Valiant Vac-Filler - Durability And Ink To Use

[Megaloblatta]

I recently purchased a restored vintage Sheaffer green striped Valiant vac-filler and have two questions which I can't find answers to. They are:

 

1) Are the cellulose nitrate barrels of these pens known to degrade (crack, crumble), or is the celluloid pretty stable?

2) Is it safe to use Sailor Kiwa-guro ink, or might it stain the barrel?

 

I have never used a celluloid pen before and don't want to damage it. I am hoping it will be good for regular use..

 

I would be very grateful for your thoughts.

[Uncial]

They are very nice pens but there are two deeply irritating issues regarding them. Firstly, they are prone to cracks, especially around the barrel-section join and even the tiniest hairline will stop the pen filling. Cracks are very often fatal. The washer in the filling system can also come loose quite easily and end up stuck near the bottom of the barrel. Its an utter pain to fix and can happen very easily. I can't tell you about the staining of the sailor ink.

[CS388]

The washer in the filling system can also come loose quite easily and end up stuck near the bottom of the barrel.

 

Exactly what happened to my Valiant! I replaced the washer and it happened again, about a month later.

It's odd, because it didn't happen on my other Sheaffers?

 

OP: I've never used that particular ink - but never had any staining problems with other inks in my Valiant (Brown striated)

[Megaloblatta]

They are very nice pens but there are two deeply irritating issues regarding them. Firstly, they are prone to cracks, especially around the barrel-section join and even the tiniest hairline will stop the pen filling. Cracks are very often fatal. The washer in the filling system can also come loose quite easily and end up stuck near the bottom of the barrel. Its an utter pain to fix and can happen very easily. I can't tell you about the staining of the sailor ink.

Oh dear - in my fairly extensive reading on the internet about these pens I didn't come across these issues! I would hate cracks to happen - had enough of that with my TWSBI pen... If such cracks did occur then are they sealable using MEK?

 

Incidentally, are we both talking about the Sheaffer Valiant vac-filler with the "Triumph" nib - rather than the "Balance" design? I should have made this clear.

Edited March 23, 2018 by Megaloblatta

[Uncial]

Yes, the little conical wrap around nibs. I think they look great.

Regarding crack repairs, they are notoriously difficult to do. I don't know what MEK is, but there was a thread here not that long ago (perhaps in the last year) talking about how to repair a crack and how some managed it with a vacuum process to suck the sealant into the minuscule gap in order to set and make a seal. It sounded far, far more complex than I could do myself. I think the issue with that type of fix was that it tended to create an unsightly or sensitive (to touch) ridge and wasn't a guarantee against the crack travelling up the length of the barrel. I had a lovely Valliant with a very nice, smooth nib and it developed a teeny weeny weeny crack. I sent it off to someone who fixed them for a living and he said it wouldn't be worth fixing because the crack would eventually travel up the barrel. I was sad.

Regarding the filling washers, I find that quite annoying. It isn't easy to get into the pen and it is easy to create a crack getting in. I have never attempted it myself for fear of doing damage. Many of the Valliants you buy today are from the war era so the materials are not quite what they probably should have been in terms of quality. That, combined with age, can make them very brittle and if you aren't careful, you can completely destroy the pen with great ease.

[Ron Z]

Wow. A boat load of misinformation!

 

These are very reliable pens when properly restored. I have done well over a thousand of these over the last 11 years or so (I know how many orders of 0-rings I've had to place), and rarely see cracking. Not to say that they never crack, but it is less common than the posts above suggest when the pen has been in more or less normal environmental conditions. The striped and black celluloid used by Sheaffer in these pens is some of the most stable of the era. The only time I've had a barrel crack during repair was while inserting a packing unit in the back end, and then only a handful of times. These were easily repaired by solvent welding.

 

Likewise, when properly restored with the right rubber for the head gaskets, and a little thread sealant on the threads at the end of the rod, both the head gaskets and the nut stay in place.

 

The original head gasket material was 0.026" thick, and was made out of a graphite impregnated rubber. We use a high grade buna-N that is within 0.001" of the original. That thickness can be hard to find, but it obviously does exist. Many repair people substitute a thicker and softer rubber, which tends to bind on the barrel wall, and can pull over the nut holding the head gasket in place. But with the right rubber, the right thickness, and the right durometer, I've seen these pens functioning just as well 5 or 6 years after repair as they did when first restored. All that was needed was a little silicone grease on the plunger rod so that it moved in and out smoothly.

 

So the emphatically contrary statement is that these are great, reliable, tough pens. I have three in regular constant rotation and have for several years. The only thing I would say is that the same care with selecting ink that you would use when the ink is held directly in the barrel of a celluloid pen (as with Vacumatics, Wahl Dorics, Pelikans etc) would apply here. Some inks can damage, and stain celluloid.

 

re. solvent welding celluloid. Yes, there is some skill involved and you need to use the right materials and techniques. But a skilled pen mechanic can make cracks disappear, and have a strong repair. It isn't for the amateur.

[Megaloblatta]

Wow. A boat load of misinformation!

 

These are very reliable pens when properly restored. I have done well over a thousand of these over the last 11 years or so (I know how many orders of 0-rings I've had to place), and rarely see cracking. Not to say that they never crack, but it is less common than the posts above suggest when the pen has been in more or less normal environmental conditions. The striped and black celluloid used by Sheaffer in these pens is some of the most stable of the era. The only time I've had a barrel crack during repair was while inserting a packing unit in the back end, and then only a handful of times. These were easily repaired by solvent welding.

 

Likewise, when properly restored with the right rubber for the head gaskets, and a little thread sealant on the threads at the end of the rod, both the head gaskets and the nut stay in place.

 

The original head gasket material was 0.026" thick, and was made out of a graphite impregnated rubber. We use a high grade buna-N that is within 0.001" of the original. That thickness can be hard to find, but it obviously does exist. Many repair people substitute a thicker and softer rubber, which tends to bind on the barrel wall, and can pull over the nut holding the head gasket in place. But with the right rubber, the right thickness, and the right durometer, I've seen these pens functioning just as well 5 or 6 years after repair as they did when first restored. All that was needed was a little silicone grease on the plunger rod so that it moved in and out smoothly.

 

So the emphatically contrary statement is that these are great, reliable, tough pens. I have three in regular constant rotation and have for several years. The only thing I would say is that the same care with selecting ink that you would use when the ink is held directly in the barrel of a celluloid pen (as with Vacumatics, Wahl Dorics, Pelikans etc) would apply here. Some inks can damage, and stain celluloid.

 

re. solvent welding celluloid. Yes, there is some skill involved and you need to use the right materials and techniques. But a skilled pen mechanic can make cracks disappear, and have a strong repair. It isn't for the amateur.

 

Phew - I was rapidly 'going off' the pen, so am very pleased to hear what you have to say about it - and you have obviously handled a LOT of them. Do you think that Sailor Kiwa-guro or Platinum carbon ink may stain the barrel? I read on Richard Binder's website that "Strongly alkaline inks can eat some organic resins, especially celluloid", however, I don't know what pH these inks are - and I have searched unsuccessfully for the information on the Web. Do you or anyone reading this have any idea?

[Ron Z]

I would suggest sticking with more mundane inks like Pelikan, Waterman, Montblanc etc Its just safer to do so. I prefer not to take a risk with vintage celluloid pens where the ink comes in direct contact with the barrel. The tendency of Parkers Superchrome ink to eat rubber and celluloid is one of the reasons why they used Lucite and PVC sacs in the aerometric 51 pens.

[pajaro]

Very interesting, even if you don't own any of these pens.

[Uncial]

Will solvent welding hold for a good length of time? The restorer I sent mine to said it wouldn't and in his experience the pens eventually crack up the seam of the ribbon so it's throwing good money after bad. I'm wondering - seeing that I still have the pen - if I should send it to someone else to try a fix.

[Ron Z]

I know that this isn't the answer you you want, but it depends... on the pen, the solvent used, the skill set of the person doing the work. Celluloid repair is one of my specialties, but I wouldn't want to comment further without seeing the pen. It also depends on whether the area has been contaminated by an attempted repair with superglue or some other adhesive. If that is the case, I likely would decline to even try to repair the pen.

 

Solvent welding is permanent, but it has to be done right, as I've found out over the years.