A Mysterious Le Man 100

[DCDenizen]

Hello everyone!

 

I was able to acquire what appears to be a really nice Le Man 100 on eBay. In one of the pictures on the auction, it was shown disassembled, which I thought was a bit odd, but figured it was just the sellers penchant for taking things apart.

 

When I received it yesterday, I found it a little odd that the standard ink cartridges dont fit inside the barrel of the pen. Also, I have a brand new converter that would not fit either. The opening in the barrel is too small for the cartridge or converter to slide in.

 

The pen does not appear to have modified in any way.

 

Is there anyone that might be able to tell me if this is a vintage pen that has some other way to store ink in the barrel? The nib assembly has the same kind of nipple that all of my other Watermans have. I have attached a picture of the disassembled pen.

 

Thanks in advance for any information or advice...

 

DC Denizen

 

[Left FPN]

The parts are not fully disassembled. The brass core of the section is still screwed into the barrels brass sleeve.

 

Part A should unscrew from part B

 

 

Then you have to reassemble the section.

 

The parts C, screw together with parts A for which you may require some Loctite adhesive.

 

[RMN]

Hi.

Possibly it might be helpful to show the pen as it is now. Including a picture of the cartridge side of the section.

 

 

D.ick

[RMN]

The parts are not fully disassembled. The core of the section is still screwed into the barrels brass sleeve.

 

 

Hi.

Possibly it might be helpful to show the pen as it is now. Including a picture of the cartridge side of the section.

 

 

D.ick

 

 

It looks like Force had about the same idea as I did.

 

D.ick

[Chrissy]

It took me quite a while to work out what should be going where....

[DCDenizen]

The core is completely frozen in the brass barrel section. It won’t move with all the pressure I can muster and I don’t have the proper tools to try and break it loose without damaging the soft metal where the nib assembly screws on...

 

Any suggestions? I suppose I could try and send it for repairs, or perhaps find a ‘parts only’ pen or barrel only.

 

Fortunately, I got a good enough price on it that I am not badly hurt in any case.

[Left FPN]

With the aid of a pair of kitchen rubber gloves and a hair dryer.

 

Put on the gloves and using the hair dryer, hold part A and part B at its mid point. This will keep heat away from part A allowing it to travel up part B. Hopefully the thread inside B will expand allowing the parts to be unscrewed.

 

The gloves should provide grip.

 

Repeat heat, cool, heat, cool until it gives.

 

If this fails perhaps try a penetrating oil. The return to the heating process.

[Chrissy]

The core is completely frozen in the brass barrel section. It won’t move with all the pressure I can muster and I don’t have the proper tools to try and break it loose without damaging the soft metal where the nib assembly screws on...

 

Any suggestions? I suppose I could try and send it for repairs, or perhaps find a ‘parts only’ pen or barrel only.

 

Fortunately, I got a good enough price on it that I am not badly hurt in any case.

 

You bought it on ebay, so you can return it for a full refund if you want to. That's what I would do. I assume it's "not as described" as the seller didn't say it was like this.

[RMN]

 

You bought it on ebay, so you can return it for a full refund if you want to. That's what I would do. I assume it's "not as described" as the seller didn't say it was like this.

 

You are mistaken. There was a pic in the auction disassembled. That surely showed the barrel and section parts together. So buyer new there was something not right. So no case of misrepresentation.

 

D.ick

[Left FPN]

We would require the full listing details before commenting on the possibility of a return.

 

Many many ebayers now use the ridiculous statement 'please study the pictures as they form part or all of the description'. In many cases the pictures are so poor it is impossible to tell what pen it is.

 

Let's see what the OP says and if he can release the parts.

[Chrissy]

 

You are mistaken. There was a pic in the auction disassembled. That surely showed the barrel and section parts together. So buyer new there was something not right. So no case of misrepresentation.

 

D.ick

 

Oh right. I missed the sentence where OP said in one of the pictures it was shown disassembled, and thought that first picture was the OP's picture.

 

Sellers sometimes take stuff apart then put them back together, and show that in images on their listings. It depends on what he said about the condition of the pen. Force is correct, we need to know what he said.

[praxim]

The statement that pictures form part of the description is a statement of the obvious, though apparently some people need that. All of it, or pictures inadequate to the purpose, are no better than obfuscation. If there is a significant defect, they buyer is not supposed to be asked to play detective to an unusual degree. In some cases the text or pictures compensate for the other.

[Chrissy]

I've now found a Waterman Man on ebay.com sold listings item # 312071357325 that has a picture showing a pen that's disassembled.

 

That listing says it's NOS - a brand new, unused, unopened, undamaged item.

[praxim]

...but is known to be at least 20 years old. However, given the seller disassembled up to that point, disclosure that they could go no further was needed in my view. It is not like they were selling a vintage pen gummed with ink, where I assume any part not stated to be good will be bad. I take NOS, unused, to mean fully functional, allowing only petrification of soft parts.

 

edit:editing error

Edited April 22, 2018 by praxim

[Left FPN]

It is 100% authentic and a Man 100 which was not stated.

 

NOS is debatable as I would expect a pen described as such to be in its original packaging otherwise you CANNOT describe a pen thus.

 

The sellers other items and his name imply an estate buyer/seller...NOS ????? again.

 

Pictures of a black pen in poor light are impossible to diagnose.

 

From what I can see most parts look in reasonable condition, especially the clip cap ring which in many cases is corroded.

 

The price $130 inc postage could well be a good price if the parts do separate without threading issues.

[Chrissy]

Fingers crossed that the parts separate without threading issues, and that the buyer can get them back so that they permanently stay in their correct places.

 

He won't want the brass core of the section coming out every time he unscrews the barrel.

 

I suppose it could be NOS. Would the core originally have been glued into the section?

[Left FPN]

Would the core originally have been glued into the section?

Yes, I have just fixed a Man 100 section with the very same issue.

 

The parts will require the old adhesives to be removed.

 

I used a needle file on the brass body grip area to remove old epoxy and then methylated spirits on the block and brass body to remove the old Loctite.

 

Then I used standard 24 hour epoxy on the grip sleeve allowing it to set and then Loctite 638 on the block thread.

 

It's all very simple and painless.