices, and has the quickest turnaround.

 

Good luck!

[broitsseth]

You might actually be better off selling it as-is.

 

so i should i at least polish it?

if anyone is interested in buying it pm me id love to hear some numbers!

[Tweel]

If there's dirt on it, you could try cleaning it off the exterior metal work only with a damp (not wet) cotton cloth, but don't get any water into it, e.g. through the lever slot in the side. There are parts that can be damaged by water. I don't think there's a lot of point to polishing up an unrestored pen -- definitely don't break out the Brasso or anything like that, or you could strip the gold plating off.

 

And as a new member with 4 posts, you can't sell anything on the Fountain Pen Network yet. When you can, it has to be in the Marketplace, not in the discussion forums. See the Classified Rules under Rules & Guidelines at the top of any FPN page.

[Greenie]

Gently polish the pen with a sunshine cloth, or a microfiber cloth and some polish. I am not sure which readily available polishes are best, but Flitz fro an auto store, or polish for silverware should do fine. It will almost certainly clean up easily and look great when you are done. Be Gentle!

 

I do not want to throw a wet blanket on you..... But.......

 

I would say these are at best $80 (once they are restored) on the open market, when you have no reputation regarding the quality of repair, and no way for buyers to know if you stand behind the pen and the work done on it. Ebay advanced search for completed sales shows Wahl 0 pens selling for: $40, $52, and $17.39 (with 4 bids on the cheap one). But a Buy It Now sold for $79.99, restored with a writing sample showing that the nib was flexible.

 

If you are planning on selling, you might do better just making it shine and selling unrestored. A lot of us can put new sacs in pens, so there is not always as much of a price increase for restoration as you might hope.

 

Finally, the market for ringtop pens is not that great, and a Wahl 0 baby ringtop is a "cute" pen but not a pent that people chase.

[sidthecat]

I’ve found a new use for that size of pen: I recently had Mr. Minuskin transplant a pair of #2 gold dip pen nibs onto two of those tiny Wahl pens. Posted, they’re quite big enough and if you crave flex, it’s a wonderful thing to play with. The smaller dip pens are pretty easy to find in the usual places.