Sheaffer Snorkel Tip Fell Off

[eharriett]

A friend saw me messing with my pens and said he had an old Snorkel that hasn't seen the light of day in about 40 years he wanted to know if I could fix. Since I'd done about half a dozen by now without issue, I said sure, warning him of the inherent risks and he was okay with it.

 

As soon as I saw the tip of the Snorkel, I knew something was wrong. It was at an off angle and I'd never seen it the way this one looked. Sure enough, very little touching, and that tip of the end of the snorkel fell off in my hand. The rest of the mechanism looks fine and should repair just as fine, but I'd never lost the bottom of a Snorkel tip before.

 

My questions are: is this part important or is it just aesthetic? And can I repair it effectively if it is just aesthetic? Bonus question: if it is important and I cannot repair it, can the part be easily replaced?

 

Thanks

 

[FarmBoy]

Replace the tube.

[eharriett]

Got it.

 

Can you recommend someone who sells the tubes as replacement parts? If it helps, it is open nib, not Triumph.

[Paul80]

Pentooling do them in the USA

 

penntooling.com

 

Auspens in Australia will ship you one as well 10AU$ plus shipping

 

https://www.auspens.com/parts_sheaffer.html

 

Paul

[Ron Z]

Don't throw the hard rubber insert away. Someday you will have a snorkel tube with a damaged insert, and will need it.

[eharriett]

Ordered!

 

Thanks for the tip, Ron. I'm throwing NOTHING away for that very reason (that's why I have the parts to a Noodlers Ahab and a Wing Sung 601 -- never know when you'll need that spare).

[pen lady]

I believe that first year Snorkel tubes were 14 kt. gold. Before you scrap it, check what this broken one is made of.

[FarmBoy]

I believe that first year Snorkel tubes were 14 kt. gold. Before you scrap it, check what this broken one is made of.

stainless steel

[eharriett]

Definitely not gold.

 

And the crimping was indicative of mid-production year Snorkels.

[Paul80]

I got one for my PFM from Pentooling, came quite quickly and ended up quite pricey as postage across the big pond is quite high, and I got stung with import charges and handling fees. But that is quite normal these days, i get stung 9 times out of 10 buying from America, but bizarrely not Canada or South America. So much for our special relationship:(

 

Paul

[eharriett]

New Snorkel tube came today from Pentooling (thanks, all for the suggestion).

 

Suggestions for safe way to remove the old one without destroying the rubber part it goes into and inserting the new tube in so as not to destroy the new tube?

[FarmBoy]

Warm the rubber holder and pull

[Paul80]

Make a mark on the old one as it touches the rubber so you know how far to insert the replacement, transfer the mark to the replacement so you know how far to insert it, I then insert the tube to about 20% depth, then paint a little shellac on the tube, then insert it to the mark. Just make sure you orientat the tube correctly so that when its in the pen the little vertical slit is closest to the feed and aligned with the slit in the nib.

 

You may get other recommendations to using shellac from more knowlegable people soon but it works for me.

 

Paul

[eharriett]

Make a mark on the old one as it touches the rubber so you know how far to insert the replacement, transfer the mark to the replacement so you know how far to insert it, I then insert the tube to about 20% depth, then paint a little shellac on the tube, then insert it to the mark. Just make sure you orientat the tube correctly so that when its in the pen the little vertical slit is closest to the feed and aligned with the slit in the nib.

 

You may get other recommendations to using shellac from more knowlegable people soon but it works for me.

 

Paul

 

Do you typically insert the tube at the bottom and push through or do you insert the top of the tube through the bottom of the rubber part?

[Paul80]

I always insert the bottom of the tube into the rubber, it saves all those fine slits from being damaged.

 

Paul