Lady Duofold Lucky Curve With Slightly Busted Cap

[ItchyPirate]

I was lucky enough to find a Lucky Curve at a local thrift shop. The only issue (other than the missing ink sack) is that the cap seems to be starting to crack and fall apart around the gold (brass?) band.

 

I don't have much experience in pen restoration, so I was hoping to get some advice on what I could do (if anything) to save the cap. Considering that it is in otherwise great condition and that things tend to become rarer with time (especially things as old as this pen already is), I really want to try to save it

[GlenV]

If it's permanite....do you have a pic?

Tougher if the crack goes around under the band though, if hard rubber then see the other post about this today for some good although less satisfying answers though I'm afraid, lots of lady Duofolds around....that's a good thing...

Edited January 19, 2019 by GlenV

[Ron Z]

Given the cost of a new cap for these pens vs repair, just buying a pen with a good cap is a better option.

[ItchyPirate]

If it's permanite....do you have a pic?

Tougher if the crack goes around under the band though, if hard rubber then see the other post about this today for some good although less satisfying answers though I'm afraid, lots of lady Duofolds around....that's a good thing...

I thought I attached my picture to my initial post, I guess it didn't upload for some reason and I'm not seeing the option to attach it again in the reply box. I'll see if I can figure that out.

 

I don't know if it helps, but it feels like plastic, though the barrel has a strange feel to it, almost as if it were lacored or coated with thin resin. This could just be because of the texture (it does have some wear on it, and the label/engraving is somewhat worn), though I can't say for certain since I know almost nothing about the materials used for vintage pens.

[ItchyPirate]

Given the cost of a new cap for these pens vs repair, just buying a pen with a good cap is a better option.

Unfortunately, I doubt that will be happening any time soon. Lucky Curves seem to sell for way more than I can afford, and I seriously doubt too many people will want to donate theirs to a thrift store (the person that did probably didn't know what he/she had, or just didn't care). It's a screw-on cap, so I'd probably need another Lady Duofold (or some other Lucky Curve) just to match the threading, or at least the asthetic.

 

Besides, I would still be stuck with a capless pen after pulling the cap from the "new" pen

[ItchyPirate]

This is another attempt at uploading the picture of my pen cap. Hopefully it will attach this time.

[GlenV]

That would be a challenge to try to repair with some missing parts, and on this pen. However, your nib looks pretty good, and if has some flex could be a pretty nice writer, and is pretty good shape for a 90 year old right? I would just try to stabilize and cosmetically improve a bit to be a user pen. It may write as nice as any other pen out there.

[Ron Z]

I do quite a bit of celluloid repair. The red Duofold celluloid can be surprisingly brittle, especially at the cap lip. Not as bad as Mandarin yellow, but bad enough. Sometimes they can be so brittle that when I go to polish and blend a solvent weld repair on the cap lip, another opens up in a different spot. Given that there are chips, I would say that this one is very brittle. The only practical way to repair it is to replace the cap lip. A good option on a Duofold Sr, and especially on Mandarin or other rare colors, but not especially on a ringtop Lady Duofold like this. I would look for a replacement cap.

[ItchyPirate]

I decided to throw aesthetics out the window and super glue it back toghether... then clumsily dropped a piece inside the cape and super glued it to the wrong place...

 

It's still fine otherwise (I can still screw it on, though posting may be out of the question), so I'll probably just keep it until I can get another.

[FarmBoy]

That 'slightly busted' cap is busted.